Barb Jungr & John McDaniel
Come Together! Barb Jungr & John McDaniel Perform the Beatles
Davenport’s, Chicago, IL, January 28, 2018
Reviewed by Carla Gordon for Cabaret Scenes
& John McDaniel
Photo: Rick Stockwell
Well-partnered with pianist John McDaniel, Barb Jungr made her noteworthy Chicago debut in Come Together! Barb Jungr & John McDaniel Perform the Beatles. Under Jungr’s little girl bangs one finds a formidable and very smart cabaret artist.
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That the Beatles’ repertoire offers material from the ridiculous to the sublime makes for a captivating show. She is a grand storyteller, both through the varied lyrics and her own personal reflections quipping, “Chicago is cold, isn’t it?” She also energizes the show through movement that is almost dancing, but not quite. She fares among the few cabaret artists who can turn her back on the audience yet never disconnect from it.
Jungr and McDaniel flex jazz chops effectively with the riffy endings of “Got to Get You into My Life” and “Things We Said Today.” Prosaic yet meticulously delivered details of “Eleanor Rigby” take on power, until we wonder where all the lonely people indeed come from.
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“Little Piggies” takes on new context under a political culture often deemed to serve that one percent. The duo put bounce into “I Will,” which is typically sung in ballad time.
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This approach makes it more joyful. The volume is wisely pulled back for the languid sensuality of “Something.”
Although Jungr can power belt with the best of ’em, she has us wait for that until the eleven-o’clock number, offering “The Long and Winding Road.” In the hands of Jungr and McDaniel, it becomes not a supplication, but an intense reflection of anguish. McDaniel is also a fine communicator, not only through the keys, but in solid interpretations of “Mother Nature’s Son,” exploring music as a means of reflection, and George Harrison’s plaintive “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Jungr and McDaniel duetted, then invited the happy audience to sing along to “Come Together.” Encoring with “In My Life” took on a newer meaning, as it ended the show with the singers’ appreciation for the moments just transpired of sharing fine musical journeys with their listeners.
