Long before ukulele tutorials and influencers became YouTube staples, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain knew that the diminutive four-string instrument could bend any song to its whimsical will.
Now more than four decades on, the UOGB continues to spread the ukulele love, and deserves much of the credit for the proliferation of similar ensembles around the world. At Herbst Theatre on Friday, May 1, the seven-member troupe showcased exactly why as it closed out San Francisco Performances’ 46th season.
The UOGB’s winning formula depends as much on vocals as string wizardry. Aside from a few solos, the group doesn’t rely on Jake Shimabukuro-level virtuosity. Instead, crafty arrangements turn each song into a multilayered confection that often introduces unexpected twists in familiar tunes.
For Friday’s concert, that meant hits by Nirvana and Paul Simon, David Bowie and Lady Gaga, TV show theme songs, Broadway numbers and jazz standards all got the zany UOGB treatment.
The group’s secret weapon is Laurie Higgins’ electric bass ukulele work, which provides a thumping bottom for the six unplugged players to push against. His contributions are essential on almost every tune, but he only moved to the foreground briefly, as on the bass break on “You Can Call Me Al,” which featured vocals by Guy Hargreaves with lithe harmonies by his bandmates.
In the visual-gag tradition of Tiny Tim, who turned the ukulele’s eclectic potential into novelty pop stardom some 60 years ago, the orchestra’s tallest member, Peter Brooke Turner, plays the smallest axe, holding down rhythm duties on soprano uke. His big baritone vocals and understated hand gestures brought appropriately over-the-top drama to the 1965 James Bond theme song from “Thunderball.”
Much like their instruments do more with less, the group’s minimalist choreographic touches provided additional punchlines. A rocking arrangement of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” featured the players making jerky moves with their ukuleles, mimicking the guitar-wielding models featured in the song’s iconic MTV music video.
Laura Currie delivered the most affecting version of Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” since Seu Jorge’s Portuguese rendition in the 2005 film “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” Meanwhile, the hilarious a cappella arrangement of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” reimagined as a sea shanty showed the UOGB don’t depend on their ukes to artfully refurbish a song.
With the five men decked out in tuxedos, the group’s shtick centers on contrasts. If they say it’s time for a serious number, you can bet the night’s going to take a ridiculous turn, like a reverently playful version of “The Muppet Show Theme.” It wasn’t clear whether it was intended as a nod to San Francisco, but Sylvester’s disco anthem “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” was another piece that worked brilliantly with a lapidary arrangement and Leisa Rea’s lead vocals.
The show closed with the bravura feat of six members singing different songs over Ben Rouse playing Handel on tenor uke. Sounding like a jukebox on tilt, “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “Hotel California” — complete with the wondrous mondegreen “warm smell of fajitas” — all somehow mixed and blended.
Who needs serious music when so much painstaking effort has gone into making it silly?
For anyone feeling overwhelmed and in need of ukulele therapy, another Bay Area fix is on the calendar. The ninth annual Uke Jam returns to the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival on July 4, with Hawaii-based YouTuber Cynthia Lin and Oakland’s Ukulenny presiding over the party with multi-instrumental support from Steven Espaniola.
This review has been provided in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle.
