Who Wants to Be a Winner?

February 11, 2010 10:54 AM

The New Orleans B!ngo Show is a must see if you are into jazz, 30's gangster movies, the theramin, burlesque, and scary clowns. And of course, bingo. Look behind Door #1 for

Clint Maedgen of Preservation Hall Jazz Band fame is the leading man. Yes, they pass out bingo cards at their shows and give out prizes at intermission. Yet they are more than just a gimmick band. They have a trailer.
Here they are with the PHJB in Saint James Infirmary. They will soon be touring Australia with, of all people, the Polyphonic Spree.
And the obligatory MySpace page. Please be gentle, this is my first post.

posted by domo (6 comments total)

Bingo is great! I actually saw a marriage at a show they did about 4 years ago. I didn't know the couple, but it was the only wedding I've ever gotten misty at.

They are a hell of a lot of fun.
posted by brundlefly at 10:58 AM on February 11, 2010

they really are a must-see. so much fun, and oodles of talent. ratty*, ronnie numbers, trixie minx ... they've all got a lot going on, both as a member of the troupe & with individual projects. i will confess to missing the days when they played in the back of fiorella's on thursday nights.

i especially like the tie-breaker arm wrestling for cheap plastic prizes when two people call out 'bingo!' at the same time. sort of vaudeville-circus-streetpunk rock-game show with clint as the emcee.

seriously, if they come to your town: be there. you won't regret it.

*not sure if ratty is still playing with them or if he just pops in once in a while
posted by msconduct at 1:17 PM on February 11, 2010

I haven't seen them since pre-Katrina Fiorella's, like msconduct says, on Thursdays. I went a lot; damn that was fun. Damn New Orleans was fun before Katrina.

Glad to know they are still around.
posted by RajahKing at 1:34 PM on February 11, 2010

God bless 'em, but the banjo spoiled it for me.
posted by kozad at 4:20 PM on February 11, 2010

Ha, cool, a post in the Blue about Bingo.

I can not recommend their show enough. If you have a chance to see them make the time and go. You will not be disappointed.
posted by djeo at 4:20 PM on February 11, 2010

Oh, hey, I worked on that St. James Infirmary video. Did the first cut of the boards (there were of course changes), and ran an ultra-fast intense "Okay Kids! Here's How To Animate!" class for the bunch of college grads who did the animation. Mostly to me it was an excuse to flee Boston's winter for some time back home down in New Orleans and a couple weeks in Lafayette. I'd been hoping to actually animate a few of the scenes as well, but getting the boards hashed out took so damn long I had to be off again.

Oddly enough the mix used in the actual video seems to be different from the one I timed out all the boards to - I don't remember the banjo being anywhere near as prominent.
posted by egypturnash at 8:07 AM on February 12, 2010 [1 favorite]