Musical Clown Act

[Randy Stein]

I used to perform a 45 minute musical acrobatic clown show back in the 1970s and 80s. It had lots of flips and handstands and total craziness.
I was asked to be part of a Chanukah Spiel at my synagogue with a request to play my EC as part of some comedic musical act. Here is my performance  sans handstands and flips.
https://youtu.be/z6TnaGczg9c

Edited January 17, 2023 by Randy Stein

[Steve Schulteis]

That was great fun, Randy.

[Leonard]

Beautiful!

[El Squeezer]

That was awesome, would love to see the full clown / acrobatics act!

[Alan Day]

I appreciate the hell of a lot of work and practice you put into this. Well done Randy.

Al

[symon]

Bravo!

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

It takes a lot of courage and dedication to entertain people - and make it seem so effortless - great stuff.

[Alan Day]

It is strange that as a musical instrument concertinas have been used in many clown acts. I remember as a small boy with my parents on Clapham Common going to the Circus and the White Faced Clown played a miniature concertina. As tiny as I was then perhaps it started my love for the instrument.

Al

[David Barnert]

59 minutes ago, Alan Day said:

It is strange that as a musical instrument concertinas have been used in many clown acts.

 

Here’s a thread from almost 18 years ago when we discussed that very topic:

 

 

And my post in that thread about Bob Berkey, who I was going to mention here when I found this:

 

[Randy Stein]

10 hours ago, Alan Day said:

It is strange that as a musical instrument concertinas have been used in many clown acts. 

Well, I can answer this based on my experience. The concertina is visually interesting and easily moved and manipulated. It is compact so even if you have multiple instruments, they travel easily. 

I was already performing as an acrobat and looking to develop my own solo act. I wanted to use music in my act. I picked up a cheap 30 button honer EC in a pawn shop. I could do a flip off my partners shoulders while playing the concertina.

That I fell in love with the instrument enough to invest my time into it was a gift.

Plus one doesn't get as hurt playing the EC, in most cases. 

[Alan Day]

Doing a back flip with a concertina is something I shall put on the back burner for a while.

Your story reminds me of a video of a group that featured a concertina and the player on completion of the tune threw the concertina up in the air. There was a sort of silence as it descended from sky ,completely missed by the player and nearly knocked out one of the band members.

Al

Edited January 19, 2023 by Alan Day

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

There's a comedy scene in a Laurel and Hardy film with an Anglo [20 button] concertina, being severely punished by Stan Laurel [ poor thing] it really gets a good bit of musical torture [ playing sound is mimed too obviously; not him playing it!].. Maybe they lend themselves to theatrical things, because they can transform physically from small, to long, in shape, in a few seconds, which lends itself to visual trickery, and humour.

[John Wild]

13 hours ago, Alan Day said:

Doing a back flip with a concertina is something I shall put on the back burner for a while.

Your story reminds me of a video of a group that featured a concertina and the player on completion of the tune threw the concertina up in the air. There was a sort of silence as it descended from sky ,completely missed by the player and nearly knocked out one of the band members.

Al

I think that was one year at Concertinas at Witney, at the tutors' concert.