"Lida Rose" and Then Some

Been to a barbershop singin' lately? If not, are you in for a surprise. Today's groups are WAY past "Lida Rose" and "Hello my Honey, Hello my Baby." You can still hear the traditional stuff, as my pal James (a real barber) and I did at "Festival of Harmony" in Jackson, MS tonight. But the novelty groups, tunes and arrangements--complete with comedy and choreography--are the ones to write home about.

Two guest groups wowed us: LUNCH BREAK, based in Nashville, and RED LINE, based in Portland, OR. Both are new. They've been together for less than a year and are already out there howlin', complete with fans and websites.

The Nashville guys are quirky and hilarious. They include a fat man preacher, a bald man teacher and two neighborhood guys of unnamed occupations. They do rock-style parodies and putdowns that update and upstage "barbershop" by miles. In excellent pitch and voice, I might add. With traditional barbershop backgrounds.

RED LINE is more decorous but still funny while harmoniously styled in silk suits AND soothing sounds. They could have been well dressed senators or airline pilots. As it turns out, they're a building contractor, a banker, a national v.p. of sales and a nonprofit guy. Rehearsals? Every six weeks, they get together in Portland for practice. Two of the guys live there; the other two fly from Denver and Nashville.

Least surprising? All the groups made jokes about wives who complain of their husbands' near obsessive singing and traveling. Fortunately, tonight the audience got to hear only the men's side.