“It takes a woman… to make a CHANGE!”

If every Presidential candidate started their campaign their same way that woman of rock Maria Konner kicked off hers at NYC’s cabaret hotspot Pangea on May 18, then Americans would get just as excited about Election Day as they would about Black Friday.  They would also walk away with something much more valuable than a new HD TV set.  The Saturday night show at Pangea was part rallying cry for political awareness, part education, part interactive experience (The audience got to submit questions for Maria on index cards before the show!), and (BIG) part showcase for Maria and her fellow musicians, in particular her spiritual sibling Jackson Sturkey.  Mr. Sturkey stepped in as Ms. Konner’s Campaign Manager, kicking off with a deliberately campy, kitschy election jingle before asking Maria such probing questions as “What platforms are you running on?”. The songstress replied, “Girl, I NEVER run in platforms.  I run in HEELS!”

Humor aside, Maria can be quick to turn serious– whether via passionately empowered discourse (Be prepared to Google “the FCC’s fairness doctrine” after the show.  I know I did.  Whoa…!) or in musical form with songs like The Useful Idiot, allowing Konner to sig such lyrics as “I’m so sick of it, this useful id-i-ot!” (Two guesses won’t be necessary as to who she’s singing about…). As President, how would she handle a culture which, in the words of one of the performers that night, is “aiming for Star Trek but heading towards Dune.”  When Konner speaks with such conviction about such issues as cyberwars or the death of unbiased media, she has the credentials to back it up. In addition to being an author and performer, Konner boasts experience as an expert in both cybersecurity and risk management, and she used to work as a political lobbyist.  Patently and unapologetically political, Konner’s new show is 75 minutes of raw, unfiltered entertainment, featuring two singers whose voice and presence are both “large and in charge”.  

First off, it must be said that Maria Konnor and her frequent creative collaborator Jackson Sturkey are NOT subtle performers. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination!  Konnor’s persona is indisputably that of the transgenerational (and eternal…) Woman of Rock and Roll, an envied archetype that’s just as much about attitude as it is about the ability to roar out those lyrics or punish those lucky piano keys. Black or White comes across like a musical marriage between 80’s-style punk, rock, pop, and slam poetry.  Mr. Sturkey, likewise, knows how to dominate a stage.  While he can rock out just as well as Konner, Sturkey also adds an unmistakable old-school “razzmatazz” to his performance.  Whether he’s adding a swivel of the hips, rhythmically snapping his fingers, or channeling some of his soulful influences of yesteryear, it’s an homage to the timeless spirit of “Let me entertain you!”-style showbiz.  Sturkey can also really hit those challenging notes, as evidenced by such tracks as Who Are You Going to Believe and Meteor.  In the world of cabaret, too many singers pack their playlists with big, wet ballads– presumably as a showcase for their range.  But after one too many of those aforementioned big, wet ballads, the audience is often left restless for something a bit more, shall we say, “high-spirited”.  Maria’s take-no-prisoners style, in contrast, is reminiscent of the living legend Jayne County and Ms. County’s punk peers, although Maria never substitutes screaming for vocal talent and doesn’t feel the need to smash guitars on the Pangea stage. (Not YET anyway…!)  Konner and Sturkey were joined by the equally high-spirited Omar Kabir on trumpet and saxophone (The sax took on a life of its own with the song America.), and by Ratzo Harris on bass.  Maria’s galpal Bernice Bellows also joined the band for some accordion adornment.

In a night full of many highlights, a few songs really stood out.  Above the Clouds, the crown jewel of the night’s playlist, could be a massive Top 40 hit if quality actually determined popularity.  Likewise, America deserves to become a new classic in the spirit of TRUE (as opposed to social media-style) patriotism.  For an encore, Jackson Sturkey gave the crowd Excuse Me Mr. Hayward, a lush and lusty musical romp about an assignation that MAY or may NOT have happened!  The song was perfectly suited for Sturkey’s unique charms.  I won’t give away the big finale, except to say that it is likely Ms. Konner’s most emblematic song, as well as her most popular judging by the audience reaction.  We’ll be hearing a LOT more of it in the future!

Ms. Konnor has created one of the most original (not to mention fun and bawdy) shows on the New York City stage in recent times with Maria Konnor for President 2024: The Musical and Campaign Kickoff. I’m already planning my outfit for standing in line at the voting booth! 

See more at www.MariaKonner.com.