Bad Homburg (yes). They come marching in like the organ pipes. Right in front the “broken off theologian” Karl-Friedrich Mews, who plays the drums, behind him frontman Ulrich Tukur, then the pomad Ulrich Mayer with the tin guitar and finally the 2.08 meter giant Günter Märtens with his double bass. All four are dressed in elegant dark brown jackets and matching beige trousers. It quickly becomes clear to the audience: Tukur and his “Rhythm Boys” don’t need a warm-up phase. When the quartet is on stage, things really get going with music, rhythm and lots of fun. This also applies to the performance as part of the poetry and literature festival in the Kurtheater on the evening of Corpus Christi.
“Rhythm in cans” is the name of the program, named after a foxtrot from 1942, with which the men have been touring the country since the first year of the pandemic in 2020. The content: everything from mambo to foxtrot, including original pieces, unknown older titles and snappy hits. But the four gallant gentlemen don’t just have music in their luggage. Their repertoire includes snappy sayings, comedic interludes, enchanting dance steps, poetry recitations and many a story that poses a mystery as to whether it is true or just made up. Ulrich Tukur proves to be a real entertainer and all-round talent, leading through the entertaining evening with inexhaustible energy. But beware! Enjoying and leaning back comfortably is not. If you want to keep up with Tukur’s narrative pace and follow his mental leaps, you have to remain attentive. The melodies from the early 20s to the late 40s offer food for thought.
“We play better than we look,” Tukur calls out to the audience in the Kurtheater just as he grabs the keys and intones Cole Porter’s hit “Anything Goes” from 1936. With the hit song “Ein Señor und eine schön Señorita” it gets romantic in the theater before Tukur and his “Rhythm Boys” lead almost seamlessly to Friedrich Hölderlin, a little “babble Swabian” and then “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea”. give the best. The audience is enthusiastic, likes to swing along, lets their feet tap and nod their heads to the beat. With Irving Berlin’s hit “Puttin’ On The Ritz”, the musical journey continues through the nostalgic light music of the Golden Twenties and the pre-war years to the song “Christopher Kolumbus” and the feel-good song “Sie will nicht Blumen und nicht Schokolade”. peppered the “Rhythm Boys” with two deadly serious announced surprises – a fertility dance by bassist Märtens and an impressive guitar solo by Ulrich Mayer.
Between Großkrotzenburg and Großauheim, narrator Ulrich Tukur lets the next of his numerous stories begin – the life story of Eberhard Müller, which ultimately leads on many intricate and entertaining paths to the American composer Glenn Miller and his hit “In The Mood”. The quartet, which is repeatedly given ample applause by the Kurtheater audience, has brought along other well-known melodies. The hits “From eight to eight”, “Ah, pardon my lady” and the Charleston dance hit “Everybody Loves My Baby” can be heard.
When Tukur, who founded the “Rhythm Boys” combo in 1995, announced that the enjoyable evening was nearing its end, a murmur of disappointment ran through the hall. But there is still a little time and a few encores with accordion use before the final farewell. But then it’s really over, and to the melody of the world hit “La Paloma” the musical boys disappear in their brown jackets behind the stage curtain.
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