Getting Furry With the Xylopholks

How often do you get people to converge over a group of musicians dressed in sweat-inducing, furry animal costumes? Not often, but more than 50 people came out to the House of Yes on Tuesday to say “namaste” to front man Skunky, aka Jonathan Singer. He is about to pack his bags to take off to India with a Fulbright Scholarship in a few weeks. The band got together to play a benefit show in hopes that a couple of them, namely Dog (Carmen Staaf) and Pinky (Bridget Kearney) can meet up with him and do their shtick there.

Who are the Xylopholks exactly? Think Sesame Street only dirtier. Imagine George Hamilton Green’s ragtime tunes done on a xylophone. And picture a group of people dressed in animal costumes hijacking delis, subways, and any other platform they can, just to play a ditty in the hopes of making people happy. It’s hard not to smile when you see a person dressed like a pink gorilla strumming an upright bass.

The members of the Xylopholks have grown and changed, but Skunky (though sometimes it’s Cookie Monster instead) and Pinky are the core players.  For this performance, Baboon (Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers) joined them on banjo and Dog on piano. Though their acts were more focused than their usual renegade playing style, their show at The House of Yes still packed the punch of seeing them on the street. Only, this show lasted much longer, and there were a handful of other performances including: their new video, aerial acts by Lady Circus, the folk style musing of Annachristie from Sisters 3, heart-wrenching tunes from Heather Masse, and a whole slew of other acts. After about four hours and numerous free mini bottles of Colt 45, I had to throw in the towel. I was later told the evening lasted until 6 a.m., ending with a six-guitar sing-along. That’s okay, while the Xylopholks are fun to watch and their poppy ragtime gets you smiling, the sing-along I was happy to miss.