Nerd parody duo ‘the Library Bards’ draw full house at Buena Vista Branch Library
Dressed in English medieval attire and armed with only microphones in hand, Bonnie Gordon and Xander Jeanneret faced an all-ages crowd Thursday night in the Buena Vista Branch Library.
Behind them was a table with various sci-fi and fantasy books they used as props to segue into songs.
“How many of you like space?” Gordon said. Hands instantly shot up.
The musical-comedy pair launched into their first song, “All About That Space,” a parody of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” discussing space-themed television shows and movies such as “Firefly,” “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.”
The Los Angeles residents are known as the Library Bards at pop-culture and comic conventions.
The nerdy duo use the instrumental tracks of Top 40 hits and write new lyrics about topics such as gaming, space and pop-culture fandom while incorporating choreographed dance moves.
They performed songs off their 2017 first album “Bardcore” such as “Geeky Girl,” a parody of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and “Gandalf,” a parody of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”
New songs also debuted, including a parody of the Killer’s “Mr. Brightside” to lyrics summarizing the storyline of the 1987 fantasy film “The Princess Bride.”
“It’s our first time performing at a library, and I’m amazed,” Jeanneret said. “It’s a packed house, and we didn’t expect people to come out on a Thursday night.”
Gordon and Jeanneret are huge pop-culture fans. They love it so much they were contestants on two geek-themed reality television shows — Gordon was on ABC’s “The Quest” and Jeanneret was on TBS’ “King of the Nerds.”
They became audience favorites and were asked to attend conventions as guests. Jeanneret said they enjoyed performing at conventions, but needed to find a “sustainable way” to continue performing so they formed a music duo.
Their first performance was in 2015 at the California Institute of Abnormalarts, Gordon said, and they realized “it worked out perfectly” after watching a video of their show.
“We’ve been able to travel all over the country and sing about ‘Star Trek’ — who gets to do that?” she added.
Some of their friends were in the audience at the local library.
Hollywood resident Krystina Tigner took her 4-year-old son Luke to see her friends perform. Luke said he enjoyed all of the songs equally.
San Gabriel resident Ryan Omega, 41, said he knew he needed to see his friends perform when he realized they were performing at a library a mile away from his job.
“I didn’t expect for them to really put on a show and connect with the audience,” Omega said, who bought their album and had them autograph it. “I’m surprised with the turnout, but it proves how popular they are.”
Tarzana resident Lindsy Roberts, 27, agreed.
“It’s a creative way to enjoy hobbies and games,” she said. “The great thing is that anyone can love it.”
Twitter: @vegapriscella
