Coca Cola made that slogan (and an accompanying jingle) widespread at the beginning of the 1970s, although the phrase has been part of American culture at least as far back as 1892, when it was the title of a short story by Henry James.
How, exactly, can we be sure we’ve located “the real thing”? I can’t say. But if you’re looking for an example of absolute authenticity, I do know that singer Clint Holmes fills the bill. Holmes is authentic to the bone. Real thing, real deal, real McCoy. The genuine article.
Clint Holmes(Photo: Courtesy of the artist)
Holmes has been a musical entertainer for decades. And he clearly knows backwards and forward the elements of a club act that count most: variety, balance, surprise, and breathing room for improvisation. In the Birdland show, he sang songs in an array of moods and tempos—songs written by, sung by, and/or paying homage to such talents as Roberta Flack, Harry Belafonte, Sade Adu, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, and the Beatles. Traditional standards and show tunes were, surprisingly for a jazz set, in short supply (aside from some original songs from a musical Holmes has been working on for years). But, other than that, he ran quite the gamut.
It wasn’t just his eclectic repertoire choices, and the manner and order in which they were presented, that made this show spin. It was also Holmes’s onstage devotion to his listeners, and his commitment to achieving communion with them. His gestures and other stage movements came off as spontaneous and free. During “Tryin’ Times” (introduced by Flack; written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson), he stood at the front of the stage bending toward the audience as if he were confiding an important secret to them.
His frequent scatting turns went beyond mimicry of musical instrument sounds to include novel and sometimes almost otherworldly sounds that met the emotional needs of the moment. (Was it just me or on one song, did he repeatedly scat the phrase “Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter”?) At one point, he whistled through his teeth for several measures: not something jazz vocalists or cabaret singers do every day. He called for audience participation a couple of times, but he made those moments not something to slog through but, rather, uncomplicated fun.
Although excellence prevailed throughout the set, certain songs sailed above and beyond. I especially liked the breakneck, devil-may-care speed with which he ripped through Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba.” When launching Lennon and McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby” he created a dark, mournful mood, then segued to an arrangement more like the Beatles original, which he then swiftly intensified, taking it to power-ballad level. While eschewing specific political comment, Holmes made a welcome, heartfelt plea for human empathy with a pointed rendition of Sade Adu and Andrew Hale’s “Pearls.”
A rousing duet with guest performer Nicolas King on “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” (Bobby Troup) proved to be a crowd favorite. The excitement level on this number was off the charts and then some, and the two singers genuinely seemed to savor each other’s exuberance.
Musical director and pianist Bill Zappia helped Holmes keep the energetic show chugging happily along, with assistance from drummer Jakubu Griffin and bassist Matthew Parrish, who made his instrument sound at one point like a deep, resounding Spanish guitar.
Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.
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Presented at Birdland, 315 W. 44th St., NYC, on May 12, 2025.
Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.
