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Ex-Bonzo Innes unleashes musical anarchy The legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus might never have existed if it hadn't been for the oddball English music ensemble the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Neil Innes should know. He was a part of both groups, and he's coming to Arlington's Regent Theatre tomorrow to perform his first American date as a solo artist, ``Innes Own Words: An Evening of Short Stories and Tall Songs.'' Never heard of the Bonzos? They were a late-'60s cult group that put one song on the charts, ``I'm the Urban Spaceman,'' and obtained most of their early material by scouring flea markets for old 78s of music hall songs that they learned and performed in twisted ways. ``It was seriously good drinking music,'' Innes said. ``It was a terrible noise.'' Most of the members of Monty Python encountered the Bonzo Dog Band back in 1968, before the Pythons began performing as a unit. Innes is convinced ``we gave them a taste of anarchy'' that became Python's calling card. Innes ended up writing songs for Monty Python and even performed in many of the group's sketches and movies. He was, for example, the minstrel in ``Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' who sang so whole-heartedly about the cowardly exploits of Sir Robin. Many of Innes' fans know him for more recent work, however. He was one of the chief songwriters and performers in the Rutles (the Pre-Fab Four), a wicked Beatles parody band that wound up on ``Saturday Night Live'' and then had its own mockumentary special on NBC in 1978. The Rutles recorded their own albums and created such a loyal following that the group performed for 3,000 fans at England's famed Glastonbury fest this year. ``In my mind, the Rutles were going to be a one-off gig for British television,'' Innes said. ``It was my idea to spoof `A Hard Day's Night' because it would be so easy. It was black-and-white film and everybody just running around like Benny Hill.'' But the ``Saturday Night Live'' exposure generated a huge response. Innes had to whip up a batch of new Beatl . . . er . . . Rutles songs and begin a second career as a musical anarchist. The Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python, the Rutles . . . a night with Innes is a night seeped in musical parody and British humor. ``The people who know what I've done and come to my shows tend to be all age groups,'' he said. ``There are even quite a few students. ``I think what I do is very accessible and just a lot of fun,'' he said, adding that, ``Pop music is intrinsically funny and taken far too seriously.'' So he'll be alone onstage tomorrow night playing a lot of guitar, some ukelele and even a bit of banjo (``I do apologize for that, but I only use it once.''). ``If I'm good and don't waffle on too much, the show should last 90 minutes to two hours,'' he said. Why, some of the music and his commentary might even be occasionally . . . serious.
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