Concert Review: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's Swingin' Christmas

BY ELGIN SMITH

Well, it's that time of year again. Yep, that certain time when you start noticing Christmas trees, candy canes, visions of sugarplams and the like. While I'm generally not opposed to traditional Christmas kitsch, there is one part of Christmas that I dread: the music.

Aside from Vince Guaraldi's music from the Charlie Brown Christmas TV special, I do my best to avoid traditional holiday tunes. Admittedly, I experienced a sense of skepticism when I learned that Sunday night's Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert would have a Christmas theme. However, thanks to an even balance of non-seasonal swingers and Christmas-style tunes that weren't ridiculously cliché, it turned out to be a fun, enjoyable evening.

Scott Spychalski

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The show started with a few of the aforementioned holiday type numbers, which did seem a bit hokey, but BBVD played them with a kind of showmanship that you just don't see in most of today's music. Frontman Scotty Morris' slightly raspy voice has become synonymous with current swing band music, and the rest of the band actually did an exceptional job chiming in with vocals of their own. This was especially true of bassist Dirk Shumaker, who sang lead vocal on a couple songs, including the surprisingly catchy "Mr. Heatmiser."

Scott Spychalski

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Another thing about Morris that makes him such an engaging stage personality is that he sprinkles in witty dialogue about how some of the compositions were written, as well as explaining influences in their music. He delighted the audience with a comical explanation of how they would be meshing Louis Prima and Elvis, resulting in a decent cover of "Blue Christmas." He also spent a few minutes telling about the night's non-holiday tunes, most of which were from this year's Cab Calloway tribute album.

Toward the middle of the show, BBVD jumped into three of the Calloway pieces in succession: The Jumpin Jive," "The Call of the Jitterbug," and "The Old Man of the Mountain." These three were definitely one of the evening's highlights and allowed for some tight horn section lines and improv solos. Saxophonist Karl Hunter and pianist Joshua Levy were two standout soloists here, while drummer Kurt Sodergren played in a great Gene Krupa-esque throwback style on the last of the three pieces.

Scott Spychalski

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I was glad that BBVD didn't abandon their signatures tunes, and was smokin' on "Mr. Pinstripe Suit," "Go Daddy-O," and of course, "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight." After hearing the latter two of those tunes every time I watched the movie Swingers (and no, I'm not apologizing for that), it was awesome to see them performed live. The substantial but not gigantic crowd shared my enthusiasm and gave a raucous round of applause after each of them.

The night ended with two encores, both with Shumaker on lead vocals. His quirky rendition of "Is Zat You Santa Claus?" sounded a bit like Bobby "Boris" Pickett, but it was a fun song nonetheless. Looking back on the evening, some of the Christmas music was corny, but they did a great job of keeping the night's program fresh and not staying with one style too long -- something that not a lot bands do very well.

Set List
Rockabilly Christmas
Hey Now, Hey Now
Mr. Heatmiser
Mr. Pinstripe Suit
Zig Zaggity Woop Woop
Party For Santa Clause
The Jumpin' Jive
The Call of the Jitterbug
The Old Man of the Mountain
Blue Christmas
Christmastime in Tinsel Town
You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)
Just Like You
Go Daddy-O
Encore:
Is Zat You Santa Clause?
So Long-Farewell-Goodbye

Addendum: Local swing group the Grand Marquis kicked off the evening with their distinctly Kansas City-flavored standards and original compositions. After seeing them numerous times at Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen, Ive always felt that they were one of the most underrated bands in the area. Whereas most people might consider groups like the Republic Tigers and possibly Be/Non the best that KC has to offer, this great little combo puts together some of the swingingest sounds around.

Playing genres like ragtime, big band, and even some hard bop, the Marquis are quite capable of covering all the bases, and did just that on Sunday. Their set, which lasted just under an hour, featured jazz standards such as "Dinah" and "Harlem Nocturne," as well as originals like "Paseo Street Strut." The Marquis did a great job warming up the crowd for BBVD, and I would encourage any fan of that band to check out this one.

Scott Spychalski

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Scott Spychalski

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Scott Spychalski

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