Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway” tour made a stop at the intimate Bear’s Den Showroom, inside the Seneca Niagara Casino, in Niagara Falls, NY, on Saturday. Actually, the band made two stops, with a 3 o’clock performance and another at 8 PM.
Celebrating 100 years of the legendary Cab Calloway, the swing genre band from California returned to the area with an upbeat celebration of music. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy served up its signature style of swing, jazz and big band music all rolled up in one. They opened the show shortly after 8PM with “Come On With The Come On” and “Calloway Boogie.” The audience was also very receptive to “Let It Roll Again” from the latest CD as lead singer Scotty Morris told the crowd that the seven man band has been together for 19 years. Current members include Dirk Shumaker (upright bass), Kurt Sodergren (drums), Andy Rowley (baritone sax), Glen “The Kid” Marhevka (trumpet), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet) and Joshua Levy (keys). The band also has two touring members (Tony Bonsera on the trumpet and Alex “Crazy Legs” Henderson on the trombone), giving this band a BIG sound. The question, “How Big Can You Get?” is answered. In Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s case, pretty darn big!
Besides the tribute to Cab Calloway, the crowd was treated to some originals and a even a few tunes from the recently released “Rattle Them Bones” CD. “Let It Roll Again,” “Diga Diga Doo” and the New Orleans style jazz of “Devil’s Dance” sound fresh and fun. I especially dig the clarinet in “Diga Diga Doo” and the banjo too. Yes, I said banjo, played by Scotty Morris, who explained that it’s not a Dixieland banjo, but a back alley Prohibition banjo. Scotty also played guitar during “Mr. Pinstripe Suit” and the audience favorite “Minnie The Moocher.” The crowd sang-a-long “Hi-dee, Hi-dee, Hi-dee-Hi, Woah, Woah, Woah” and Scotty said the fans sounded beautiful.
Scotty mentioned that BBVD has been performing the song “5-10-15 Times” for a couple of years, but it’s also on their latest release “Rattle Them Bones.” The live version of this song is great because each band member gets a little solo and the individual musicianship that makes up this band is showcased. The band wrapped up the set with “Let’s Go Daddy-O” and returned for an encore following a standing ovation. They finished the show with “So Long, Farewell, Goodbye” as they took turns singing verses. In the middle of the song, there was a brief jam of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” Although it wasn’t mentioned, In my opinion, it was a great way to honor the band. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash was 35 years ago to the day.
I really enjoyed hearing stories about the songs, old and new. In their zoot suits and spectator wing-tipped shoes, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy took the audience on a walk (and a dance) down music history lane. BBVD also hung around the merchandise table after the show to sign autographs for their fans. If you’ve never seen BBVD live, add it to your to-do list! You won’t be disappointed.
Set List:
Come On With The “Come On”
Calloway Boogie
Let It Roll Again
Mr. Pinstripe Suit
Hey Now, Hey Now
Reefer Man
Minnie The Moocher
Diga Diga Doo
Devil’s Dance
5 – 10 – 15 Times
You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight
I Wanna Be Like You
Go Daddy-O
Encore:
So Long, Farewell, Goodbye (Sweet Home Alabama snippet- Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
We would like to thank Tony Astran from the Seneca Niagara Casino for allowing BackstageAxxess.com to review the show.
