Paragraph 1 : The cool thing about being a reporter is getting the opportunity to see a lot of bands that I have never seen before. One of those opportunities happened on June 19th. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was playing in Nashville at the Wildhorse Saloon. I have listened to them on occasion but my son, Julian, is a huge fan. He has all their albums and he listens to them all the time. It was close to his birthday so when I got the chance to attend the show for a review, I brought him along too. The tickets were not too expensive, sixty-four dollars each.

Paragraph 2 : The Wildhorse Saloon is my favorite place to see a concert. It is a three level venue with a capacity of 1400. You can be really close to the stage in this room. When we arrived, most of the seats around the dance floor were taken but the floor was empty.

Paragraph 3 : Around 9pm, a lot of people were starting to gather on the open floor area. We moved near the stage and we managed to get a good spot.

Paragraph 4 : Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, in case you don’t know, play comtempary swing music and a lot of the old swing classics. They have already released 8 albums and sold millions of CDs. Their most famous single is probably 'Mr. Pinstripe Suit'. The band is composed of 9 members. Scotty Morris on vocals and guitar, Kurt Sodergren on drums, Dirk Shumaker on upright bass, Andy Rowley on sax, Glen Marhevka on trumpet, Karl Hunter on sax, Joshua Levy on keyboards, Tony Bonsera on trumpet and Alex Henderson on trombone. Each one of these guys is an amazing musician and each song from the set list proves it. They were all wearing suits and hats.

Paragraph 5 : At 9.30, the lights dimmed and the band members took their places on stage. Once everyone was ready, they broke into their opening number, “Come On With The Come On". This was one of the songs that I had heard my son play and I have to say it sounded much better live with the full sound of the band in a concert hall. The next song was “Calloway Boogie” followed by “Let It Roll”. Scotty Morris was singing, playing the guitar and also playing the part of a musical conductor. This guy really has a fantastic voice. The crowd was singing along parts of “Minnie The Moocher” and the trumpet and trombone parts in “Hey Now, Hey Now” were phenomenal.

Paragraph 6 : The dance floor was totally full. People were dancing, singing along with the band and having a great time. Then, there was a short break and Scotty Morris introduced all the musicians and each member received a great round of applause from the audience. Scotty said that the band had been together for 19 years and that they still had all of the original members. He also added that at the end of the tour they were going back into the studio to begin work on their ninth album.

Paragraph 7 : One of my favorite songs of the night was "Mambo Swing", which is a mixture of swing and latino rhythms. After the introductions, the band played “Jumpin’ Jive”. That song has such energy that everybody started moving around and dancing. Then, they did the last Cab Calloway song of the night with “The Old Man Of The Mountain”. I was hoping they would do this song because I remember hearing it in one of the old Betty Boop cartoons as a kid and it is one of my favorite songs of Cab Calloway.

Paragraph 8 : Although swing isn’t the type of music that I usually listen to (I am more into pop and I am a big fan of classical music), I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The band was fabulous, the vocals were perfect, and the musicians shone on their respective intruments. This is definitely the best show I have ever seen.

Paragraph 9 : I think to really appreciate this band you need to see them live. Hearing them on record is one thing but seeing them live is another. If Big Bad Voodoo Daddy comes close to you, you really should check them out. You will have a good time for sure.