Big Energy at Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Hey, Mister Pinstripe Suit.

If you are hip to the scat of Cab Calloway, the trumpet of Louis Prima, and of course the movie Swingers, then the at was the joint to be at last night.

The band, with 18 years and eight albums under their vintage belts, continue to resurrect the Big Band, swing, traditional New Orleans and Harlem jazz sounds to audiences who clap to the downbeat and sing back “Go Daddyo!”

The band has just kicked off a tour and made their stop at the Monmouth University theater a lively one for an audience of several hundred. Two hours and two sets, plus a two-song encore, the band let the music shine as BBVD featured covers from an album devoted to Cab Calloway; original hits from their albums and the Swingers soundtrack such as “Mr. Pinstripe Suit” and “You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three;” and unreleased tracks such as the winners “Why Me,” “Hey Now” and “5, 10, 15 Times.”

The performance was tight and emphasized both a polite, appreciative delivery of solos as well as the wailing, raucous solos…it was a performance that spanned many influences in the genres, as the band jumped and jived around the signature elements of Dixieland, Neo-swing and the Cotton Club sound.