There must have been 1,000 feet tapping for 90-minutes along with an equal number of pairs of hands clapping along with sing-along chants of Hi-De-Ho and Go Daddy-O Friday night (March 27, 2015) at the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center.
Singer Scotty Morris (center right) leads the nine-member Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Although the crowd was mixed with locals who never heard of the group that originated in Ventura in 1993 and out-of-towners who drove notable distances just to see the entertainers who have recorded 11 albums and performed 2,600 times, everyone was quickly worshipping as one at the church of Cab Calloway, as leader Scotty Morris put it. And not just Cab’s Hi-De-Ho, but also BBVD’s crowd-pleasing original songs first heard in the popular 1996 indie movie “Swingers” such as “Go Daddy-O” and “You & Me and the Bottle Makes Three (Tonight).”
The nine members of the group that blends big band with New Orleans-inspired and Dixieland jazz, blues, and some swing and American standards (including a song written for Frank Sinatra by a then-unknown Randy Newman called “It’s Lonely at the Top,” which Sinatra rejected), and even the Sherman Brothers’ “I Wanna Be Like You” from Disney’s animated classic “The Jungle Book,” have all beeen together since the beginning 22 years ago. Their infectious enthusiasm begins with their appearance in everything from zoot suits to fedoras and continues when they quickly show they are not shy about stepping out to center stage each time their trumpet, trombone, or saxophone is featured for even just a few notes, drawing applause each and every time. Morris had the crowd singing along with “Hey Now, Hey Now” and “Why Me?” just before the encore. Oddly, the encore featured Morris strumming on his guitar the first few familar notes of the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama,” which was not only completely unconnected to the entire evening but inexplicably drew the most instant and enthusiastic response from the audience, most of which jumped up screaming. And then he stopped and went back to the regularly-scheduled finale piece.
The concert started only about 10-minutes late, seemingly awaiting those who chose to enjoy the first-time food trucks and outdoor dining in front of the Center that began two hours ahead of time and had the trucks still serving customers well past the intended 7:30 deadline.
Mayor Pro Tem and Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation President Gary Kovacic came on stage to welcome the audience and encouraged first-time visitors to Arcadia to enjoy the many other pleasures of the community. Some of those visitors were heard as they exited saying how impressed they were with the Center and already making plans to return. (Next up is Dick Fox Doo Wop Extravaganza on Saturday, June 6. Get your tickets at www.Arcadiapaf.org. For information please call 626-821-1781. VIP Meet and Greets for each concert are also available for purchase. Buy here.).
Those musicians who could not step to center stage, including co-founding drummer Kurt Sodergren, pianist Joshua Levy, and double bass-twirling Dirk Shumaker each got their own solo spotlight.
Other members include Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone and vocals), Glen “The Kid” Marhevka (trumpet), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet), Anthony Bonsera Jr. (lead trumpet), and Alex Henderson (trombone.)
BBVD music has appeared in countless films, television shows, and trailers including “Swingers”, “The Wild”, “Despicable Me”, “Family Guy”, “Phineas and Ferb”, “Malcolm In The Middle”, “Ally McBeal”, as well as multiple uses of songs for dance routines on “Dancing With The Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance.” The band’s songs have also been featured in multiple Olympic gymnastic and figure skating routines (including Carly Patterson’s 2004 gold medal win) and have been widely used for years as part of television broadcasts of high profile sporting events including the NFL, NBA, and PGA.
The band’s numerous television appearances include “Dancing With The Stars”, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Late Night with Conan O’Brian”, “Last Call with Carson Daly” (the last of which the band wrote and recorded the show’s theme song.) The band has shown true bipartisanship having played private events for the three of the last four presidents as well as events at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions on multiple occasions.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy hit pop music superstardom with their appearance in front of millions during the halftime show of the 1999 Super Bowl and they have sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, Chastain Park and Constitution Hall, to name just a few.
— By Scott Hettrick