"40s swing...", "western swing..."? To be honest, it's really unfair to try and give the Swing Commanders a label as all you are doing is setting yourself up for someone to say " oh, I don't think I really like that..." when there really is nothing to "not like..." .
The Swing Commanders are superb musicians and we had a really enjoyable evening's entertainment at the glittering Sands Venue on Blackpool Promenade last night.
In a packed and varied set list, there was pretty much something to please everybody. Granted, there might not have been much to appeal to Lady Gaga diehards but I'm sure the band could easily put together a half decent rendition of "Pokerface" or "Bad Romance" if they put their minds to it...
What we did get was a tremendous selection of high energy musical treats ranging from some 1920s Scott Joplin, through - OK - some 1940s swing... even a bit of Tom Jones.. and right up to date with a brand new song - a theme song for the band - composed by the band's highly talented and versatile guitarist Simon Brady.
The Swing Commanders are great to watch with entertaining stage routines, clever instrument changes and, if I may say so, very "easy on the eye" band members.
The three girls - wearing twee country dresses for the first half and delightful "bathing belle" sailor suits for the second - really blended well together with their Andrews Sisters style harmony songs - among them "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and "Mr Sandman"
Individually: Rosy Williams sings, plays violin (classically trained), bass and trumpet and does a decent jive as well. She performed a really gritty vocal on "Blues in the Night".
Siena Lloyd, who was blonde bombshell in the eponimous touring show, treated us to a smouldring rendition of latin favourite "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" - as well as "My Baby Just Cares for Me" and she also plays saxophone, clarinet, bass, keyboard and cowbell.
Gaynor Sutcliffe sings beautiful harmonies and also plays keyboard, a second fiddle, piano accordeon, bass and, last night, she sang a wonderful version of the Doris Day favourye "I Just Got Back From The Windy City", during which she gave a superb demonstraion of tap dancing!
The aforemention Simon Brady (British Country Music Association muscian of the year 2010!) switched seamlessly from lead guitarist to slide guitar to an amazing home-made 10 string Hawaiian madolin and also admirably crooned his way through a song about having chickens at home...
Drummer Mark Warburton gave a whole meaning to the term drum solo whn he left his drum kit during the appropriately named "Drum Crazy" and stood at the front of the stage playing tricks on a snare drum and juggling his drumsticks.
The hits flowed free and easy last night. We had "Beyond The Sea", "Sixteen Tons", "Che Sara Sara", "That's Amore", another oldie in "Alabama Jubilee" and even some rock n roll in "Johnny Be Goode".
Band leader Peter Riley holds the whole thing together. Plucking his double bass, introducing the songs, telling the odd joke and strutting round the stage in an almost Mick Jagger fashion. As he said: "every show needs its Punch..."! He even treated us to an impromptu Tom Jones tribute with a sinagalong version of "Delilah"!
So there you go - something for everybody - even if you "don't like western swing..." A highly enjoyable feelgood evening with great music from great musiciana and lovely songs from lovely singers - and definitely worth a look if the Swing Commanders are coming to your town!
To find out more about the Swing Commanders, check out their website at: http://www.swingcommandersupdates.co.uk/index.htm
