Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA
11.10.15
On a cloudy Tuesday night with mist in the air, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies warmed up the absolutely packed dining room with a trip back to the halcyon days of Sinatra, sprinkled with a few stops in the present. As soon as the band started with their intro of “April in Paris” and front man Steve Perry sauntered out in a robins egg blue double-breasted suit, I knew Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley was in for a treat.
The Daddies’ released a tribute album to the Rat Pack in 2014, and they did them perfect justice. When the band sunk their musical teeth into standards such as “Come Fly With Me,” “That’s Life,” and “Fly Me To The Moon,” the crowd responded in kind, and I was taken back to the first time I listened to The Rat Pack: Live At The Sands with my father; definitely one of the best live albums I have ever listened to, and the Daddies nailed those classics with an abundance of energy and flair.
While they are primarily known for their role in the swing revival of the late 90’s, it was refreshing that they did not play many songs from their hit album Zoot Suit Riot. Their set was a hodgepodge of newer songs from albums like White Teeth, Black Thoughts and songs from the era of Lindy Hop from the 20’s and 30’s. Backed by an ensemble of enormously talented musicians, Perry’s voice, which has a very distinct Sammy Davis Jr. quality, filled the room with the showmanship of a classic crooner, and he also provided some pretty nifty dance moves while the band showed their hefty chops.
The highlight of the night was their performance of “Brown Flight Jacket,” a song about a flight jacket that was left to the grandchild of a war hero and all of the expectations he has to live up to. Perry introduced the song with a lighthearted story about a boy who receives this memento. . . while working at Starbucks. It was a great change of pace that conveys the emotional range of this wonderful band.
As expected, the Daddies’ ended the night with a medley of “Zoot Suit Riot” and “No Mercy For Swine.” The crowd was wiggling in their chairs and I spied some couples dancing in the balcony. It was every bit as great as when I first heard the band and trudged through my first rock step to their music. The perfect end to a swinging evening.
Review and photos by Phillip Johnson
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
