A week and a half ago, I had no idea that I would get to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in concert. And now I have. I was surprised when I heard they were coming. Yeah, I was way out of the loop. But I got into the loop just in time, and was thrilled to be going to go see them live. The show was nothing short of amazing. I've been listening to them for years, and this was the first opportunity I had to see them. The venue wouldn't be my venue of choice to see a concert, but I wasn't about to be picky because this opportunity was too good to pass up.

Before tonight, I'd only ever seen one concert at this venue, only this one was in the indoor "Grand Ballroom", and the previous show I'd seen was in the "Outdoor Amphitheater." The problem is this: it's a casino (which sucks enough as it is), and the casino only wants to bring in big names so that they can fill their massive and impersonal spaces. Case in point: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy = swing band = music to jump and dance around to. Not to sit in assigned chairs and stare at the stage from a hundred feet away. Plus, it's swing! It's way more fun if everyone is closer to the stage and jumping and dancing. This seated audience bullshit was far too impersonal for such a fun and engaging band.

After having purchased the tickets, I learned that the show had a Christmas/holiday theme to it. I remained undeterred, however, and kept my fingers crossed that they'd play a variety of their music. And they did not disappoint me. They played several of my favorite songs, and others that I didn't know as well, if at all. The Christmas music was also swing, of course. So I loved it all. Plus, when they're singing about getting drunk with Santa Clause, it's impossible not to get into it.

The hardest part of the evening was when it came time to leave. The band went out with a bang, ending the encore set with their classic "So Long, Farewell, Bye Bye," replete with a break in the middle of the song to start playing "Sweet Home Alabama" before jumping back to the song. But no. The hard part. Leaving. As in, making my way to the parking lot, glad to be free of the smoky casino with the scary blood-shot-eyed chain-smoking gamblers. Trying to find my car. Remembering that I had parked and had a good visual idea of where I was. Noticing that the light poles had special signs on them denoting zones by letter and number. Realizing that I probably should have taken note of those earlier, so I wouldn't have to comb the parking lot row by row, as I wound up doing.

Fortune smiled. I found my car. I drove home. I concluded an excellent night. Sleep engulfed me.

Note: I brought my camera and took a bunch of pictures. However, I'm having issues with getting photos to show up properly on my blog, so for the moment I don't have them here. Look to your right and you'll see them, or else you can always go here to find them.