Page 22 - ION Indie Magazine JanFeb 2018

Seeing Setzer bring the Christmas tour around the country for 14 of the last 15 holiday seasons, you have to
wonder if he’ll tire of it at some point. But it’s clear that he gets the most joy out of introducing new songs,
a reinvention with the Setzer big band formula, and seeing how the audience responds. As the band settled
into the middle of the set, the Gretsch-slinging front man gained more energy and seemed to have more fun
because of this. And he seems to be most at-home when the horns take to the wings and Setzer is joined by
Johnny Hatton, his bassist since 2002, and drummer Noah Levy, out front for a rockabilly trio. Despite all his
success in front of a big band, Setzer seems most at home in this format. He acknowledged it by saying “I
gots to do the rockabilly now. I feel it in my bones New Jersey!”

It’s too bad cameras aren’t allowed past song #3, because as the musical energy builds during the set, so do
the visuals -- including Setzer climbing up the side of the upright bass, jumping off the drum set, and just
having fun up there with Hatton like a couple young rockers. Seeing him having so much fun brought
assurance that this annual tradition is still worthwhile for the multi-Grammy winner. And I wasn’t
complaining one bit about the proportion of Christmas selections being less than half, nor was the audience,
who seemed to jump to their feet for a rousing ovation after more songs than not.

Rounding out the Christmas list were “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting …),” for which Setzer did solo
guitar and vocals very impressively. He’s usually known for his guitar work, but his take on the vocals without
the power of a big band behind him was very nice. When it came time for the unavoidable encore, Setzer
and band delved into the extensive “Nutcracker Suite,” a close cover of the classic recording by the Les Brown
Orchestra that calls for Setzer to read down sheet music of a dozen or more pages, often struggling to make
the page turns – an antic that has been part of the annual tradition that he and his band have created. There’s
something about guitar over Tchaikovsky that just sounds fantastic.