Arriving to a fairly empty house, I’m happy nevertheless because I haven’t missed The Blue Hawaiians. Their new album, Savage Night,would definitely be on my top 10 list this year if I bothered with such things. It's an exotic mixture of rockin’ Hawaiian-slide surf guitar, genuine Hammond B3, mystery and moody tales of the night. They start their set with a truly relaxed version of Henry Mancini’s "Experiment In Terror," lovingly hypnotizing my brain with the stellar tones of pedal steel, Fender Jazzmaster and the mighty B3, complete with the rotating Leslie speaker cabinets. From there they plunge into several of the tunes off the new record, including "A Cheat," "Flesh And Soul" and a sedated, yet still powerful, rendition of "Shakin' All Over" that adds yet another new vibe to all its past incarnations. By the time they're finished, in all their rockin’ suaveness, the crowd has thickened and is paying attention (added note: If your lookin for an actual Christmas CD that you’ll listen to after Dec. 25, try and find the Blue Hawaiians ’95 release, Christmas On Big Island).

After some quick change, presto magic, the stage was transformed into a spectacular setting for the triumphantly large Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The glowing, carved pumpkins with the eyeball were a true trip-out! And who would have figured we’d get the Pink Floyd light show with nine well-tailored lads swathed in purple, green and red laser light all night. But it all came together when they started to play. These guys are the storm troopers of swing — they move right in and plow ya right over!! It's a fabulous assault on the senses as the sax, trombone and trumpet players run madly among the stand up bass, guitar and organ. Front man Scotty Morris holds it all together by letting the rest of the band take the spotlight just as much as he does, if not more. They roared through tracks from both their first release and the new This Beautiful Life,including "Who’s That Creepin’?" and "Big Time Operator," as well as some of the expected chestnuts like "Minnie The Moocher." The crowd was popping big, digging the show and all creating their own "experiments in terror" with frantic swingers sweating enthusiasm and redefining the lindy hop. Ultimately, I’m glad to see that a lot of the young kids today don’t just take what’s spoon fed to them and are checking out different things, but I haven’t seen this many fedoras since the Edward G. Robinson convention I attended as a child.