[Dixielandjazz] Michael Buble + Dixieland + Showmanship

[Steve Barbone]

Kind of an interesting review about Buble and his mix of nostalgia,
Dixieland, and showmanship. Note also the last paragraph . . . the fans,
some 10,500 loved it.

Interesting also to note that Buble and Springsteen before him, have added a
little Dixieland to their shows.

Trend?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

Buble at his bubbly best at Rexall - Concert Review

Tom Murray - edmontonjournal.com - January 19 2008

EDMONTON - If big-ticket lounge act nostalgia is your cup of tea - or maybe
cocktail of choice - then Rexall Place was the happening joint for you on
Thursday night.

Truthfully, Michael Buble's approximation of Rat Pack-style is actually
creditable, if lightweight. Songs like Call Me Irresponsible and World on a
String suit his bubbly personality. Besides, he already has the suit and
skinny tie. Matter of fact, most of his show is like an easy guide to the
past: his band swings mightily, Buble's horn players deftly throwing in
snatches of Dixieland or straight jazz, and he scats well, injecting bits of
Cab Calloway. He croons nicely enough, dances a little, cuts up for the
crowd and musicians alike, even shows a little self-deprecation. Really,
what's not to like?

Where it gets wobbly is his choice in contemporary covers, or rather, not
the choices themselves so much as the interpretation. Romantic
existentialism seems beyond him - he should study some mid-period Sinatra
for that - and his singing on Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man replaces mordant
humour with blaring cockiness. A reinterpretation of Me & Mrs. Jones (from
his latest album, Call Me Irresponsible) is utterly devoid of the barely
contained longing and guilt that Billy Paul invested in the original. With
the band swinging gently behind him, it seems more like a song about a
casual Vegas showgirl liaison than an adulterous affair.

Similarly, you'd never know that Fever was about carnal appetite. Played on
the Rexall stage, it was simply a golden oldie, a shared memory between
musicians and audience, but nothing that hinted at the lust both Little
Willie John and Peggy Lee made so explicit.   

Oddly enough, he nailed the middle-of-the road classic Always on My Mind, a
delicate song that, in the wrong hands, can sound mawkish, but Buble and
band kept it on an even keel.   

Criticisms aside, the show had its entertaining moments. Much more
comfortable now with a couple of syrupy soft rock hits under his belt (Home,
Everything), Buble is also very adept at working a large venue.

His band is undeniable fantastic - a nine-piece brass section, piano, guitar
and rhythm section - and adept at small instrumental touches, like the
slightly swampy guitar strung throughout Fever. Buble's jokes may be
terrible, but the interplay with his musicians is quite funny, as when he
faked a moment of pique, stomping off the stage to let trombonist Nick
Vagenas croon a few lines of Try a Little Tenderness, only to reappear and
fake his own brass-playing skills while second trombonist Josh Brown
surreptitiously blew behind him.

Jumping into the crowd - and make no mistake, the crowd of 10,500 loved him
- he posed for photos and bestowed hugs on willing female fans, even good
humouredly allowing for a grope or two.