Review: La Dolce Vita Swing Collective’s ‘Cool Yule’ at the Voodoo Rooms

Birdy and a friend headed along to The Voodoo Rooms for a Christmas concert from La Dolce Vita Swing Collective to get into the festive spirit.

I’d never heard of La Dolce Vita Collective before, so had no idea what to expect when I was offered press tickets for Cool Yule – but as a fan of Postmodern Jukebox and ’40s/’50s style, this sounded like it would be a lot of fun and a great way to start feeling Christmassy with a friend.

I arrived first, and was greeted by Tony (also the singer) who very helpfully managed to get us a couple of spare seats at a table. A table! At the Voodoo Rooms main stage, no less! Thanks, Tony. Looking around, it quickly became clear myself and friend Cath may not be the intended age group for the show.

Nevertheless, I put on my novelty Santa hat complete with bell, got some drinks, and settled into what would be a fun evening of light entertainment.

The format

Early on we learned the gig would be performed in two halves – with a 15-minute interval – and would include a mix of Christmas and more contemporary songs with a swing jazz twist to them. There was also some patter from Tony, and some utterly terrible Christmas cracker jokes to lighten the mood.

Tony also made it clear he wanted there to be some dancing in the second half, however it was really quite crowded and there wasn’t much floor space, so I was unconvinced.

The vibe

The gig was very spirited, and full of feel-good Christmas vibes for the most part. We were some of the younger people in the audience, but that was just fine (like I said, we probably weren’t the target audience for this gig). Everyone was there to have a good time, a bit of a dance, and a singalong.

Several times, we ended up holding hands with complete strangers who were determined to get the entire table swaying in tune to the music – which was very sweet and lovely. I got given plastic aubergine maraca, which I had way too much fun shaking about.

However, one thing I have to say is that it was exceptionally warm in the room. I’m not sure if the fact it was so crowded played a part, but towards the end of the night I was actively trying to fan myself with a Santa hat (which just seems wrong!).

We actually had to leave a little early, and I was grateful to be out in the cool air.

The show itself

The show itself, I can’t fault. The band performed smoothly and professionally, including numbers such as Walking in a Winter Wonderland, White Christmas, Let it Snow, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Fly Me to the Moon, Route 66, Jingle Bells, Now or Never, and so many more!

My favourite parts of the night were actually Frosty the Snowman and Feliz Navidad – and the person who shouted ‘Elvis is deid!’ when Tony introduced one of the songs. And, yes, I’m glad to say there were some Postmodern Jukebox-style contemporary numbers in there, covered in the swing jazz style – although, I’m not keen on Michael Jackson these days.

All of the greats were in there, including the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, and Louis Prima.

My least favourite parts of the night were the terrible jokes, and the heat in the room! I was a little concerned about all the people in their Christmas jumpers, and I could tell some of them were feeling it, too.

However, most of the audience seemed to enjoy themselves immensely, and in the second half, despite my reservations, there was dancing! Actually, there was plenty of dancing – heck, I even got up and danced a little, myself.

In fact, to my surprise, I got up, danced and shook that plastic aubergine quite a bit – especially to Feliz Navidad! What fun.

In total, including the interval, the show was two hours 40 minutes long – and included a wardrobe change halfway through – which I’d say is great value for money on the whole. I’m sure absolutely no-one felt short changed after this evening.

Overall

This was a fun night of Christmas swing band magic, and a great way to get into the festive spirit of a late December evening – who knew I’d spend it singing and dancing with total strangers? The jokes were the worst part of the night for me, but that was fine – I was also glad to be out of the heat in the room!

This was apparently the last gig of the band’s Cool Yule tour, and I’d say they ended on a high.