Mood Swing Orchestra, What are your thoughts?

I really enjoyed listening to MSO a few months ago at Ashkenaz, and I was excited to hear them and dance to their stuff at Ashkenaz again last night.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Their sets weren't bad, per se, but in general, very... uninspiring. I may be reading too much into this (and admittedly, I wasn't in my best form last night), but it seemed like the band members were tired.

I don't think it was the arrangements themselves that were the problem, but when I watched the band play, it seemed like they were mostly going through the motions and not getting into it.

A few of the songs (of which titles don't come to mind) did reasonably sizzle more than others, but on the whole... bummer :|

Interestingly enough last night, I was mentally comparing MSO to Swing Session. As most folks here likely already know, I'm not a huge fan of Swing Session; maybe it's overexposure, perhaps it's just that I prefer big bands overall. But as I was listening to MSO, I couldn't help but think, damn, Swing Session packs more raw energy and enthusiasm and PUNCH in its small handful of folks than MSO does with 3-4x the members. I really missed that last night.

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In fairness, though, I have to put at least part of the blame on both Nick Lawrence (the MC) and the crowd itself.

Without making judgements on Nick's undoubtedly laudable contributions to the swing scene and Ashkenaz in particular, someone needs to politely tell that man to avoid MC'ing. His introductions were, well, embarrassingly bad. I think I'll leave it at that.

The audience, too, deserves some major raspberries. As folks have pointed out here in the past, there is simply NO EXCUSE for not applauding the band... when they enter, when they finish a song, and when they are done for the night. After one guy and I were among the lone clappers after one of MSO's numbers, he leaned to me and grumbled, "Well, wow, that makes... what... four of us clapping now?"

I honestly think that some of MSO's low-energy could have been directly attributed to the fact that the audience was a collective wet fish.

Damn, how I wish for another Barbara Morrison performance vibe one of these days ;-)

I like the MSO. They were not in top form on Friday however. They also played way too many love songs and crooners. The high point of the night for me was their rendition of Glenn Island Special. Hey, Glenn Miller did have some great tunes :P

Enjoy those 'magical' Barbara Morrison performances, because, soon enough, everyone else will realize how tired and played out she is. She is becoming the new Swing Session.

MSO- just say it adam, they suck! I have only heard them one night when they were any fun, and that was only because Tanoa told them what to play and how to play it. Other than that, they are one of the worst bands around.

As far as the people clapping for the band afterward!?! You can blame that one on the fact that the live music scene is dead, and people do not appreciate live music anymore. Let alone what to do when they hear it. Folks in San Francisco have gotten used to the fact that they do not have to pay attention to mucisians anymore. They get the same canned crap everytime they go out dancing. It makes them feel 'comfortable' It is really sad to see what the scene has become. It is very disappointing.

and....as much as I want to assign blame for the whole thing. I will, for the first time, refrain from doing that here, publically. But do understand that there is a single entity responsible for it

Amen. Now please tell me the same thing hasn't happened in LA.

MSO ROCKS!! (IMG:http://www.acuraworld.com/forums/images/smilies/woot.gif)

Ya'll need to quit drinkin the Haterade.

MSO does not rock

the guitar player sucks

the drummer can't keep a beat

and the solo's are worse than a kindergarden orchestra


are you seriously saying that MSO is a good band Gogo, or just being funny? I hope it is the ladder

What's the "ladder" for? :P

They sucked that nite because I wasn't there. :rolleyes:

THANKS FOR NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION

Ok ok ok.... I might not have been *totally* honest honest when I said they "rock". I guess I would also be *slightly* exaggerating if I were to say they were good.... But they don't suck. Satisfied?

If you didn't hear Mood Swing Orchestra last Wednesday at Alberto's, you missed a great show. I really love dancing to this band - I don't know of too many groups that play the classic big band tunes.

I think their level of performance relates to the drummer that they may have on a particular night. I agree with what Adam said about their performance at Ashkenaz. But last Wednesday they had their original drummer, Jay Hansen, who also was the drummer for Steve Lucky and The Rumba Bums. He is generally touring with Little Charlie and the Night Cats now, but he was in town and was able to do the gig with MoodSwing at Alberto's. They were very enthusiastic and did a lot of up-tempo numbers.

They play Basie, Ellington, Goodman, Shaw, Kenton, Barnet and Lunceford. I can't think of any local bands who play such a range of big band songs. They didn't have a singer with them this past Wednesday, but I love all those instrumentals that they did. But I've heard others say that they like to have a mix of instrumentals along with songs with vocals, so that's why they often have their trombonist sing a few "Sinatra" type tunes, all of which are eminently danceable. They sometimes have a woman vocalist sit in with them and that also provides some variety. Many of the members of the band have been part of the group since 1996 or 97, when I first saw them.

I hope other venues will continue to hire them - we will be having them back at Alberto's for sure, but we only have live music once a month. Because we have other groups we like, we can only schedule them every 3 or 4 months. I hope the dancers will continue to support live music so that we and other venues can continue to afford to hire the bands.

Thanks for the info, Michael!

While it's a bit of a bummer that Mood Swing isn't, well, seemingly consistent... it is heartening to know that they are capable of putting on some great shows.

I have been meaning to make it down to Albertos, and -- especially if I DO land a job down that way -- I'll be sure to check it out eventually, especially when you have Mood Swing playing.

MSO ROCKS!! (IMG:http://www.acuraworld.com/forums/images/smilies/woot.gif)

Ya'll need to quit drinkin the Haterade.