They’re not a big band, but they are a large band. This 19-piece ensemble describes itself as a 1930's New Orleans Orchestra and Cabaret Show. Oh, yeah!
Vaud Overstreet (Andy Comeau) and his wife, singer Peaches Mahoney (Dawn Lewis), formed the band in Los Angeles, when they found inspiration in Bruce Springsteen’s The Seeger Sessions, a record that gathered a large band of mostly stringed instruments that rocked Seeger classics in a fresh, yet retrospective style. Comeau remembers wondering, “What if we created a show around this style of music?”
Comeau’s role, according to his online biography, is charlatan, seducer, tenor saxophone. There’s not enough room to share all the Villain’s witty bios, but suffice it to say, they’re a shady lot with a roomful of chops. They swing like gypsy jazz with a sound that brims with mystery, romance and New Orleans voodoo. Dancing is expected.
