SEE Magazine
Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved.
MUSIC
BY DAVE LLOYDDown in Los Angeles right now, swing music's making a big comeback in clubs, ever since Jim Carrey's film The Mask. And I had Zoot Suit Riot way before The Cherry Poppin' Daddies had their questionable name on Power 92. In any case, given the big ska thing we've all been subjected to lately, a swing fad wouldn't exactly come from left field.
This train of thought, combined with a bit of word of mouth and the intriguing name and logo of a relatively new Edmonton club, led me to expect that club to be pretty . . . well, swingish. You may agree if you've seen the large billboard ads for Big Daddy's (4635 Calgary Trail N.), which sport a Dick Tracy-ish silhouette. But my expectations, when I visited the club Sunday, were not to be fulfilled.
Big Daddy's entertainment co-ordinator Dean Topilko told me the club is starting off slowly in terms of swing style and music, noting that too much swing may intimidate Edmontonians at first. He may be right. Not everyone would slide as well as I would into a full-on speakeasy, although I'm sure few would complain about Cameron Diaz weaving her sultry vocal web on a regular basis in Edmonton. While Big Daddy's does offer East and West Coast swing dance lessons Friday evenings, Wednesdays offer a more commonplace ladies night, and Sunday's have live gigs.
Of course, I was expecting to see some out-of-town ska, swing or jazz act Sunday night. What I got was not that, but was hardly disappointing. Big Daddy's has had the immense fortune of securing local divas-of-disco Godiva Sunday nights until the end of July. Trust me, this band rocks; they play Voulez-Vous at twice ABBA's bpm without batting an eye (except maybe to wink).
The interior is clean, spacious and very atmospheric, with at least a dozen disco balls (yeah, I counted) and a starry sky ceiling (hundreds of little Christmas lights blinking). Topilko says they were aiming at a slightly older clientele and to me it was sort of like Suite 69 or a mellow, older Malibu.
But what really impressed (and surprised) me was the other half of the club, an entirely separate and different room. The Scotch and cigar lounge has couches and sofa chairs aplenty, a big-screen TV (and several small screens), magazines, a fireplace and two bars. It's cool (as in air-conditioned) and chilled (as in relaxed). The décor is lovely and tasteful and features a plethora of portraits of various people smoking cigars. This is the room that houses the live jazz Friday nights. The washrooms are even scented with a pipe tobacco fragrance.
In any case, Big Daddy's is a nice Top-40 club with some weekly perks like Godiva, swing lessons and live jazz, as well as a nice cigar lounge. If you want to try a new club but don't feel overly adventurous, try Big Daddy's. It's pretty good.
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