Brian Setzer to start another riot

By Jacob Zinn
[contributor]

With Vancouver still recovering from the Stanley Cup finals loss, our city may not be able to handle the uproar that follows Brian Setzer.

The 52-year-old New York guitarist kicks off the Canadian leg of his North American tour with a Christmas Eve concert at the Commodore Ballroom.

Setzer got his start in the Long Island rockabilly revival trio Stray Cats and spent the ’90s jumpin’, jivin’ and wailin’ with a big band jazz orchestra.

Now that he’s returned to his rockabilly roots, the Gretch-playing honky tonk man will show some 990 Vancouverites how to rock this town – rock it inside out.

For those who don’t know, rockabilly is a genre formed out of rhythm-and-blues, country and western swing. It’s part rock ‘n’ roll and part hillbilly, with upright bassists plucking uptempo beats and distorted guitar notes beckoning for ’50s diner dancing.

And it’s almost certain, no one will be sitting down once Setzer takes the stage. Being so close to Christmas, he’ll surely throw in remixed holiday tunes like “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. (He did have a 2008 Christmas album, you know.)

Until Dec. 24, the ballroom floor won’t have seen this much swinging since Duke Ellington played there way back.

The three-time Grammy Award winner will ensure the Commodore will be a hotspot, despite the predictably below zero temperatures.

So grow out your sideburns and shake, rattle and roll down Granville Street for this night-before-Christmas boogie woogie good time!

The stray cat struts into the Commodore Ballroom on Saturday, Dec. 24. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for $51.75.