Came to Post 507 for Big Band Night and had a great time. It's a small venue, but everyone was friendly and welcoming. The bartender had a great personality and poured a stiff drink for a very modest price. Folks in the outer room were playing pool, watching a game on TV, snacking on pizza, and generally having a great time.
Inside the event space, Ladd McIntosh's Big Band was playing at the top of its game, swinging and soloing like the best of them. The set list was an interesting mix of standards from the Great American Songbook, and original compositions by Ladd from his long and storied career.
Guest vocalist, Nina Herzog, has a voice that somehow manages to be both bright and warm at the same time, giving a much appreciated, energetic jolt to well-known songs that might otherwise slide by unnoticed. Ms. Herzog did just 4 numbers across the evening, and I think we all would have welcomed several more. As an elder statesman, McIntosh is a genial host, and his origin stories about the songs work nicely in an almost-educational way. But one has to wonder what kind of greater entertainment value would be found by letting Herzog control the crowd for longer periods of the night.
In fact, in the future, McIntosh might look to divide the evening differently: playing instrumental arrangements in the first set, and then having Herzog headline the 2nd set. She's an excellent singer with a winning personality, and the band backs her perfectly... building the evening this way would allow both singer and band to shine even brighter, and bring the evening to a much grander and memorable conclusion.
While I was visiting for the big band sound, the calendar at Post 507 shows a variety of acts doing live music of many genres, and you'd do well to stop in for a drink, a chat and some good times. read more