Review: Down for the Count – Swing Into Christmas
Introduction: "A performance, full of joy and magic, from a band full to the brim of star talent."
For the first time ever, Down for the Count brought their wonderful “Swing Into Christmas” Tour to Coventry, gracing the Warwick Arts Centre with a compelling setlist and cast of star musicians. Whilst this tour centres around Christmas, there is a most definite air of persevering and celebrating, The Great American Songbook, hits and deep-cuts from the legends of Jazz and Swing. This year also sees the band head to a further 6 new locations (including Coventry last night), and several venue upgrades to the show – a huge achievement and recognition to the belief in the show from audiences up and down the country. Overall if you’re looking for the key to this tour, or maybe a message to take away from both the shows that have come before and future; it’s a sentiment, not just of Christmas, and the magic this time of year brings, but pure joy.
The Setlist: "No other arrangement, features such a diverse mixture of classics, favourites, and deep cuts; you are presented with a rich history on stage."
No two Down for the Count shows are ever the same. It truly is both live and raw, in its most authentic form. There are over a hundred possible songs that you could hear at any of their dates (and not counting requests!). Last night every song that was chosen complemented each and every artist, each and every performer on stage, and each song very much matched the atmosphere that was trying to be achieved. The setlist was warm, especially seen in the unexpected inclusion of Carolyn Franklin & Aretha Franklin’s “Angel”. For me, a truly standout moment of the night, it was truly performed masterfully in every way. This was also a moment for Saara Kaldma to shine, you could really feel the heartfelt, deep and reflective emotions of the song, delivered in every single lyric, carefully sung – she really made it her own.
Other standouts on the show were the classic “Mr. Bojangles”, notably penned by Sammy Davis, Jr. – this year being his centenary year; Down for the Count had already paid homage with their ambitious and worthy shows this year putting on his greatest hits, and lesser-known deep-cuts celebrating his life, career and artistry. This standout was performed by Callum Gillies, who did so, ever so effortlessly. Once again making it his own, his movements, smile and demeanour breathed new life into such a classic, he truly honoured the track and very obviously had a great time doing so.
There was also plenty of room for comedy and laughter, a lot of the tracks included were of a prestigious nature, paid with respect and honoured – but most of all celebrated, with plenty of room for audience inclusion. Notably with Gillies’ rendition of “Mambo Santa Mambo”. Gillies practically flew across the room, never missing a beat, offering the mic to lucky audience members (myself included! ) to hit a “Mambo” of their own!
One of the audience’s requests was Frank Loesser’s (Guys and Dolls fame), “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” performed by Grace Sheene. If you’ve been following TRi THIS Music this month you’ll know that we introduced Grace on the front cover of our November & December edition of our magazine. Our second artist introduced, by TRi THIS Music, since Dalia back in March of this year. Before I speak about this performance from Grace, I’ll preface it by saying there was no rehearsal for this, no expectation of it being featured. She did it with zero preparation – totally on the fly, and you would never have been able to tell. What’s most interesting about Grace for me is that you can infer from her performance that she has most definitely been raised on the Songbook. You can hear just about everyone in her voice, Marilyn, Peggy, Julie to name a few. She warmed the stage with her presence.
The Artists & Musicians "I've never seen an orchestra so engaged with the audience before, they truly want you to be involved and to have fun."
Paul-Smith is both the producer and conductor for Down for the Count, he launched the band back in 2005 – leading to a further twenty years of excellence. He is essentially a master of the history of Jazz and Swing, very much seen in his approach to producing and putting together the setlist for these shows, with an aim to truly represent these genres of music which come accompanied with such a rich history of artistry – my God, how do you choose? Off the stage he is a warm and welcoming, approachable character, well spoken, and has such a clear love for his craft, I am yet to encounter another with such a talent and such passion for bringing a show to life. On stage, he brings an air of both ease, confidence and comedy, an absolute entertainer, born to do this.
Kaldma, from Estonian descent’s first performance was at the age of three – she has also always been in the world of music. She is very much an artist who knows how to create magical moments on stage. Each song she sang on stage last night very much gripped the audience, and each choice, especially “Angel” was very much the right call. On the subject, I found it was quite impressive just how every track fitted each and complemented each artist so well!
Sheene is originally from Kentucky in the USA, but draws inspirations from just about everywhere – it’s so evident in her performance style, her vocals, she knows her stuff. She was truly authentic on stage, a very much true representation of everything this genre of music has been in the past and will be in the future.
Gillies has always been surrounded by the world of music, with a family background steeped in the industry, it has 100% left an imprint. What a joyful, creative soul he is – this energy was so infectious when he took the stage, you genuinely couldn’t help but smile. And his vocal was incredibly strong, supported of course too by the wonderful arrangement.
The musicians themselves, each and all had a moment to shine, the setlist really allowed them too. Nobody fell into the background, and everybody got to showcase their talent. But most of all they just all looked so happy! Filled with enjoyment, happy to entertain, zero sign of stress during the audience requests. And to me, they also looked proud of each other, they really seemed to appreciate each other. Notably you could see Monica Vinoly, looking on at her fellow musicians, and you could see that she was deeply moved and enjoying the music from those around her. Little moments like that were where the magic was for me.
The Stage Design & Visuals "Such a sense of warmth filled the room, you could definitely feel the joy and Christmas spirit in the air."
The team did a great job of fitting everyone on stage, in places where everyone could be seen and featured. By my eye, it really didn’t matter where you were sitting in the Warwick Arts Centre, because of the staging you could always see what was going on.
There were a couple of points where the singers had returned to the stage to do some backing vocals to support who was on stage, but sometimes their placement was lost, from my point of view. But I have to emphasise these moments were only brief; the space worked very well for musicians to travel across different parts of the space too. Overall the Warwick Arts Centre proved a great space in terms of visibility and accessibility.
Final Verdict & Future Dates: "Swing Into Christmas, is unmissable in this tough and somewhat bleak period. It is a show that will warm the soul and connect you with the rich history of Jazz and Swing. It encapsulates everything that live music is about."
“Swing Into Christmas“, was such a wonderful experience for me this year, especially as someone who isn’t feeling all too “Christmassy”, it really was such a beautiful display of talent. Down for the Count are very much keeping this spirit of live music alive – and it’s so important, you won’t come across this everyday, and you don’t want it to leave. This is very evidently a huge production, it’s a huge toll, a sacrifice for everyone involved, being away from loved ones over this family period. It’s tough and you hope that it’ll pay off. And in many ways this tour is already a success, but it’s essentially that we continue to support bands like Down for the Count, who put in the effort, to keep the rich history of their genres alive, to entertain and showcase their talents.
Do go out and see Down for the Count’s “Swing Into Christmas”, there are still so many dates and show’s set for 2026 too, find out more below!
