This week, I’ve had Vaud and the Villains’ “Eyes on the Prize” #OnRepeat. I saw this band live in San Diego several weeks ago and I haven’t been able to stop listening to their music ever since.
Vaud and the Villains is a 20-piece, New Orleans-style big band based in Los Angeles, California. Their music and performance style is a mixture of Cabaret, and theater, blending New Orleans Jazz, Gospel, Blues, R&B, Country, and Rock music. The band is lead by actor, Andy Comeau, and his wife, Dawn Lewis, who are known by their stage names Vaud Overstreet and Peaches Mahoney. Their live shows are high energy, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, vintage-style outfits, and seductive dancing.
“Eyes on the Prize” is a folk song that became popular during the United States Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, and is based on a traditional Gospel song. Vaud and the Villains bring a type of slinky-like, playfulness to this song that Bruce Springsteen could not, but at the same time, mirrors the grit and charisma Springsteen brought in his performance. This is truly one of the few bands that you have to see perform live–video and recording don’t do this band justice. Take a listen below.
Do you know any bands who are great live performers? Leave a comment below!