For his first live set since 2007’s Red Hot & Live!,
Brian Setzer doesn’t stray far from the blueprint, offering another big-band concert recorded in Japan. Don’t Mess with a Big Band: Live! lasts a little longer, running 19 songs to Red Hot & Live!’s 16, and it has a snappier big-band swing, a sensibility that infects even his rockabilly medley.
Setzer is such a pro that the concert bears a slight whiff of an old-fashioned Vegas revue, but that same sensibility also means that he knows how to please an audience, whether they’re in the theater or listening at home. He might not change his formula but he’s just taking the title’s advice to heart: his big band is working so don’t mess with it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine