In a prior post I had opined on this particular chanteuse's CD release concert at the Dakota. She interacted with my post, and as a result of the back and forth exchange I promised her I would come listen to her again. So tonight I left halfway through my HS502 class to catch her in a favorite and familiar venue, one where I've danced several times over the decades - the Wabasha Street Caves. It was Swing Night, and she was the featured vocalist.
And as I told her in person last night - this is her natural habitat, fronting for a big band. She was swell. :)
I only caught three numbers of hers, but from "Pennies From Heaven" to "The Lady Is A Tramp", she nailed it. Great natural swing feel, and the pitch control was right on the money. Nice, nice, nice.
The band's tempos were terrific for swing, and as every good girl singer should, in between her sets she worked the crowd, doing her share of dancing.
I didn't push the envelope and ask her for a dance, in no small part because that wasn't my purpose in coming. I was just fulfilling a commitment to hear her sing again. :)
In fact I wore shorts and sandals (not proper dancing attire) just to keep myself off the floor. I intended to be a good boy. ;)
Besides, the floor was pretty full. And I love the great variety of ages. Teenagers, with all the vitality of youth and no subtlety whatsoever...
Middle agers, smooth with smoldering sophistication - hot, hot, hot! Geriatrics, with real economy of motion, doing a lot with a little. Definitely tempted, I managed to reign in my passions and stay on the sidelines while the room whirled about me.
The place has several different "rooms", which I think were storage areas for beer and wine originally. One serves as a bar,
and another as storage, but every spare square foot of floor space also functions as a practice area for working out your moves.
All ages mixed it up. Young guys asked middle aged women to dance, and younger girls were not afraid to be seen dancing with some old guy. One of the old guys, Al, was still a smoothie. He must have been 80, and danced every dance. He was one cool papa & made every partner look good. (which, of course, made him look good - that's the paradox of the male lead in ballroom dancing. It's sacrificial; make the girl look good, and you will dance all night. In a sense it's like lovemaking: seeking her enjoyment assures your own.)
This girl must have been 60 years his junior. Even at her young age, she was no stranger to dancing, that was clear, but he still showed her a move or two. And after the second dance, he got a long and heartfelt hug. You go, Al.
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