10 posts tagged “contra dance”

Just a quick note about tomorrow night...

Several of my friends went to the FootFall Dance Weekend a couple of weeks ago and couldn't stop raving about this band they heard there called Footloose.  They are supposed to be insanely good, and they're playing this Friday at the Spanish Ballroom.  I've had this Friday saved on my calendar all month, and it would be a shame if any of the regulars didn't know about what a great band was going to be playing.

GOOD:

OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod!  I had so much fun at the dance last night.  Rylie's already posted a bit about how great this band is.  Let's just say that between the homemade didgeridoo, an accordian played through a distortion pedal and lots and lots of quirky musical references throughout the entire night, these guys just became my favorite contra dance band.  Not only was the music great, but my dancing felt absolutely spot on all night long.  It felt like everything I tried worked, I was able to communicate well with all of my partners, and somehow all of my partners were able to keep up with all of the wild and crazy stuff that I started to pull.  (Yes, you apparently can do a lady's chain into a butterfly whirl with two spins AND still have it be dead sexy.  I did it for the first time by accident with Contra-Connie on Friday, but I got to refine it last night.)  The LJ community was definitely in residence as well.  Even though Rylie couldn't make after all (*sad*), blueeyedgriffin, bluefaith, igasu and zombie-dog were all there.  We even had a special appearance from telerib at her contra dance debut.  Add to that, my two friends who do the high-falutin' artsy stuff were back for the first time since the beginning of the summer and I got to dance with each of them.  (*grin*)

I also got to have a brief picnic supper with flutestory before the dance started.  Fruit, tomatoes with mozzarella, dumplings and some white wine made for a very tasty pre-dance meal.  It was really nice to get a chance to catch up with her; what with her being back in school again, I don't get to talk with her as much as I did over the summer.

It was a really great night.

BAD:

I took out two dancers last night, which ended up darn near taking out the entire line each time.  The first time I backed up with the back of my head right into the jaw of someone who should have been in front of me, not behind me.  He ultimately walked out of the dance which meant his partner left too.  Fortunately, it was a contra-corners dance with very little involvement from the twos, so the rest of the line was able to muddle through.  The second one I'm still feeling guilty about.  I was dancing with bluefaith, and apparently I danced her a little too hard.  From the other side of the set while doing a neighbor swing I heard her say "I think I need to sit down now."  She then proceeded to sit down in the middle of the dance floor, neatly splitting my line in half.  Apparently, she had gotten too dizzy from all of the spinning in that particular dance and it became too much for her.

This is not a trend that I want to continue (and it didn't help that these two dances were also back to back).  Hopefully, there won't be to much more of this when I go back to dance in two weeks.

COOL:

I've finally gotten around to buying some new clothes specifically for contra dancing.  Specifically, I went out yesterday afternoon and dropped a couple *coughcough* dollars for some UnderArmour apparel.  After dancing in it for an evening, I am really pleased how well it did.  I'm used to changing shirts 4 or even 5 times in a night, but with the new shirts I only had to change once during halftime.  The new shirts kept me cool and dry the entire evening.  The pants were an absolute revelation; they were able to let me dance much more freely than the jeans I usually dance in.

In the last 24 hours, I have had three different people ask me whether I am going to be at Glen Echo for GCA tonight.  Each time, the answer has been the same...  Almost word for word, even.  So just in case any of you were planning on asking me the question within the next 5 or 6 hours, let me go ahead and answer it for you now:

Oh hell yes!  The band absolutely ROCKED Friday night and it was a blast!  Even though the dance was in the Bumper Car Pavilion, the entire place was just jumping.  I'm definitely looking forward to doing it again tonight.

You're going to be there too, right?  I want a chance to get a dance with you as well.  See you there!

I hope this settles the matter. 

I just looked ahead to the next month of dances at Glen Echo and found out that Andrew Marcus will be playing both Friday and Sunday with another one of his bands.  (I've mentioned Andrew's other band before.)  Even better, the Sunday dance is going to be called by none other than Revels alum extraordinaire David Giusti (who is starting back at school at Oberlin today).

["But Giddy!  Shouldn't you have posted about the weekend on Monday?"  Oh, shut up.]

It was a good weekend.  I got to go dancing twice, I saw a movie, and spent most of Sunday at the Folklife Festival.  In addition to all of that, I even managed to fit in time on Sunday to have a music rehearsal for this thing going on at DLC's church. 

Some highlights:

• I got stuck dealing with a very complex transaction starting at 4:35 on Saturday while trying to finish things up at work.  Notable because the dude walked in 25 minutes before we closed and still wanted us to resolve his issue, and because it made Teh Geek and I late to dinner with my Dad and his wife.  (No, I don't know who the third person in that picture is.)
• I was mildly disappointed by Ratatouille.  After the build-up it had gotten from Kariflower, Teleri and SpicyAppleGirl, I was expecting something that would knock my socks off.  Instead, I was merely entertained.  Am I being too picky?  Probably.
• Kinda hard to explain, but I saw someone make a concertina sound just like church bells.  Very, very cool.
• Mummers!!  (In this picture, DLC and I are completely hidden behind the Doctor on the right.  We were right there, I swear!)  I had a lot of fun watching these guys (twice!), and I might post more about them later.  TOWWAS has already done a good job of describing them already, so I don't really feel like I have to give a full description.  Suffice it to say, it was fascinating watching a different take on the tradition than what I was used to.  The troop from Aughakillymaude were a really neat bunch of guys to boot.
• I got to watch zombie_dog's kid brother play at the open jam for a while.  That kid is ferociously talented...  I'm kinda jealous, actually.  Anyway, he apparently went down to the Festival every day and spent the entire time jamming with the musicians in the pub tent.  How cool is that?!?
• The music rehearsal went about as well as I expected.  We were pretty rough to start out, but once we got up off of the grassy lawn and over to an actual picnic table we were okay.  (Did I mention that we held the practice at Glen Echo before the dance?)  We're doing a couple of old standards -- New Britain and Holy Manna -- as well as a couple of other songs.  (Hee!  Hyperlinks are fun!)  The fun part is that with DLC's upcoming vacation, the four of us won't get a chance to practice together again until the day before we sing at the church.  As long as everyone practices though, it shouldn't be a problem.
• After the dance Sunday, I ended up staying up way the hell too late talking shop with DLC.  Monday was just plain rough, let me tell you.  After such a long weekend, I haven't felt up to posting until now...

So you all remember this picture, right?

Well, if you look above the silly-looking guy on his knee, you'll see three other people.  The lady with the microphone is DeLaura Padovan, and the guy with the fiddle and the curiously glowing white eyes is her husband, Steve Hickman.  This coming Sunday, Delaura will be calling contras to Steve's band, Live Culture.  (Well, one of Steve's bands, at any rate.)  As an added bonus, the guy who was on stage but not visible in this photo - John Divine - is also playing in this band.  It should also be noted that the contra will be held at the same place as where this picture was taken: the Bumper Car Pavilion at Glen Echo Park.

By the way, there's one more guy in the background of the picture, and that's Charlie Pilzer.  The week after next (Sunday the 15th), one of his bands will be playing.  (He's in like 8 different bands.)  He will be playing with '05 Revels specialist Andrea Hoag, Charlie's sister Leigh, and a really cool drummer named Will Morrison.

Someone really ought to organize a group outing to one of these nights at the contra dance.

I've got two words for you:  Hotpoint Stringband.  (Yeah, I know that's technically 4 words.) 

I managed to get to half of the contra last night (after a very cool concert with the NSO at the Cathedral), and this was the band that was playing.  Oh my God, they are completely awesome.  They've got a really solid sound with fiddle, banjo, piano and bass, but what makes it incredible is the drums.  Can you imagine a contra band with a full drum kit?

Tell you what.  Don't take my word for it.  You should come to the contra on Sunday night and hear them for yourself.  It turns out that this Ohio band is in town for the entire weekend.  (They're even doing the Frederick dance tonight, but I know I won't be able to get to that.)  The dance is going to be in the Bumper Car Pavilion, so it's going to be a little crowded, but it is SO going to be worth it.

You should come.  Trust me.

A few weeks ago, I posted this because it struck me as pretty funny.

Anyway, one of those contra dance CDs I'd picked up recently is from a band called House Red.  (Coincidentally, they'll be playing at the dance tonight at Glen Echo.)  One of the tracks is called 'Maria's Waltz,' and it's a tune that the guitarist wrote for his girlfriend.  After listening to it the first time, I went back and played it again, and then again just to make sure I wasn't making this stuff up.

I swear, the base line is a slightly modified Pachelbel's Canon.  He's following me, now!  I can't escape 'Johan' Pachelbel either!!!  AAAHHHHHHH!!!

No, seriously.  Listen to it yourself and tell me I'm wrong:

05 Maria's Waltz

House Red

You know, I've really become fond of Contra Dancing.  Something about all the movement, the community, the music, meeting up with friends, the flirting...  (Hrm.  The multi-seasonal geek might be reading this, so I probably shouldn't mention the flirting.  Oh well.)  Anyway, I got to go to two dances last weekend, and it rocked.  I'm planning on going at least once this weekend as well.

(By the way, I posted before about Jiggermeister playing last weekend, and let me tell you, they blew me away.  They were even better than I had advertised.)

(And another thing...  Remember when the Uncroaked Canine mentioned about how much fun he had at the dance after the Folk Festival?  That same band is playing Friday.  If you're reading this, you should be there...  Even if you're a hot chick from Pittsburgh.)

Anyway, I've started to collect CDs from most of the bands that come through Glen Echo whenever I go to a dance -- especially if I find myself really getting into the music as I dance.  I'm actually listening to a recording of Orrin Star and the Sultans of String now as I'm writing this.  I've given some thought to reviewing the CDs as I buy them, but frankly I don't know how many people would be interested in reading about that.

I've mentioned before that I am a self-identified geek: music geek, sci-fi geek, gaming geek...  But is there such a thing as a contra dance geek?  Maybe I am...