As some of you know Rob Adkins and I went to Boston this weekend to play a swing dance event with Gordon Webster. This was the second time that the two of us have joined Gordon for an out-of-town run. Safe to say we had a blast and here’s my side of the story.
The trip part of the trip was a little grueling but just for the rushing and shlepping and waiting for the overcrowded 6 train here in New York and the overcrowded and super slow green T-line in Boston. 3 hours to go a total of 10 miles on the subway and 4 hours to go over 200 on the bus. The bus itself was a lot of fun on the way up and what made the bus a fun ride was the company. We wound up planning a little posse to take the bus together. Gathered were dancer and blogger, Eve Polich, who we saw at Moto the previous night. She brought along Cara Wolinski who is always seems to be smiley good company. Michelle Long was in town to visit with dancer Steven Mitchell and she decided to join us as well. Michelle helps run many of the dance events up in Rochester and she is a wonderfully high energy person who loves to talk about music and dance. FYI: Tin Pan will be performing at Stompology in Rochester in April, 2009.
Eventually we got to the gig after 7 hours door to door (oy!) and did a quick run through of some songs with Naomi Uyama, who was going to be singing with us at the event. Everything felt rushed to me and the sound in that room was so so boooommy without anyone in there. I hadn’t eaten. I was being asked to play music I wasn’t super familiar with. And perform it with musicians with whom I don’t normally play (Rob excluded, of course). Long story short: cranky Jesse. I eventually found some Chinese food and calmed my nerves and felt up to the challenge. I got into my suit and suddenly felt 100% prepared and confident.
The gig was great. The crowd there was diverse in age, style and ability but unified in their love of dancing. Naomi sang great and everyone was super friendly in letting us know how much they appreciated the music. My guess is that there were about 100+ couples dancing at the event’s most crowded.
In between sets, I got to hang out with some folks and I would up briefly meeting Rob’s Mom who described herself as a fan of this very blog. Hi, Rob’s Mom! You’re awesome!
What else happened? Oh, the night was just getting started. First stop: eating greasy spoon cuisine at the South Street Diner. No one had been drinking – the swing dance scene is surprisingly sober and wholesome – and we got there too late to be served. Boston stops serving at 1am. Why? Anyway, there was a huge line out front but somehow someone had already put us on the list for a table so we hardly had to wait. Freezing cold outside but warm in every comforting way inside. Here’s a review of the place that seems appropriate. Chrstopher M. from Yelp.com sez:
I can honestly say that I have no idea what the food at South Street Diner REALLY tastes like. That’s because when it’s 3am and you’re obliterated, ANYTHING that’s fried, grilled, or otherwise hot diner food tastes HEAVENLY. So I’m awarding 5 stars, under the condition that you must be drunk and eat between the hours of 1 am and 5 am.
Next stop was a 15 minute ride to the burbs to a swing dancer’s after party at someone’s home. What a great scene! This was a blues dancer’s heaven! A kitchen with a table full of water and soft drinks and a washing machine filled with ice and beer. A long dimly lit room with a large wooden floor, some slow bluesy music on the speakers and about 20 couples slowly grinding and bending. The first tempo that I heard as I walked in the place was so slow and laid back I was actually impressed. “Dang,” I said to the kitchen at large, “that there is a pocket.” Rob and I had our first drink of the night (a gin and tonic) at 3am!
By 4am Gordon, Rob and I had established ourselves in a corner with our instruments and proceeded to play non-stop for the next two and half hours. What can I say? We were really sleepy and the tempos were very deep. I was actually surprised by Gordon, that he was able to play that slow that consistently for that many tunes in a row. It was exactly what the room needed and it felt great. It’s a trip when, at 6:15am, after playing for two hours straight, everyone in the room applauds and then just turns towards the band with a wonderful look of attendant expectation for the next tune. They really wanted to keep on dancing. Finally, I called “If the Sea Was Whiskey” and Rob and I got to sing harmonies on it. Then I was done. I could just tell that I had nothing left. Here’s a video that Jan Marie shot and helped me post here. Enjoy: The clip is a few minutes from Gambler’s Blues.
When were leaving the sun was up behind the slate grey clouds and the season’s first snow was dusting the back porch and the cluster of cars in the driveway. We made it back to Rob’s parents’ home and stood around in the kitchen for another hour decompressing and then off to bed. It was around 8am. In the morning (which is to say, “late that afternoon”) I saw a photo on the dresser in the living room. Rob Adkins playing the bass with Bill Clinton standing near by. Apparently 10 minutes later he was playing sax with them too! Who is Rob Adkins!??
Bill Clinton Poses with Rob Adkins