1. I had fun. I'll be honest, I don't know if I expected to have fun. I hoped I would, but here it is: Country music is not my favorite thing and I was taking along Tim, who feels the same way about country music as he does about car repairs. So my expectations weren't high. But when I walked into the Maverick and saw all those cowboy hats floating around on the dance floor, with bedazzled jeans flashing around them, I knew that even though this wasn't my scene, it certainly was someone's and those someones were having a great time. It was infectious. Watching people dance and enjoy it is almost as fun as doing it (almost). Add good friends and some Jameson and I can pretty much guarantee I'll have a good time. And I did!
2. Bands don't know how to play for dancers. At least this one didn't. It was a great band in most other respects. They were tight, they had lots of energy and I loved their set list. But a 3-minute guitar solo in the middle of "Mustang Sally" just isn't that great to dance to. And Mustang Sally? Great song, but not a good tempo for two-step (or any other dance, except for West Coast Swing, and can you imagine that? I can't). The DJed music that was playing when we got there was better suited for dancing and I wasn't surprised that when the band got back on the packed dance floor suddenly became a little more spacious. Just a little though. Its clear that the folks at the Maverick will dance to just about anything and have a good time doing it. Which is awesome.
3. Country dancing is a real live dance scene. As in, you just show up and you dance. I found this really refreshing in certain ways and sort of off-putting in others. There's no class to take* and that's kind of cool. Maybe a friend of yours teaches you a basic two-step (forward, forward, back). That's really all you need to get onto the floor. And that might not be all you see on the floor. There are a lot of people out there just moving with their partner and feeling good about it. There's a basic, but you don't need to know it. You just lead or follow and have a good time. Which is awesome. On the other hand, it seems a little harder scene to crack. Because there's not necessarily a common dance (although two-step is definitely king), that means that what you know becomes less important than who you know...and if you don't know many people, well, maybe you won't dance as much. I'm so used to the lindy scene, where if you're new, people will almost always ask you to dance. Also, since the Maverick is primarily a bar, there was a whole bar aspect to the dancing; people were there not just to dance, but also to drink, to socialize, to pick up dates. And that meant if you came attached to someone, you probably weren't going to get asked as often either. Of course, its hard to make generalizations based on one time dancing, so I'm more than happy to be proven wrong!
4. When I go out dancing, its usually to a swing dance. But if I go to a westie dance, I'm not going to drop some lindy and charleston on the floor. If I go to a ballroom, I will restrain my urge to swing at and demurely foxtrot (or sppppppiiiiiiinnnnn in a Viennese waltz! So fun!). But if I go to a country western bar, maybe, just maybe I should try to, you know, country dance. Or whatever else is going on. I certainly don't bring a partner, with whom I will dance exclusively, and then dance a fucking cha-cha-cha. But there was one such a couple last night. Now, I don't begrudge them their fun; after all, how often to you get to ballroom dance outside of a ballroom? But is the Maverick really the place? Also, there was a whole show-offy aspect to their dance that was really out of place. Everyone else was dancing just for the fun....it seemed like these two were dancing to show off. How do I presume to know that? Well, dancing cha-cha-cha to a blues dance doesn't make much sense, does it? I get the showing off thing, and if you hear music and you just want to dance and the only dance you can dance is cha-cha-cha, well, ok, but how about asking someone to teach you a two-step, if you're such hot shit? Ugh. Sorry. I know and love some ballroom dancers, but in this case, ew.
5. If I'm going to go dancing at the Maverick again, I seriously need to invest in some cowboy boots and some daisy dukes. A sparkly belt probably wouldn't hurt either.
6. Next time I go dancing at the Maverick, you should come too!
*well, the Maverick offers dance classes, but they're a series that you really invest in, rather than just showing up to a dance and learning from a lesson before it.
2. Bands don't know how to play for dancers. At least this one didn't. It was a great band in most other respects. They were tight, they had lots of energy and I loved their set list. But a 3-minute guitar solo in the middle of "Mustang Sally" just isn't that great to dance to. And Mustang Sally? Great song, but not a good tempo for two-step (or any other dance, except for West Coast Swing, and can you imagine that? I can't). The DJed music that was playing when we got there was better suited for dancing and I wasn't surprised that when the band got back on the packed dance floor suddenly became a little more spacious. Just a little though. Its clear that the folks at the Maverick will dance to just about anything and have a good time doing it. Which is awesome.
3. Country dancing is a real live dance scene. As in, you just show up and you dance. I found this really refreshing in certain ways and sort of off-putting in others. There's no class to take* and that's kind of cool. Maybe a friend of yours teaches you a basic two-step (forward, forward, back). That's really all you need to get onto the floor. And that might not be all you see on the floor. There are a lot of people out there just moving with their partner and feeling good about it. There's a basic, but you don't need to know it. You just lead or follow and have a good time. Which is awesome. On the other hand, it seems a little harder scene to crack. Because there's not necessarily a common dance (although two-step is definitely king), that means that what you know becomes less important than who you know...and if you don't know many people, well, maybe you won't dance as much. I'm so used to the lindy scene, where if you're new, people will almost always ask you to dance. Also, since the Maverick is primarily a bar, there was a whole bar aspect to the dancing; people were there not just to dance, but also to drink, to socialize, to pick up dates. And that meant if you came attached to someone, you probably weren't going to get asked as often either. Of course, its hard to make generalizations based on one time dancing, so I'm more than happy to be proven wrong!
4. When I go out dancing, its usually to a swing dance. But if I go to a westie dance, I'm not going to drop some lindy and charleston on the floor. If I go to a ballroom, I will restrain my urge to swing at and demurely foxtrot (or sppppppiiiiiiinnnnn in a Viennese waltz! So fun!). But if I go to a country western bar, maybe, just maybe I should try to, you know, country dance. Or whatever else is going on. I certainly don't bring a partner, with whom I will dance exclusively, and then dance a fucking cha-cha-cha. But there was one such a couple last night. Now, I don't begrudge them their fun; after all, how often to you get to ballroom dance outside of a ballroom? But is the Maverick really the place? Also, there was a whole show-offy aspect to their dance that was really out of place. Everyone else was dancing just for the fun....it seemed like these two were dancing to show off. How do I presume to know that? Well, dancing cha-cha-cha to a blues dance doesn't make much sense, does it? I get the showing off thing, and if you hear music and you just want to dance and the only dance you can dance is cha-cha-cha, well, ok, but how about asking someone to teach you a two-step, if you're such hot shit? Ugh. Sorry. I know and love some ballroom dancers, but in this case, ew.
5. If I'm going to go dancing at the Maverick again, I seriously need to invest in some cowboy boots and some daisy dukes. A sparkly belt probably wouldn't hurt either.
6. Next time I go dancing at the Maverick, you should come too!
*well, the Maverick offers dance classes, but they're a series that you really invest in, rather than just showing up to a dance and learning from a lesson before it.
No comments:
Post a Comment