Halloween at the Secret Society
I love inviting people to The Secret Society Ballroom. It's always a little awkward. I tell them, "it's a cool place, built from an old legion hall, it's up a huge flight of stairs, way back at the back of the building through two sets of doors". I can tell they think I'm going to go on. "Go past the little old lady with the eye patch, but make sure you slip her a fiver for her troubles." (It's not actually a Secret Society)
Just as you wind around the last corner you get a feeling that there can't be much building left. How cool can this place be? Then you open a couple big doors and on the other side is a roomful of people dancing the Lindy, East Coast or Balboa. Everybody is dressed well, the music is evocative of "simpler times", and the red curtains and hardwood floors seal the deal. This is a classy place!
This Halloween, Smut City and the Midnight Serenaders were playing. The regulars were there but not in their usual numbers. And the floor was filled with new faces, many of whom seemed to be hopping out on the floor for the first time. You can see people trying out their new steps, and laughing a little when they inevitably get tripped up.
I was playing drums that night. Watching the dance floor move to the sounds I was making. When the crowd is new to dancing the floor tends to fill on the slower songs, especially the slow dances. These songs give the more reluctant dancers a chance to check in with their sweetie, have a nice slow dance to chat a little and connect before bouncing around to another partner for a less intimate but perhaps more exciting dance.
Playing music gives you a chance to people-watch that is unparalleled in much of the rest of life. Not only can you stare our at the audience with impunity but you have a bird's eye view from the stage. And sometimes you see things other people can't.
I looked out at the floor and saw a good friend of mine in a warm embrace with someone who was not his wife. Nothing extraordinary about that, but they seemed to have a rapport that was closer than one might expect from two folks just meeting. Yes, there was a warmness there indeed.
And, as luck would have it, about halfway through that slow dance my good friends' wife walks in, buys her ticket and then immediately notices the close couple. She leaned on the nearest table and watched half amused as the couple embraced each other in dance. Then, she moved slowly towards them, ducking behind people to stay out of site. It was hardly necessary, the couple was pretty wrapped up in each other.
From the stage, I was nervous that she might break it up halfway through. It seemed like she was ready to pounce. She came up behind the woman, tapped her on the shoulder, and waited for the response. The couple opened their eyes and looked. Huge smiles overtook them and they gave her a great big group hug. They held each other like that for the rest of the song.
When the next song started in, an upbeat number with a fiery tempo, the trio danced wildly, interchanging partners at will and at whim with a fluidity that was so smooth it seemed planned. It was wonderful to watch.
After the show, I asked my friend what that was all about. Turns out, the woman was his best friend from high school. He had introduced her to his wife years ago when they first met and she had promptly become his wife's good friend. They had known each other for years but their friend was living across the country. She had a business trip to Portland and surprised both of them by showing up at the Secret Society for the dance. It was lovely to watch that pure joy unfold!
If you spend enough time on stage with that perspective you will see some crazy stuff go down. Guaranteed. This time, we got lucky. It doesn't always go that way...
Just as you wind around the last corner you get a feeling that there can't be much building left. How cool can this place be? Then you open a couple big doors and on the other side is a roomful of people dancing the Lindy, East Coast or Balboa. Everybody is dressed well, the music is evocative of "simpler times", and the red curtains and hardwood floors seal the deal. This is a classy place!
This Halloween, Smut City and the Midnight Serenaders were playing. The regulars were there but not in their usual numbers. And the floor was filled with new faces, many of whom seemed to be hopping out on the floor for the first time. You can see people trying out their new steps, and laughing a little when they inevitably get tripped up.
I was playing drums that night. Watching the dance floor move to the sounds I was making. When the crowd is new to dancing the floor tends to fill on the slower songs, especially the slow dances. These songs give the more reluctant dancers a chance to check in with their sweetie, have a nice slow dance to chat a little and connect before bouncing around to another partner for a less intimate but perhaps more exciting dance.
Playing music gives you a chance to people-watch that is unparalleled in much of the rest of life. Not only can you stare our at the audience with impunity but you have a bird's eye view from the stage. And sometimes you see things other people can't.
I looked out at the floor and saw a good friend of mine in a warm embrace with someone who was not his wife. Nothing extraordinary about that, but they seemed to have a rapport that was closer than one might expect from two folks just meeting. Yes, there was a warmness there indeed.
And, as luck would have it, about halfway through that slow dance my good friends' wife walks in, buys her ticket and then immediately notices the close couple. She leaned on the nearest table and watched half amused as the couple embraced each other in dance. Then, she moved slowly towards them, ducking behind people to stay out of site. It was hardly necessary, the couple was pretty wrapped up in each other.
From the stage, I was nervous that she might break it up halfway through. It seemed like she was ready to pounce. She came up behind the woman, tapped her on the shoulder, and waited for the response. The couple opened their eyes and looked. Huge smiles overtook them and they gave her a great big group hug. They held each other like that for the rest of the song.
When the next song started in, an upbeat number with a fiery tempo, the trio danced wildly, interchanging partners at will and at whim with a fluidity that was so smooth it seemed planned. It was wonderful to watch.
After the show, I asked my friend what that was all about. Turns out, the woman was his best friend from high school. He had introduced her to his wife years ago when they first met and she had promptly become his wife's good friend. They had known each other for years but their friend was living across the country. She had a business trip to Portland and surprised both of them by showing up at the Secret Society for the dance. It was lovely to watch that pure joy unfold!
If you spend enough time on stage with that perspective you will see some crazy stuff go down. Guaranteed. This time, we got lucky. It doesn't always go that way...
RSS Feed
