December, 1999 Reviews
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Last Month of the Millenium



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Review of Dance Events During December, 1999

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DANCE REVIEWS






Wednesday December 1, 1999

94th Aero Squadron

I started the last month of the Millenium with a trip out to the 94th Aero squadron. This session was somewhat more lightly attended than the previous week's. ON the other hand, there was a whole lot more room to dance. Once again, Ray and Brian did a wonderful job with the music. At $3, this venue is hard to beat! Check it out!

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Thursday December 2, 1999

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Friday December 3, 1999

Honky Tonk Confidential at Cowboy Cafe

I had such a great time at the Cowboy Cafe a few weeks ago that I decided to check out another Rockablilly band there. This evening, the ubiquitous Diana Quinn appeared with Honky Tonk Confidential. I was very surprised to see how much equipment (Drums, bass, pedal steel, two guitars...) that they packed onto the extremely small stage. The band plays a wide range of material from the Rockabilly period --- they were at their most danceable when they played thyeir Elvis set.

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Saturday December 4, 1999

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Sunday December 5, 1999

Devoney Holiday Party

Steve Devoney and Sue Fedor held their annual Rat Pack Holiday party. The whole gang showed up in 1960s finery and spent the afternoon chowing down and dancing. It really is wonderful that Steve and Sue open their doors to the Lindy community every year for this party. Lots of great vintage was in evidence!

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Monday December 6, 1999

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Tuesday December 7, 1999

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Wednesday December 8, 1999

94th Aero Squadron

I made my second vist to Ray and Brian's new venue out in College Park. The crowd was just a little light, but that just gave a whole lot more room to dance to the great music. A whole lot of fun --- consider spending a Wednesday night here.

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Thursday December 9, 1999

The Delegates at Felix

In an unusual move, the management at Felix scheduled the Delegates to play. After their spectacular appearance at Nicks back in November, I was ready to boogie. Alas, when I got there, the scheduled strating time had been moved from 9:00 to 11:00. Not the best state of affairs on a "school night".

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Friday December 10, 1999

Swing Speak at APTD

Swing Speak put on a fantastic three sets at APTD tonight. There was a fairly large crowd of enthusiastic dancers who seemed to enjoy the music very much. Jenny Manlove and Mike Dugan gave a very nice lesson and later got the gang together for both Shim Sham and Jitterbug Stroll. A very nice evening.

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Saturday December 11, 1999

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Sunday December 12, 1999

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Monday December 13, 1999

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Tuesday December 14, 1999

Old Timers Night at Vienna Grille

The once a month reunion of the "Old Timers" seems to be a very big success. This evening marked the return of Beverley Bixler and Carol Behm --- two very nice people that I have not seen in a long time. Doug played a whole lot of interesting music and it seemed like everone had a very good time.

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Wednesday December 15, 1999

Aero Squadron

I checked out the Aero Squadron one more time and found that the crowd was a bit larger than the week before. Mike Henry and Chris Bamberger taught a very nice short lesson and by 9:30, the crowd had grown considerably --- the evening turned out to be a whole lot of fun. This is a good bet!

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Thursday December 16, 1999

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Friday December 17, 1999

Air Mail Special at APTD

WOW! What a great sound. Air Mail Special is just fantastic --- it truly is like an evening with the Goodman sextet. Tonight got off to an interesting start when Charlie Allen explained the Vibraphone to a group of us. So, for the benefit of our readers, here goes:

  • A Xylophone, in addition to being everyone's favorite "X" word is simply based on vibrating wood strips (The Greek word xylos means "wood" and phonos means "sound" --- get it "Wood Sound"? ) So, the xylophone just has strips of wood that vibrate when hit with a mallet and make a sound. The sound is small, and has no overtones to give it richness.
  • A Marimba is the next stage of development --- tubes are placed underneath the wood bars of the xylophone. When the wood strips vibrate, the air inside the tube also bibrates, creating overtones and a richer sound.
  • A Vibraphone goes one step further -- a rotating valve is placed inside the tubes to add the effect of reverberation. The "flutter valve" or "butterfly valve" works sort of like the carburetor in an automobile, controlling the amount of air in thetube. The musician has a pedal to control the speed of the valve which allows a wide range of tone sounds.

So, my hat is off to Charlie Allen who plays Vibraphone for Air Mail Special --- this is a complex instrument that adds so much to swing music. Charlie really brings back the sound of Lionel Hampton, particularly on "Flying Home". There are only three or four musicians in the Washington area that play swing vibraphone, so Air Mail Special is worth seeing just for the rarity factor.

Bruce katsu on Guitar is a very serious student of Charlie Christian, the standout of the Goodman Sextet. If you don't know, prior to Charlie Christian, the guitar was largely a rhythm instrument, chording along to the beat. Prior to Goodman's discovery of Charlie Christian, you can count on your fingers the number of big band songs with a guitar solo ("Shout and Feel It" comes to mind) Mr. Christian elevated the guitar to a featured solo instrument, and along with Les Paul, set the stage for the advent of Rock and Roll

Finally, Seth Kibel added a spectacular performance on Clarinet. If you don't know, Seth also leads the Washington Klezmer Orchestra and is the featured clarinetist with the Tom Cunningham Orchestra. Someone has said that you have to understand Klezmer to fully understand Benny Goodman. (If you don't know, Klezmer is an Eastern European musical tradition that features improvisation and lively rhythms) The influence of Klezmer in Goodman's work is best heard in "When the Angels Sing" in which both Goodman and Ziggy Ellman take extensive pure Klezmer breaks. Also, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" is, in fact, a Klezmer tune wearing an overcoat of traditional swing

Finally, Lance LeBeau (of the Flea Bops) and Milt Pape are vey busy in the background, recreating (respectively) the roles of Gene Krupa and Harry Goodman on Drums and Bass.

Air Mail Special is the biggest bargain in the family budget

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Saturday December 18, 1999

Doc Scantlin in Frederick

The whole gang got dressed up and headed out to Frederick for the annual "Home for the Holidays" dance. This is one of the few times that you can see Doc Scantlin and the Imperial Palms Orchestra out in public, and it is my policy to never miss an opportunity to see the good Doctor. This event sells out very quickly and the city of Frederick doesn't make it easy for non- residents to get tickets. My hat is off to John McCalla for finding me the tickets --- thaks, Psychoboy!!!

After the traditional pre-dance meal at Jennifer's --- in which the vintage-clad dancers drive the wait staff crazy --- the folks headed up to the old Armory on Bentz Street to begin the festivities.

Everyone had a whole lot of fun both dancing and participating in the hi-jinks and shenannigans associated with Doc's show. Deb Brooks, Sue Devoney, and Lisa Schwartz (among others) joined the chorus for "The Mooche" while I got tapped to blow bubbles at Chou Chou during her rendition of "La Vie en Rose" --- I couldn't get a single bubble to come out of the gizmo. However, later, I got a chance to redeem myself by doing a Tango with the lovely Chou Chou.

A great time!

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Sunday December 19, 1999

Swing Speak at BCC

John McCalla booked the Swing Speak Trio for a great Sunday evening at the BCC Rescue Squad station of Battery Lane in Bethesda. There was a great crowd who kept right on dancing right up to the bitter end. The crowd included some holiday vistors from both Seattle and New York. The Sunday night dance gig at BCC is really worth attending!

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Monday December 20, 1999

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Tuesday December 21, 1999

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Wednesday December 22, 1999

Vienna Grille

I had a great time visiting Donna Barker's Jitterbug session at Vienna Grille. There was a very nice crowd of folks on hand and I got to chat with Ray keaney, who I haven't seen for a while.

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Thursday December 23, 1999

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Friday December 24, 1999

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Saturday December 25, 1999

Evening with the Devoneys

Steve and Sue Devoney threw open their house for the dance community. Their warmth and cheer made up for the absence of a dance at a regular Lindy Venue. Oh yes, it was Christmas, by the way...

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Sunday December 26, 1999

BCC

I checked out the BCC scene again. Since there was no band, the crowd was a bit light, but I managed to find a lot of very nice ladies to dance with. This is still a good bet!

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Monday December 27, 1999

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