Catch Up

They say that as you get older time gets away from you. Summer blends into fall and winter runs into spring and the year gets away from you before you've got the hang of it. I'd like to blame my lack of activity on the whirling calendar but that'd be disingenuous. There are tons of excuses for why I'm only just getting to writing about Halloween with November ripening into December, but I won't bore you with them. Instead, I'll focus on rectifying the situation.

As you know, we did the traditional Halloween Ball at St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom and it lived up to the raucous reputation it earned with us the first year we attended. There was rock and roll, there was drink, there were transvestites, and a good time was had by all including my in-laws. You've got to give it to a pair of octogenarians who are willing to brave East St. Louis on All Hallows Eve in a neighborhood like the one that the Casa Loma has matured into. They got out on the dance floor and shanked out a few WCS's before getting beaten back by the drunken revelers. I hope I'm doing the same at eighty but my inner crotchety old man tells me I'm more likely to be sitting with the wallflowers shaking my cane at the 'young hooligans' on the dance floor.

In spite of having a good time I believe we've decided to sample the Halloween revels at another venue in 2011. The Loma is a fantastic venue and it has an unparalleled pedigree but two years of ear-splittingly loud bands and beer-baptisms have taken their toll on our desire to dance there. This year the crowd was decidedly bawdier (one partier showed up dressed as a penis) and though it might be in my head there also seemed to be a lot more drunken foolery. I'm all for getting tight on occasion but when those getting wasted are also trying to dance, well…

So, in 2011 we're weighing our options. Maybe we'll decide on the Wilmington Ballroom outside Chicago with its haunted highway - remember all those stories about the lady in white hitching a ride by Resurrection Cemetery? Well, they originate from the Wilmington area, perfect for Halloween don't you think?

Finally...

Finally the Halloween pictures re uploaded and ready for your viewing pleasure (though I have to say, it seems like if they're Halloween pictures they ought to be there for your viewing horror…). One week, two parties, and about 400 miles later Kelly and I have attended both the Indy Dancers costume party at the East Side Moose Club and the Casa Loma Halloween Masquerade party. Both were great and now it's kind of good to settle back and relax into a pre-tryptophan stupor while we rest up for the big three: Thanksgiving, Yule, and New Years.

St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom is a fantastic place to dance. The floor's in great condition, the bands are good (if a bit loud), and the crowd is diverse. This year, though, that crowd was a little thinner than in 2008. I don't know if it's due to the economy or the fact that the party fell on Halloween night and parents had to tour their kids around - whatever the case, the balconies stayed empty all night long and the dance floor was noticeably emptier. Most of the time I'm all for a bit of elbow room on the dance floor but not when It makes me worry over a storied ballroom's future. Maybe I'm being alarmist - I hope I am - but only time will tell. I guess I shouldn't bust the post-Halloween sugar high with my concerns. Better to savor the moment for none of us have control over the future.

I always knew that the Electric Slide was the devil's dance. There's something satanic about it - okay, maybe not satanic but you know. I've never been good at following rules so I guess I'll never be any good at doing line dances.



This is either the Macarena or a group of NFL referees practicing the signal for a good fieldgoal attempt. Isn't the Macarena the perfect dance for a mime? All those hand motions? Well, maybe not since this mime doesn't seem to be keeping up with the crowd.


Perpetual motion - if you could bottle this kind of energy we won't need coal gasification, wind turbines, or solar power. The nation could be powered by DANCE POWER! Oh, notice the shiny, oil slick looking to the right? It isn't a party until a guy dressed as a sheik slings MGD all over the dance floor and then has to be led off by his rather embarrassed looking spouse.


My favorite costumes of the night. They didn't take home first place in the costume contest - they lost to the entire cast of Carrie - people just go for a psychotic, psychic chick drenched in pig blood, I guess.

Casa Loma Ballroom Halloween 2009

On the way to St. Louis Gary and I discussed looking to another venue for Halloween 2010. We loved dancing at Casa Loma last year, but St. Louis is a long drive, and, it’s expensive to stay near the ballroom, at least, if you want a neighborhood that’s safe.

But it’s hard to imagine having a better time. Gary and I had a fabulous, magical evening at the fabled ballroom; we danced until I almost collapsed. Literally. My legs stopped working. We had to quit in the middle of a fast medley, but that was OK. To say that I couldn’t possibly do one more dance was the best feeling ever.

The band, That 80’s Band, was, if a bit too loud, very good. They played 80’s music. Naturally. So we got Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Cher, Joan Jett…all the icons of the 80’s. Good dance music for swing and a few rumbas. It was fun, being Halloween and all, dancing to Thriller, Ghost Busters, and Werewolves of London.

The costumes were wonderful, from the sublime (a jellyfish), to the hilarious (the ENTIRE cast of Carrie…they won), to the er, questionable. You know the expression “her headlights were on?” Well, first imagine a woman in a tight top. Her headlights were ON, shining brightly through the thin material. Funny. We were garbed in Star Trek attire; Gary in a red shirt and me in a red dress. We had regulation pins and bags that looked like tricorders. I even found a pair of black stage boots (Sansha brand) that although were not as comfortable as my dance sneakers were fine for one evening after I put a couple of shoe inserts into them.

The crowd was its weird normal self. We saw some truly expert club dancers (hoping to steal some of their moves), free form expression (aka hopping up and down and having a blast), and of course, the annual beer baptism which luckily occurred when we were sitting down.

I feel freer there than anyplace else. I think it’s a combination of Halloween magic, the historic venue, and the costumes. Is that 20’s era flapper woman sitting next to me in reality a ghost from times past? Or is she even a she at all? We sat next to a table of cross dressers. :-)

You just never know on Halloween. And that’s the beauty of the holiday. Sigh. I wish it wasn’t over.

Here’s a video of Ella Fitzgerald performing one of her favorites. The band she’s singing with, Chick Webb and his Orchestra, gave Ella her start…at the Casa Loma Ballroom. Enjoy.

Casa Loma, Haloween 2009

Four days until Halloween and our departure for St. Louis, MO and the Casa Loma Ballroom. It's been a year since our last trip and I'm anxious to hit St. Louis' hallowed hardwood again. The thought brings me back to imagining all the dancers who've preceded me and all the nights they spent at the Casa Loma. My mind jumps back to 1927 when the ballroom first opened. The first band playing the Loma was The Bobby Greer Orchestra directed by Ernie Harzy with vocalist Miss Lee Hale. I did a brief Google and it appears the years have nearly erased all evidence of the Greer Orchestra. I'll try to look more, but there's something appealing about the mystery remaining. Maybe the Greer Orchestra was just one of a thousand bands playing one of a thousand venues back in '27. The market was riding high, thoughts of another world war were far away, and on a Saturday in September the musicians warmed up and set the place in motion. Love was found, lost, remembered, forgotten, and dreamed of that evening – and eighty two years later not a soul survives to tell the tale. Nobody can tell you if the dance floor still had the stickiness of fresh wax on sueded shoe souls. Nobody can tell you if the bathrooms smelled like fresh paint. Nobody can even say if the band was on key. All those memories and moments, the ephemera that make up life, have vanished into the ether.

I'll try to remember the past when I get out on the Loma's storied floor. I'll try to be just reverent enough – to appreciate, in spite of all the little irritations that often come with any dance, just how special it is to be able to share a dance floor with over eight decades of history. I'll try to show good courtesy to the ghosts of dancers past and to love the place as they might have when they were young and hopeful. I think the best way to honor all those people who've danced before me would be to do as they did: put on my shoes, take my best girl's hand, and dance until fatigue and time compel us to depart into the chill of an October night.

Here's to you, Greer Orchestra. Time may have forgotten the tune and tempo but the beat goes on in a hundred thousand hearts.

Tickets...Finally

Judging from our grim blog banner, it's that time of year again. Bleak, slate skies and chilly winds bear the tidings of All Hallows Eve and soon we'll be carving pumpkins and looking forward to snow. For Kelly and I, Halloween means the big costume ball at St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom. Nothing like shagging the night away with a few hundred kindred freaks of the night. This year it's Trek gear – or at least a good approximation. Thing is, you can't dance in anything too elaborate. Well, at least you can't swing or rockabilly dance.

Over the past month we've been trying to reserve our tickets. We dance early and often so we like to be near the floor where we can catch the best tunes and that means getting a seat as early as possible. Well, I have a tip for all those of you who are interested in getting early tickets to the Casa Loma's Halloween party: don't bother calling the box office, go straight to email. I left three messages with the automated reservation system and got no response (at lest I hope there aren't six tickets waiting for me at will-call on the 31st). We sent one email and got a reply the same day with information on what to do to get tickets. I strongly recommend all my ghost friends stick to electronic communications – at least this year.

From an email we received Monday, October 5 the Casa Loma tickets have come back from the printer. Not a moment too soon! We've nearly reached the witching hour!

Published!

Just a short note this morning to let all of you know that one of my pictures has been published! I'm no photographer - a fact that I'm sure you're aware of if you've seen some of the snaps of venues I've posted. Well, yesterday I got notice that a picture of the Casa Loma Ballroom that I took last October had been selected for use in the Schmap, St. Louis City Guide! Not a paying gig but the honor is enough. I've attached the widget to our blog and when you hover over the Casa Loma just think, Kelly and I are standing in the parking lot opposite the façade with me hanging out the door of my beat-up old car to take a quick picture before we headed back to the hotel to change for that night's dance!

Fountain Square and Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band

First, hey Fountain Square venue bookers…that’s TERRY not JERRY. I’m hoping Terry was flattered. Terry plays in that style, but he is his own person and writes his own stuff. He’s fabulous in his own right.

Seeing Terry again was wonderful, and Gary and I had a good time. Not great. And that wasn’t because of Terry, that was because of the mostly teen crowd. Don’t get me wrong, I love being around young people. And I’m glad there is a new generation of dancers. I also remember what it was like to be 17…wanting so much to catch some young man’s eye, afraid that I wouldn’t, so insecure I did some really dumb stuff worse than what anybody did at FS. Anyway. I understand that for many who come to Fountain Square it is less about the dancing and the music and more for social reasons. Teens don’t have many places to go and FS is a very cool venue.

I get it. I really do. Saying that, the throngs of giggling girls blocking the floor, the wild flailing of some young men trying to impress said girls, and general lack of floor craft makes dancing hard.

Which got me thinking about the Casa Loma last year and why I enjoyed it so much. The crowd was a mixture of young, old, and middle aged. Different ethnicities and orientations were represented. Various levels of dancing know how. The energy was wide and deep; enough young people to make it exciting and free, some older folks to keep it grounded, fabulous dancers to watch, non dancers hopping around to make it fun, transvestites to add flare, and enough latin and funk to liven up what can be white man boring. I might also add the ‘Loma is much bigger than Fountain Square, which also helps.

And so while visiting a teen hang out, going with my parents to a senior night, or attending a ballroom event are great, my favorite places are diverse in every way. I hope Terry and his band had fun. People certainly were dancing. But I noticed a table full of middle aged ladies who left soon after the show began. I had heard them earlier laughing in the ladies room about twisting the night away. They seemed like big fans. I don’t think they got to dance. Sad.
I could SO see Terry at the Casa Loma. Other Rockabilly bands play there. Maybe he’d also consider another dance at High Bridge, KY. Or more appearances at Mike’s Dance Barn. Or the Willowbrook near Chicago, rockabilly bands are there as well. Or with the Rockabilly festival here in Indy in June… they have it every year.

BOO!!!

I love Halloween. I love the weather, the spookiness, and the permission to wear anything I want. I feel sorry for people who have linked this enchanted holiday to bad stuff. It wasn't always like that. Take a look at some of the pictures from Halloween parties and dances in the '20's. Or the sweet decorations from the '50s. Maybe those who have such a vendetta against Halloween should take a good look at themselves instead. Especially after the election results, woohoo.

OK. I'm done now.

Gary and I decided this year to spend our anniversary dancing. Yes, we married on October 31st. We took a quick trip to St. Louis and the Casa Loma ballroom. As usual, my husband described the event so perfectly I won't rehash, just a few words on how wonderful it is to be with what I think of as "my people", individuals of all ages, ethnicity, and orientation blending and having a blast.

My favorite moments? Giggling with a cross dresser over my corset (he liked it), seeing a dead ringer Sarah Palin get booed and watching her slapping her butt in response, and a middle aged man winning the costume contest with a Mr. Bubbles look...it is something to see check out the website.

So was thinking about Halloween and dancing, and realized for me there was a connection. When you are dressed as a pirate you simply cannot think about any worries you may have. When you are dancing, you MUST be right there or you will mess up. This is especially good for me, because I am usually not an in the moment person, I am a planner, an oh-no-what-about-that, or an oh-dear-this-is-coming-up kind of gal.

Dressing up in a silly costume keeps me grounded, helps me enjoy the here and now. The past is the past. The future may not be at all what you are planning for or worrying about. I'm trying to be more present oriented, because really, that is all you can be sure of. Might as well enjoy it!

Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish painting the bathroom, because we are having a party in the next few weeks and I have SO MUCH TO DO.

Halloween at the Casa Loma Ballroom, St. Louis

A belated Happy Halloween to all you ghouls out there in swing land! Halloween is my favorite holiday - maybe it’s the fond memory of sugar highs past or maybe it's because it's the only time of the year that scaring the hell out of people is expected, whatever the case I like the holiday enough that my wife and I were married on October 31st. This year we headed southwest to St. Louis for a Halloween ball at the storied Casa Loma ballroom. The original Casa Loma was built in 1927 and it wasn't received with much fanfare - in fact it nearly went bust until better management took the place over in '35. Maybe it just was bad luck. The market crashed in October of 1929 and there aren't too many two year old businesses that are ready to withstand a major financial collapse - thing is, when the Loma took off again the depression hadn't lifted so maybe it's just a case of the right hand being on the tiller.

The sad part is in 1940 the Casa Loma ballroom burned down - from the pictures the place was a total loss. I'm still looking for details on how and where the fire started but it apparently consumed a fair portion of downtown St. Louis since a local church also was destroyed and if I'm correct (from what we saw this weekend) that church is five or six blocks away from the ballroom itself. Luckily the ballroom was rebuilt but much of its 20's era glory was lost and the new façade is plain, unornamented brick with a small sign indicating what lies within.

We arrived at the Sheraton St. Louis in the early afternoon and I have to recommend the rooms there. Doubtlessly the bed in our room was the best hotel bed I've ever slept in and that includes a stay at the DuPont in Maryland. I can't recommend the room service, though - at least not unless you're willing to sell a kidney. For a sandwich, fries, and a salad (no drinks) we were socked for over $40. Damn that stings! You'd think the food came out of a Middle Eastern well!

If you travel to the Casa Loma I might remark that the neighborhood surrounding it is - interesting. Interesting in the same way that a visit to the East Bank is interesting. Don't stray from the beaten path, stay in the well-lit areas, oh and isn't it interesting that there are armed guards everywhere? We didn't linger to take in the street life, though - I can't say I want to hang out too long when I'm dressed as a pirate complete with bandana and eye patch. That's just asking for trouble, isn't it?

By seven thirty we were ensconced at our floor-side table and we'd changed into our swing shoes and damn did they get a workout. Sh-boom was the band, a pretty good '50's outfit who could use an equally decent soundman to keep their decibel level somewhere below that of the Concord. In fact that'd be my only complaint for the entire evening (and if you know me, you know I like to complain!) - they say if it's too loud you're too old but when the sound ceases to be music and starts to be some weird kind of distorted rattle to a beat, something ain't right!

Still we danced - and danced - and danced until we were dripping with sweat and beaten. The crowd was fantastic - alive and fun and so diverse. I love Indy and I treasure the opportunities I get to attend ballroom dances at the Indiana Roof - but damn do I wish there was a venue like the Loma here in town. Everything from college-age kids to hoochie-mamas to cross dressers with a liberal sprinkling of booze and rock-n-roll and you got one hot night. My favorite moments of the night were watching the cross dressers dance, seeing someone dressed as Sara Palin actually booed (hey, it's not fair if you're mocking a buffoon to get the ridicule they deserve!), and slow dancing with my lovely wife just so we could catch our breath for the next swing tune.

Oh, and apparently we dodged the camera man who took pictures of the evening. We must be like the bigfoot couple or something - there's little photographic evidence of our existence other than a blurry shot from a distance that might just be a pair of trees dressed as pirates. I'm not saying we don't exist, I'm just saying you couldn't prove it by this picture! Definitely give the whole deck a scan, though - some great pictures there! I'll do my darndest to get a slide show of our pictures posted too - I have to admit they're nowhere as good as the ones the Loma's photographer took...then again, he is a photographer!

We stumbled back to our room and finally hit the sheets sometime after one in the morning - then it was back to Indy in time for a very tired day of work today. But damn it was a good kind of tired!