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Dear Nervous Dancers,

10 Comments

I’ve noticed several of you coming very close to dancing at our shows lately. This is good! We’ve always been a dance band. When we were in France recently, and were not linguistically proficient enough to say “We are a dance band” en francais , there were quite a few people who were actually dancing. Just because the music compelled them to. (Or maybe because there was not a culture compelling them not to.) (I’m just sayin’.) So, don’t worry! I know that there are some unfamiliar rhythms in our music. And some starts and stops. But these tendencies needn’t be obstacles toward movement. Don’t overthink it: There’s almost always a groove present to allow your nervous system the field day it so desperately craves. And don’t worry about “getting burned” by the brief breaks which sometimes occur: Silence is a beautiful thing to dance to.

10 thoughts on “Dear Nervous Dancers,”

  1. Whenever I have an inclination to dance at a show in Chicago, rock or otherwise, I often feel a cold, judgmental, unspoken aura magically emanating from the environment. However, if I go to dance or bounce around to a decent band in a smalltown/rural area, I mostly get ignored by most and tolerably snickered at by a few. Strange how culture works. Sometimes the “closedminded” culture can be a little less stiff than a city with a million people and ideas bouncing around. That’s not to criticize too heavily the people of Chicago, I do enjoy their no-nonsense approach to music watching as well. But a friend of mine went to Chicago to see the B-52’s of all bands (!) and felt like he had burnt and shit on the Bible, the American Flag, AND a hundred dollar bill the way people were staring at him when he danced!! Not that everyone must dance, but to judge someone’s enjoyment like seems quite backwards to me at a music show. It feels GREAT to not be afraid, really really great!

  3. Nice dancing on the link
    …By one of you
    … From your t.v. Show
    …42 years ago

    I’d like to see any of you dance to your music at one of your shows (or anyone else’s for that matter). Show us how it’s done if you love dancing so much.

    … “(just sayin)”

    1. Awwwww… Flattery will get you further than you think you’ve gotten! That TV show was actually from 142 years ago. And I still dance all the time. While playing the drums. Not bad for a 172-year-old, eh?

      1. Well I guess if you can proclaim yourselves a dance band, then you can declare your drumming dancing. Maybe the entire audience IS dancing at your shows. Maybe standing in one spot and periodically shifting my weight means I’m dancing too. What about that time I really busted a move and walked to the bar to get a drink? Lookit me I’m John fucking Travolta!

        1. Well, I’ve always enjoyed YOUR dancing onstage with us, Mr. Slipbeat (particularly during our Progday performance a few years ago). And the great majority of the current lineup have been known to do a little dancing “around town:” Andrea is a stellar dancer. As is Carmen. Even Alex has been known to cut a rug. Jeff? Yeah, there’s proof of his dancing “skills” out there, but I don’t wish to direct the general public toward that documentation just yet. (Is the world really ready for the modern dance equivalent to “Camp O’ Physique?”) Admittedly, I do oftentimes suffer from inhibition of movement, which undoubtedly stems from residual grammar school trauma, but I have “gotten over it” on occasion. Either way, my NEED to get over it doesn’t contradict my original point, but indeed underlines it: A lot more fun can be had when one allows oneself to ignore or circumvent cultural stodginess by going ahead and busting a move or two.

  4. I’VE DANCED AT EVERY CHEER-ACCIDENT SHOW SO FAR….THAT MADE ME FEEL REALLY GOOD!

  5. Can’t we just have a show where everyone puts down their instruments, someone presses play on the boombox and you all dance through the room? oh, now that I’ve gone and said it I think I’m pretty sure I remember that happening before.

  6. I was at a show last night in Lafayette, Indiana (The Fergus Daly Band), and my common-law sister-in-law, Brenda (Ferg’s better half), told her friend Miriam (they take clogging classes together every Tuesday at the community center while I look after Fergus and Brenda’s three year-old daughter [also my niece], Fionulla) that I am a “great dancer”. I was flattered. Then she assured me that “comedy can be considered an important facet of dancing”. Funny thing is, though I fully intended to dance, I forgot to. Still, I had a really nice time.

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