It feels strange to blog about my own event, but here I am! "Tight Like This" went off without a hitch on Thursday night and despite copious amounts of stress and nervousness, I managed to have a great time at my own event. It was beautiful!
First off, I could not have asked for more amazing bands to have played the very first one. Baby Soda Jazz Band and Tin Pan Blues Band have both been friends of mine for two or three years now and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to hire them for the gig. As a surprise bonus, Jake Sanders of The Cangelosi Cards was playing with an incredible group of musicians in the restaurant part of the venue while "Tight Like This" was going in Cameo Gallery in the back. This coincidence created a great vibe all throughout the establishment. I've never seen so many incredible musicians in one place unless you count Mona's on a particularly busy night.
Baby Soda Jazz Band
Baby Soda got started around 9:30 and played two ridiculously beautiful sets. Many, many lindy-hoppers attended- far more than I'd imagined. I was surprised by the dancer turn-out and I feel very lucky to be part of such a supportive scene that appreciates great music. There was a feeling of something new and exciting happening and the energy on the dance floor was high. It was fun to DJ the set breaks because everyone was so high off the live music.
Tin Pan played the second half of the night. Tin Pan consistently blows my mind. They brought so much energy to the stage, to the dancers, to the non-dancing music appreciators, to everyone. During their first set there were many, many people there. When they took a break, though, several dancers left.
Tin Pan Blues Band
Now, even though the number of people in the room had greatly diminished, Tin Pan kept playing for half an hour longer than they were scheduled to. In fact, it ended up being constructive that so many lindy-hoppers left, because it gave the leftover civilians room to boogie down a little bit and brought the attention primarily to the music. Attention to the music paired with non-lindyhoppers boogie-ing down amongst themselves is part of the original vibe I had intended to create at "Tight Like This". I hope that more and more "non-dancers" make it out next time so that we can all dance together in an even more democratic fashion.
Words cannot express how thankful I am to Josh at The Lovin' Cup for hiring me to put on this event in Cameo Gallery. It is a wonderful opportunity to spread the early jazz love. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported not just myself, but Baby Soda Jazz Band and Tin Pan Blues Band, and by proxy all the early jazz bands in the city. The very first "Tight Like This" was an incredible night and it will just keep getting bigger and better. See you all next time!
