the San Jose Jazz Festival 2008 is here, and opening on the Mainstage on Friday night was one of my all time favourite swing bands: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Their biggest radio hit was "You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3," and they are just as good today as they were when I last saw them 9 years ago. (yikes, college was 9 years ago). They're getting ready to put out their 7th studio album and tested a few songs they've been playing on the road. They are a band that is very tight and together, and just puts on an impeccable performance. It's not all that often that you see a live band, outside, sound as good if not better than the mixed studio recordings. L and I danced for 75-80% of the songs, despite the limited space near the stage. We haven't been swing dancing in a very long time and I forget how good he is. Our vocabulary is a little limited b/c of the lack of other dancers to learn from, but we've still got a great tension and synch with each other well. There really is no feeling in the world like the one you get when you're working on several, fast, successive turns and your partner can stop you on a dime and take you into a dip, lean, or other flourish. I got to the concert tired and a little grumpy, weighed down by a migraine and a dose of Maxalt that hadn't kicked in. I left feeling more energized and full of joy than I have in a long time. Now that there is no D&D on Wednesday night, my not so secret hope is that I can grab L and Beetlegirl and we can cut a rug down at the Palomar. I've missed swing dancing, but I had forgotten how wonderful it really makes me feel until Friday night.
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