Medford sings the Blues

Finally made it out to this virtually legendary monthly event called Blues Cafe.

Admittedly, I didn't know what to expect. I'd seen tasteful flyers, and heard good things about the night, good things about the venue, good things about the turnout... but, well, y'know, people tend to overexaggerate their own or favorite nights (hell, just talk to any ex-Defmatch'er). It's kind of like the "I'm in a band" syndrome; it's never good and they've never released an album - because otherwise you'd have been asking to meet -them- instead of the other way around.

And then there's the 'monthly' thing. This isn't meant as a critique of this particular event, but having a -monthly- night in the nightclub scene is a sure sign that you're a bunch of amateurs, or that your night is failing, or that you don't have enough cred to convince a club to take a leap of faith for you and block off a bunch of saturday nights for you. I always cringe when someone tells me they have a monthly night - it makes it so, so much harder to promote and retain people, especially in a larger urban area like Boston. Sometimes that's what you're given tho - and in fairness, sometimes for "special" events, monthly schedules are far more appropriate.

But... wow. I was truly impressed. Stunningly nice venue designed specifically for dance with a great stage complete with pro lighting and solid PA... plus great acoustics for a school cafeteria-sized room. Despite being told that attendance was slim, I felt they had a proper-sized crowd for event and certainly everyone came dressed to respect that the night was a special occasion (hell, even I rocked a hot new outfit; a black blazer, white shirt, newly fitting jeans, and my fedora). This was clearly a night that I would be proud to endorse to my friends - even those just considering an intro to the scene.

And the band was terrific. I question nearly every time I see Shawn Hershey do *anything* at all if he sucks at anything. At all. The guy is a tremendous dancer, a really nice, genuine guy with a solid sense of humor... and he apparently is also a really solid trumpet player as well?? It could be said that my only critique of the night was that I might've wanted to just sit and watch the band rather than have to pay attention to dance. And Alex - who I'd literally JUST asked "Why haven't you and Shawn ever played together?" was invited up to play along and kicked out a totally rockin' ragtime piano performance with them, which was just a ton of fun to dance along with.

I did have a great dance or two that night to some of the more fun music I've had a chance to hear, though I've been working a ton lately and sadly, dance (and practice) has fallen to the wayside. Hopefully the next few months bring more available personal time... because my 8, no 7, count has been slipping, badly. I'm propping myself up on too few moves, and everything-but-especially my basic swingout is suffering from lack of practice, which means it's time to figure out if I want to succeed at this swing dance thing or not.

Time will tell...