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Monster Big Band plays tonight at Ruta Maya... I think it starts at 7 p.m. We've had a great turnout the last couple of times. Come on down to S. Austin tonight and dance! $4 at the door.
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QUOTE(orbitkitty @ May 15 2005, 12:34 PM)
Monster Big Band plays tonight at Ruta Maya... I think it starts at 7 p.m. We've had a great turnout the last couple of times. Come on down to S. Austin tonight and dance! $4 at the door.
:D
Actually it was the Blue Diamond Orchestra, but a good time never the less. :)
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QUOTE(funkydrew @ May 16 2005, 01:43 AM)
yeah... it was a pretty good time thanks to the people who went...
unfortunately, I was really disappointed with the band... I really wished Monster Big Band played :(
yea, that was fun. the highlight was definate the "funk" song.. and seeing everyone bust their moves (or at least, try to bust a move). definate blackmail material. :)
and yes, i was a bit disappointed in the band. just wasn't up to snuff, i suppose.
the band just seemed to lack a lot of confidence... as a musician myself, it just feels like they couldn't put as much feeling in their music... like, the swing in the music was taken out... I could've tolerated the bad notes here and there, but they weren't able to really get the music going... "just playing notes off the page" as my piano teacher used to say...
they got a little better as the night went on... there was one saxophonist that was pretty cool... felt like he was the only one who really got into his solos...
the band just seemed to lack a lot of confidence... as a musician myself, it just feels like they couldn't put as much feeling in their music... like, the swing in the music was taken out... I could've tolerated the bad notes here and there, but they weren't able to really get the music going... "just playing notes off the page" as my piano teacher used to say...
they got a little better as the night went on... there was one saxophonist that was pretty cool... felt like he was the only one who really got into his solos...
aww that makes me sad. How was the guitar player?? He's Laura's uncle. I've seen him play at his house and he's pretty badass, but as of yet we've never gotten to see him play with the band. I think they usually play for ABD on some saturdays. He (Laura's uncle) keeps telling us when they're playing, but its usually during go dance or something.
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If anyone's interested in checking out Monster Big Band, they just sent out an email notice saying that they're playing tonight at the Elephant Room at 9:30pm. It's a free show.
I'm not sure when they're next Ruta Maya appearance will be though.
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QUOTE(GatorGal @ May 18 2005, 11:11 AM)
If anyone's interested in checking out Monster Big Band, they just sent out an email notice saying that they're playing tonight at the Elephant Room at 9:30pm. It's a free show.
I'm not sure when they're next Ruta Maya appearance will be though.
Tina B)
Note to those unfamilar with the event, there is not much dance room at the Elephant Room.
But, please go check them out, support Monster Big Band. I just wanted to add that in, since there are always new people checking in.
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QUOTE(Chichi @ Sep 23 2005, 08:58 AM)
*bump*
Monster will be playing this Sunday, Sept 25rd from 7-10pm.
www.monsterbigband.com
To be specific they'll be playing at Ruta Maya on south Congress tonight. And I know there are some Houston & NO evacuee dancers that are planning to come.
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One of my wcs friends from Houston stayed at my place this weekend and went to Ruta Maya last night. She was here by herself, and I was traveling for work... so she showed up there alone (she knows a little lindy), and she stayed for about an hour but didn't dance. She said the seats were all occupied, and she was a little nervous to ask people to dance because she doesn't feel very confident in lindy hop. Although she recognized a few people by face, they didn't recognize her or something because no one talked to her. To be fair, she is a little shy and I don't know if she tried to introduce herself to anyone or what... but still.
This makes me sad. :(
This post has been edited by orbitkitty: Sep 26 2005, 09:46 AM
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QUOTE(orbitkitty @ Sep 26 2005, 10:29 AM)
One of my wcs friends from Houston stayed at my place this weekend and went to Ruta Maya last night. She was here by herself, and I was traveling for work... so she showed up there alone (she knows a little lindy), and she stayed for about an hour but didn't dance. She said the seats were all occupied, and she was a little nervous to ask people to dance because she doesn't feel very confident in lindy hop. Although she recognized a few people by face, they didn't recognize her or something because no one talked to her. To be fair, she is a little shy and I don't know if she tried to introduce herself to anyone or what... but still.
This makes me sad. :(
It is not custom to ask too many of the non-dancer folks at Ruta Maya to dance, unless we are really short follows. I imagine that nobody knew she was a dancer. It is not like the Fed where everybody is assumed to be a dancer.
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yeah, I know... I feel really bad, though. If I had known that she was going (I didn't even know she was still in town nor staying at my house), I could have called some of y'all so you could have been looking for her. It's just an unfortunate situation... most of us have probably been in a situation like that at some point. It feels cruddy. I don't know that there would have been a way to fix it, particularly if she was too shy to ask anyone to dance directly. :(
most of us have probably been in a situation like that at some point. It feels cruddy. I don't know that there would have been a way to fix it, particularly if she was too shy to ask anyone to dance directly. :(
I can understand her perspective. For a lot of us shy folk, being in a situation where you don't know too many people just intensifies the shyness.
It's a good point that Erica's brought up. Sure it's not customary to ask the unknown dancers to dance, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen more. Its an age-old debate and I'm sorry for bringing it up again, but it really couldn't hurt the scene and its PR to do a little more personal outreach and to be a little kinder - to dancers and non-dancers.
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QUOTE(Chicklit @ Sep 26 2005, 12:15 PM)
QUOTE(orbitkitty @ Sep 26 2005, 11:11 AM)
most of us have probably been in a situation like that at some point. It feels cruddy. I don't know that there would have been a way to fix it, particularly if she was too shy to ask anyone to dance directly. :(
I can understand her perspective. For a lot of us shy folk, being in a situation where you don't know too many people just intensifies the shyness.
It's a good point that Erica's brought up. Sure it's not customary to ask the unknown dancers to dance, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen more. Its an age-old debate and I'm sorry for bringing it up again, but it really couldn't hurt the scene and its PR to do a little more personal outreach and to be a little kinder - to dancers and non-dancers.
At Ruta Maya, it is a catch 22.
- If we ask regular non dancer folks to dance, we often are turned down or we have to talk them into dancing. - When we do get dances, if the ratio of dancers is follow heavy or even, we look like jerks for avoiding ladies who want to dance.
In general, the only time I ask non-dancer at clubs to is when they give off strong vibes that they want to dance (i.e. they are always looking at the dancers, or the start conversation with dancers) or the ratio is very lead heavy.
I just really don't think it is fair to blame the leads at Ruta Maya for this. If anything we love to dance with new follows.
Sometimes, a follow has to show a little initiative, a lot of the leads are shy too. We leave ourselves open to rejection all the time.
Now, if more dancers would come to Ruta Maya, then non-dancers would get asked more. If dancers overwhelmed the venue, many of the non-dancers would be assumed to be dancers and get sucked it.
However, as long as a small groups shows up, the small group is going to dance amongst themselves for the most part.
The criticism from Erica and Shellie bothers me a little bit. I don't really know what we could do. Being more friendly at the Fed is one thing. But, at Ruta Maya/Antones/Continental Club there are other factors.
Nathan
This post has been edited by Nate Dogg: Sep 26 2005, 11:31 AM
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QUOTE(Chicklit @ Sep 26 2005, 01:15 PM)
QUOTE(orbitkitty @ Sep 26 2005, 11:11 AM)
most of us have probably been in a situation like that at some point. It feels cruddy. I don't know that there would have been a way to fix it, particularly if she was too shy to ask anyone to dance directly. :(
I can understand her perspective. For a lot of us shy folk, being in a situation where you don't know too many people just intensifies the shyness.
It's a good point that Erica's brought up. Sure it's not customary to ask the unknown dancers to dance, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen more. Its an age-old debate and I'm sorry for bringing it up again, but it really couldn't hurt the scene and its PR to do a little more personal outreach and to be a little kinder - to dancers and non-dancers.
This drives me CRAZY. Swing dancers aren't known for their boldness whether it's their first time or if they are "regulars". We are all shy to some extent, none of us are psychic, nor are we there to proselytize the non-dancing masses (well, we are to an extent but we don't go from table to table asking everyone to dance or handing out Syndicate business cards. That is waaay out of MY comfort zone).
In a mixed environment like Ruta Maya where someone could be perfectly happy sitting and listening to the music, it is unfair to expect a lead (or a follow) ask you to dance if s/he has no idea that you are a dancer.
Ruta Maya was a hodge podge of people last night, there were dancers from New Orleans and Houston and a lot of Austin dancers who came for the first time. There were lots of people who were there for the first time.
Like I posted on AustinSwing
QUOTE
If it's your first time at Ruta Maya, don't be afraid to ask another dancer to dance.
You can tell who the dancers are because at some point in the night you will see them dancing on the dance floor. It cuts the risk of getting rejected drastically if you introduce yourself to someone that you've already seen dance. It's kinda a catch-22 if you stay completely passive in the situation - you don't get asked to dance because you haven't danced and you haven't danced because you haven't been asked to dance. A different way to look at it is you haven't danced because you haven't asked anyone to dance.
If you come alone, please, please, please, ask someone to dance or go up to a follow if you find that less intimidating and introduce yourself. Just say hello to a follow or a lead and say "Hi. My name is <insert name here>. I'm a dancer and it my first time here." If you are with someone and you only dance with the person you came with, people will assume you are a couple and/or don't want to dance with anyone else (it's the same sitch if you are two girls or a guy and a girl).
If you say it's your first time there, more likely than not, someone will give you the low down on the event and introduce you to a potential dance partner. (So "regulars", if someone new comes up to you, please introduce them to at least one other person. However, remember you have no obligation to hold their hand/baby sit them for the entire night unless you really want to).
It starts with the newcomer saying something as simple as "Hi" to a dancer.
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QUOTE(YellowSchoolBus @ Sep 26 2005, 01:56 PM)
Ruta Maya was packed last night thanks to ACL and Rita. It was a blast. Kudos for everyone who came out! :)
I had a great time at Ruta Maya last night. The floor was packed during the first set which was awesome and I got to dance with folks I see there all the time, folks I haven't seen in forever and folks from out of town. The place wasn't as hot as I thought it was going to be given that it was 107 degrees outside.
Since I did a great job of leaving out info on both my posts here and on AustinSwing, here is the skinny.
Monster plays next at Ruta Maya Int'l Headquarters (3601 South Congress Avenue, by the Penn Field water tower, behind Expose) on October 9th from 7pm-10pm. Cover is only $4.
Music starts at 7pm sharp (barring technical difficulties) and ends at 10pm when Ruta Maya closes. The band takes a band bread at about 8:30pm and we play CDs kindly provided by our own Nathan Malone. Band responds well to tips and plays kick ass versions of Shiny Stockings, Moten Swing and In a Mellow Tone. The band is loud (18 pieces in a small space? Go figure). Some people wear ear plugs.
Floor is smooth concrete. Dancers generally congregate along the long wall away from the bar. The earlier you show up, the better a job we can do of creating a centralized dancer area so people don't have to sit far away from the core of dancers. Dancers are generally friendly (with the exception of a few snobby bad apples like myself who make it their aim to make newcomers cry) and respond to greetings like "Hi", "Hello", "Waaaazzzaaaap!!!" and "Wanna dance?". Big sweaty hugs are the norm. People are great about clapping for the band and do a great job of playing Musical Chairs between songs.
And for the love of all things holy, ask me to dance or to introduce you to someone. I'm the tall, sweaty (or is that "glowing") black chick with glasses, unruly hair and grey adidas shoes. I'm horrible with names, even with those of people I've known for years, but I'll mumble something unintelligible as I introduce you so the person will have to say their names themselves and we both learn something. :angel:
More information on the band and the venue can be found at www.monsterbigband.com and www.rutamaya.net respectively. Their next few gigs are listed on the Syndicate calender.
No, I am criticizing, and I'm sorry. I really don't mean to be harsh, I've just dealt with a little too much unkindness this week and it's making me grouchy.
I'm a little frustrated by the "it's not my problem" mentality when it comes to dancing. Yes, us shy folk have to take some initiative, but I'm amazed that every time one of these "dance outside your box" conversations comes up, people can so forcefully rally to the "its not my problem" defense. No, it isn't your problem and it isn't the shy person's problem either. We can sit here and bitch about who is the problem until we're blue in the face. Or each of us can think about when we were new and how awkward we felt and step outside our comfort zone and do something to solve it.
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QUOTE(Chicklit @ Sep 26 2005, 02:35 PM)
QUOTE(orbitkitty @ Sep 26 2005, 02:07 PM)
why is everybody so uptight?
Nobody's criticizing anyone here.
No, I am criticizing, and I'm sorry. I really don't mean to be harsh, I've just dealt with a little too much unkindness this week and it's making me grouchy.
I'm a little frustrated by the "it's not my problem" mentality when it comes to dancing. Yes, us shy folk have to take some initiative, but I'm amazed that every time one of these "dance outside your box" conversations comes up, people can so forcefully rally to the "its not my problem" defense. No, it isn't your problem and it isn't the shy person's problem either. We can sit here and bitch about who is the problem until we're blue in the face. Or each of us can think about when we were new and how awkward we felt and step outside our comfort zone and do something to solve it.
Exactly, what are the leads supposed to do about the problem? As a lead who asks a lot of new people to dance, I don't see how we could have helped Erica's friend. We are not mind readers. You response is written as if Ruta Maya regulars like me, Mike LaCroix, Martin, Matt Jones etc... don't have any interest in dancing with new people. As if we don't dance with people outside the circle when we see an opening to do so. Actually, we are very eager to do so. It is not a matter of leads not being able to relate to what it is like to be new. If the leads knew she was there, she would have gotten a lot of dances.
Erica's friend complained to her about nobody asking her to dance. In order to prevent that from happening, Erica's friend needs to be more proactive. Call it blaming her and not blaming the scene. But, she has to be accountable for herself and her situation (being a new dancer in a room full of dancers who don't know her). Short of the guy at the front handing out dancer name tags, we have no way of knowing that somebody wants to dance unless she gives us a clue (something subtle has bring dance shoes might do the trick).
A large portion of the Ruta Maya crowd has no interest in dancing, trust me, I have asked plenty of the ladies. Other leads can back me up on that. The place is filled with friends of the bands, the usual coffee shop crowd, etc..., some girls turn us down flat when we ask them to dance.
Who gets turned down for dances? Mostly us guys.
Nathan
This post has been edited by Nate Dogg: Sep 26 2005, 02:24 PM
I'm not specifying Ruta Maya leads, I'm talking to dancers in all situations. This topic comes up again and again whether at the Fed, at GoDance, at Ruta Maya, or where ever else. I find it frustrating and it came up in this thread about this event so I spoke up. But you're right. There's nothing we can do.
This post has been edited by Chicklit: Sep 26 2005, 02:29 PM
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QUOTE(orbitkitty)
One of my wcs friends from Houston stayed at my place this weekend and went to Ruta Maya last night. She was here by herself, and I was traveling for work... so she showed up there alone (she knows a little lindy), and she stayed for about an hour but didn't dance. She said the seats were all occupied, and she was a little nervous to ask people to dance because she doesn't feel very confident in lindy hop. Although she recognized a few people by face, they didn't recognize her or something because no one talked to her. To be fair, she is a little shy and I don't know if she tried to introduce herself to anyone or what... but still. This makes me sad.
QUOTE(orbitkitty @ Sep 26 2005, 02:07 PM)
why is everybody so uptight? Nobody's criticizing anyone here. I just wish she had had a better experience, and the point of the post was simply to state that fact. that's it. Everybody just calm down. jesus!
Erica, when you post a problem, especially a social problem like this one, people are going to react.
There was an implication in your posts that some of the leads should have asked her to dance. You also stated that she should have been less shy.
You gave us all the conditions for another round of the ole debate.
Just because you posted to let off steam, vent or whatever; that does not mean that everybody else is going to react that way.
This post has been edited by Nate Dogg: Sep 26 2005, 02:30 PM
Sundays with Monster Big Band!
May 15 2005, 10:34 AM
