[We'll] dance to anything

Anyone else remember the Dead Milkmen's Instant Club Hit? There's a little homemade video on YouTube with some bizarre and non-sensical-to-anyone-who-doesn't-know-the-maker visuals, but it does have the song, if you want to enjoy a little walk down Memory Lane with me (I'm looking at you, Chris and Dave). There are two YouTube videos, so if you want to hear the whole song, pick the one by lamers1111.

Moving right along, the reason for the title: It was quite an eclectic little dance weekend for us here. Friday night The Professor and I kicked things off by going to Viva Dance Studio for the monthly swing dance. I am embarrassed to say that Friday was my first visit to Viva, but it definitely won't be the last. Of course the marvelous Loreto and his wonderful DJ skills made for a delightful time, but my highlight was dancing with Eddie (sigh), and hey, neat, just realized he used to live in Philly. Anyhow, we had a lovely time, and I will definitely get my butt out there again next month. I even got some work done on a new crochet project in between dances.

Saturday evening we walked to a nearby church about a mile from our house for some contra dancing. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. It was a small crowd because of a competing special event in Oberlin, but we were actually glad to dip our toes in the water of a smaller pool. It was fun, but we left on the band break because we were tired from having spent the day working in the front yard, disposing of some shrubbery.

Before:



After:


Before anyone gets all but-they-were-so-pretty on me, that's about 100 sq ft of prime real estate freed up in our south-facing front yard for growing things we can eat. Plus, at a recent lecture about landscaping we attended, there was a woman complaining about some bushes or a hedge or something in her front yard that she had disliked since she moved into her home 20 years ago but had never bothered to take down. I already endured those bushes for almost 5 years, and I did not want to be her in another 15. They were even worse when I first moved in, before I bonsai-ed them. Here, have a look:


I did rip out the ivy on Week One at the advice of the home inspector. Nothing growing on the house, a pretty sensible rule. But still, I let the pine loaf remain until I had a better plan. Now The Professor is planning a series of little keyhole garden areas, and he's even started to build a path. I'll get some good photos of that soon and share them.

But back to the dancing! Last night was the cherry on top, we got to see Anti-Flag at the Agora. It wasn't so much a dance event, but the music was great as it always is when these guys take the stage. High energy, the crowd going wild; it is always such a joy to hear them rock out. And even though I haven't been to a show since the last time they came through town and played at the House of Blues, the familiar movements of hands thrust deep in pockets, elbows locked, swaying back and forth from left foot to right, the bobbing of the head in time to the music, all came back to me with ease. Alas, The Professor was not feeling it, and he did not join in even when #2 said "Everybody jump!" or "Raise your hands in the air!" He even remained motionless for the grand finale of Drink Drank Punk. I don't know how anyone could stand still during that song; I was almost ricocheting off our little back corner (I'm old enough to know I don't belong in the mosh pit anymore). And now that I've had time to listen to their new album, I'm definitely digging many of the songs, and it was great to hear them live. I think "Good and Ready" is my favorite, with the title track following close behind. But the whole album is great. If you haven't gotten a copy yet, what are you waiting for?

We (I) did have a brief moment of concern when we found out Justin hadn't put us on the list of people who could come backstage to say hi after the show, and I was worried I wouldn't get to give him the present I'd made him, but luckily that back corner we'd staked out was right near where Justin came to greet some other people after the show, and we caught his eye and got whisked down to the basement for a little visit. It was great to see him, though, and he liked the present. This post is getting too long already, so I'll post photos and a little write-up about that project later this week.

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend, too. I'm off this morning to visit my cousin and her new baby. I might even ride my bike, because it looks lovely out and No Impact Man depressed the hell out of me again this morning. I'm going to try to hang on to the weekend's happy dance memories a little longer, though, and I think I'll go play that Dead Milkmen song again just for kicks. "You'll dance to anything by Depeche Commode..."