New Orleans and ULHS 2009

Best Vacation Ever. Period.



Oh that I could turn back the clock just a couple of weeks. There is a constant torrent of misery outside. Instead of the sounds of street musicians in the background, I have my grandmother’s soap operas. My toes are stationary and cold instead of tearing up a dance floor. And my boy is on a computer somewhere in Santa Clara. (Or at least he was a couple of hours ago.) New Orleans, I miss you.



As an enthusiastic lindy hopper, one event beckons above all others. The Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown held promises of out of this world social dancing and unmatched competition. Sprinkle in the allure of some New Orleans flavor, and these two Travel Buddies were all but forced to heed the call.

I am not sure I have ever experienced so many instances of thinking “I can’t believe something this amazing is unfolding!” in such a short period of time. Instead of simply coming away from this weekend satisfied, I feel like I have added many entries into that library of memories I will keep fresh in my mind forever. ULHS has left me inspired to dance harder and get better. New Orleans and the company I was able to keep have left me just happy to be alive.

The Host: When it comes to getting hosted, I must be the luckiest SOB ever.
Joe (Mr. Host) is a fifty something year old sax player who lives with his wife in the Faubourg Marigny (10 min walk from the French Quarter). He does not dance, but when ULHS needed volunteers, he happily signed up to take in some lindy hoppers. Brian and I got our own guestroom, a key to the house, a wealth of restaurant knowledge, and all the ice cream sandwiches we wanted. Even cooler, Joe used to be the manager for Tony Sheridan and has links to the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Hollies, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, etc. We had some nice chats in the car. Host Win.

The Food: Fantastic when you have a plan.
Brian and I had some ups and downs in terms of food in NOLA. When we just randomly went looking for noms, things generally did not turn out great. (We had pizza one day we were running late. Unacceptable.) Thankfully, Joe supplied us with a list of cheap eats that definitely left us with some winners. I had some fantastic Andouille Gumbo at the Gumbo Shop, and nothing beats constant access to fresh beignets 24 hours a day.



Our first foray into the French Quarter involved hunting for grub at midnight. I don’t think I have ever eaten a meal so horrifically bad for my arteries, and I wouldn’t change a thing. We split an “All that Jazz” po’boy from Verti Marte that was over a foot long and must have weighed 2-3lbs. It was stuffed with turkey, ham, cheese, bell peppers, lettuce and TONS of shrimp. Sitting on a stoop at one in the morning eating that sandwich was one of the most insane experiences ever. We gave up on the sandwich about 2/3 of the way through and headed over to Café du Monde for some beignets. They do not skimp on the powdered sugar. I fear that my life has been shortened from the lack of nutritional value in that meal.

The Music: Orgasmic.
I am slightly afraid of dancing in SF again. The whole “Groove Lindy” scene has never been my bag, and now that I have experienced the best line up of live bands I could ever hope to encounter, hopefully DJ’ed sets out in the Bay will still keep me motivated. I distinctly remember on Sun night that my feet were in excruciating pain, the floor had cracks in it, and there was no room to move, but because the Loose Marbles were playing, I had to dance.



My favorites of the weekend were the Loose Marbles, the Palmetto Bug Stompers and Uncle Jack’s New Orleans Jazz Band. Brian, who has always expressed a mild aversion to blues, was totally feeling the Washboard Chaz Blues Trio. The Loose Marbles held the whole event together. They played Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Friday late night, Saturday late night, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night and Sunday late night. I wish they could have played more. Uncle Jack’s flat out killed it on the Saturday night dance. They managed to fill a giant room and kept the floor moving fast.

The Social Dancing: I had to get used to being the worst in the room again.
The crowd at ULHS was not big, but the talent level was off the charts. It was super intimidating. Unlike Camp Jitterbug, I gave up on stargazing as much as I could. In addition to it being kind of creepy (yes, I am aware), there were too many fabulous leads just roaming the floor. I think my only mild regret is I didn’t ask Andy Reid when I had the chance. No matter though. There will be other events, and other than the Friday night and late night dances (which were just OK), I could not get over how much fun I was having.



Gosh, if I had the time to recount all of my favorite dance moments, I’d be here all day. There are a few moments that topped the rest. “Competing” with Carl outside and “almost” making it to the finals. (This was literally my first dance of the weekend.) Complaining about the rain and the floor outside at the French Market, but still tearing it up with BZ to the very last song of the afternoon because the Bug Stompers were just too damn good. Getting asked to dance TWICE by that fabulous female lead from Sweden who placed 7th in the Showdown. Goofily dancing with Ryan whether it was with us being rained on or dressed to the nines. Packing like sardines in a pub listening to the Marbles, and having an incredibly musical dance with Ed that may have only involved two turns at max. Refusing to not dance at a bar despite there being NO ROOM, because the Bug Stompers were too compelling. Asking a random guy to dance at the House of Blues, and having him respond yes with genuine excitement. Finding out personally that Vincenzo Fesi is not a swing zombie, even to the creepy girl that was staring at him for two or three songs.



The Competitions: More grit and less finesse.
The competitions this year at ULHS definitely marked a break from years past. I wish that I had been around for other ULHS’s, just so that I could have a non-youtube frame of reference. Without all of the “Big Names” in every competition, it is hard to say that the winners of these contests were battle tested by all potential opponents. Some notable absences for me personally were Frida (this one hurt the most), Naomi, Nina, and Max. The Showdown, Showcase and Team divisions were missing the strength of more prominent names. The Endurance competition was missing all together. The style of competition was changed up. Liberation was replaced by the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown. Freedom was replaced by a Blues contest. Revolution was swallowed by the Jack and Jill. I actually liked the changes for the most part.

Tournament style competition opens the door to more one-upping and couples’ interaction during competition. The format really seems to rev up the crowd, as people had to choose one couple at a time to root for. There was some added drama as Todd and Alice were felled in the quarterfinals by a lower seed. Joanna and Chance (1st place) put on a display that was incredibly gritty and full of life. I’m not sure if they would have won a spotlight competition. Dax and Annie (2nd place) probably would have taken that. It is just after each round, Joanna and Chance kept the same spirit and energy despite the ever increasing tempo. They fed off of the crowd. In the end, it felt like choosing between untouchable technique (Dax and Annie) and lightning in a bottle. You got to go with lightning. Oooo…I better stop writing before I get cheesier.

My favorite competition was the Blues/Slow division. Spotlights were still in effect. The Washboard Chaz Blues Trio moved the contest away from slow lindy to something more like a musical heartbeat. Peter and Ramona (1st place) totally lit my senses on fire with their display of lead and follow skill as well as a funkier side. CT described it perfectly when he declared later that sometimes they were not even touching, but they were still “SO DIRTY!” Todd and Alice (2nd place) put on a clinic for turns and footwork. Everybody in the finals brought a different flavor. It was just reaffirmation that this dance is so diverse, and as long as the strength of commitment is there to one’s movements, it doesn’t matter how it is danced.



The Disappointments:
There are a few things that I was hoping to see that flat out just did not happen. I wanted to see Skye and Frida compete in person. Everybody knows that I am completely enamored with what they put out there on the dance floor. I can’t pretend that I was not sad that Skye barely danced (as far as I could tell) and that Frida just was not there. I also would have loved to see Naomi compete in the solo blues competition. Dax displayed innovation and a perfected sense of body awareness, but nobody shakes it like Naomi.

I also have a few gripes with the rest of ULHS. Late Night at Fritzel’s did not do it for me. Dancing upstairs while the band is downstairs is not cool. Just being upstairs made it feel like a brothel. Late night is generally my favorite place to dance, but the environment encouraged more drinking and canoodling than dancing. Another issue was that other than the WWII Museum and the House of Blues, the floors kind of sucked. For daytime social dancing, I’ll suck it up. Bring on the concrete and the rain. Unfortunately, I believe that the quality of floor during the quarterfinals for the Showdown may have been Todd and Alice’s death knell. They were slipping and sliding, and couldn’t reach their full potential. Finally, I was also disappointed that the event was so small in terms of turnout. There was just an overall awareness that ULHS might be losing a bit of its appeal. Apparently it also ended up $4k in the hole. I hope that for next year, everybody sees how fantastic New Orleans is as a location, and makes the trek.



It was such a privilege to be able to go to New Orleans and participate in this event. Although the trappings of ULHS certainly dominated the entire weekend, I’m going to most strongly take away how much enjoyment I got from interacting with people with whom I really love spending time. It was wonderful to reconnect with some old friends, and to make some new friends. And there is nothing better than racking up amazing experiences with someone you adore. I really had the time of my life.


Forge Ahead