Dancing Queen

Oh, I'm fond of shaking my ass. Big time. I just don't like most places where you are supposed to do that sort of thing. Why? Well, because if a girl is dancing, she gets hit on. LIKE CRAZY. It's kind of a drag. This is why girls dance in groups, circled around a pile of their purses and jackets as if in some ancient ritual. "Girls must dance, girls must maintain eye contact with each other, girls must not break circle or boys will attempt to invade."

Pretty much.

This is probably why I've traditionally danced in gay clubs or at people's houses. Occasionally in the living room (but that's about as exciting a show as any neighbor of mine is going to get). Oh, I'll do that sort of shoulder/slap the steering wheel dance in my car too. In fact, I was doing that just this evening, running errands after work and groovin' to the M.I.A. jammy jams. I was listening to Missy Elliott-meets-Peaches-meets-L'Trimm goodness, and I said out loud to myself, "GodDAMN, do I want to go dancing!"

I got home to a sweet email from a friend who co-owns a nearby bar: "And guess what? Tonight is the first night of dancing at the Shorty in 2 1/2 years! Come on down and bring hotties." Mmmm... Lovely news. The sign put up by one of the other owners after the bar got shut down for "illegal" dancing (wrong type of license... how Footloose!) proclaiming "DANCING IZ DED" is hopefully placed in the VIP room as a quaint reminder of the non-booty-shakin' days of old.

And it just so happens to be co-owner Greg Dulli's birthday... there will be plenty of ass-shaking at the Short Stop tonight! Maybe Greg & Charles will re-instate their "Thursdays Become Dyslexic" evening (a diss perhaps on local DJ wanker Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic program) and the sweet sounds of soul and funk will return to that little stretch of Sunset Boulevard? But, once again, a fun place to dance with friends and be safe - but only because I know the guys who own it. Whew!

Tomorrow night, I'm gonna do plenty of dancing. I'm checking out Sharon Jones, and the last time I saw her, my friends and I did so much dancing I think we each lost 5 pounds by the end of the night. Sharon Jones bills herself as the female James Brown, and except for all that getting arrested biz he's into, she may be right. I'll check out the Shorty next week, since I try not to hit up the bars on weekends. Amateur night, you know.