Recap: The 2011 Classic Melody Bar Reunion
Short form: once again, The 2011 Melody Bar Reunion (Classic Era) was a whole lot of fun.
Long form:
We may actually have this thing down to a science. Stiffy Biceptz runs the logistics, Ed Wong handles the magnificent load of audio equipment and everyone else (Pat Pierson, Lisa Uber, Pete Santiago, Matt Pinfield and myself) show up and slap vinyl and/or aluminum-coated polycarbonate plastic onto/into the decks, in a manner that appears to please the gathered crowd.
Or, more succinctly, we play songs loud and people go crazy. Thus, all is as it was.
Stiffy's collection of classic Melody Bar photos (taken back in the days of film, of course) once again played out over the computer projector, and people danced and danced and danced. The folks at the Elks Club were loaded for bear, refreshments-wise, and the crowd were similarly ready for action. The place exploded on a few occasions when an anticipated track hit the speakers. I got an "Oh my GOD!" wafting over to my ears from the direction of the dance floor a couple of times, at least once before 8PM, and that was just my set. Pinfield's meet-and-greet (and there'll always be one when he can make it) before getting down to business was as fun to watch as the dance floor itself.
Some highlights:
- The woman who squeed when I played Blue Zoo's "Somewhere In The World There's A Cowboy Smiling" did so because, about thirty seconds before I played it, she thought "hey, Blue Zoo's 'Somewhere In The World There's A Cowboy Smiling' would sound really good right about now." She wondered what the odds of that happening were, and I buffed my fingernails against my shirt with mock pride and said "one hundred percent..."
- Seeing folks who'd never been to the Melody, having been dragged to the reunion by their Melody-denizen friends, nonetheless out on the dance floor, looking like they were meant to be there from day one. Especially during Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz".
- Anything played while Stiffy Biceptz had his "KEEP BACK 200 FT." shirt on. It only comes out when conditions are juuuust right.
- And for sheer transcendance, Melody was there. In 1947, when the Melody Bar opened, she was the newborn after which the bar was named. We may not have the Melody Bar any longer, but the fact that we still have Melody was not lost on the crowd, who couldn't help snap umpteen pictures of her.
That just scratches the surface, which is all you can ask for, really. We'll do it again in about a year's time.
(Yes, it was recorded for posterity. Yes, you should keep an ear locked on Altrok 90.5 HD2 to find out when it might air...Matt says it's OK.)
Long form:
We may actually have this thing down to a science. Stiffy Biceptz runs the logistics, Ed Wong handles the magnificent load of audio equipment and everyone else (Pat Pierson, Lisa Uber, Pete Santiago, Matt Pinfield and myself) show up and slap vinyl and/or aluminum-coated polycarbonate plastic onto/into the decks, in a manner that appears to please the gathered crowd.
Or, more succinctly, we play songs loud and people go crazy. Thus, all is as it was.
Stiffy's collection of classic Melody Bar photos (taken back in the days of film, of course) once again played out over the computer projector, and people danced and danced and danced. The folks at the Elks Club were loaded for bear, refreshments-wise, and the crowd were similarly ready for action. The place exploded on a few occasions when an anticipated track hit the speakers. I got an "Oh my GOD!" wafting over to my ears from the direction of the dance floor a couple of times, at least once before 8PM, and that was just my set. Pinfield's meet-and-greet (and there'll always be one when he can make it) before getting down to business was as fun to watch as the dance floor itself.
Some highlights:
- The woman who squeed when I played Blue Zoo's "Somewhere In The World There's A Cowboy Smiling" did so because, about thirty seconds before I played it, she thought "hey, Blue Zoo's 'Somewhere In The World There's A Cowboy Smiling' would sound really good right about now." She wondered what the odds of that happening were, and I buffed my fingernails against my shirt with mock pride and said "one hundred percent..."
- Seeing folks who'd never been to the Melody, having been dragged to the reunion by their Melody-denizen friends, nonetheless out on the dance floor, looking like they were meant to be there from day one. Especially during Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz".
- Anything played while Stiffy Biceptz had his "KEEP BACK 200 FT." shirt on. It only comes out when conditions are juuuust right.
- And for sheer transcendance, Melody was there. In 1947, when the Melody Bar opened, she was the newborn after which the bar was named. We may not have the Melody Bar any longer, but the fact that we still have Melody was not lost on the crowd, who couldn't help snap umpteen pictures of her.
That just scratches the surface, which is all you can ask for, really. We'll do it again in about a year's time.
(Yes, it was recorded for posterity. Yes, you should keep an ear locked on Altrok 90.5 HD2 to find out when it might air...Matt says it's OK.)
posted 2/28/2011 05:00:00 PM
2 Comments:
Ok, I've heard Asobi Seksu - Perfectly Crystal twice in the past 2-3 hours. I think its time to let that song die from the "play it to death" rotation.
That's actually an indicator of its impending downgrade. When I move a song from one category to another, it can show up in the queue as though it's a new song. (The same might happen to other songs when the change occurs - either that or the software's being weird, 'cause I really don't want to be playing things that often...)
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