Sunday, October 26, 2008

10/25/2008 Skatalites in Santa Cruz

I caught the Saturday night show and it was just fantastic.

I had never been to Moe's before. It is about as big as Bottom of the Hill, but much nicer. There is an outside courtyard with good sound, tables, food, etc. The stage is only raised about 2 feet. Sound was good.

The crowd, especially the guys, looked like hippies and surfers. Far too many guys with baseball caps and/or flannel shirts. There was one woman who dressed up nicely in a rocksteady dress. Lots of people had jackets and sweatshirts on, even though it was hot. Lots of couples. No punks. No one I knew.

The Skatalites played for nearly 2 hours. The trombone player slide his slide all the way out, so his trombone ended up in 2 pieces, which cracked the band up. I got to bump fists with Lester Sterling at the end!

The crowd danced and for the most part danced well. The number of guys standing with their feet nailed to the floor was much less than typical. There wasn't a crush up front at all, so I could skank up and back almost at will.

The highlight song for me was Doreen singing "You're Wondering Now (this is the end)". I'm really sore this morning, but it was really special. Happy! :)

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