The Swing Times December 2014: Gorbals Closing, Swing in West Hollywood!

Insane how Thanksgiving is upon us already and the year is almost over! But, not to worry, there are still some great Swing dance events left in 2014!

Last Gigs at the Gorbals

The Gorbals restaurant in downtown LA is closing after five years at the historic Alexandria Hotel. The California Feetwarmers have only TWO Thursday night gigs left there, so you may want to check them out before this place is gone. They’re off over Thanksgiving, but playing on Thursday December 4th and 11th.

The Gorbals’ website says they are closing on December 14th, but promises a future location. LA Eater reports that they are looking for a new location and will re-open as a vegan joint, but we’ll see what happens.

In the mean time, enjoy it while it’s around. This definitely was one of the most unique and strange venues to host Swing dancing, but you could often find some of the best dancers in LA here on a Thursday night. (Those dancers wanted to keep it secret so they asked me not to list it on the calendar, lest we overwhelm it).

Have no fear, the California Feetwarmers are still at the Culver Hotel every other week and they have other gigs as you’ll see below.

Hip Kitty Closing (NEW)

I just heard from reader Candice about another closing. Hip Kitty Jazz in Claremont is closing to become a restaurant. While not a super popular spot for Swing dancing, they did host some good bands.

A Bigger, Better, Lindy Loft

I was surprised to see a video on Facebook of Dax working on the Lindy Loft floor. I figured it was from a year ago, when the Lindy Loft first opened. But no, the Lindy Loft has moved to a bigger space in the same building, adding a whopping 500 square feet to their dance floor! They are now located on the 9th floor, unit 9N.

Check out the new floor at their One Year Anniversary Dance on Friday, December 12th featuring Steven Mitchell & The SoCal All Stars feat/Carl Sonny Leyland!  There will be a beginner class from 8-9PM with dancing from 9PM to midnight. Cover is $15.

Swing Dancing Invades West Hollywood

Two unusual Swing events happening in West Hollywood in December caught my eye. There’s The Dustbowl Revival with the Leftover Cuties doing a live recording at the Troubadour on Thursday December 4th for $15. That should be a good one. This is now sold out!

The next Thursday, December 11th, we have the California Feetwarmers with the California Honeydrops at the Roxy for $15. (I guess the Feetwarmers will rush over to Gorbals afterwards). This should be great as well.

It’s very unusual to Swing-danceable bands play at these iconic West Hollywood hard-rock venues. Let’s show these headbangers what Swing dancing is all about!

LindyGroove Holiday Party

Did you go to the epic LindyGroove Halloween party like I told you to?

Lindygroove will have their annual Holiday Party and Canned Food Drive on December 18th. While it might not be as epic as their legendary Halloween party, it’s still worth checking out.  Admission is $8 with a can of food and $10 without.  Lessons are 7:30-8:30PM, with DJ’d dancing afterwards.

Want the Lindy Calendar To Go?

Did you know there is a separate mobile version of this website? It’s great if you just want to quickly see the Lindy Calendar and nothing else. Just go to lalindyhop.com/mobile on your phone and save it to your phone’s home page. You can also get there from the top menu (Swing Resources -> Mobile Web App).

Swing Dancing on New Year’s Eve

People have started asking me about New Year’s Eve events. Rest assured, I will put together all Swing New Year’s Eve events that I hear about in an article on this site. Subscribe to my posts in the sidebar of this page on desktop or the bottom of the page on a phone if you don’t want to miss it!

What Are You Thankful For This Year?

I took more vacations this year than probably the last ten years combined, including a fantastic trip to New Orleans with some great Swing dance friends for the French Quarter Festival and the Fleur de Lindy exchange. That was definitely one of the highlights for me.

How about you? What are you thankful for this year?  Leave a comment below!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Brian