The Swing Times June 2014 – UPDATED

There have been a lot of interesting developments with L.A. Swing venues lately. Here’s a rundown.

No More Joe’s on Tuesdays? – UPDATE!

You have probably heard that Mark Tortorici is no longer promoting Swing bands at Joe’s Great American Bar and Grill on Tuesday nights, due to a dispute with the owner. He is searching for other venues. I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with! Happily, Lorenzo’s popular Happy Feet Mondays are not affected and will still be at Joe’s on Monday nights, to the relief of many Swing dancers I talked to.  However, the danceatjoes website will no longer list Happy Feet Monday events, so to see who is playing, check the Lindy calendar right here at lalindyhop.com!

UPDATE: I got this response from Joe’s regarding Swing on Tuesdays:

While Torch Presents is no longer involved in the planning, a great number of folks from the community have stepped up to insure that Tuesday swing nights will continue onward, with many of the same bands and familiar faces (as well as some new ones!).  You can find an up-to-date listing of upcoming bands at www.joesgreatbar.com, as well as on our facebook page.  In short, the dancefloor is open, and we are moving forward as usual.  Thanks very much for your support, and please feel free to email with any questions at all!

Lindy Loft on Fridays

The Lindy Loft seems to have found its groove on the 2^nd and 4^th Fridays of the month. They’re bringing in some kickass bands for their Vintage Rhythm nights, such as
Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five and John Reynolds. I have been very delinquent and not visited the Lindy Loft yet, but I hope to make it this Friday and give you a report!

LindyGroove Thirteenth Anniversary – Wow!

LindyGroove is celebrating thirteen years of groovy Swing music by bringing in Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five on Thursday, June 19th. It’s pretty rare that LG has a live band, so this is exciting. Cost is only $10 in advance or $13 at the door.  I expect this to be a
HUGE event and at these prices it is a bargain. Don’t miss this!!  EVERYONE will be there.

Battle of the Big Bands Big News

In a huge surprise, George Gee has announced that Bill Elliot will no longer be co-headlining the upcoming Battle of the Big Bands on July 5^th.  Instead, the Jonathan Stout Orchestra will be taking over. While the Jonathan Stout Orchestra are undeniably awesome, I was looking forward to seeing Bill Elliot. It truly would have been like Satin Ballroom in the old days. I don’t know why they canceled, other than the website saying it was a “personal conflict”. Hope everything is OK with Bill. In any case, this should still be a kickass event, so get your tickets!  Lots of dancers will be there.

Camp Hollywood is Coming!

The biggest and best annual Swing event in Southern California, Camp Hollywood, is coming on August 29^th! This is not to be missed, with tons of classes, dances, and contests. As usual, the bands are excellent.  Oh, and don’t forget the themes for each night. It makes is so much more fun when people dress up, so start thinking about what you’re going to wear.  Here are the themes:

• Friday: Cruising down the Nile (early 20^th century explorer, ancient pharaoh or queen).
• Saturday: April in Paris (hmmm… this will require some thought…)
• Sunday: Zombie!

See you there! – Brian