[Tango-L] music; live or dead

[Chas Gale]

When I'm standing in The Mercury Cafe or The Tango House, spaces that says 
"tango" in a way precious few others can boast, and the symphony quality 
musicians of Extasis projects the opening notes of La Bordona or Mi Dolor or 
Danzarin or any one of another 30 history laden tango anthems, and my belly 
wells up in emotional gratitude for circumstances that prove dreams do come 
true, and the realized opportunity to exercise my hard earned tango skills 
in a storybook setting all come to bear so profoundly that I begin to wonder 
how life could be so good, I quickly look around to check that The Mighty 
Cosmic Muffin is not about to tap me on the shoulder and say, "I'm sorry Mr. 
Gale, you are not worthy".

Awesome, a term so often misused truly applies here. Life doesn't get any 
better than this.

Chas "Looking forward to Labor Day and Extasis at The Mercury in Denver." 
Gale
http://www.thetangohouse.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Figart II" <michaelfigart at yahoo.com>
To: "Tango-L" <tango-l at mit.edu>
Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2006 12:31 AM
Subject: [Tango-L] music; live or dead


> Hello everybody,
>
> OK, not much happening on the list today,
> so.....here's an issue about which I would like to see
> some opinions. I don't recall having read anything
> about it in the past.
>
> I want to know why some dancers seem attracted to live
> bands. I've heard, and danced to (or at least tried to
> dance to), Extasis, Tango Lorca, Tango Berretin, Color
> Tango, and Glovertango/Tosca.
>
> Glovertango is good dancing music (Tosca was their old
> incarnation; no bueno por bailar), Tango Berretin was
> good about two years ago, when I first heard them, but
> deteriorated quickly. Tango Lorca and Extasis have
> always been bad (for dancing), in my opinion.
>
> But wait....they are all very talented musicians, the
> music they play is beautiful and lovely, and I respect
> them all for their hard work and for their love of
> tango music. I was a musician (guitar, sax, piano),
> and I appreciate the hard work that goes into their
> music. The way Alex Krebs learned bandoneon is nothing
> short of miraculous.
>
> But it sucks trying to dance to it. I can't stand it.
> It's TORTURE. I don't want to work hard trying to
> interpret music into dance. I CAN do it. I've been
> dancing for quite a while, and have reached a level
> where I can actually put together some steps that move
> WITH that sort of music. But it's no fun; it just
> sucks....big time.
>
> And when I look at the dance floor at one of these
> events, it doesn't work. There is music, and there are
> people dancing, but the two don't go together at all.
> It's like you could be playing jazz, or classical
> music, and the people just keep on dancing, not having
> any clue that what they're doing has nothing to do
> with the music.
>
> About six weeks ago I went to a milonga here in
> Houston. Sarah was out of town, so I decided to check
> it out, and hopefully have a good time, and a good
> dance or two. The organizer is a very talented dancer
> and can dance to anything. I believe he has a
> background in ballet, and can swing, jitterbug, tango,
> etc, etc, you name it. Very, very impressive.
>
> I stayed about 45 minutes, danced a couple tandas. The
> music SUCKED...... for dancing. He played 1960 and
> later Pugliese, and Piazzola-type stuff. Color Tango,
> etc..... I can dance to it, and he can, but nobody
> else in this city can. They can't even come close to
> interpreting this stuff into a dance.
>
> I was just going to leave, but I forced myself to go
> back and ask him where the hell he came up with this
> music, and what made him play it. He said that it is
> beautiful, fantastic music. I agreed, "Yes, it is
> gorgeous, beautiful music, and very pretty to listen
> to, but LOOK AT THE DANCE FLOOR. Is anybody dancing
> WITH the music?"
>
> His response was that it was a good "challenge" for
> them.
>
> My response is this (and this is my opinion); I pay
> damn good money for plane tickets, hotels, and
> entrance fees to attend festivals all over the US.
> Keep your live bands out of the festivals that I pay
> to support. If one of these bands wants to learn how
> to play music just like DiSarli, D'Arienzo, Calo,
> Troilo, etc, from the '30s, '40s, 50s....that would be
> great. I could really get into it. But until that
> happens, get the hell out of my milongas.
>
> You don't ever hear this kind of music in the milongas
> in Buenos Aires. How do the old milongueros interpret
> the music so well? Because they've heard the song
> about 5000 times. And there is always something new to
> it, something you never heard before, or something
> that finally sinks in, and feels a different way, with
> a different way to dance it. A pause/suspension in a
> new spot, or a traspie where you never put one before.
>
> I have no qualms about alternative music; I dance to
> good blues all the time. I can dance tango to blues,
> country, pop, rock. But why do people think that
> "alternative tango music" has to have some sort of
> "connection" to tango??????? Gotan Project and
> Narcotango have a couple things that are just "ok",
> but by and large their stuff is NOT to dance to. Might
> as well just take up break dancing and the fine art of
> "rap".
>
> As you can tell, I feel very strongly about this
> subject, and it's importance is growing, to me, at
> least. With the proliferation of tango festivals in
> the US, it may very well soon become a deciding factor
> in which festivals I choose to attend. I will NOT be
> present at the Mercury Cafe milongas in Denver
> anymore. But next time you're there look around; many
> important teachers/dancers no longer attend,
> (but I'll be there Saturday and Sunday, at least). I'm
> looking forward to the Atlanta festival next year
> (where there is no thought of live music, yet). And I
> was not in attendance during the live music session in
> Mt Vernon last weekend.
>
> An aside here....Marilyn, I love your place; the
> Mercury is a great venue, even with the moguls, but
> it's way too crowded now, and I'm sick of the live
> music. I was there for the first time five years ago,
> when all of the milongas were at your place, and that
> experience was instrumental in determining my tango
> fate. But it's way, way, way out of hand, the
> festivals have
> outgrown your capacity. There are many who choose not
> to attend anymore because there is no place to sit,
> stand, walk, dance, put stuff, etc......please release
> Tom and let him hold an alternate event that night for
> those of us too claustrophobic to attend.
>
> I know that many out there seem to love live music.
> And I will do my best to understand, and see it from
> your side, so I'm looking forward to reading your
> responses, either private or on the list. It may be
> that I am in such a minority that I must just learn to
> live with it, or move to Buenos Aires!
>
> So, why are people attracted to music they cannot
> dance to? What makes them think that its cool to dance
> to live music, whether they can, or not?
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Michael Figart II, Houston Tx
>
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