Dance Dirt from the road special review

Dance Dirt - Copyright Special "From the Road"
Review Friday July 9,'10

The Band: Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie... 10+

The Dance: a 5

You never drink twice from the same stream.

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The place: Butte Montana http://www.nationalfolkfestival.com/
Montana Dance tent

The dance gets a 5...
but actual dancing would be a 2.
When Geno and the band comes through Birmingham.... you go to Cajun /Zydeco dance 'cause it's gonna be good!

Arriving in Butte Montana when they hold a street music festival is just pure luck... then finding out one of the best Cajun/Zydeco bands is playing at 8pm; you couldn't plan this good.

Here's what you get when you hold a dance in Butte Montana & don't charge admission; a few honest to god cowboy / ranchers w/ real hats & boots ect... a few decent salt of the earth Montana people that I talked w/ and made friends w/

.... and about 2,000 of assorted... Disabled Bull Riders, Born Again Bootleggers, Repentant Miner trash, Unrepentant Coal monkeys, mountain man/woman trash, Burned out hippes, Drifter trash, Former Independent Truckers, Reformed Cretins, Ambushed Bushwhackers, Bushwhacked Ambushers, Unreformed Idaho Clodbusters, Bus trash, Horse people, Reformed Union organizers, 3 card monte trash, Ill Mannered Honeydippers, Union Bull Whackers, Cattle people, Sheep ranchers, biker trash, Recovering MuleSkinners, Crapped out- run out of Vegas loser trash, Hippie Capitalists, West coast weird trash, a few Realtors, ... and 8 people that actually know what Cajun/ Zydeco dancing is... and can actually do some Cajun/ Zydeco steps on the dance floor while Zydeco music is playing.

.

.

There was a wooden dance floor laid out on the street--- under a circus/ revial tent... TWICE the size of the City Stages Dance Depot that David did so well. But they treated it like a concert & just stood there Jukin & Jivin like it wuz a concert... damn the dancin'... or just do what they thought was dancin'.

At times there was so little space that a normal zydeco dance was not possible. like 4 square feet available. They were stuffin their pie holes with corn dogs or funnel cake. They were drinkin & spillin beers on the dance floor. They were eating nachos on the dance floor & dripping cheese on the dance floor. Then the cheese got sticky.

They were hopping around like freestyle Chickenscratch...... but they were NOT dancing anything you have ever seen. No ZYDECO steps that's for sure. Not even country & Western dancing or waltz'.

Then at the end of a song Geno and the band stopped playing music for a minute.... or when they played a slow dance; it looked like a herd of cattle grazing. For an encore,... forget anything civil like applause.

They Hooted. They Whooped, they Hollerd,...

they Whooped and Hollerd at the same time, and then Whooped and Hollered and Hooted some more....
and they STOMPED their FEET. That's how you get a performer back on the stage for one more song / encore. And believe me, they know how to stomp their feet on the dance floor. They don't know how to dance.... but bygod they're GOOD at Stompin' .

A lady asked me ?What are you dancin'? I said Zydeco... it's an eight count step... 2 mirrored 4 counts ?Do you know a mirrored four count Zydeco step ? & the guy w/ her stomped his right foot four times to show he could count 1- 2- 3- 4 like Earnest T. Bass.

Geno did an encore song because the foot stomping was so loud he thought it was a stampede of cattle or Buffalo & he wanted to die singing.

I was glad Geno was a hit in Montana... and Am really thankful for getting to dance for my tribe once on this journey. I already miss my dance friends back in Birmingham. They really are special to me & I can't wait to get back & dance w/ them.

Another gift of a day.... and did not waste my time of life... Danced for my Tribe. Thank you!

You never drink twice from the same stream.

Copyright MMXV ALL StoneBearTracks blog posts and photographs  ALL Rights reserved

from the Cheap Seats

Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright MCMLXIII Uncle Hargus ALL Rights reserved

ROF= Ring of Fire Odyssey  

MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus 

Talladega 500 1974 - 1975

From the "Cheap Seats"

The "Stands" back then had only about 10 upper rows of galvanized metal seats with backs. the lower 25 rows were plain concrete, stair-stepped... and the step risers were bigger than regular residential building code steps. You had to work to go up and down the stair steps, back to the restrooms or concession stands. And sitting on raw concrete for 3+ hours was a pain.

But they were worth it. The real racing efficianados were here.

And then there was "The Infield bunch".

It was a rivalry then. We actually wanted to see and enjoy the race. The ticket for this race-- in the stands-- $20. I don't think it was reserved seats. Maybe the galvanized metal seats.... but they were never full so you sat anywhere you wanted.

A couple of times I saw the infield zoo. Most of the people didn't know there was a race going on they were so zonked, or knew they were even at Talladega. An infield ticket was $6. and I think that was per vehicle with as many people could fit in. Need I say more? The Scots Irish borderers live on!


A $20 dollar seat???... ?What was that actually worth back then? It was cheap for the history and racing we saw.

Well,... a ticket for Dylan and The Band was $8.50




Talladega 500 1974 1975

From the "Cheap Seats"

The "Stands" back then had only about 10 upper rows of galvanized metal seats with backs. the lower 25 rows were plain concrete, stair-stepped... and the step risers were bigger than regular residential building code steps. You had to work to go up and down the stair steps, back to the restrooms or concession stands. And sitting on raw concrete for 3+ hours was a pain.


But they were worth it. The real racing efficianados were here.

And then there were "The Infield bunch".

It was a rivalry then. We actually wanted to see and enjoy the race. The ticket for this race-- in the stands-- $20. I don't think it was reserved seats. Maybe the galvanized metal seats.... but they were never full so you sat anywhere you wanted.

A couple of times I saw the infield zoo. Most of the people didn't know there was a race going on they were so zonked, or knew they were even at Talladega. An infield ticket was $6. and I think that was per vehicle with as many people could fit in. Need I say more? The Scots Irish borderers live on!


A $20 dollar seat???... ?What was that actually worth back then? It was cheap for the history and racing we saw.


Well,... a ticket for Dylan and The Band was $8.50

You never drink twice from the same stream. 

Just because you wander doesn't mean you're lost. 

Uncle Hargus: Last of the Independents  

Have Bear,    

          Will Travel 

StoneBearTracks Copyright Uncle Hargus MCMLXIII ALL blog posts/photographs/video ALL Rights reserved 

ALL Blog posts/photographs/video Copyright MCMLXIII ALL Rights Reserved