Last Saturday night I went with a crew of friends to see Bajofondo perform at Bimbo's. They rocked the house and my world. We saw them perform for the first time last summer at Stern Grove, and then again in spring at Bimbo's. You can't help but move your body and your head to the rhythms and the beats and if you bump into the person next to you, a stranger or a friend, even better.
Also, Bimbo's may be one of my favorite places in the city. The old school loungey feel is hard to match and the scandalously clad mermaid artwork is kind of awesome. Even their cocktail napkins were creative and cool. Cocktail napkins. Seriously.
Before the band took the stage, there was a d.j. spinning dance jams with a tango feel. Initially there were mainly older couples swinging each other around in a more refined fashion, literal dance moves with style. Then more people, younger people, started to flood the dance floor and most sense of style went out the window to be replaced by foolish grins and shaking hips and silly bouncing. It was still awesome.
And then people clapped. I stopped when I realized that they were clapping after a song that the d.j. played and I was confused. Applause for a song that wasn't live or even written by the man playing it. Is it common to applaud a man for picking a particular song? So strange. I didn't join in, because truthfully I am not big on applause (and of course I realize how ridiculous that sounds, but it's the truth) and also because the whole thing was kind of weird. And then I continued dancing.
The show culminated with three of us climbing onto the stage with the entire band (they are a mighty presence--like ten members) and rocking out for their final songs. So fun, and injury free, I might add. What a night.