Seven Day Itch

August 8, 2008

It has been a while since I went six days without Salsa. I think it led my mind go off wandering in odd directions not necessarily healthy. Between all that and new tires, it meant I was quite early to CS – around 9:15.

The watermarks from last night were quite evident as well as feeling of dampness in the floorboards. Thursdays hast not been the luckiest day for CS this year. I was told that stairs leading down to the main floor could not be seen under presumably murky water.

There was no need or opportunity for me to join the class because there were more leads than followers for intermediate and improver class. The beginner class was more or less balanced. I don’t think there is whole lot of new things in these classes so it would have been more for passing time.

Andrea and Sharon were the only ones I knew pretty well. Lorraine was there but did not seem to stay late. Wei-Shen made his Friday debut and left remarking he should learn Cuban. Not from me – my Cuban is dodgy at best. There was a large Cuban contingent (not Timba), which might have had something to do with last night. Rajiv with his new looks straddled the field and stayed very late. Heinz was there early, and Steve stayed until closing.

Joe played a brief set. Vish followed. Vish asked me to play medium songs next, which did mean slowing down because he was playing quite fast songs right before I started.

Playlist

Quitate La Mascara – Orchestra Harlow
Preparen Candela – Willie Rosario
Oye La Banda – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Son Diez Lagrimas – Lebron Brothers
Las Caras Lindas – Ismael Rivera*
La Mano – Oscar D’Leon
Conmigo – La Charanga New York*
Macho Perez – Hector Tricoche
El Tiroteo – New Swing Sextet*
Ajiaco Caliente – Eddie Palmieri
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia
Loco De Amor – Evolucion A R
Rubias De Nueva York – Willie Rosario
Amor Perfecto – El Gran Combo
Periodico De Ayer – Hector Lavoe

Total = 15 songs. 1 Merengue. 1 Bachata. 13 Salsa including 3 new.

Cristian was next DJ. He played quite a few songs I had been considering playing like Justicia (Eddie Palmieri), Un Dia Bonito (Eddie Palmieri), Por Primera Vez (Jimmy Sabater) but had been holding off mostly because of their speed. Vish closed off playing music until 3 AM with 5 Bachata in a row.

There were a couple of newcomers (well – at least new for me), who made the evening interesting. According to Vish one is somewhat new to Salsa but had other dance (R&B, etc?) background. Another according to Steve was an au pair from Germany.