Awesome Ska-pade (June 04)

Somebody dropped drunk on the floor – a big man on his middle 40s, wearing a white football jersey, denim pants and rubber shoes. The other people in the dance floor, all around his age too, looked at him. One by one, they came near him, forwarded one foot, and teasingly stepped on his beer belly. These feet were all in their boots – the Doc Martens-type with stitches of fat, yellow (in some cases, white) thread on the side of the sole. I believe these were their dancing boots. The other bunch of people who were not wearing boots were the younger ones, mostly my age (early 20s). Most of them were male and wearing all kinds of polo shirts – plain dark colored ones, striped, and checkered – all three buttons closed up to the neck. Two or three of them wore pin-stripe plaid pants, one was wearing a cotton slip-on shoes with chess-board design.

Most of the men, regardless of age, had shaved heads – yes, skinheads. There were only a few women in the dance floor and one of them was me.

I was wearing my salmon pink tank top, my long braided hair with three phatty knattys (haha!) and my tartan corduroy pants. It was pouring really hard when I went to the place, but I was not wearing my rain boots which doubled as dancing boots, or vice versa. These boots are actually kinda like the (if I remember it right) go-go boots of the 70's – the tall leather boots. But it did not matter. I still danced my butt from 11 PM to 3 AM, with all these people who danced really well.

Okay, I will be specific. I danced my butt from 11 PM to 3 AM, with all these people who danced really well. Who danced ska really well. It's CLUB SKA Manila's comeback production last Saturday, a Ska Festival at Heckle and Jeckle Makati.

I was really surprised by the crowd who were there for the festival (the other crowds were there for the billiards and the friggin 80-pesos-per-bottle beer). The ska crowd was really amazing, as I described – outfits, dance moves, hairdo (or lack thereof), and all that jazz. Or should I say, and all that ska? *wink*

All the bands were remarkable – outfits and the whole ensemble – guitarists, bassists, vocalists wearing dark glasses, funky keyboardists and the "horny" men in the "horny section" – trumpets and all.

Okay, imagine a band playing on a small stage, a front-liner crowd of around 15 middle-aged people who all knew each other, wearing their hats and boots, dancing in a small area approximately 2 x 2 meters (only).

Imagine the front-liner crowd of around 15 middle-aged people. (They were the coolest 15 middle-aged people I've seen since the ones who partied at the old TOP 40 Bar in Caloocan). They looked like our moms – with black leather handbag slung on one shoulder while dancing, and our dads – on checkered short-sleeved polo and reading glasses. There were two couples – one pair was dancing ska on a Judge Dread song and the other one was doing a little something like boogie. The others, all men, were swinging their hips and beer belly forward and backward, knees bent, feet kicking. They were all energetic and buoyant, stomping and frolicking around to the beat. Awesome sight, really! I was enjoying the dancing and the sight-seeing as well!

Though I was wearing my ever-reliable 50-peso worth rubber slippers, I still wished I was wearing my boots. I cannot wait for the next ska-pade where I will put my best (dancing) foot forward while another skanormal drops drunk on the dance floor. Needless to say, "not many people can cha-cha-cha, not everybody can do the twist, but everybody can do the ska, it's a dance you can't resist!"


05 June 2005 | 4:10 PM