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So after all my bitching about how DC doesn’t dance anymore, I finally went to a show at the Black Cat that lit up a crowd. Sadly, it seems the only music that gets people moving around here is souless drivel by a band called Ratatat. Apparently famous for selling a song to Hummer for one of their commercials, the band play boring generic beats peppered with really weak guitar lines sans vocals. Very uninspiring stuff.

However it did get the crowd moving. In fact the stage was swarmed by people partying like it was a corporate-sponsored Spring Break or something. I half expected some Budwiser Girls to spray the crowd with shaken beer bottles, I kept looking around for the Safe Sex free condom pile, and the Hummer promotional brochure booth. This was all kind of surreal to witness at the Cat. The strangest moment for me was watching this painted-up, pudgy, Jewish kid doing the Rodeo Butt-Fuck dance in the middle of a circle of on-lookers.

Ah anyway, last weekend I asked for dancing. And I guess I got it.

Next time I’ll be careful what I wish for.

(PS- The opening band, DC locals, The Soft Complex were great however. They’ve been playing about once-a-month and they get better each time out. I can only hope the crowd’s euphoric state was due to them.)

Originally published on February 27, 2005.