Friday, October 12, 2012

Hip Hop Waltz


            I had a bass playing gig in the valley yesterday. It was a paying gig and having money isn’t all that bad. It was raining off and on, when there are clouds in Los Angeles it’s a special day, and when it rains it’s extra special.
The gig was on Sherman Way and as it turned out it was in front of a Pawn Shop. I saw the stage set up on the sidewalk. I’d never played on a sidewalk before. My initial reaction was “oh man,” but a gig is a gig and I had to make the best of it. We set up and played a couple songs when it started to rain. We were under an awning, Protected. I was looking at the clouds and the rain. It was beautiful. There I was playing my bass in the rain. Perfect.
            People would stop and listen. Two high school kids stopped and were listening intently. They applauded after every song. Commuters were waving and honking their horns as they drove by. It was interesting. Then a fat African American couple stopped. They looked like they were into Hip Hop based on their wardrobe. They were standing in front of the band when they broke out into a waltz. It was unexpected, and incongruous. They were waltzing on the sidewalk, lovingly, affectionately, as if they were the only two people on earth. It was the most beautiful and romantic thing I’d ever seen.  

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