The Cripples were giving the crowd every chance in the world to bust a move at their show on Saturday, March 1, but everyone in the crowd stood stock-still. For chrissakes! I had come to this show to see the kids in Seattle who can and will dance, and all I was getting was head bobbing and toe tapping.
Thank God for the Epoxies. Once this Portland new-wave outfit took the stage with their metallic- and neon-clothed energy, the growing crowd started to move. While most of the people dancing limited themselves to restrained head bobbing and variations on leg shaking, a group of adorable girls in the middle of it all were really, really dancing. Full-on, legitimate dancing. Bump-your-neighbor-with-your-hips and move-your-arms-around dancing. I had to talk to them.
"Kids don't dance at shows because they've got this whole pseudo-tough-guy thing going, which is ridiculous," said Maddie Harris. "The less they dance and the less they're into the music they paid to see, the more they look like fools!"
Maddie's friend Danica Basarich agreed. "They end up looking stupid if they're standing there not dancing, not enjoying the band," Danica said. "The bands always love it when you express your love for them, and if you're just standing there they can't tell if you like them or not."
"You don't pay money to stand there! You could buy a record and do that. You could burn a CD and do that for free," exclaimed Maddie.
Both girls laughed.
"It doesn't matter how you dance," Danica said with a smile. "I've got a friend who dances like Mick Jagger, but he always has a good time. It doesn't matter what people think as long as you have a good time.
"Drop the insecurities and the curtain of cool hipsterness and just dance, because what you don't realize is that people make fun of how you stand there with your arms crossed," said Maddie while imitating an arms-crossed hipster. "If someone's imitating your dancing, you've gotta enjoy that, but if someone's imitating you looking like an asshole...."
The Briefs came onstage and continued to fight the good fight--trying to get the kids to move. Some obliged, including Maddie, Danica, and company, but others crossed their arms and sunk into the back of the room. I guess as long as they're having a good time, that's all that matters. MEGAN SELING
