When I was young, my dad threw some good house parties. I'd step out of my room and take a quick glance around the living room--which somehow now resembled the party scene off the painting in the opening credits of Good Times. The feeling between my brother and I was mutual: The adults' party was off the hook! My dad's two-track reel-to-reel mixes would be bumping the Commodores, Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, Lou Rawls, the Meters, Barry White, and whatever soulful cuts he was into at the time. Also, his cheesy bamboo bar that he brought back from a Navy tour of Asia was goin' off. My dad would be busting dance moves that resembled a cross between Fred Sanford's "Elizabeth, I'm comin' to join ya!" mock heart attack, the funky chicken, and Morris Day's " the Bird." When my dad threw a party, it was a no-brainer when it came to deciding between whether I wanted to memorize my spelling or sneak into the bathroom to listen to my all-time favorite jam from my elementary years, "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)."
Now that I'm old enough to leave my room whenever I want, I have to go farther than the confines of my living room to find those forbidden adult parties that I was denied as a kid. Last week I stepped out to the Lava Lounge, where on Tuesday evenings David James plays old-school R&B, soul, and funk records with enough flava that he could even make my dad do his trademarked dance. The Lava Lounge is a bar, not a dance club, so it's intimate enough that if you just want to hang in a booth and talk to friends, that's cool, but if you're ready to throw down that "junk in da trunk," there's plenty of room in the back. James wasn't scared to come out and represent with a step or two, which is fundamental, and he was nice enough to humor a woman's request for a song that I think has even been retired from Polly Esther's play list: "Brick House." She wasn't diggin' deep, but it's all good on the dance floor, baby. Just don't start asking when the foam party starts!
I wish I could say that the LL dance floor was erupting like my dad's late-night speakeasy soirées, but our six-person dance posse, along with James and the friends we met there, were shakin' our shit like only adults can. The fun I had was still as gratifying as I had anticipated when I was three feet tall and sat with my ear to the door wishing I was doin' it 'til I was satisfied.
Funk, Soul, and Rhythm & Blues w/David James every Tuesday at the Lava Lounge, 2226 Second Ave, 441-5660, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, free.
