Jan 26 2012

W-Project, New Angles, and Followlogie 2012

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I did something a little bit different and filmed from the back of the room this time for Followlogie 2012 cabaret competitions. While it was neat to see a performance from the other side and to see the crowd’s reaction, playing it back just feels a bit off. In any case, lesson learned, next time I’ll head for the front of the crowd.

This is the routine of the cabaret winners by the “W-Project” girls here in Montreal. I’m a bit biased but this was definitely kickass (although all the performances were great!).

by Randy

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Jan 04 2012

Year of Getting Stuff Done

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So Tien and I have deemed 2012 as the year of executing and getting stuff done. We got a lot of ideas moving forward… crazy hippie ideas… but exciting never the less. What are those crazy ideas you might be asking? Well, let’s not get too carried away now. These ideas might uber-suck but let’s just say they involve more dancing, more pictures, and more coffee. Crazzzyyzyzyzyzy I know!

2011 was kind of a blur to be perfectly honest. After I wrote last year’s “in review” post, I promised I would never write one ever again (holidays + computer = sad randy cat) but if you must know, here is a quick re-cap of the year:

Randy – moved to Montreal, continued to grow the Toronto blues dance scene, joined a few dance troupes, ordered a latte for the first time en francais, danced with blindfolds on, got his own office, and is still searching for a new liver.

Tien – moved to Vancouver, competed in WCS, helped bring out Damon and Heidi to Toronto, took pictures of what he ate, and did a bunch of things called “fusion”. Also met a girl who wears abercrombie and fitch, he’d take her if he had one wish, but she’s been gone since that summer, since that summer.

This site is probably going to change within the coming weeks as well. Right now, we have it as “social dance culture” which is a bit misleading because social dance culture really means being out there and being social. You can imagine the dilemma of having a blog about social dance culture on the interwebs. Most of our deleted blog posts (the ones that never made it on the site), consisted of the following:

“Went out dancing, met a few new people, talked to some old friends – great times. Should have been there”.

So, we are looking for a new motto! Being indecisive, we have the following:

  • Hamfats.ca – Pictures and Stuff
  • Hamfats.ca – Randy and Tien’s Excellent Adventures
  • Hamfats.ca – Google “hamfats” for a Definition
  • Hamfats.ca – Not in Toronto Anymore
  • Hamfats.ca – Messin’ Around… har har har.

edit: Randy you missed an event ~Tien

by Randy

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Tien - HAMFATS.ca – GOT DRUNK.

Randy - ih8u

Jasper - Hamfats – Mediocre is our middle name

Dec 26 2011

Band Portrait: Careless Lovers

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Tien and I checked out the Careless Lovers in Kirkland (just outside of Seattle) for a weekday showing and took a couple of pictures and shot this impromptu vid:

They were missing their trombone player but they were still super fun to dance to and really interacted with the audience throughout their sets. I’m sure we all know this to be true it it’s still worth mentioning – it really does make a difference when musicians are also dancers!

by Randy

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Dec 16 2011

Guilt & Co

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You know what’s neat in VanCity? Neat jazz music at an even neater indie-hipster venue!

On Wednesday, I stopped by Guilt & Co. and listened in on the Jen Hodge All Stars band in a venue that looks straight from prohibition-era Chicago. All that was missing was a bouncer in front asking for a password before letting you in. Having learned my early swing dancing in Vancouver, I was pleasantly surprised that the dance scene came out to support live jazz even though it’s not really a dance venue. I was also pleasantly surprised that at least more than half of the dancers who came to listen actually took the time to get dressed up, like you know, what normal people do when they go out. I remember the times when “lindy-bombing” in Vancouver was a bit of an embarrassing affair – a bunch of poor university students in tshirts and jeans not buying drinks and blocking the for the rest of public.

The word on the street is that the lindy hop scene in Vancouver is in a bit of recession, with Jungle Swing doing less and less events. However, it might be a worthwhile trade-off if there are neat places like Guilt & Co hiring awesome jazz bands to listen to and there’s just enough space to dance a few jigs. What do I know though, I’m only here every couple of months ;-)

by Randy

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