Our Dancing Skeletons

Blubbedy blub.

So, yesterday there was a charity thing that I DJed at in the Hobgoblin. The whole thing was in memory of the friend of mine who died November last year, raising money for the school on the island of Vanuatu that she was planning on volunteering on. Money was raised and fun was had. Despite initial technical difficulties and a crowd of people not neccessarily execting the ‘eclectic mix’ for which I am not particularly renowned.

So anyway, details. Why am I writing?

So, apparently I really like this band. Like loads.

Before they even got on stage I loved them, and not just because they were the only people in the room getting as excited as me about what is currently my favourite dancing record (listening available here..I suggest you turn the bass up and getting shaking). It truly is the most bad assed record I’ve bought in a while (it’s ass is bad? Or maybe it’s bass is just ad? Shut up alex).

Anyway, they danced, I danced, and they dressed there stage in parasols and flowers, draped all over the place.

Then they took to the stage.

So, I find it problematic (gender stereotyping and words that sound deprecating) to use words like cute, twee, naive and so forth, when talking about a band, particularly an all female trio with lots of ukulele, flute, jazzy drums and harmonies.

But it is a little. Twee, and sweet, and cute, and naively positive.

It was wonderful. They were wonderful. They had a huge audience grinning with glee at the beautiful little ditties and numbers. Kinda bordering on the nicer lovelier end of the likes of Belle and Sebastian or the Be Good Tanyas.

But, and this is a big but, they had a lot of character (not that those bands necessarily don’t) they sparkled with a friendly charm on stage. The way they smiled at each other was just a perfect little bit of stage chemistry (presumably the filial link, though I suddenly don’t know if filial means specifically brotherly as opposed to familial in general…maybe I should’ve said familial). All genuine and nice and sparkly.

I’ve used the word sparkly twice, but that’s intentional. They talked about snow and it made me squeal with delight. Apparently I do that.

They had genuinely well little songs, with fine imagery and absolutely perfect harmonies. They tore the house down (bearing in mind I think of the Hob as being a metally type pub, I think this is all the more impressive) and they did it with a smile and a skip in their step.

Anyway, lets get to the point, because that isn’t the point.

They introduced one of their songs as ‘Our Dancing Skeletons’.

I got a bit worried that it was a little insensitive to talk quite sprightly about how dying is alright because dead people get to dance with other dead people, and became concerned. But they sang and it was alright.

In fact, and here is the point. Through the fragments of lyrics I picked up on (I’ve said before that I’m dreadful at listening to lyrics, I pick out little details and end up with my mind processing weird abstract images that may or may not be related to the actual song content…Death of the Author indeed) I ended up grasping a really sweet idea.

And then I had an image in my head of Will and Edie dancing together (Will being a friend I lost five years ago, and Edie being the friend I lost more recently). They never had the opportunity to dance together, and now they do (well, I mean, they maybe do, kinda reliant on a persistent and world like afterlife, which seems like a long shot).

They can dance in my head. And they’ll be dancing in there for a long time to come.

That’s nice.

So, here’s to Dancing Skeletons.

Happy Birthday Edie, who would’ve been 20 today, and lots of love to both you and Will and everyone else who I can’t give love to directly anymore.

I’m still thinking of you.

Get your knees up.