Dance Away, Fueled by Love and other Misadventures

My friend Laura Newman played. Barbara took the pics. All of my buddies were there, at the Full Moon Party.
Barbara, Monica, this writer, and JK.

Laura Newman sent me an invite to see her new band Apocalypse WOW:

"Thrilled to be playing this benefit concert THIS TUESDAY #ValentinesDay ! Why deal with the pressure or the sadness when you could party for a cause to some sick music and help Stop the pipeline!"

I was thrilled to go. In the age of Trump, I've committed myself to a lot of dancing.

After all, there is the blues that immobilizes, while dancing clears the synapses of the mind.

In her show David's Friend, Norma Burns reflects on dancing away the heartache of her life, her friend getting sick, and witnessing the age of AIDS.  We're in similar territory here. So, I've tried to follow her lead, going to see as much music, hitting the streets as much as possible.

Monday night, a few of us hit Michael Alig's  Outrage Party.  After 17 years in jail, Alig is trying to bring back some semblance of nightlife in New York. It might have been a tad nippy for Monday's anything but clothes theme, nonetheless, it was great to see it all happening.

Club Kids 2016 and 17 with Michael Alig. Photo by William Livsey.

Tuesday night, Babs and I rode to Rubulad in Bushwick.

And its safe to say, the scene in New York really is more alive in Brooklyn as these pictures indicate.

It goes on and on.

The world seems like its falling apart. The ICE Raids continue. The plans for more drilling continue. The wheels are coming off in Washington.

But what choice do we have but live and take in the counter narrative?

My friends from past Valentines years were there - Barbara, Yana, JK, Kim, Donald, and Laura.

I am admittedly not as cool as the younger club kids.

Still, we danced and vamped it up. I left my camera/phone at home so Babs took some amazing photos for me.

Thanks Babs! And she even helped me with directions back to South Brooklyn after a few hours of dancing.

We were raising money for the activists fighting to stop pipelines.

And shaking as much as possible.

Dance away.