Calling All Zombies*! It’s time to heed the bell toll for another ghastly, ghoulish and grim Halloween party at Boston Swing Central. It’s our 4th year and this time we’re making it a Boilermaker Halloween. What does that mean? Well, you guessed it!  We’re being invaded by the Boilermaker Jazz Band from Pittsburgh, PA.  So, rise up all you creepy crawlies and pay tribute to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson and dance to the unadulterated swing of one of the hottest swing bands in the country. They’re guaranteed to rattle your bones…and reanimate your zombie hearts…it won’t mean a thing until the zombies start to swing!

The lesson will feature Michael Jackson’s Thriller line dance.  And since this line-dance has a lot of material to cover, the lesson starts early and begins promptly at 7:30pm!  Be there or be comatose!    The Thrilller dance will be performed later on in the evening (performing is, of course, optional – we won’t force ya!)   So, start boning up on your YouTube now… Don’t miss this party as it will be one of the best of the Fall!

If you are unfamiliar with the Boilermaker Jazz band you can check out their website here…

If you are unfamiliar with the Thriller line-dance, um, you must’ve been born somewhere else, but you can watch last year’s BSC performance here (sorry the video is a little dark, that’s the way it is and this doesn’t start until about 2:33 into this clip):

Extended Lesson Time (included in the price of admission): 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $22
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $17

Get $2 OFF ADMISSION if you come in costume. But no lame costumes like, “I came as a swing dancer”, or “I came as myself” or putting a couple socks on your shoulder and being “static cling”. Discount is at the discretion of the door staff, so put in some effort!

Please note that we will be accepting passes at the rate of: 1/2 off for one pass, full admission for two passes.  And no coupons will be accepted for this evening.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Boston Swing Central is very excited for the debut performance of the Red Hook Ramblers from Brooklyn, NY.  Yet another great band from the Brooklyn Authentic Jazz Revival scene.  And this band is going to be a BSC favorite, we have a sixth sense for these things. New Orleans-style Hot Jazz.

They cut their teeth on Bix Beiderbecke and Sidney Bechet and their repetoire includes a lot of BSC favorites like “Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”, “That’s a Plenty”, but they also have some soon to be new favorites like “Apple Pie” and “I Swear It’s True”.  You can check them out here and here.

This band is so authentic, they’ve even recorded to wax cylinder…you can watch the recording session here:

And well, if you don’t know what wax cylinders are, long before there were mp3s, CDs, cassette tapes, 8-track tapes, and even vinyl 12″ records. There were grammaphones and wax cylinders…! So, back, back, back in the day, when your great grandparents or at least your grandparents swung it…!

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Some of you might know A Day at the Races as a title of an album by the rock band Queen. And indeed it was. In fact, Queen’s most famous song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was featured on the companion album, A Night at the Opera. What’s this have to do with swing dancing? Well, Queen took their inspiration from 2 Marx Brothers movies of the same titles.

The Marx Brothers dominated comedy in the 1930s and A Day at the Races is one of their best films from the era. It also happens to feature, Frankie Manning and Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers… In this beautifully shot scene where Harpo wanders into a jam session in a shantytown, Ivey Anderson, backed by Duke Ellington & his band gets things started with her version of “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm” which then kicks into high gear as Frankie Manning and company take over, showcasing a wide variety of common Lindy Hop moves.

Tonight, DJs Isaac Marx & Gina Helfrich will be sharing the spotlight and spinning the tunes. There unique styles compliment each other quite well and are guaranteed to keep you moving and grooving on the dance floor.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

The Grand Street Stompers are yet another great jazz band from Brooklyn. There is definitely something in the water there. We like to refer to this scene of players as the Brooklyn Authentic Jazz Revival scene. Many of the bands share players and this band features some players that have played in Gordon Webster’s band as well as the Cangelosi Cards and Baby Soda.

The Grand Street Stompers are led by bouncey trumpet of Gordon Au and the sultry voice of Tamar Korn (also of Cangelosi Cards). GSS embrace the hot jazz of New Orleans. You can hear some of them here.

Or watch them here… “SHE’S A GREAT GREAT GIRL”: GRAND STREET STOMPERS at RADEGAST (Jan. 27, 2011)

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129