Dance Fan Comes Out Swinging

RE: “The Swing Set Needs a Push” (Riffs, by Randy Lewis, Calendar Weekend, Oct. 15):

Randy, you obviously are not a dancer. One of the reasons the big bands went under in the ‘40s was that they moved away from the dancers and started playing concerts.

The bands you list are all blues and rockabilly. If people go to the places you listed, on the nights you listed, they might enjoy themselves if they want to sit around and listen to jazz and rockabilly, but they won’t find anyone who can even rockstep!

You knock Don and Eddie for playing for the dancers and then recommend Swingtown, a real yawner. Try Red & the Red Hots or Swingerhead, one of the best new swing bands around, at the Rhino Room. The Jive Aces just came through and tore up Orange County.

Try Bill Elliot, who has the tightest swing band in the country. Catch Indigo Swing when they come through. If you are going to write about the scene, at least learn it!

BILL MILLAN

Lake Forest