Arcadiana, New Years Eve 2005

by Lynn Aylward

A 10 Hour Drive With a Stop for A Dance: Thursday 12/29/05

This being our first trip to Acadiana for New Years, we were excited from tales told by former attendees.  Knowing the first leg of our journey would be an 8 hour drive, we prepared by packing a variety of music CDs, a portable DVD player with a case of chick flicks, and a cooler full of diet coke, water and enough munchies to sate anyone up and down the food pyramid.

Having glimpsed some of the destruction to bridges and neighborhoods along the Gulf Coast area, we worried about the condition of New Orleans, our first destination.  We knew the former city well, and we were hushed by the magnitude of destruction we saw as we descended on Route 90 into the city.  We passed block after block and neighborhood after neighborhood of abandonment, eerily illuminated only by amber street lights.  One house was close enough to the highway to see a pushed-out attic window, and I imagined stranded and frightened people crawling to the roof for safety.  We exited the highway to drive down Canal St towards downtown and the French Quarter.  Tourists were absent along Canal St. until we reached the Riverwalk area.  There we saw only a handful of tourists walking, the amount which seemed to equal the sparse number of lighted windows in the big name hotels.  Police cars patrolled in abundance.  Bourbon Street was glowing as if it expected business as usual, but only the rare shopper could be seen.  Still we were impressed by the degree to which it had been restored, a priority it seemed.

We drove west on St. Charles through the Garden District, again impressed by the clean up efforts along this major road.  Homes here seemed mostly intact and functional.  We stopped for dinner in a Lebanese restaurant, teasing ourselves about having Middle Eastern vegan food in the heart of Cajun country.  Through the restaurant’s window we saw patrol cars cruising up and down the street.  The National Guard was still in force and at one point some entered the restaurant to eat.

Finally it was time to dance.  Arriving at our destination on Carrollton St, we found chain link protection running high around the entire building.  One opening in the fence lead to the undamaged upper level of the Rock n Bowl, with its safety inspection paperwork visible on the door.  Chris Ardoin & Nu Step were already rocking, and I recognized several faces from Dance Vortex.  The beat of the music, the sound of the bowling balls hitting the pins, the smell of beer, the friendly smiles and the sound of dancing laughter swept us into its rhythm.  After asking a few gentlemen to dance, we had established ourselves as skilled enough, and we danced till closing.

Still with a 2 hour drive ahead of us, we completed our journey that night to La Quinta Inn on Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette, where approximately 100 other dancers occupied 50 rooms at the same hotel.  Others were scattered in various hotels, but I heard that most were at ours.

A Restful Day in Lafayette Then Dancing at El Sid O's: Friday 12/30/05

We both work the late shift, which suits me as I am a natural night owl, but my friend tends to rise early.  My poor friend awoke at the crack of dawn, and politely hushed her activities so as not to disturb me.  She did such a good job that I slept till nearly lunch time.  I think the growling of her hungry stomach finally roused me.  Apologetic, I guzzled the in-room coffee and quickly dressed for the afternoon.  We ate a hearty Cajun lunch at Prejean’s Restaurant, with its fabulous crawfish-roux-smothered catfish and dirty rice.

We decided to play tourist around Lafayette and delve into the historical ambiance.  First we visited the Cathedral of St. John, with its saintly relics behind safety glass, and its characteristic above-ground cemetery.  This church boasts the largest Live Oak tree in the country; its branches are supported by metal posts to keep them intact.  Next we toured the Alexandre Mouton House museum, and then walked along Jefferson Street in the refurbished downtown area.  We shopped for discounted Mardi Gras Christmas ornaments, and had coffee at Mellow Joy Cafe, advertised to be “the original Cajun coffee”.

We returned to our room for what was to become our daily ritual....a shower and an ice cold beer to help us nap.  Coffee to arouse and a beer to fall sleep would become our socially-acceptable uppers & downers.  Other evolving rituals involved frequent showers and multiple changes of clothing.  We were falling in step.

That evening when we entered El Sid O’s Zydeco & Blues Club in Lafayette where the sound of Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble was drawing in patrons, both locals and out-of-towners.  I saw familiar faces mixing with locals on the dance floor.  Indeed dancing is the great equalizer: age, height, race, weight, socioeconomic status….all equally respect the love of dance.  Several hours and 48oz of water later, I was working off as much as I consumed.

Not having eaten dinner, we were famished by the time we returned to our room where we developed our final ritual.  I had packed the cooler with a holiday spread of leftovers.  We devoured fruitcake, cheese and crackers, fruit both fresh and dried, and cookies all washed down by....an ice cold beer to help us sleep, with a quick shower.  Even so, as I drifted off to sleep a zydeco tune played in my head and I horizontally practiced a dance step.

Saturday Dancing Starts at 8am and Goes All Day, But of Course! 12/31/05 New Years Eve

I sipped my morning coffee with that same zydeco tune playing in my head, as my feet danced while I applied my make up.

Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge opens early and we arrived to a packed venue.  Lil’ Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers provided a non-stop performance for 3 hours, and I think I danced the majority of that time except for hydration.  I drank several bottles of water and a delicious mimosa, but I was too hot for coffee.  I was as amazed at the dancing skills of everyone, as I was with the lack of maneuvering room.  We danced shoulder-to-shoulder, trying not to bump the diners whose tables edged right up to the dance floor.  Brunching locals alternated between dancing a few songs, with returning to finish their food.  I could feel the old wooden floor swaying beneath my feet.  I noticed the autographed walls including Dan Akroyd’s signature and “Elwood Blues” next to it.

No one thinks of food while under the spell of zydeco, but once it ends, like the Eloi who were drawn to the Morlock’s gong, we turned to seek lunch.  Mulate’s restaurant was the unplanned destination of a number of dancers, and a live Cajun band played while we ate.  I spent an indecent amount of money for souvenir gifts, a sort of one stop Cajun shopping experience.

Shower….cold beer….nap….coffee…fresh clothes….food…. by now we had it down pat.

By now Dane had also arrived so the 3 of us went to Randol’s Restaurant for dinner, where we met more dancers.  In between courses we took turns on the dance floor, dodging curly headed children who seemed to know how to dance before they learned to walk.  I don’t think there are Arcadians who cannot dance.

Nourished, we moved on to the highpoint of the weekend, New Years Eve at Vermillionville’s Historic Village.  The polished wood floors, wood beams, and easily visible wooden stage gave it a clean, open feel.  Geno DeLafose & French Rockin’ Boogie performed to a bouncing crowd whose attire ranged from tuxedos and glittery evening wear, to cowboy hats with jeans with boots.  Dancers alternate well, so much so that I lost count of all the partners I met.

Geno plays a series of songs whose beat crescendos into a frenetic pace.  Starting with a fairly average zydeco beat, we danced to the song “Zydeco with Geno”.  I looked around to find every face smiling.  But Geno stepped it up a notch with his next song “Good Time Woman”, and we kept up, wondering how we were able to do so as we felt our endorphins kick in higher.  Just when we thought we could give no more, Geno raised us one more notch with his next song “He-Haw Breakdown”, and we danced ourselves into a state of euphoria.  About 15 minutes before midnight, Geno announced that there was complimentary champagne available, but few were willing to miss dancing to even one of his songs.

Sunday Started With a Bunch/Dance and Kept Going: 1/1/06

Our rituals were understood.  No discussion was needed.

Jumpstarting coffee in the room

large brunch

dance - sweat - drink fluids - dance

shower – a beer - nap

dance - sweat - fluids - dance

shower- a beer - cooler buffet - horizontal dancing sleep

We were invited to a cajun dance brunch buffet at Gallagher’s with a free concert by L’Angelus, an up-and-coming adolescent and young adult Cajun family band.  Their cousin, Hunter Hayes made a guest appearance playing the fiddle.  Their natural talent was impressive, both individually and as a well synchronized band.  They were so well blended that I sometimes I had to look to know if a chord was coming from one or two instruments.  We heard original tunes from their soon-to-be released CD, “Ca c’est bon”, all very danceable.  What talent!  We bought autographed CDs, and all agreed that L’Angelus should perform for our respective local groups.

For the night we headed north to Slim’s Y Ki-Ki in Opelousas for live music and dancing from 6PM till late.  Performing were Chris Ardoin & Nu Step, Roy Carrier & the Night Rockers, and Geno DeLafose & French Rockin’ Boogie.  The outside of Slim’s looked small, and I wondered where the people went who had filled 3 parking lots with their cars.  Once I entered I saw that Slim’s was a building more long than wide, with one small bar, dozens of tables, and tiny restrooms but who goes anyway; but there was a large, well occupied dance floor.  The music again was unbelievable.  I danced, hydrated, peeled off a layer of clothing, went outside to cool down, then plunged back into the swaying mass.  I met dancers from many states, as far north as Chicago, as far west as San Francisco and Portland, and as far north as Boston.  I also exchanged email with some new friends.

A young local couple danced away from the crowd.  Soon out-of-towners gathered in a circle around the couple to watch their very advanced moves.  Hip-hopping to the beat, their youthful energy allowed them to insert double-time moves, sweeping feet moves, shoulder and hand moves, and quick-turns combined with the all of the above, correctly completed within the 8 counts that allowed their hands to come together on beat.  Our applause made the couple smile and bow.

Finally we crawled up the stairs to our hotel room, blindly ate, and collapsed into a coma-like sleep with silly grins on our faces.  Lafayette was an experience in total immersion and I’m hooked!