The Deep End

Customarily, DJ nights consist of epileptic lighting schemes, overpriced vodka and Red Bull cocktails, and repetitious bass beats. But with the 1960s Dance Party, local collaborative Low-Fidelity brings another event to buck the system and redirect communal dancing back to its heyday. This nod to mod tributes 1960s England, when...

By Jamie Laughlin

April 6, 2006

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Customarily, DJ nights consist of epileptic lighting schemes, overpriced vodka and Red Bull cocktails, and repetitious bass beats. But with the 1960s Dance Party, local collaborative Low-Fidelity brings another event to buck the system and redirect communal dancing back to its heyday. This nod to mod tributes 1960s England, when mop-topped scenesters were first discovering ankle-wiggling licks from U.S. labels like Motown and Okeh, along with the simultaneous ska movement billowing north in a great exhale from Jamaica. Reflecting on the period, Pete Townshend once said, "To be a mod, you had to have short hair, enough money to buy a real smart suit, good shoes, good shirts; you had to be able to dance like a madman."

Headed by impresario Mike Hooker, Low-Fi's other themed DJ nights have produced a reputation for great music that pushes through the generation portal in an environment where you can buy an import beer for under five bucks. This time around, the triad of DJs Mike Hooker, Owen von Heatseeker, and Scotty Upton spins post-greaser-era tracks that range from garage rock to northern soul, propelling local hipsters (and the blazers that love them) into shining up their dance boots, putting on their finest suits, and scootering down to McGuire's to do the jerk to an array of obscure, uptempo b-sides.

So come on, man, are you mad enough?

The 1960s Dance Party starts at 10 p.m. Friday, April 7, at Maguire's Hill 16, 535 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale. The party is free. Call 954-764-4453.

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