Friday, Nov. 21: Peter Hostage Situation
"A hard driving pro Swing orchestra with a HUGE sound. Start with plenty of Swing era favorites, add a healthy portion of jump blues and boogie, and spice it up with Latin flavors, and you have the recipe for a tasteful but exciting evening of dance fun!"

Plus Alex & Megan teaching and DJ'ing
Beginner's Swing lesson at 7:30

"The Annex" downstairs:
Chicago Steppin with Chicago Style Steppers of Boston (CSSOB website)

Chicago Steppin' lesson at 7:30, dancing to follow

Swing City Update

This week's entertainment
A look at some of the responses about Swing City
Advice on getting to Swing City (it's EASY!)

Last week we had a fantastic vibe going with the Racky Thomas band! I'm glad to see that more and more people are slowly finding their way back to Swing City each week. We have about 100 people of all ages in the house and growing. Please come if you haven't in a while, and please a few bring friends! Newbies welcome. The more the merrier! Check out dancing in the photo gallery.

This Friday: we welcome back Peter Hostage Situation, a hard driving favorite of Swing City. More about the band, and tracks to preview can be found here.

Additionally, we welcome back the Chicago Style Steppers of Boston for their second night in the Annex. Last month a small contingent joined us and it was a really great time! It is a genuinely nice group of enthusiasts. If you're a seasoned dancer, come learn some new steps downstairs in the Chicago Stepin' lesson, concurrent with Alex and Megan's beginning Swing lesson upstairs. Lessons are an hour and are free with admission. No parter needed, come and meet some people!

(Note: ...that we're unfortunately closed Nov. 28 for Thanksgiving, and Dec. 5 for a private party, so join us for your "Swing fix" this Friday before the break!)

Comments on our recent requests for feedback:

We got a lot of great comments and suggestions from people in regard to improving Swing City. One thing was somewhat common: a lot of people simply haven't come out to Swing City recently, some folks even dating back to the move to Newton (!).

Thus, a brief Swing City FAQ or sorts:

- MYTH: Swing City is far away and hard to get to. It's not! On the map it looks far for the people coming from the 'burbs, but if you made it to Newton, the Somerville location takes literally only 5 minutes longer to reach from Newton Corner/Mass Pike than the MacKenzie Center. It's easy highway driving all the way, and just three blocks from the highway exit. Getting to Swing City probably exen takes less time than going through various traffic lights to the past and present Watertown/Cambridge spots. Coming from Rt. 2 via Alewife is obviously local roads, but its not bad once you have it down.

- Call to action: Swing City Needs You! Many people haven't made it out to the new place yet. Now is the time! Given the economy and all the competition, it is YOU, the grass-roots past and present Swing City patrons, who are going to determine the future success. The old Huron Ave venue has been demolished, and the West Cambridge Youth Center is likely not going to host the old dances again at this point. Some people just don't know why they haven't made it yet. Come join the party! Swing City is a great community and a lot of people would really like to have you there! Also, Swing City is definitely a great, yet inexpensive night out.

- What's up with the smokiness? Resolved! we have succeeded upstairs in sealing out the smoke from the basement members' lounge, and made good progress in the Annex too. It is much better and will continue to seal off the few remaining "leaks".

More on the feedback we've received forthcoming. If you have your own comments to share, we'd love to hear them. Please email us at olaf@swingcityboston.com

See you this Friday!
-Olaf
on behalf of all of our entertainers and staff

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Getting to Swing City: Quite a few people have griped about finding the City Club. I ask them how they got there, and they all say, "I used my GPS". AH! NO WONDER! Trust me, it's REALLY EASY if you just follow our directions. We're just off the higway. GPS will take you on the scenic "shortcut" through Cambridge and Somerville if you're coming from the Pike for example, because it thinks its shorter distance. It is, as the crow flies (by a 2-3 miles), but you have to go though Cambridge traffic light hell. Take my word--take the highway route!

Thus, for those people coming from south and western 'burbs, just take Mass Pike to I-93 North, take exit 28, make a left, left again at the second light, and park in the huge lot. From the Newton Corner exit it's maybe 10-15 minutes max.

The new place is the Somerville City Club, at 20 Innerbelt Road, Somerville (map). It's adjacent to the Holiday Inn near Sullivan Square, directly off I-93 and 3 blocks from the Orange Line. There are also a bunch of convenient buses that come through, ample parking, our "Annex", and of course... a FULL BAR. For those that drove to the Greek Church from I-93, you probably went right past it on Washington St. In fact it's only a little over a mile away from the Greek Church location and a few miles down the highway from Springstep.