By Members of the Long Beach community danced the night away to the musical stylings of D.J.’s Dennis Owens and Lithuanian Prince with headliner Nick Waterhouse in a parking lot wedged between a hardware store, and an apartment complex Saturday night at Summer and Music’s event, “Dancin’ in the Streets.”
For those who arrived promptly at 7 p.m., the most exciting elements were the food trucks lined up along the street. The Line for The Lime Truck appeared to attract more people than the music, and the “dancin'” was not happening. It was more like “Stand around and look in various directions” in the street, but as the night went on, the crowd grew and D.J. Dennis Owens’ set brought out the dancers in the audience.
The first D.J. set was a wide variety of 60’s music ranging, from Etta James’s “You Got It” to Toots & the Maytals “54-46 Was My Number.” D.J. Owens said his choices for the night were meant to complement Nick Waterhouse, the headlining band, and to help people have fun.
“It’s always important to have a good time, it makes life more pleasant,” Owens said.
Eventually, people in the crowd really started to let loose. The beer being sold may have had an effect. Whatever the reason, the event started to live up to its name. Hipsters, middle aged men, women and children alike were not only dancing in the streets; they were partying in the streets.
After Owens warmed up the crowd, Nick Waterhouse and The Tarots took the stage.
Waterhouse, a Huntington Beach native, resembles Buddy Holly, but sings like he came straight out of a 60’s soul band, making many turn heads. While Waterhouse screeched and crooned at the top of his lungs, the saxophones came swinging in with the heavy-rooted drums and bass to keep everything in place.
“I’m feeling like that sort of classic, basic sound of music [will] come back,” Schafer said.
The performance defied the current definition of “dance music,” which usually includes mostly electronic synthesizers and laptops. The band consists of Waterhouse on lead guitar and vocals, David Moyer on baritone saxophone, George Schafer on tenor saxophone, Jeff Luger on drums, Kyle Stephens on keys and Jack Payne on bass.
Waterhouse mixes big-band with soul, rockabilly with rumba and blues with swing. He captures the atmosphere and drama of each genre and blends them into one explosion of sound.
“It’s all over the board,” Waterhouse said. “I don’t do a typical arrangement. People never know what’s going on.”
His love for classic music grew in his early teens while listening to old 45’s from Atlantic Records as well as Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker records. Waterhouse then moved to San Francisco and started to DJ in different clubs.
“I played 45s I really liked,” he said. “I dig for records that are unusual.”
After Nick Waterhouse and the Tarots finished playing, D.J. Lithuanian Prince closed out the night with 60’s hits and ended Dancin’ in the Streets on a high note.
“Dancin’ in the Streets” was an event put on by Summer and Music. Upcoming shows include Funkfest, on August 18, and Buskerfest, on August 25. To find more details about locations and times, visit www.summerandmusic.com.
