i just realized that nobody from portland spammed our forums this year. so here's the deal. portland lindy exchange is going to be amazing. they have 11 bands playing, for cryin' out loud. and it looks like they're about to round that off to an even bakers dozen. and this exchange only happens every other year. so if you miss it, you'll have to wait 'til 2010.

i'm going. you should too. and that's what this discussion is all about.

Portland Lindy Exchange - March 7-9, 2008.

The Portland Lindy Exchange is back on March 7-9. We've had two full years to get ready and you best believe we've been busy!

At the very top of the crazy list:

...we have eleven bands. ELEVEN!! We have ->11<- bands from Oregon and Washington. Ever get tired of hearing the same bands at every exchange? Same sound; different walls? We'd like to introduce you to some music that makes Portland special. You'll remember Pete Petersen & Porkpie from last exchange. Super chill and super easy to dance to. Like it old-skool? The Midnight Serenaders bring the early-time jazz. Like trad? You'll like Jim Beatty and his New Orleans clarinet. He's been playing for 50 years and believe it or not, inspired a movie. All about him. ...and then there are eight more bands. Read about them on http://PortlandLX.com

Portland's a hotspot for Gypsy Jazz, Django Reinhardt's baby. We have something special in mind for you Sunday afternoon: three gypsy bands in Lola's Room, downstairs from the world-famous Crystal Ballroom. Both dancehalls have the same mechanical floating dance floor with ball-bearings underneath. Yes, you can see the floor bounce and roll when people walk. Yes, it's astoundingly fun to dance on. Want to know a little secret? Gypsy jazz and balboa go together like whoa. Really, comfortably, wonderfully well.

But wait! There's more!

More than eleven bands? Yes. Yes, yes, yes! We have two more bands we'd like to get into the mix for late night. Here's the deal: we can afford them if 350 people register. What's more fun than dancing with everybody you know? Bring them and we'll easily hit 350. So who are the bonus bands? It's a seeeeeeecret! To make it fun, we'll post hints on http://PortlandLX.com at 100, 200, and 300 registerees.

We have your favorite DJ's, too - confirmed are Giselle (SD), Steven Watkins (SF) and Kristin Buxton (P-ortland-eattle-sadena).

We've got the Crystal Ballroom for two nights! We've got Lola's bouncy floor for an afternoon. We also have the Tiffany Center - MezzJelly-tested, MezzJelly-approved - for Sunday evening. We have two floors at the Scottish Rite for late-nights. Yes, of course one of those rooms will be a late-night blues room. This is Portland, after all!

All the venues are within walking distance of one another. Oh, and the Rite's huge. The Crystal's huge. The Tiffany's huge. We've all been to those dances where the place is packed. Everybody's jostling. You hear the music, but you can't express it because there's not enough room and there's that erratic couple beside you and oh no! Your partner's heel just got stepped on and you feel terrible and.... Fear not. We've got the space for you to dance, dance big, and dance without holding back.

But wait! There's more!

Just like last time, we've got the Pioneer Courthouse Square for Saturday afternoon. This is as downtown as it gets, in fact, we consider it the epicenter of Portland. Hundreds if not thousands will walk past, watch, and jump in as we dance on the bricks. Fear not - there will be plenty of cornmeal cause we love you and we love your knees.

But wait!

Ok. Seriously... is there more?! Let's see. There's...

+ The big, beautiful venues; all in close proximity
+ 3x the bouncy at the Crystal, the Crystal, and Lola's
+ Pioneer Courthouse Square
+ Gypsy Jazz Sunday
+ Steven Watkins, Kristin Buxton, and yes, Giselle
+ Blues til dawn
+ EEEEEEELEVEN bands
+ The two band mystery challenge

More is the food. We've got Voodoo's punk-rawk Doughnuts. And we're planning to feed you at late-night... well, at least the first night. Maybe more; we'll see. It's fun to hit the late-night restaurants, too.

In a nutshell, we're easy. Come, everything's downtown. In walking distance. We'll feed you. We'll take care of you. We'll play a tune or two, dance a little, and give you something to remember.

It's 45 days away. March 7-9. Register today at http://portlandlx.com/reg

See you soon!
Portland