Ever wonder what it was like to experience the 1930s?
On Tuesday night, you can enter a virtual time machine and go back to Hoover and FDR. To the swing music of Benny Goodman. To the dances of the day – the Jitterbug, the Charleston, the Rhumba, the Cha-Cha and the Waltz.
Some of the Alabama folks who will be on the Bluegill’s dance floor were alive in the 1930s, and they are still going at it.
It’s “I Remember You” by the Mobile Big Band. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 8:30 p.m., which is bedtime for some of the more classic dancers and listeners.
There are no RSVPs or tickets required and no admission charge. But remember, the Bluegill is a restaurant and bar, so patrons will be dining and imbibing as they experience Alabama of a bygone era. Seating is limited, so get there early to get a table or seat at the bar. A full house is expected at the Spanish Fort restaurant.
The Bluegill is an indoor/outdoor venue. With gorgeous spring weather expected, most will be outdoors in sight of the bandstand.
The Mobile Big Band is Alabama's version of New Orleans' Preservation Hall Band, only the music genres are a bit different. In New Orleans, you hear Bourbon Street's Dixieland jazz. In Mobile, you hear swing, big bands, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
While waiting for the show to start, you can enjoy the Bluegill's local Alabama seafood. Oysters from Bon Secour. Shrimp from Bayou Le Batre. Red snapper from the Gulf of Mexico. Crab and crab claws from Mobile Bay. A tasty way to pass the time waiting for the big band.
The musicians in the big band are all local and regional volunteers. They mostly have day jobs. Conductor and trumpeter is Mobile attorney Chip Herrington. One saxophone player is U.S. District Judge William Steele.
One of the Mobile Big Band's purposes is to share the big band music of the past with new generations—Alabama's "yutes" hearing a sound and beat that they don't hear on the radio. The preservation of the 20th-century big band music is an ongoing mission.
A crowd favorite is "In the Mood" by the Glenn Miller Band. Swing dancers swarm the Bluegill's dance floor for this up-tempo classic.
Slow dancers take the floor for a classic covered by several star entertainers, including Mobile's Jimmy Buffett – "Stars Fell on Alabama."
The Mobile Big Band is often featured at events in Baldwin and Mobile Counties.
For details, including an events calendar of Mobile Big Band appearances, go online to Gulf Coast's Most Loved Big Band.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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