Why would anyone endure the muggy, humid filled days with limited creature comforts to include the same food day after day and outside porta-potties?
Its all about live music. The Pulaski Polka days brought 23 of the best Polish polka bands to the festival and people of all ages came in droves to listen, dance and enjoy the driving beat of the polka’s that cheer your soul. Smiles and laughter are contagious. Creature comforts and mundane life of texting, twittering and facebooking are put away for a day of real good ol’e American fun.
Youngsters kick up their heels high as they bounce from side to side with energy long since forgotten by most of us in our sixties. Grandmothers dance with their grandchildren keeping the time with the music, imprinting that polka beat firmly into the joy it will bring to the children long after the grandmothers pass on. Mothers holding small babies dance around the edge of the dance floor gently bouncing to the polka beat.
Schools in the area have dancing classes to teach the kids the step. It is no surprise the dance floor fills up with energetic youngsters. There is no pretense of what we are here for. No special evening gowns, dance shoes or heaven forbid nylons in this 85 degree humid weather. Put on your shorts a light weight t-shirt and flip-flops or tennis shoes and you are set to go. The goal here is to dance and have fun.
Stan and I are slowing down. My knees generally hurt and are too stiff to really get moving quickly. We go once around the floor and try to avoid the lickey-split dancers circling the floor. I enjoy watching the dancers and listening to the music. Stan still wishes he were 15 and could keep up with the youngsters.
With so many bands you can start to discover the differences. These bands have lots of instruments playing different parts to up the ante on sound. Polish polkas sometimes have double trumpets playing fast paced harmony to drive the melody. The concertina and or accordion quietly grind away creating the backdrop of sound. The bass pucks away at the beat changing chords with the progression of the music. The drummer sets the beat and keeps the group on target. There are clarinets that play right into very effective sound systems so you can hear the articulation of the musician. Tenor saxophones and sometimes an also saxophone bring in the mellow strength to enrich the sound. These 7 piece bands really have a great big interesting sound.
The bands in Colorado are generally three to four piece bands. Even with the switching off of different instruments the sound can’t be replicated with the seven piece band. The local Colorado bands throw in a dulcimer that sometimes overpowers the sound with the ting ting ting of the mallets striking the strings or the boom boom of a trombone or tube. It is a whole different sound compared to the Polish polka bands.
Everyone has their preferences. Mine are clearly apparent.
That is why we jumped on a plane for a long weekend to hear great bands under tents in sweltering heat in Wisconsin. The live music and energy of the crowd make all the difference. Good clean fun, American style.