There was something a little uninviting about the dancefloor during the mid-'90s. Not that swing dancing didn’t look like fun, but if white jazz wasn’t your bag and cufflinks weren’t your idea of high style, you were out of luck. Brian Gardner suffered the cocktail nation so you didn’t have to: He took the lessons, perfected the steps, and brought them back to his people. “Swing Goth” is his version of an old-fashioned, unpretentious, post-punk danceclub, with a twist or a Lindy Hop, as the case may be. Don’t worry if you’ve never noticed the latent jitterbug in almost every Love and Rockets tune. With his convivial wit and wine-colored corset, Gardner can teach anyone to partner dance to anything, from the Gorillaz to Siouxsie Sioux. Gardner’s Bowie Ball bowed down before mysterious toxic fumes weaving their way through the Tenderloin earlier this year. But, well aware that there is no other neighborhood in which to honor the patron saint of shapeshifters, Gardner has returned with a crew of dance instructors, as well as the live junkyard blues of 5 Cent Coffee and the Bowie-inspired waggishness of Barry Syska’s Fantasy Orchestra.
Fri., Aug. 14, 8:30 p.m., 2009
