On Sundays when the weather is fine
they meet
at a park with a fountain in Nagoya.
For one hour,
they do their hair.
(slow flourish of comb
and hairspray and
blow-dryer powered by the generator
one of them brings)
For thirty-eight minutes,
they eat lunch:
egg-and-ham sandwiches from Vie de France.
They stretch.
(thin legs in black leather
bent
into sharp angles, like tricky geometry)
Then
(the crowd gathers,
reflected in black aviator eyes)
they dance.
They dance
like West Side Story
was lured into a dark alley
and repeatedly punched in the face
until it leaked out all its sweetness
on the dirty asphalt
but still remembers
who it is
what it loves
why it does what it does.
They dance
for the screaming teen-girl crowds.
(nonexistent)
They dance
like they did when they were fifteen,
all alone in their rooms.
Chuck Berry from a scratchy Sanyo,
white socks on tatami,
slippery.
Sneering in the mirror,
ballpoint pen for a cigarette,
wondering if it's possible to
go back in time
and cross an ocean
and do this, be this, here.
It is.
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Comments (11)
*thunderous applause*
Posted by Cirilia | April 9, 2007 10:51 PM
do they really??? do this? how awesome! hahahah
Posted by amigurumigirl | April 10, 2007 7:04 AM
man, I wish I had 1/4 the cool that those guys do... isn't the whole Japanese rockabilly thing fun?!?
Posted by kelly | April 10, 2007 8:51 AM
Those guys kick so much ass. I wanna see them someday.
Posted by Zena | April 10, 2007 9:13 AM
oh my gosh - i love these guys! i would like to see them in person someday :)
Posted by t. miyashiro | April 10, 2007 12:39 PM
Yes, they were truly amazing. If you ever find yourself in Nagoya on a sunny Sunday, they dance in the park with the big fountain near the Robot Museum and Oasis 21 in Sakae. They will act very grumpy if you ask to take a picture of them, but they will secretly love it.
Posted by Anjali | April 10, 2007 12:46 PM
i love these photos. i can just imagine them dancing. love reading your blog!!! always fun stuff. :)
Posted by ivy | April 12, 2007 2:58 AM
Wow, Anjali! What kind of music do they dance to? (I'm assuming they don't dance silently!) America needs dancers in our parks, definitely it'd do us good.
Posted by Amy | April 12, 2007 8:21 AM
WOW, I bet your daily awesome would be interested in this! I love them!
Posted by caroline | April 12, 2007 10:39 PM
Amy, they dance to early rock 'n roll. The best part is that it's all on cassette tapes, so you know they've been doing this for ages.
Posted by Anjali | April 13, 2007 10:22 AM
i see a shy girl handing the sandwiches over, secretly in love.
Posted by Billy Mavreas | April 13, 2007 6:31 PM