Swinginâ
9th Avenue West makes dancing fun despite snotty attitude
By Ricardo Baca
The Metropolitan
9th Avenue West
9th Avenue and Acoma Street
572-8006
9th Avenue West.
The name just emits pretentiousness.
When describing a location, people would normally say
ăWest 9th Avenue.ä
People may ordinarily spell out ăninthä when writing it down. But the Izod-wearing Ken-doll-look-alike who drives his Lexus sports utility vehicle down Cherry Creek Boulevard with his Starbucks coffee in his leather cupholder would probably say ă9th Avenue West.ä
As proclaimed on its stationary and answering machine, the club is ăDenverâs premier swing supper club.ä True enough.
It is also true that it is Denverâs only swinging supper club.
One thing they should be concerned about is the lack of space ÷ not only for eating and socializing, but for swing dancing, too.
A swing club should have sufficient room to swing dance ÷ a form of dance that requires space, especially for people just learning. Visitors on any average Friday or Saturday night will find it an adventure finding a table and, subsequently, room to dance.
As a swing and big band aficionado, I can appreciate their bringing quality local and national music to a Denver stage. But the attitude they do it with leaves much to be desired. The wait service is bad, and aside from a few really friendly bartenders, the entire staff treats customers like dog poo.
A few waitresses, with characteristics that make them hard to forget, look so perturbed and distraught that ăyou want a whiskey sour and also need change for a fifty?!ä They bring new meaning to the cliché, ăthe look of death.ä
Itâs true that they have to work their way through the bustling club, which is small but still draws crowds over 1,000 people nightly. But they still are there to serve and please the customer.
The staff arenât the only elitists at 9th Avenue West. The crowds are equally stuffy. Not to say that all the visitors are pompous, but the majority of people standing around are as full of themselves as the Stay-Puf Marshmallow Man.
Their $1,000 smiles sparkle and their Gavin Rossdale-esque hair glimmers.
Even with all of these vile characteristics, the club has its pluses.
Itâs been instrumental in bringing good bands to Denver. They have brought Indigo Swing in from San Francisco a couple times and had the Cherry Poppinâ
Daddies here for its grand opening celebrations.
The lessons available at the club, taught by Joan and Les Cooper, are also very good. They often deal with large crowds of people and do a good job informing people about the basics of swing in only an hour-long lesson.
The experienced swing dancers at the club are very humble and courteous and always willing to help the lesser-experienced dancers. As unofficial ambassadors of the club, they keep the people coming back for more.
Lord knows itâs not the cocktail waitresses.
The 9th Avenue West schedule:
Mondays ÷ Live big band music.
Tuesdays ÷ DJ K-Nee spins acid jazz.
Wednesdays ÷ Vintage swing and rockabilly music with dance lessons at 9 p.m..
Thursdays ÷ Latin jazz and salsa music.
Fridays and Saturdays ÷ Live music. Nov. 21 and 22 is the debut of the clubâs house band, Papa Grande and His Double-Wide Jumptet.
Sundays ÷ Live music by 17-piece big band Spectrum.
