With Blueberry Crumble warming my belly, it's off to Mulate's again. This is pretty rare, hitting the same spot two nights in a row, but 1) it's close, 2) it's not bumper dancing and 3) Paul Daigle is playing.
This evening provides a special treat. Since I am just there to dance (not eat) I get to share the dancer's table with Mr. Antoine Melancon (an-twan' mel-ahn'-sohn). He is an elderly gentleman who shows up at ALL the zydeco events. With his cowboy hat, his mischievous grin and his "ca va, ce soir" he is a cultural landmark in, and of, himself!! We always share some fractured French and a dance or two.
On the musician's stage is Paul Daigle, his son - who looks like Paul's twin brother - a fiddler & a drummer (sorry, I did not get the names). But attracting the cutest kind of attention was a 'tite fille with a tee fer. That would be a little girl (Pe-tite fille) with a very small triangle (petit fer). She is the drummer's granddaughter and has plainly been soaking up the rhythm and music for all of her grand 8 or 9 years.
Again, the restaurant is full with lots of dancers on the floor. The band is traditional, but full of spirit, alternating fast two-steps with slow waltzes. Every now and then, the rhythm begs for a little swing dancing and, sometimes a Mamou waltz feels right (1, 2, 3, tap, step, tap). Tonight, a group of Texas teenagers take to the floor with high spirits (youth-induced, not alcohol). OK, it's not great dancing, someone needs to clue them into the laws of physics - two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, i.e. step between your partner's feet, not on them!! But they are having a great time, and working hard to travel in the line of dance WITH their partner!!
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