Loving the Up-South

I had the most lovingest-DC conversation today with a brotha from ATL (not ATL peaches, but ATL cadillacs). He said to me, "I love this city. I fell in love with it thirteen years ago when I came to visit my uncle, and he lived in this $400 apartment. And I went to play basketball across the street, and I heard go-go for the first time. I was like, what is that? I loved it."

So that got me to thinking about my first go-go. Everybody (or shall I say er'body) remembers their first go-go. Mine was at Sidwell Friends school, and I think we heard the Groovers, but I can't quite remember. For some reason, and I'll admit this now, I decided to wear a green turtle neck and black jeans. I really thought I looked like something other than a hot mess. Dude this was the early 90s, and I was really trying to work with the 100 lbs I barely weighed. Me and my brother, my girl who was in love with my brother, and maybe my brother's friend took the redline to Tenleytown, hiked a good half mile to Sidwell. Boy, we got up in that gym, and I danced my li'l tailbone ragged. It was a hot funky mess, but we had a ball like we do in Chocolate City, boy. I found a little shorty just my height (about 5") who went to Dematha. Wonder what happened to him.

But go-gos unfortunately attract a crowd that gets to pistol-whipping when they hear their neighborhood being represented. So I think I hit up one or two more before Mom was like, "No." There was one at Holton Arms (remember that one?) I went to, but it was lame... then there were those stabbings at the Ibex and the Black Hole and the high school gyms... it just got a little too hot for this NW chick. I couldn't hang. But Groovers, Backyard, you're on my Ipod. "Put ya one leg up...."