Vendredi

The ladies of New Orleans’ social aide and pleasure clubs are taking the parade from the streets to the club this weekend, as Tipitina’s hosts the first annual Second Line Show Down.

The event, billed as “Battle of the Footwork: The Ladies Edition,” takes place Saturday night, June 23, and features some of the city’s best second line dancers squaring off to show their stuff.

Big Chief Juan Pardo of the Golden Comanche, who’s organizing the event through his company Sky Life Productions, told NoDef to expect “organized chaos” as the ladies battle it out.

New Orleans’ second line culture comes from the city’s social aide and pleasure clubs, who each parade once a year in their flashiest finery. Since two clubs rarely ever parade on the same day at the same time, deciding who has the prettiest suits and the best moves is mostly a matter of opinion. But the Big Chief wants to give clubs the chance to prove once and for all that they’re the best.

“The idea was something that I’ve had for a long time. It comes from something that is older than myself,” said Pardo. “Every time a second line comes out in the community—you’re at the barbershop, you’re at the corner liquor store, or the local bar or whatever—and you hear ‘Man, did you see Buckjumpers when they came out?’ ‘Yeah, but Prince of Wales, man, they had some nice colors!’”
“It’s always who was better than who,” Pardo explained. “There’s never really been a forum to truthfully answer it.”

Until now, that is. For the ladies edition, Pardo is bringing together clubs like Lady Buckjumpers, We are One, Single Ladies, and Lady Nine Times to compete for the top honors.

“You’re getting more than one social aid and pleasure club,” he said. “You’re getting all of them under one roof, and you’re presenting each of these clubs however they choose to represent themselves that night on stage.”

Since the idea of the showdown is to highlight second line culture, Pardo believes Tipitina’s is an ideal venue. The uptown club has been around since the late ‘70s and has been instrumental in developing and promoting the city’s music scene, including the brass bands most closely associated with second lines.

“I wanted to keep it real community oriented. Tipitina’s was my choice of venue just for the nostalgic value of its cultural representation,” he said. “They’ve always been in the front-runners of cultural events, and that’s one of the places that helped me make my name as a performing Mardi Gras Indian,” added Pardo, who has performed with Galactic and the 101 Runners.

While all the elements of a traditional second line will be in place on Saturday night, bringing the event indoors puts the emphasis on the dancing and the costumes. With the social aid and pleasure clubs focusing more on looking better every year and looking different than the year before, Pardo says “you’re getting to the point now they’re doing second lines like the Indians do.”

Pardo is planning a men’s event in the fall, and he hopes the Second Line Show Down will become an annual tradition, giving the social aid and pleasure clubs one more opportunity to strut their stuff before they pack it all way and start thinking about next year.

The First Annual Second Line Showdown take place at Tipitina’s on Saturday, June 23. Tickets are $12. Doors at 9:00, show at 10:00.