Anatomy of a Drum Circle

I've been to plenty of drum circles in my life at Eeyore's Birthday Party.

This is the first I've participated in.

Giant Hula Hoop Girl who danced on her toes the entire time.

Guy who twirled flaming sticks.

Dancing girls who belonged at Woodstock.

Every kind of drum imaginable.

A Dallas crowd that belongs in Austin.

Tonight, I went to dinner with a friend. On the way back to my hotel, I saw that the Across the Street Bar was right around the corner.



ATSB was a former hangout in my younger days for the Texas-Oklahoma game in Dallas. Cheap, cheap bar. Dancing on the kegs with (unknowing at the time) my wife's next door neighbors. General drunkenness.

I decided to see what was going on.

Psychedelic Drum Jam was what was going on.

I go in and grab a Red Stripe. I hear the drums going on in the back. The ATSB outside area is basically the alley that they've co-opted.

Outside is a decent sized drum circle. Bongos mostly. I chill for a bit, drink my beer, groove to the drums. All is good. The drummers are all over the place. Middle aged white guys. Younger hipsters. Couple of women. A few that I might describe as homeless, but the drums were too nice.

The night gets later, and the auxiliary crowd rolls in. This is when I see Giant Hula Hoop girl and fire twister guy, and random other people. More drums. More people. Girls start dancing in the middle of the circle. One girl can barely keep her skirt from falling off.

I'm completely into it. Wishing I had a drum. A guy sets up next to me with many drums and a bag full o' tricks. I borrow a shaker from bag o' tricks.

People dance. They drum. They lose themselves in it. I shake my shaker and also lose myself. The beat is so powerful. Intoxicating. Better than the Fat Tire that I have somewhere. For an hour or so, I submerse myself in the beat. Move with the crowd. Become one with the circle.

This is what it is all about. Creating music with 20+ people I've never met. The almost full moon rising over the building next door. Illuminated. Being accepted for no other reason than I wanted to drum.

Too soon it is over. Midnight. Pumpkins. I have to return to real life. I go back to my room and almost think I've dreamed it. This is Dallas after all.

Drum.