The Jagg Off, a Mick Jagger-style dancing competition, will be at Portland House of Music on Friday. Photo by Brian Jenkins
Who wouldn’t want to move like Mick Jagger?
The Rolling Stones’ lead singer has been slinking and strutting like no other rock star ever has for more than 50 years. He’s got a huge repertoire of moves, a half-century of experience, and at 75 he’s still going strong.
The Jagg Off originated in Burlington, Vermont, but event founder Dennis Lemoine now lives in Maine and has brought the party to Portland. Photo by Brian Jenkins
So it’s natural then that somebody would come up with a dance contest where competitors try to out-Jagger each other. At least the idea came naturally to Dennis Lemoine, an events producer and big Stones fan who created The Jagg Off about eight years ago in Burlington, Vermont. Lemoine now lives in Maine and is bringing The Jagg Off to the Portland House of Music on Friday.
The Jagg Off is ultimately a birthday party, always held around the date of Jagger’s birth. He’ll turn 76 on Friday.
“One day I was just sitting around and started thinking it would be cool to do something for Mick’s birthday. So I had people over and some started pretending to be him,” said Lemoine, 38. “It just mushroomed from there. One year, we had 90 people in my apartment and the cops came. Then we started doing it in a club.”
The event will feature a 90-minute set of Rolling Stones music by local musicians, followed by the contest. Competitors do their best Mick Jagger moves for about 30 seconds to the Stones’ song “Start Me Up.” There’s no singing; it’s not a lip sync contest, it’s a dance contest. People aren’t required to dress up, but they often do, Lemoine said.
Mick Jagger Photo courtesy of The Jagg Off
“There’s a lot of leopard print, a lot of bandanas, and people trying to dress like Mick,” said Lemoine. “A lot dress like Keith Richards, too.”
After all the competitors have had their time to dance, the two best are chosen by the volume of applause they get. Then those two will share the stage and dance together to “Dancing in the Street” by Jagger and David Bowie.
The winner gets a trophy, T-shirts and other Jagger-related swag. The party includes wax lips, temporary tattoos and birthday cake, Lemoine said.
After the competition, there’ll be more Stones music by local musicians Josh Robbins, Steve Jones, Nate Schrock, Paul Thibeault and Marty Joyce.
Lemoine thinks part of the allure of Jagg Off is that Jagger and the Rolling Stones are still touring and culturally relevant. Lemoine saw them on their recent tour.
“Mick was moving all over the stage, on the catwalk, just really engaging,” said Lemoine. “He’s still the greatest front man in the history of rock.”
And for one night at Portland House of Music, you could try to be just like him.
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