Photo by Dominic Episcopo person
There is a difference between throwing on '70s poly-gear and traipsing
to a local disco night and donning a '40s suspendered pin stripe
suit to attend a swing night. The difference is between ABBA and
Frank, between the Hustle and the Lindy Hop, between an embarrassing
time and an enduring age. Or as Kurt Wunder might say, the difference
between a passing fancy and romance. As a DJ at the Rat Pack Cocktail parties and Daddy-O at Fluid,
Wunder has fostered the growing Philadelphia swing set by playing
the music of the golden era. Looking every bit the American girl's Teen Dream, Kurt Wunder
mumbles bashfully, "I don't know how corny this sounds, but it's
sort of like searching for a simpler time." This flirtation with the past has made Rat Pack successful for
seven years and has garnered Wunder a loyal following. Now his
fans can look forward to the opening of his new club, 700. Run
with partners Tracy Stanton and Chris Sey, 700 is modeled on a
"mom-and-pop run operation where mom and pop live upstairs." Downstairs
at 700, there's a mahogany and rippled glass front bar and '30s-era
pharmacy cabinet, church pews and stained glass windows. The upstairs
is modeled on everyone's (well, almost) grandmother's apartment,
replete with a dining room table for socializing, a kitchen-esque
bar, and a bathroom tub for the DJ to stand on while dishing out
Sinatra and Dorsey. "When I listen to the music, everything seems easier, " says Wunder.
"It is a lot easier to keep things simple if you do things in
a way that is simple." Not such a bad concept considering the
clutter, chaos and blurred boundaries of modern times. 700, 700 N. Second St. (at Fairmount), is set to open in late
November. - Elva Ramirez
Kurt Wunder