everything is free now

a few weeks ago i went to a show at kilby court alone on a whim. recent experience has taught me that solo-concert-going whims should only very occasionally be followed. premonitions aside, i indulged the whim and it fell quite nicely into the very occasional positive experience category.

 i really don't listen to ben sollee's music. i have listened to one song in obsessive spurts over the past 4 or 5 years--panning for gold. if one song can compel me to show up at your concert it must be something else. and it is. the night started less promising than i was hoping. i got to the show and a band composed of dads in their 50s with a 30 something bass player played 90s inspired rock like it was still the 90s to a crowd of fifteen. i resisted the urge to stay glued to my phone. i pretended it was the 90s. i bobbed my head, clapped, tapped my toe, sure, why not?--pretty determined to get my $12 out of the night.

 i saw it was more of an "all bands no fans" kind of night and felt badly i hadn't brought anybody else. i've seen a lot of shows marred by the band's disappointment at a mediocre sized crowd. they play to get through it, and it feels just as plodding and routine as it is. but mr. totally regular level-headed genuine ben sollee came in and said "hey, it's perfect weather out here and there are a lot of chairs. i think i'll just play unplugged around the fire pit." a man after my own heart. any one of my mission companions will attest to the fact that i would often eat lying down--ultimate leisure. i like sitting down at shows where the music is less dance-y and/or the musician is sitting down. i shouldn't make fun of those 50 year old dads. apparently i am a senior citizen. anyway, we all shuffled out and sat down to a kentucky drawl and cello occasionally accompanied by crickets, trains, and sirens. he laughed at the interaction of sound. he told us how good it felt to play after a night off and he played like it felt good.

he played a gillian welch cover, "everything is free" at kilby court (!) which is 100% taboo, but well-earned when your show is poorly promoted, i guess. i was glad he did. i'd never heard the song and it was revelatory for me in some surprisingly important ways. i'm more jaded than i wish i were sometimes. it's lovely to encounter those who don't intend to ever get to that place, who know a good fall night and who emanate gratitude.



incidentally this version of "panning for gold" features guitarist craig wagner, whose performance i attended alone at usu when i realized i had to do this. i think it's one of the prettier songs i've heard. enjoy. i think you might.