Flicker Theatre and Bar (Athens, GA)
w/ Kate Simpkins, Dodd Ferrell, Martyr and Pistol, Kitty Snyder, Claire and Bain’s Maple Yum Yum
Playing a show in Athens is like going on a particularly awkward blind date.
Like, I show up and she’s beautiful and immediately I realize she’s much cooler than I’ll ever be and I feel gawky and out of place. Everything I say is overthought and I feel dull and old next to her. But then I start to realize that she KNOWS she’s cool, and it starts to make her a bit annoying. Her allure seems so contrived and well-thought out that it ceases to be alluring at all. The conversation become more stilted, because I can see the strained attempt to be aloof and detached in her every word. But the date is in full swing, and I can’t leave. So the conversation continues, and bit by bit I begin to catch glimpses of something, and I realize suddenly that she IS alluring, in a hundred different ways that she isn’t even aware of, ways that she would probably try to deny if she was aware of them.
And then the date is over. And she never even really showed any interest anyway.
Anyway, the show wasn’t too bad. Very small crowd, though. Lee Smith, writer of some of the more mystifying posthumous reviews of Radiant City in the past year, booked the show, he’s been very kind to me over the past year (thanks, Lee!). I was tired and I only stayed through one other act, which was good because she was excellent. Kate Simpkins. It was just her on an electric guitar and Eric, her drummer, and they played very subtle, amazing stuff. Highly recommend it. She’s actually based out of Atlanta so hopefully we may try to book some shows together soon.