Words and Photos by Quinn Pomering
Kimya Dawson: A Sensational Contrast to the Drawbacks of Capitalism in Art
In a world full of multi million dollar productions, a small, unrehearsed performance catches you off guard and has you living fully in the moment, grinning ear to ear for the entire duration. That is what made Kimya Dawson’s performance at Black and Tan Hall so exceptional. There was no set, no choreography, not even a band for the majority of the show, just a person on a stage with a small community watching and enjoying themselves together.
Before Dawson’s headlining set, a phenomenal Post-Punk band from Memphis, Blvck Hippie, performed an energetic set that had attendees dancing with strangers and interacting with the group on stage.
A major element that made this show feel unique was the book talk that came in between the two sets. James Spooner thoroughly discussed his interesting perspective on size Vs. community whilst promoting his newest book, It Starts with Anger. It felt as though his perspective shaped the entire event. He explains the complicated reality of trying to balance getting important messages and experiences out to the most amount of people possible with the effort trying to maintain the strength of that message. He shared how he believes that when people get grand opportunities to make unique, creative experiences to showcase their work to the world, whether it be a big music festival or a complex concert, they sacrifice the community that one is able to build in a small, simple event. This idea of community being so established in his talk along with the general air of resistance that pervaded all night tied this book talk in seamlessly, it did not feel out of place like it would have in any other show. He shared the sentiment: “Why are we putting in all of this effort into making a show when we could put it into building a community?”
“Community” was the word that rang throughout the whole evening. It was the hot topic during the book talk, the driving factor in the charm of Blvck Hippie’s set, and the thing that made Dawson’s performance resonate so well. The general vibe of the establishment made sure of this; the moment you walked in the door, Dawson was sitting right there, setting up merchandise to sell and giving hugs to close friends who came to see the show. The venue is a co-op whose goal is to create a place where “people can come and just be” which is exactly what this show was.
Dawson’s set was phenomenal and absolutely maintained this casual, heartwarming vibe. She admitted that she had not practiced nor soundchecked for the show and shared personal anecdotes from her recent life, making the concert feel more like a conversation with an admired older relative than a performance. She brought up a dear friend of hers to play guitar for a song, sharing that she had only asked him that afternoon. She admitted after the performance that when she asked him to learn it, his response was that he didn’t play guitar. Later, she brought the band that opened the show on stage to perform a few more songs that, again, they had only learned that afternoon and had yet to have the chance to play all together. As the final cherry on top, she spontaneously asked for someone from the audience to come on stage and sing her most popular duet, “Anyone Else But You”, with her. An eager 17 year old, Asher, excitedly raised his hand and made his way on stage.
It was a life changing show, not because of advanced pyrotechnics or crazy lighting, but because of the heartfelt effort put in and the way it seemed like everyone involved came out of the show feeling 10x better than they did going into it. It felt like a true expression of art, untainted by the drains of our capitalistic society.
