What if your favorite singer/songwriter were playing a free show in your town tonight and you just found out about it. Right. Now. If you are anything like me you would have a slight conniption fit at your intern desk and curse under your breath for the two hours until your lunch break when you could call everyone and their mom about the show. Thus was the scene when I opened up Kimya Dawson's Web site one morning at work and realized she had just announced, that day, two shows in Baltimore. One free, at the Sound Garden in Fells Point, and one not free at the 2640 Space.
Kimya Dawson has stumbled upon some fame this year. Nine of her songs (from her solo work and from her Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants involvement) are included on the Juno soundtrack and the heartbreaking anthem to my high school years, "Anyone Else but You," is a major theme in the film. According to a New York Times article ("Born of 'Juno:' A Hit Soundtrack With an Uneasy Singer at Its Heart," Jan. 2008) Jason Reitman, the film's director, cites Ellen Page, the adorable Juno, as the inspiration for using Dawson's music. The actress thought her vintage horror movie loving character would be into the Moldy Peaches. Apparently fans of her character have found themselves fascinated with Kimya Dawson as well because the soundtrack has topped charts, launching Kimya on a promotional tour, and even inspiring a reunion with Adam Green, made possible in large part by the cosmic forces that control The View.
Dawson took the stage last Tuesday just moments after arriving from New York, hands still frozen in the steering-wheel position, eyes struggling to adjust from tunnel-vision to the bright lights of the Sound Garden. A small contingency of her fans had gathered amidst the CD racks, honored for the rare opportunity to see her in action.
She started off with "Loose Lips," and having lost her set list she began taking requests from the audience. Requests for songs like "I Like Giants" and "My Rollercoaster" were met with some hesitation and humility. "All of those have lots of words," she squeaked, hoping that she wouldn't mess up. She didn't, and in the eyes of the audience, she couldn't.
Everyone remained reverently silent throughout each song, save for some laughter here and there at her famously self-deprecating, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Between songs she cracked jokes about messing up her two-chord songs and offered some anecdotes of her newfound fame. "Someone said to me today, without the slightest hint of irony, that I've been fighting the corporate world for too long and that it was time to just join it," she said with a laugh. She also detailed the events of a meeting with "the suits" and her expletive-filled response to their offer of a publishing deal. Her voice was soft and she looked somewhat uncomfortable, hoping that her fans would still love her anti-folk, punk-praising self even though she sold the songs that got them through their darkest hours to one of the biggest movies this year.
As Dawson performed "Alphabutt" a song from her new album that is a series of children's songs inspired by her daughter, Panda, a devoted fan asked after her one-year-old. "She's taking a nap in the car," Dawson replied with a smile. Dawson then remarked that the space they were in would be too small for her usual after-show group hug, which she calls a cinnamon roll (because of resemblance to one and also the delight of being at the center of it). It was clear from the disappointment of the audience, and also from the number of people who said they were going to both of her shows, that the fans still love her and her music and what her music does for people.
