I got out to a show last night. (A show is what you call a concert when you go to a lot of concerts.) Lucy Dacus at the Entry. It had been sold out for some time but I bought a ticket from a fellow First Avenue member through the Facebook group. I first saw her open for Car Seat Headrest at the Cedar a while back.
Took the bus downtown, the 4, which still goes up Hennepin. I didn’t realize when I moved up here that all of the bus routes near me going up Hennepin was because of the construction on Nicollet. Now a few of them have moved back. So a longer walk to and from First Ave, and a bit more planning on my part for the return trips. I used to be able to just stand at a bus stop on Hennepin and know that a bus that would get me home would be by in five or so minutes. Now I have do some planning. It’s a small thing but it really changes the experience.
I checked my big puffy down coat. Record cold yesterday. I’m so grateful when places have coat check or baggage lockers. If you drive and park, you can stash your coat and brave the cold for a dash to the venue. I don’t think we talk enough about the non-transport role cars play for people: mobile lockers, charging stations, nap pods. We do makeup in the mirror, change babies on the backseat, sit on the bumper to wait for a friend, lie on the hood and watch the airplanes fly over. We put dividers on benches so you can’t sleep on them, we build bathrooms without mirrors or changing stations, we create policies that make spaces inaccessible if you simply have a large bag with you. Cars are a way of carrying conveniences with you that should be part of the public space but often aren’t.
I missed the first opener. The second was a band called And The Kids. They were great. Huge sound. You could get fancy with genre labels but to me it just felt like true-blue rock and roll.
Lucy Dacus played all the new stuff first, which is a bit louder and punkier. Then the older stuff after, which has a slower and more atmospheric quality. Great all around. Her writing is incredible. The lyrics seem simple but she uses them in a way the feels consistently surprising and/or devastating. I was dancing (well, rhythmic rock show wiggling) throughout but also had tears streaming down my face during Pillar of Truth. Was glad to have bumped into a friend from the local bike scene, and to have re-met some of her friends, so I didn’t feel alone while bawling in the middle of a show.
Grabbed the coat, dropped a dollar in the plastic tip cup, and walked home. I was feeling warm from the dancing and a vodka tonic. It was a good night.