Originally set to play a last-minute matinee show at the First Unitarian Church (it was a matinee show because she was performing at an in-store at AKA Music later that evening), the show had to be moved (because of a scheduling conflict) to the Ethical Society of Philadelphia, a beautiful venue that ended up being perfectly suited for KIMYA DAWSON.
Much has been made of the recent notoriety that Dawson has received lately because nine of her songs are on the top-selling, super-popular soundtrack to the movie Juno. Furthermore, her old band THE MOLDY PEACHES has even reunited for a few sporadic appearances (most recently on the morning talk show The View last week) as a result of all the attention and publicity. The truth of the matter, though, is that Dawson is a great songwriter and, from everything I can gather, a fantastic human being as well, and no amount of attention and publicity can change the quality of her songs. What I did notice, though, were how many teenage girls were in attendance, many singing along (well, really whispering, since most of the crowd sat on the floor attentively), undoubtedly having discovered Dawson as a result of the Juno notoriety. This is not a bad thing. She is still determined to do things on her own merits, even if that means playing in non-traditional, out-of-the-way venues for the sake of her principles and her baby, PANDA.
So anyway, this was my first time seeing her and the show was simply transcendent. The song selection stuck exclusively to her solo material and some of the highlights were “Loose Lips,” “12/26,” and “Tire Swing,” just to name a few. Playing with no accompaniment other than an acoustic guitar, Dawson’s child-like voice filled the room (which had almost pitch-perfect sound) and held the audience in rapturous silence, the crowd hanging on every word she said. What made the show even better was her on-stage banter, which including telling the crowd to support small businesses, which was all done without being preachy or self-righteous. Of course, there were also plenty of jokes and plenty of crowd interaction as well, with Dawson often fielding questions, making it seem more like she’s amongst friends and, in a very punk-rock sort of way, trying to break down that wall between audience and performer.
Opener ANGELO SPENCER is a self-described “one-man band.” Singing, playing electric guitar, and pounding on a bass drum with his foot, he sure filled the bill. His sound could be described as similar to HASIL ADKINS (one of whose songs he covered) or perhaps even ROYAL TRUX sans JENNIFER HEREMA. His set started off slowly and was plagued by sound and equipment problems, but he won me over by the end of it with his enthusiasm.
It’s also worth noting that after the show, I bought a mix CD that was compiled from Spencer’s 7” collection. It consists of all Jamaican ska and reggae (artists include LEE PERRY, THE UPSETTERS, etc.).
Both of the photos above are used with permission and were taken by MELISSA LAWSON and can be seen here.
