Kimya Gave Me a Hug
Last night I went and saw Kimya Dawson play at the Knitting Factory in NYC. It's quite a strange venue as they have 3 bands playing on 3 floors simultaneously but you wouldn't know by the noise. The doorman is the only thing that gives away the existence of a multi-concert as he asks for your ticket.
I had read earlier that day that Kimya was playing and that she was giving out free hugs. So I told Blake that she was playing and reminded him that she was from another band that I used to rock back in the day; the Moldy Peaches. He remembered some of their songs, including the infamous "Who's Got the Crack?", which embarrassingly enough he requested when he gave Kimya a hug.
I bought a "Kimya Dawson Loves Me" t-shirt. After I bought my shirt I asked for a hug
and since she was sitting at the merch table she got up and gave me one. It was really sweet.
I stood their listening to her sing. She's such an interesting songwriter that you can't help but nod your head 4 or 5 times during the performance and just go, "Man this is really good." She described her music as chatter box folk. Even though she meant this to describe her audience chatter it really did fit because her lyrics and her lyrical rhythms are really fast and sometimes stratified.
During a lull in the set when she complained about her fingers hurting we had this slight communication.
Kimya: "Why did I put all these fast picking songs in a row? My fingers hurt I'm going to need a break."
In a very meek childlike voice
Me:"Story?"
Kimya:"What's that man...."
Again, very meek and humble
Me:"Story time."
Kimya:"How bout a knuckle sandwich...story time."
I then turned to Blake and said
"Man I just pissed Kimya Dawson off. She's the nicest person in the world. I didn't really mean anything by it. How the hell do you piss off Kimya? She gives out hugs before the show...I feel like shit."
Later on in the show she finally did tell a story and I confirmed that with another, "See...that was a story." At that point she laughed and said, "Yep sure was..."
Blake leaned over and said, "See she redeemed herself. You deserved some sort of apology." At which I smirked and still thought I was a dick.
During the show she was wearing a large Bo Beep type outfit with a big hat and a doll named Chucky sitting next to her. The doll was also in a video she played before the show. The video was about the break up of a family. She plays a lot of songs about domestic disturbance and some bad things that go on in life, especially bad things that happen to children.
The show was full of really precious moments. She invited a member of the audience to come up on stage and take a nap while she sang a lullaby to him. She told stories about Japan and made jokes with some of the kids who were explaining that they were going to
get grounded if they stayed out any later. To which she replied, "Sorry for using the c-o-c-k word."
It was a good show in a really nice venue. It wasn't great or anything. It was just like Sunday dinner.
If you ever see Kimya in your neighborhood I recommend going to see her. If you don't like her I'll give you your money back. The same way she promised to give our money back if we didn’t enjoy ourselves. She's a rare talent and one that will make your heart warm and bring a smile to your face.