At last month’s South by Southwest music festival, I walked what seemed like 40 miles to get to something called the Garden Party. The daylong, outdoor show included sets by J. Mascis, Thurston Moore, Okkervil River, and She & Him. That’s why I went. The concert was capped with a 45-minute performance by Kimya Dawson , the singer-songwriter who made the Juno soundtrack a hit ...
I planned to stay for a couple of Dawson’s songs, since she works best in small doses. (When she was one-half of the Moldy Peaches with the insufferable Adam Green, two songs was pretty much the limit.) But something happened around the third tune in Dawson’s acoustic set: I was drawn into her sing-songy world. I stuck around for the entire set, completely won over by her humor, her self-effacement, and, most of all, her songs. Even the cuts she played from an upcoming children’s album made me smile.
Dawson is totally capable of twisting her personal and political songs into something even more personal and political (some of her best tunes deal with her mom’s cancer and how much she hates Bush). This show will probably attract a bunch of new fans Dawson picked up after Juno. And honest to blog, I bet each and every one of them will stay until the very last note. --Michael Gallucci
Kimya Dawson performs at 9 p.m. Friday, April 11, at the Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Heights Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. Tickets are $14, $12 in advance, available by calling 216-321-5588. For a preview, listen to “Loose Lips” below.
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