last night kate and i went to see damien play a free show in our home neighborhood of ballard. we tried to see mr. jurado over the weekend at easy street records during kexp's hood-to-hood festivities but were late arriving after the photo-showcase thus causing us to be jammed way to the back of the store. we could hear him, but it was mostly a wash. the upside though, was that we got to buy copies of his new record Saint Bartlett in advance of yesterday's official release. last night's show was spot on. in a near pitch-perfect replication of his previous in-store for the release of Caught In The Trees, damien's son miles managed to humorously distract his father- necessitating the kind of goofy song restart one might imagine taking place at home, on the living room floor. damien seems like a really interesting and complex person. his music has in my opinion been some of the most beautiful to be made in this country and abroad over the last 10 years. the more music he makes, the more i wonder about his life and experience. the first time i saw him play i still lived in the bay area. it was at bottom of the hill in support of his then recently released Ghost of David LP. I don't think i'll ever forget it - he opened the set with "Medication" - which literally brought a tear to my eye. the song remains a favorite of mine to this day.
