Cross Record

Cross Record is moving to Austin and so Emily Cross had her farewell Chicago show at Double Door Saturday  27 July, and then gets married.  Well I think she gets married before moving to Austin at the end of the summer........That means this show was a mission. The lack of parking, and Damen Ave leading up to North and Milwaukee made it a bloody obstacle course. It was a sad thing to see her go. I just hate it when they move to Texas. First Sandra Cisneros moves there, I never got over that and now this!  Oh, I'm just fucking around. I just needed to stick a local literature icon into this post for flimsy reasons. And now I can move on. Having her .......meaning Emily ( but hey also Sandra) go to Texas does two things to the civic pride. First is that sadness of this grand local act leave before the city truly shows appreciation. Yet she takes the Chicago identity with her and the weight of its influence. And at least it's Austin she's moving to. I picture Austin to be the West Germany of Texas if they fool enough to secede. Sorry,.....I skipped a verb somewhere in there. I wish her absolute happiness.
  I think I walked in on Cups in the Sink from the LP BE GOOD. This pensive and intimate track like from a Katie Jane Garside day-dream fills the room as I make my way to the front. I am just piling on the names here. I have not explored what the song says, the how is so meditative. Like you quietly just fell into a deeper happiness. I can hear it as I give my ID to the door guy. Introspection and wonder will come easily to listeners of Emily's music. This is not saying that it is slow enough for your short attention span to wander about. You are engaged in the moment she puts you. To put it bluntly....you are not bored. Live, the music fills the room. It sounds right for the size of Double Door. The size of the audience was great yet porous enough for me to find my way to the front of the stage. I have specific favorite songs, but every time I go to her shows I find more that are on the recorded works that I collected. I go back and listen to what I missed like Skins of Fishes. They played that. Even the recorded songs I listen to tend to reveal after I hear them live. You think they are quiet songs but they can fill a room. I feel fortunate and extremely grateful to her. She just gave me the CDs and download card. That was extremely generous. The power of human generosity is incredible, it just brings back your faith in people. I don't think I bring up what a performer wears on stage that much but this moment between songs was too good to miss. Emily had on this green one piece bathing suit from the thrift store. Grossed out her bandmate......'cause its from a thrift store, but she loved it. She connects with her audience, in such a way its like she's performing for friends. I got that feeling in every gig I went to. I think it was the Chicago Reader that named her the Best Candidate to be the next Angel Olsen which gives a kind of tell....for a lot of things. I'm happy they mention them in the same sentence. For me it means that if you like Angel Olsen, let me introduce you to Cross Record for she is worthy of your attention.
Zig.