It’s getting hot outside these days. What’s happening? Is it Spring already? It honestly feels like summer came early. Where did the time go?? Feels like I’ve been away for too long.
It started in 2006 with Little Miss Sunshine, with the opening scene to be exact, and it was uncontrollable and undeniable - a love I had not anticipated.
Not only is this a great movie, but it also has a great soundtrack, and not only does it have a great soundtrack, but it has numerous songs from the same artist, which I love. Sucker am I when I notice that a soundtrack has the impression of a band takeover and that band becomes the anthem and sound of the movie and now the two are permanently intertwined forever and ever. The next time you listen to the band, scenes/lines from the movie are going to play in your head and that’s just the way it goes. Donnie Darko has a Tears for Fears takeover. Muriel’s Wedding has ABBA. But Little Miss Sunshine is special because it introduced me to one of my favorite bands, DeVotchKa.
When mentioning DeVotchKa to people, they’ll ask what kind of music do they play? or who are they similar to? Umm... this Rolling Stone article describes them as an “idiosyncratic breed of Eastern European dance and folk-inflected indie rock,” which, yes, ok, I agree, but the article also calls the band weird and, with that, I don’t agree. Cool kids listen to DeVotchKa. But maybe cool equals weird these days, I don’t know, but they make me feel like I’m in on a secret, which is cool. They’re a hidden gem with an if-you-know-you-know kind of vibe, which, if you know, makes you pretty cool. They’re similar, I guess, to The Walkmen and M. Ward and The National, not necessarily in sound, but because they all have a similar raw and cozy vibe that makes me wish I were in Europe instead or hanging at a park where a band or movie is about to play instead or loving my love instead or reading a book instead or watching a Cary Grant movie instead, all while wearing a nice burnt orange sweater that has a good knit texture and nice pants and nice shoes with the scent of coffee and cigars and tweed jackets and used books in the air.
Anyway, 18 years later, I got to see them. Jenn and I watched them play this past weekend. They were going to be within an hour’s drive, so I kind of had to buy tickets because when would they ever be this close again? And then I thought, hmm, let’s make a night of it and proceeded to buy a hotel room for that night. I love staying in a hotel with Jenn. Whether we’re 5 minutes away or 8 hours away, it always feels like we’re hundreds away. Our place is great, don’t get me wrong, but there is something to be said about staying the night away somewhere with your person. After all, that person is home per se, so you’re always in the comfort of your home. But staying away is more glamorous as we sit and watch Cops or Live PD or Forensic Files because that’s become our theme when we’re away - real crime - on a different tv from a different bed. It’s all a different perspective for the night and that feels needed at times.
After checking into the hotel, we chilled for a bit and then I put on my burnt orange sweater and we headed to the venue. We had never been there before and a co-worker had been telling me the day before that the venue is pretty cool and that maybe it had previously been a western bar or something because there were buffalo and deer heads on the walls and hanging from the ceiling and an old mural painting at the bar of cowboys and the frontier.
We grabbed drinks and then noticed in the back near the bathrooms stood a photo booth. The curtain was drawn closed and we could see two pairs of shoes and two drinks on the ground inside. The couple enjoyed the privacy for the next 10 minutes and we decided we would have a go next. It was $5 a pop. Have they always been this pricey? Anyway, we took $10 worth of photo booth pictures that will never see the light of day. Maybe next time we’ll wait until we’re two drinks in.
Moondaddy opened. We hadn’t heard them before, so didn’t know what to expect until they played their first note. Instant love. Total 90s vibes. Aimee Mann-esque or PJ Harvey-ish, kind of. I felt like I was at The Bronze in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and if I had turned around I would see Faith and Buffy dancing, but not Willow. No. She’d still be sitting at the table sipping her drink and ogling over Xander, trying to get his attention cuz she was young and dumb.
Then DeVotchKa walked out. The crowd cheered as they grabbed the instruments they’d begin the show with. Each played a minimum of two throughout the night.
Violin. Jeanie on the sousaphone on the other side.
Trumpet.
Tiny piano! Didn’t capture the accordions. Or of Nick playing the theremin. But trust me when I say everything together is so god damn beautiful.
Shout out to the sound guy who was also the light guy and the photographer. He would stomp his foot in rhythm with the music and, because I’m a curmudgeon, I would normally be irritated with this because you could feel every stomp vibrate through the floor, but no, not that night. I was happy. And happy for him that he gets paid to have the time of his life. Growth. There was a couple in front of us with a 10-ish year old and the kid was wearing a hoodie with pictures of animals and it said don’t eat the homies and he was having the time of his life, too. It was just one of those nights.
They’re currently on a 20th anniversary tour of their 2004 album How it Ends and every song sounded just as good live as it does on the album. After “We’re Leaving,” someone shouted “play it again!” and I think they actually contemplated it for a minute. They played the entire album and then a few more songs and before we knew it they were saying “thank you for having us” and “have a good night” and it was over.
If you aren’t in on the secret, I tell everyone to listen to “How it Ends” first. If you don’t fall in love in these 5 minutes, if the feels aren’t uncontrollable and undeniable, then it’s ok and I still think you’re pretty cool.
Haven't thought of devotchka in years! Fun to share that night with you two but sure wish we could see those photo booth photos haha!!