You blinked and you missed it: for just 5 grand days I was free of this arctic wasteland, my asinine internship and journlolism, returned to my homeland. In retrospect, it’s not half as bad as I remember it. Only 5 more weeks and I’ll be right back there, though, so for now, it’s best to just keep on trucking.

With all this belly-aching, you might think I utterly despised Washington. That’s not the truth at all! In fact, the Saturday before I departed, I had a splendid time, all thanks to those lovely fellows we common folk call “musicians”. As it was, I had the vast fortune to attend a 3 act show of no small talent.  Hosted at the DC 9, the set consisted of Astronautalis, Dessa, and POS, all performers of the subtype rapper. I’d gone for Astronautalis, who has been something of a staple of my college career. Stopping by in Shreveport once a year during October or November, each of the three shows he’s delivered there have been absolutely stellar. Each time I’ve gone I’ve ended up experiencing one of the best nights of my life, whether it be because the show was so absolutely stellar or it ended with me meeting some of the best friends I’ve ever had. However, this time, there was no one to attend the concert with, so I had to rely on the strength of the show alone to get me through my last night in the DC area.

He failed to disappoint, as I’d hoped. With vocals strongly reminiscent of Tom Waits and a stage presence equal parts menacing carnival ringmaster and avuncular huckster, Mr. Astronautalis regaled us with tales both historical and contemporary, backed by beats that sound as much inspired by antique shops and history as they do more modern musical sensibilities. His traditional freestyle rap (in which he takes five subjects from the audience and, backed by a pre-selected beat, strings together a story) was hilarious and dizzying; I can proudly say that one of my suggestions was even used to form the elaborate punchline to the story, which involved an incompetent football coach hiring the sun as his newest quarterback. A classic hour, as always.

Sadly, I did not give Dessa’s performance the attention it deserved; I busied myself too much with chasing down a few drinks and clumsily chasing skirts. Your author is a man like any other, though probably goofier by far.  My stupidity would come back to haunt me in the next act, though, when she and POS performed a duet that made it quite clear what I’d missed.

Thank goodness I was back to the front of the stage again by that time; I’d have regretted it had I missed this performance because of my generally dismissive attitude. He’d taken over the crowd long before he ever came on and had no trouble controlling us to his satisfaction the entire time. Not that anyone complained; the man’s a crowd-pleaser for a reason, with a commanding voice and passion that you’ve no choice but to obey.  Unfamiliar with him as I was, I found myself quickly picking up the lyrics to the songs and joining the crowd with chants that by then must have been the stuff of habit. Raw, loud, apologetically pissed off, his music is the stuff of joy.  It’s far too bad that we were cut off early by another show that was set to come on; impressive as the duet with Dessa was, I can only imagine how fantastic the promised Astronautalis/POS crossover might have been (if the hidden track on Astro’s “Pomegranate” is any indication, absolutely peerless).

Capable of performers as they were, these artists were also more amiable by far than any other musicians I’ve met. POS waited outside to shake hands, take pictures and hand out autographs for over an hour after the show. He was even so kind as to speak into my tape recorder, on account of my lacking any other tools capable of capturing the occasion. Luckily, another fan had the good grace to not only take our picture but send it to me via email, for you and all the world to see (that’s me on the right, for those not in the know):

Quite the stunning image of musical decadence, is it not? Thank you, Mr. Dean, for capturing this scene on camera for all eternity! I’ll see if Mr. POS will allow me to load up the eternal advice he spoke into my tape recorder, just to give you guys another souvenir!

Astronautalis was likewise on hand and likewise every bit as friendly. Luckily, I’d scrounged up money enough to buy the two CDs of his I’d not yet found copies of and so got an autograph or two out of the deal. He likewise spoke into my recorder, giving me sage advice guaranteed to allow “a fellow Southerner to survive this close to the Mason-Dixon line”.  This I will likewise try to get up on the website at some point, given his permission. He had much to say beyond that, speaking with me for a solid fifteen minutes about Louisiana, about his experiences in a Post-Superbowl New Orleans, his visits to Shreveport, and the knowledge of just how odd the city could get at the worst of times. He left me smiling, and with the promise that I’d bug him on his next trip through Shreveport, a vow I completely intend to keep.

And there you have the first installment of my Concert Blogs. I can see these becoming a vital part of the blog, so long as I can continue to find and attend concerts in the area. For those who do know of any, feel free to inform me; I’d be happy to take suggestions up! Until next time,

– Austin Price (Imagine, now you know what I look like!)