The Fixx! Live at Music Millennium

Before I made either of my exciting concert ticket purchases, I attended a very interesting live performance that was completely new for me.

One thing I will be writing about soon is trying to enjoy music ethically, and part of that has been trying to support record stores, even with digital purchases. So, when I finally abandoned hope of finding a CD copy of Bullets and resigned myself to just downloading it, I did so through Music Millennium. When offered the opportunity to subscribe to their newsletter, I decided “Why not?”

It turns out that they have a lot of events! They do listening parties and they even get musicians to perform in the store. In two weeks they are having a scavenger hunt for a Trey Anastasio test pressing. Sure, most of the events involve people I have never heard of, because I’m not with it, but they had the Fixx coming up. Initially I thought it was intriguing, but that it would just not be realistic to even try. Music Millennium is far on the other side of town, and from a bus point of view it was too much time in transit it too unfamiliar territory. Then Julie and Maria wanted to go.

To be fair, they didn’t really want to drive either, and so were asking about Tri-Met, where I could only give them disappointing news, and yet we still couldn’t let it go. Then we thought to ask Cathy if she was interested, and she was! Technically it was still Maria driving, but having someone with some familiarity with the area along for the ride was really helpful in terms of giving them the willingness to do it, and suddenly we were there.

The way it is set up is that there is an upstairs area where the band performs, and you can hear them from anywhere in the store, but you can really only see them from between the music racks in the front of the store. Priority standing was given to people who bought the new CD, Beautiful Friction. This was no sacrifice, and I decided to really go wild and buy an Architects CD as well, though I may have picked the wrong one.

I have to admit that it is not the most comfortable venue. It is crowded and kind of hot, and you are standing for the entire time, with no support. Also, someone had bad breath. At the same time, the acoustics were good, and the intimacy gave it some interesting aspects.

For example, we were down there watching set-up. Of course you are hoping to see the musicians, and usually you don’t, but it was a small enough area that we were catching glimpses. Also there was a young man who was clearly a roadie, not only because he was not recognizable as anyone else, but I feel the roll of duct tape around his wrist also designated him as such. I just got a kick out of seeing him tape up the set list, because normally you are not close enough to see little details like that.

And then they came on, and it was a really good set! They did not play my favorite song, Secret Separation, but I can’t fault them for that. They played a good mix of older and newer, and the thing with Secret Separation is that it is a bit more synthesized, I guess, and I feel that would have not gone as well with the venue. Of course, there is more to a good musical performance than the technical aspects, because a big part of it is also the interplay with the audience, and there were ways in which that was easier. They could actually see us, and that worked well, though possibly not as well as I thought, based on a story I am saving for a little bit later.

After the show we could get our CDs signed, and they put Beautiful Friction over the sound system, so we could listen to it while we waited. I was about tenth in line. Some fun things about that included looking at the various DVDs, and seeing Rammstein next to Ramones, and doing a double take because I thought it was another Ramones DVD, and that would not only mean that I was missing one, but that it was a metal one. Also, I got to chat with Terry Currier briefly. Previously our interactions have consisted of me seeing him at Blues Fest and being excited because he is a local treasure, and smiling and nodding excitedly, and him smiling and nodding cordially but a little bemused, probably not realizing that he is famous. But he is.

Now on to meeting the band. First let me say that I was the only one of my party in line, because Cathy, Julie, and Maria went back to the car. I am the most indefatigable of us. However, that did lead to some stress about how long I would keep them waiting, and how quickly the line would go, and so it seemed important to me that one does not hog the attention of any of the band members, but keeps things moving in consideration of those behind you.

Well, it moved pretty quickly, but I mainly only said things like “Good set” and “Thank you”, because again, there are people behind you, and also, what do you say? Gush? I mean, I did tell the bassist, Dan K Brown, that I thought his bass was really beautiful, because I do. Sometimes musical instruments work visually as well as acoustically. But he also looked at me like it was kind of a weird thing to say, which I can’t rule out. (Incidentally, it appears to be the same bass that he was using back in the Secret Separation video. It’s unusually thin, probably quite light, the neck seems longer than usual, and I just like it.)

The weirdest of the encounters was with the lead singer, Cy Curnin. As he was signing, he asked me how I liked the show, and I said I did, but I had the distinct impression that he was expecting me to say more, and somehow that expectation left me tongue-tied.

If you know me only as a blogger, my writing is not because I can’t talk—I am totally capable of conversing. However, I have no gift for small talk, and I had already ruled out actual conversation as inconsiderate to the others, and I can get shy, so I was feeling like I’d been a little disappointing, but also still thinking it was odd. Then as I was leaving the store, I suddenly realized a potential explanation, and here is that story.

In one break between songs, Maria called out “I love you Cy!” This is not unusual for her; she loves her musicians and she is not shy about expressing it. I know he heard, because he said “Thank you. It’s nice to be loved.” I know he saw us, but I assumed he knew it was her, and as I was leaving it hit me that I think he thought it was me. I’m not that loud! Well, okay, I can be, but I don’t do it nearly as often.

Sorry for the confusion Cy. I do love you too. Also, I think I’ll be working out things I would especially want to say to any musicians I like, and how to say them concisely. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared.