Hotel Chelsea (08.06.24)

Rockin' and being a fool. It's what I do. Photo by Kat.

Greetings and salutations to you, my loyal reader. I did a super fun show Tuesday night at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life, but as usual, I figured we'd chat about various things before getting into that.

Oh, Okay

I mean, why not? Nearly every other entry in this blog for the past 2+ years is a collection of bullets points with daily updates on the news. That's important, but it also leaves me little space (or time) to chat about things that aren't news tidbits. And as usual, if you just want to hear about the show, it's easy to find when you scroll down.

So, How Are You Feeling About the Harris Campaign?

Pretty fucking great at the moment, though I temper that optimism with a healthy dose of skepticism. All of the tangible signs in terms of polling and fundraising and media coverage and overall enthusiasm are present in droves. Like most elections, my true concerns are only based on two factors: having Democrats actually get off their collective asses and vote (as opposed to writing snarky social posts), and having Republicans not cheat (which they 100% are planning to do).

But as a whole, things could not be going better under these extraordinary circumstances. Think about it this way: last time I wrote one of these show reports was for a performance I did on July 2. That was less than a week after the absolute disaster of the Biden/Trump debate. I hadn't given up on Joe even then; it was my feeling that other factors -- like people angry about the repeal of Roe v. Wade among many other issues -- would drive enough people to the polls so that Joe still had a fighting chance.

However, we all knew that the perception of Biden as a doddering old man was not based in reality, but was enough that the common voter would, at a minimum, have lost any enthusiasm they had about voting for Joe. And let's face it; people are shallow. Biden will stand in the books as one of the best Presidents this country ever had; his historical record will be one of a hero who sacrificed a lot for the benefit of the nation.

This guy will be in the books as one of the best we ever had. Thanks Joe!

Why Change to Kamala Harris, Then?

It's simple. Joe ran out of time, or more accurately, time caught up with him. I know his mind is still sharp. I know he's one of the most respected politicians of the past 50 years. But the perception of him, with his speech issues that were never great and worsened with age, combined with his appearance of being increasingly elderly and somewhat frail, is all it takes for enough people to lose faith.

I'd said probably 100 or more times that I'd support Joe as long as he was in the race, and I did. I also said that if Joe decided to step aside and allow someone with a better chance of beating Trump to take the reins, I'd do that. And that's what happened on Sunday July 21. I was chilling here and saw a post pop up via social media with a letter from Joe, announcing his withdrawal from the election to better focus his time and energy on the job of being POTUS.

And a few minutes later, he added his support for his vice president, Kamala Harris, to replace him in the race. And within the next couple of hours, not only had Kamala accepted Joe's offer, but damn near the entire Democratic world rallied to her side. It was like reading a tale of ancient yore when an old king tasks his most trusted champion knight to save the realm, and seeing them rush out of the castle with sword drawn against the enemy.

It was only 17 days ago, and yet so many positive steps happened since then, it's more than I could have ever expected, much less hoped for, in my wildest dreams. Harris is going to take Biden's agenda and complete the task that he set out to do... and she's going to do it with her youthful energy that engages the populace in ways that Joe simply couldn't have done at his age.

The right team at the right time.

Harris is also bringing a lot to the party that Joe could not... specifically how, as a woman, she is personally affected by the draconian laws enacted by the Republican leadership in regard to women's rights. There are people -- I'm one of them -- who feel that the USA is long overdue to have a female head of state. There are people who feel that even as good as Joe's been, Kamala will represent new blood. I mean, since 1976 -- when I was seven years old and Kamala was 12 -- every single presidential election has had a Bush, a Clinton, or a Biden. Every one. Go look and see for yourself.

And finally, in addition to being smart, engaging, and experienced as a leader, Harris will likely be able to garner support for fresh new ideas, unencumbered by the big political machine but still savvy enough to know how to make it work to her benefit. Between her and Tim Walz, I'm not sure I ever saw a more exciting presidential ticket so full of potential in my lifetime. And yes, I mean that even by comparison to Obama/Biden and Clinton/Gore.

Please Vote

And stop whatever you're doing this moment and visit vote.org to confirm you're registered to vote. Thank you.

How About that Show?

Yes, let's talk about that. First off, I could tell pretty much immediately that we'd have a decent crowd at Hotel Chelsea... not that this is the only metric I use to determine whether a show is good or bad. I've had great shows in front of six people and horrible shows in front of 600. It's not just how well I perform, either. Example: I fucking butchered the Joni Mitchell song "A Case of You" Tuesday night despite having done it successfully hundreds of times before.

Getting started while people arrive. Photo by Kat.

Me, remembering to tell people to please tip the venue. Photo by Kat.

More people arriving while I keep strumming and singing. Photo by Kat.

So it's definitely not about me, or at least not all about me. One thing that made the show great was that I'd been walking on clouds the entire day over the announcement of Tim Walz as a the VP candidate. In fact, a few minutes after that info became public, I picked up my guitar and pulled out a pen and in the subsequent 15 minutes wrote an entire new song called "Kamala & Tim" that I ended up performing that night. It was well received.

Wanna Talk About That Final Song?

Well... fine, here's what happened. As usual, I had a set list planned beforehand, and especially at times like these, my songs are chosen purposefully with specific reasons. I opened with a Kurt Vile tune because he's a Philly guy and the Harris/Walz campaign had a rally that evening in Philadelphia. I'd put a Bob Marley song on my list in honor of Kamala's father Donald J. Harris, who was born in Jamaica.

While I was doing my set, my fellow Second Life singer-songwriter pal Grace McDunnough was in the audience. I've considered Grace a friend going back to 2007 when we first became acquainted, and I just enjoy her so much as a person and as a musician... she's amazing in every way. Grace dropped me a message to see if there was any way I could maybe work the word "couch" into one of my tunes. As you likely know, there's been a false but hilarious story going around about Trump's VP candidate JD Vance.

Toward the end of my set, just before the couch incident. Photo by Kat.

So, I'd essentially finished my set and found I still had a minute left before the next performer -- Zachariah Loon -- was getting onstage. Hopping into the audience, I decided to improvise one final song, something I do from time to time. I clamped a capo on my Takamine guitar and started strumming and singing. And the words that came out to the punky blues progression went, "One time I fucked a couch... One time I fucked a couch... It was furniture... I was deep in love..." and so on for the next 60 seconds. The audience reaction speaks for itself...

[17:59] Kat Claxton: OHMYGODWHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

[17:59] Trouble (trouble.streeter): hahahahahahahahah

[17:59] Maali Beck: OMG

[17:59] Maali Beck: hahhaa

[17:59] Grace McDunnough dies

[17:59] Spence Wilder: Dang! Whooooo!

[17:59] Wizard Sideshow: ha ha ha

[17:59] Trouble (trouble.streeter): but was there a porpoise picture around?

[17:59] Grace McDunnough: I love you beyond words Zak Claxton

[17:59] Wizard Sideshow: only once?

So that happened. I promise you, when I do stuff like that, I'm hearing it as the same time as you are. My brain and hands are on autopilot. If you're shocked, imagine how I feel!

Me, soaked in sweat right after my show, and needing Thai food.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)

Perfectly Calm (They Stole My Crayon)

How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)

Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)

A Case of You (Joni Mitchell)

Day After Day (Badfinger)

On A Plain (Nirvana)

Ripple (Grateful Dead)

*Kamala & Tim (Zak Claxton)

Redemption Song (Bob Marley)

Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Browne)

Allentown (Billy Joel)

*I Fucked a Couch (Zak Claxton)

Big 'ol thanks to everyone who came by the show, with super duper special thanks to the following folks who helped support it!

Wizard Sideshow, texas Deir, Melinda Adamski, cristoofarr Resident, Grace McDunnough, Trouble Streeter, Leslye Writer, Fester Mubble, Kat Claxton, my terrific manager Maali Beck, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko, and Chelsea's great staff!