Day 39: Reports of Ceasefire and Singing

A couple things. One, the second to last day of camp is way better than the last day of camp. Two, I didn't know a good concert could stick in your mind for so long. I’ve been stewing on this one for a week and my mind is a little all over the place, so I’m going to try splitting this into parts.

Part I - The Sinclair

Remember how I was all nervous and excited about going to the concert? Well, I made it there and back. And it was phenomenal. I think a part of the reason that it was so good was because I went in with low expectations. I saw Daughter, who is arguably my favorite band, in concert my freshman year of college. Their music was fantastic, but they weren't entertainers. Lydia was. Another piece was because I went alone to a new place with a bunch of people who don't know me at all. On one hand, I missed Calvin's appreciative spirit of everyone who was performing. The Student Activities Office talks a big game about teaching Calvin students to be a good audience, but they are actually right. Only a few people were dancing and cheering during the openers. On the other hand, I loved that I was only connected to these people by a shared love of music (even that was a little shaky—more on that later). I could move my hips and lift my arms in my half-hearted raise-the-roof gesture with no worries. Plus it was kind of fun to be asked if I was going to be drinking at the concert and get a neon green bracelet declaring my eligibility.

I saw some fun people there. A lot of couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties. There was a mom with her baby, who was wearing massive headphones to protect their ears. The most entertaining group was a cluster of 6 high school women in the front who seemed to know each other in some way. I was unclear if two groups of 3 met each other at the show or if they were internet friends or if they were all actually together. Any way you cut it, they were very excited for Cherry Pools, the second opener. There was another woman who was kind of back a bit who I only realized was a mom when she tapped her daughter on the shoulder and asked if her daughter wanted a picture with the lead singer who was chilling on the wings.

They were classic high schoolers. They ran over to hover near the lead singer (who was only about 10 feet away from where they were standing originally—it was a pretty small venue) only to run back, bumping me in the process, and scream his name over and over. Waving her apology off was one of the two times that I talked while in the venue; I guess you could call this night a solitary adventure. Once the music started, they yelled things like “I like your glasses” “Do you have a belly button?” at the leads and responded “You're welcome” every time a lead said thank you after a song. At first, I was annoyed by them. Why couldn't they just be cool? Why can't they just enjoy the music and not yell cringey things at singers that are just doing their job?

I then had a moment where I remembered how teenage girls are ridiculed no matter what they like. Their interests are often thought of as vapid and passing, especially when it comes to music. But these women, they were owning it and drinking in every second of their favorite band. How was their yelling and screaming and singing and dancing different from my own? They were gone by the time Lydia came on, and I definitely think I would have been pissed at them during Lydia’s set if they were still yelling, but they did help make this experience.

Part II - The Actual Concert

The openers were good. I hadn't listened to Funeral Advantage that much and I enjoyed what I heard, but I really jammed with some of Cherry Pool’s singles. Lydia, though, was worth all the hassle of driving to Arlington and taking the bus and staying up late. The lead singer was less awkward than I thought he would be, and the pianist was hilarious. After the third song, he pointed and grinned at me since I was in the second row and clearly knew the words. They all performed barefoot, which was an interesting choice, and had clips of random people and old TV projected on their backdrop. The lead singer usually does the harmonies on the tracks, but live the pianist and guitarist do them, and they sing them loud.

They performed songs from all of their albums, including the one that I didn't know existed (This December something-something-something). I was the opposite of most of the crowd in that I knew all the words of the newer songs but not the older ones. Leighton, the lead singer, turned the mic around during the Illuminate songs, which was probably their most successful album. I knew “Hospital” but not “This is Twice Now” and “A Fine Evening for a Rouge” so I was a little lost during those mic turns. I felt a little weird knowing all their new stuff, but hey, when they played my favorite song off of their new album you best believe I was singing along.

I've always judged people for taking videos of a concert while they are there, because who looks back at an hour of concert songs when the polished track is only 5 clicks away. But for the last week, I've been scrolling through Instagram and watching Lydia’s live videos of their concerts when I wake up in the morning. Other people's recordings have allowed me to step back into the night and trigger the details I've already forgotten, like the setlist and how Leighton dances without a guitar in his hand and the harmonies Leighton sang on “Goodside” so he didn't have to hit the high note every dang time and how much Matthew Reyes the pianist swears when he's praising the crowd. I always thought Kishi Bashi would be the best concert I ever saw, but watching my high school soundtrack come to life close enough to touch is difficult to top.

Honestly, I'm not even sure why I was so moved by this concert. Their music was good, but they as performers felt genuine and warm. I felt like I knew them, which in a way I guess I do. All I know for sure is that if I am in Michigan the next time Lydia is headlining a tour, I'm more than willing to drive 3 hours to see another show.

Part III - Sayonara, Meadow Breeze

It’s always weird when you have new campers on the last week because everyone is getting so nostalgic and cherishing even the semi-annoying campers. The new kids just feel out of place, and you don’t feel like investing in them because you’re counting down the days on your fingers and you just want to hang out with the campers you know and love. It’s also weird when you have to discipline kids on the last few days. You think that since you are so close to being done the kids will pick up on it and cherish the moments they have left with you too. Instead, you end up sitting out a kid for half of swim time and all of dodgeball because she won’t stop climbing bathroom stalls and acting out.

The surrealist part of ending camp was the goodbyes. Throughout the week, I would remember during an activity that this was the last week and think, “Gosh, I’m going to miss these kids’ little personalities and the weird things they say.” The numbers started to drop, and day by day kids would have their last days and I would come to camp the next morning and say, “What? _____ isn’t coming back today?!” Then Friday comes along, and I thought I would spend the whole day being sappy but that only happened when I was checking campers into Extended Day and I tried to cajole a Badger into saying goodbye to me. He hung out with me the whole time I was checking the rest of the Badgers in, so maybe that was a partial win.

It hasn’t been a perfect summer. There have been some interesting choices from the high ups, some people who I've got annoyed with, and some duties that I really didn’t look forward to. But when a parent of a camper I had last year comes up and thanks me for my work and a lot of my campers say things like, “I’ll see you next year!”, I know that there’s something going right.


Games - Solitaire and Spit
I’m OBSESSED with playing Solitaire, and I’ve even started playing Spit with Sarah Newell, who consistently hands my butt to me. I know I talked about these last week, but I really can’t stop playing. Just play a game or two in person or via an app (or a Google search) while you’re watching Bachelor in Paradise or another equally trashy TV show and you’ll be hooked.


Music - “Hollywood” - Cherry Pools | “I Can Hear Your Laughter On The Wind” - The Lulls in Traffic
“Hollywood” is my favorite track from Cherry Pools. It’s such a summer listen—pop-y and catchy and vaguely dissing rich people. I created a smaller playlist on Spotify just so it could pop up on shuffle when I’m driving places.

Today I suffered through a lot of honors thesis data crises. In my brain breaks, I found myself surfing Spotify recommendations and found out that Aaron Marsh of Copeland was a part of a new collaboration called The Lulls in Traffic. I queued “I Can Hear Your Laughter On The Wind” and had to listen to the whole album (Rabbit in the Snare). The rest of the album isn’t worth your time, but this one is. It’s melancholic like Copeland’s Ixora but with a driving drum beat and hints of electronic manipulations scattered throughout. I'm also a sucker for a good piano line, and it's got a haunting one.