I decided to go to the Elliot Smith tribute at the last minute (at @thefixinto) on Sunday -- he was one of those musicians who sadness I tried on as a personality suit back in the late '90s and early '00s. Back when the only part of being a boy I was ever any good at was the sad part.
The night opened with Jack Gibson (Tenlons Fort) reciting some lyrics and sharing some memories. Then a sweet self-effacing punk (whose name I didn't catch but who the flyer says was Sonny Burns of @yuveespdx?) got on an acoustic guitar for the first-time-on-stage -- they were equal parts charming and haunting.
I'd heard about the show on Saturday at the @shayleeband show and Elle Archer closed out Sunday channeling Elliot -- Angeles wrecking me like it always does but then she set us off on an uplifting trajectory with a Say Yes sing along.
The crowd was a mix of olds like me but also younger adults who were doing whatever children did when the century last turned and Elliot was still with us. The generation who seem to have learned the lessons that my generation never quite could. Gen-X was, and often still is, incredibly unkind to itself. To ourselves.
Burn out or fade away is one more binary I'm happy to leave behind.