Racing Towards Zero – Day 6:
Thanksgiving – We Can Be Bad

One fine Spring day up in Olympia, my housemate and I found a flier for one of the many shows that went on seemingly every day in town. It said something to the effect of “Come to this address and bring cookies” and listed off some bands. We had cookies, and we wanted to enjoy some of Olympia’s finest music, so we headed to the address on the flier, ears at the ready.

We were a little surprised when we ended up smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It was quiet, and there weren’t any signs, and we wondered if the flier we had was old or something… but like a beacon of light, we saw a group of hipsters walking in the same direction, and decided to follow. (A note about hipsters in the Pacific Northwest: They’re not nearly as annoying as the ones you might find anywhere else in the US. They have a purity to them.)

Long story short, and cookies traded for admittance, we ended up in the backyard of Olympia-based artist Nikki McClure, who was hosting a mid-day show for everyone to enjoy. I forget who all was playing… I think it was The Microphones, someone else, and today’s featured artist, Thanksgiving, from Portland. He was excellently low-fi, and his performance had heart, and charm that wooed us all.

It was an incredibly surreal experience, being in the backyard of one of the papercut goddesses of our modern time, lounging in the grass next to Olympia icon Calvin Johnson, everyone laying down enjoying live music. I don’t know if the spirit of the moment is conveyed through this recorded version of We Can Be Bad, but it was above all today’s top Unheard Song.

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