In 2000 I saw Elliott Smith in Denver. I had graduated from College and was living with my parents in a city that I grew up in but was wholly unfamiliar. I was supposed to be starting my career as a… something, but I had no idea who I was, where I was, what I wanted, or where I was going. I was lost and alone.
The Elliott Smith concert was downtown. I went to the show, alone, and stood off to the side by the sound booth (that’s always where it sounds the best). Elliott Smith eventually took the stage and played one of the most sorrowful, emotional concerts I have ever seen. Sad songs about sad things played to the projection of family movies of a (presumably) happier time. I connected more to the songs that night than I had ever before.
A couple months later I would move back to Arizona for grad school and a new direction. And a couple months after that Elliott would kill himself.
Leave a Reply