Cold War

30 days of writing, day 4

About four years ago, I was watching a show on HBO called “Insecure” at my previous job. It was a good job that allowed for these kinds of things, and I was thankful for it. While I was watching this specific episode, however, I heard a song that I really liked. As one is wont to do, I looked it up on YouTube, and after watching the video, I immediately added it to my Spotify playlist, told Emily about it, and it became something we listened to pretty much once a week.

We listened to it again and again. I’ve always been a fan of the R&B, pop-infused indie stuff. I was also a big fan of the Muhammad Ali reference in his name, as I grabbed anything that I could that had anything to do with Louisville and added it to my personality.

After a couple hundred more listens, I did some more research, and saw that Cautious Clay was playing near us. It was actually at the A&R Music Bar in Columbus, Ohio. So, as we did back then, we bought tickets.

He had gone from an ear worm that I had heard on an HBO show to an experience that we were going to share together. This happened a lot with us, as most of us our early vacations and trips were centered around music. Cheap concerts with up-and-comers were our specialty.

The day came when the concert was, and we packed up and drove the two or so hours it takes to get there. It’s not a very big bar, but he did have an opener and during that opener you could just sit outside or watch the musician while getting a beer or mixed drink. We never really knew what to expect during the first-time seeing people, seeing as the concerts weren’t very big, and we had been to a bust or two. We waited for the opener to be over, as he wasn’t really our style. Then was the main event.

He was phenomenal. His voice didn’t lose any power by being live, and he played multiple instruments during songs. Multiple. On a tiny stage in a tiny bar all by himself, we were very impressed. It was a short set, as he hadn’t had a ton of music put out quite yet, but we were sure that this was going to be another success in the up-and-coming music tour that had quickly become our life. And the best part? The best part about listening to small bands/artists and seeing them live (besides their prices), is that they’re nearly always very accessible. There were maybe 50 people in that bar, and he told everyone that as soon as the set was over, he would get pictures with anyone who wanted one. So of course, we did that.