Kimya Dawson's appearance belies a soul as unconcerned with her clothes as with the trappings of her fame. She sits in a raggedy maroon T-shirt. Her well-worn sweat pants compliment hiking boots and black socks. And her body, adorned with tattoos of cityscapes, is covered with band-aides. She smiles with a radiance of warmth as she lives up to her motto: "Kimya is your friend."
Dawson is sweet and sincere when she sings about the world's social, political, and corporate injustices and her love of music. Unfortunately, her live act is downright dull and boring. It doesn't say much for a performance if the biggest rise from the audience comes from jokes rather than music.
Playing with no accompaniment other than an acoustic guitar, Dawson's child-like voice softly echoed throughout the Tralf Music Hall on Thursday. It had become obvious that the audience had migrated into two separate but not equal groups: the pre-and-post-Juno Kimya Dawsons fans. Dawson has five songs featured on Academy Award-nominated motion picture's soundtrack.
The pre-Juno fans were packed tightly against the front of the stage and were held in rapturous silence as Kimya performed her set. The post-Juno fans sat away from the stage with perplexed looks on their faces, seeming to realize they might not like Dawson too much without Ellen Page around.
The set was an intermingling of Dawson's four solo albums and her latest EP, "The Alpha-Butt E-Pee," which was inspired by her newborn daughter. Interestingly, Dawson, a gifted lyricist known for her zany and aimless song style, surveys some extremely dark subject matter including drugs, alcohol, sexual harassment, and suicide. But she laces her songs about "how living in a small town sucks" with just enough juvenile and absurdist humor not to scare away the kids who shop at Hot Topic.
Some highlights were "Loose Lips," "12/26," and "Tire Swing." She also played a few songs from her new children's album, including "Alphabutt" and "We're All Animals," in which she declared that she doesn't shave herself because she's an animal.
"I was excited to hear 'Loose Lips' and 'Tire Swing'. I fell in love with the Juno soundtrack after I saw the movie." said Katie Darold, a freshman at Buffalo State College.
With the success of Juno, Dawson has found herself able to fill bigger venues.
"The last time I saw Kimya Dawson in Buffalo, she was playing a random house basement downtown. This is clearly a step up and I am happy for her," said Courtney Fallon, a junior English major at UB.
Opener Angelo Specner, Dawson's husband, is a self-described "one-man band." Singing, playing electric guitar and pounding on a bass drum, however, could not capture the audience's attention.
"I wish I came here later," said Joe Wahl of Buffalo. "The two opening acts were real bad, I wish I knew she was coming on two-and-a-half hours after the show [started]."
Dawson's storytelling between songs included tales about how she was once mistaken for a homeless person in a college dorm and how she "took a mega dump" in her friend's grandparent's house and the toilet overflowed.
Dawson became a bit preachy and repetitive in her interaction with the crowd, constantly reminding everyone to love themselves and each other. She also made it a point to state that she doesn't care about her mainstream success with Juno and that she wishes people would stop asking her if she feels that she is selling out.
The set ended with Dawson encouraging the audience to get in a circle and hold hands. Dawson joined the audience and together as they danced around the floor holding hands. The circle eventually led to a massive group hug, at which point some people quickly shuffled out the door, relieved that they didn't pay too much to get into the hippy romp.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
