Mill Race

I'm just back from my first music show in months and, despite Melissa having to nearly force me out the door, I'm so happy I went. One of my favorite bands, Mill Race, had a CD release show for their new EP. Only 25 of the CDs were pressed and of those, 13 sport hand painted back covers -- and the CDs themselves are hand-painted as well. I scored #2 of 25. Su-weet.

The show itself was fantastic. Salem has, what feels to me like, a small music scene. But for it's size, it is fierce and inventive and varied and loyal. There was a moment when the band launched into an audience favorite, In der Hand, and, as one, the audience closed its eyes, swayed its bodies and bobbed its heads. There was something transportive about that -- nearly magical or religious. And these moments seem to happen often at Mill Race shows with singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist Julian Snow acting as shaman to the assembled crowd.

For years now, I've wanted to write a comic about a band, about people who make music -- and seeing a band like Mill Race perform always revives that feeling. I've never seriously started the project, however, because I know that I could never capture in a script or on the page, even a tiny sliver of the holy energy I feel surround me at a show. Maybe someday I'll be that good a writer, but not today.

For now, I'll just content myself with the knowledge that there will be more shows in the future where I can get close to that energy again.