From my hotel room in Salem, Massachusetts this weekend, I completed a little EPK for Kelly Hogan, the extraorrrrdinary ladysinger who has spent most of the past decade on the road with her friend Neko Case and other wonderful folks. Making the film was a deep treat and I’m honored she barked up my tree.
I met Kelly one fateful night ten years ago. I’d pulled myself off the couch at the request of my beloved Rebecca Gates and gone to the Hideout, a cozy little juke joint in Chicago, for only the second time. Rebecca was opening for a band that night – some dude and his flaming something – I’d never heard of them, and didn’t plan to stay much longer than her set.
Rebecca’s performance was sublime. Andrew’s was rowdy. Hogan served up keen eyes and wit from behind the bar. The DJ (Mike Bulington) changed my life. I’d only recently moved from the west coast via China, Kentucky, and Germany. Never had I been so comfortable out on the town. Rebecca, Andrew, and I – and a bunch of strangers – danced til last call.
That evening went down in history and set off about 800 threads and adventures for me. Never in a bajillion years would I have guessed I’d later direct two films about a couple of those strangers. His, Andrew Bird: Fever Year. Hers, Kelly Hogan: I Like To Keep Myself In Pain.
A night out. Who knew?





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