This show really blew me away. I have been to a lot of great shows this year, but this one stood out to me in that I think it was the most intimate show I have ever had the pleasure to attend. A large part of this is because of the smallness of the venue. Zebulon is just a small bar with a room in the back that has a small stage and a few large blocks against one of the walls for stadium-like seating. Andrew performed just a few feet in front of me and the rest of the crowd. He made jokes, talked with us, and then, after the show, manned the little fold-out table loaded with merch we had all perused earlier. It was really neat to get a moment to talk to him and express my appreciation while buying a shirt.

Apart from the small size of the venue, the special nature of the show also came from the short run (just 8 shows, two nights each in 4 different cities) and the unique setlist he made for each one. He played a mix of songs from across both his discography and Parquet Courts’. And it was fucking awesome. I heard some songs that I never expected to hear live, such as “Instant Disassembly” and “Picture of Health.” With the latter being one of my all time favorite Parquet Courts songs, I was understandably stoked. Then he also played some of his solo songs I was really hoping for, like “Mountain Time,” so really I had an amazing night all around in terms of song selection.

Throughout it all, it was just Andrew and his acoustic guitar. And that just made it all the more special. Some of the songs are much more energetic in a studio setting, so it was quite special to see them stripped down to a lone acoustic guitar in a small bar in Silverlake. And it also meant that the audience was fantastic. It was small and just very friendly. I spent most of the concert at the front with this one girl Mish who was apparently there from Australia. She was a huge fan and not only did she see the second show he did the next night, but also already had tickets to see him two weeks after in Australia. We bought merch at the same time and she asked him who came up when he googled his name: himself or the Pearl Islands Season 7 Survivor Andrew Savage. Savage sighed and said “Survivor,” which legitimately has me wondering if he chose the stage name “A. Savage” to help get around that.

That question, of course, triggered Mish and I to start talking about Survivor ourselves, which then morphed into an hour and a half conversation at one of the tables outside. Mish is one of the coolest people I have met at a concert (and I meet a lot of cool strangers at these things) so it was really fun to just shoot the shit about our special interests right after sharing this amazing show together. When I finally left half past midnight, I saw Andrew still around. He was chilling at the bar as he nursed a beer and chatted with the neighboring seat. It was such a perfect final moment to sum up the cozy, down-to-earth vibe of the night. It really felt like he was just a friend coming out to play some tunes for us while we all hang at our fave local bar. Excellent show.