….the strokes of indie lit.

Friday, 3/1
Arrive in Atlanta. Settle in at hotel; extend stay an extra day. Attempt to find parking in Little Five Points. Repeat for the better part of an hour, interspersed with getting lost.

Attempt to find the Drunken Unicorn, not realizing that it looks from the outside like a stairwell in a parking lot. Find the Papercuts’ set striking: blown-out pop music, widescreen but slightly distorted, like a Bill Morrison film. Saw Grizzly Bear for the first time in a few years; they pull off the “how the hell is that going to work outside of a studio” songs from Yellow House impressively.

Saturday, 3/2
Drink coffee. Meet up with Todd, C.T., and Susannah. Drink more coffee. Meet the fine people of the Duck & Herring Co. Read at Aurora Coffee; first part of “Spencer Hangs Over Newark” and a few pages from a newer story called “Radar Kayak Radar”.

Dinner.

Return to parking lot. Rental car isn’t working. Call Hertz’s roadside service number. Leave keys in car; get ride back to hotel with Todd et al.

At hotel, ride up to the room in elevator with quartet of semi-inebriated wedding guests. “Are you a band?” we’re asked by one of them. Admittedly, the four of us could definitely pass as one. Someone — may’ve been C.T. — says, “We’re the Strokes.” “Really?” our questioner asks, impressed. Thankfully, this is just as the doors open on our floor, and we exit.

Keycard doesn’t open door. I return to lobby to straighten things out. I straighten things out. I return to the room.

At 2:30, I am awakened by the towing company. “Are you with the car?” I tell them that I am not. I direct them to the keys. They do not call back.

Sunday, March 4

Eggs in the morning. Drive to Birmingham, soundtracked by John Cale, John Coltrane, and Orange Juice. Visit Sloss Furnaces. Have a drink at a fine outdoor bar; eat tacos. Reading at Speakeasy; brick walls make for good acoustics. Fine tour, I’d say.