FRIDAY, JAN. 11

The name Six Organs of Admittance might be a little misleading as there are actually more than twelve organs in the human body, and when we go to rock shows we water the largest organ, the liver, with golden cheer—grab a cup and steer yourself to a secure spot. I chose to hunch down on the steps to get a clear view of Ben Chasny up onstage, sitting with an acoustic guitar on his lap. His fingers wove a simple, stripped and somber tale of rambling, like a Spanish gypsy that has lost his tribesmen. It all sounded encrypted to me, but reminded me of seeing Arrington de Dionyso of Old Time Relijun (this silver-tongued one uses a mouth harp!) play at a short-lived all-ages venue up in Portland called the Mind Hole. I consider my brain to be the most important organ of all and someone a week ago told me to just have fun watching the atoms split. So I sat there and stretched the fibers and watched the situation focus with greater intensity—as Ben jumped up from the chair and bellowed, ‘Wait a minute!’ And there was more purpose, with the climax being a mysterious girl [Elisa from Magik Markers? – ed.] joining him onstage, and then everything went electric with a clatter of buzzing hope and the climax of ‘Shelter from the Ash.’ I watched him explode like a puffer fish. With great excitement, I ran home and thought about Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity, in which he believes that many experiences perceived as coincidence were not merely due to chance but instead, suggested the manifestation of parallel events or circumstances reflecting this governing dynamic. (SS)