Silver Jews Live In Iowa City

I think there’s still a reason for concern about David Berman. From my vantage point, he’s still a little “off” and, given his previous struggles, which could be a little worrisome. At the same time, he did appear happy and genuinely content being on stage in Iowa City. The lights were low to accommodate his wishes and avoid the literal spotlight, but he did seem to relish the adoration that many people were providing him that night.
There was to obligatory song calls from the audience and a few excited fans, but for the most part, they were subdued and respectful, clearly paying homage to a writer they appreciate and admire.
They were also bookish. This was the type of crowd that makes up a busy day at the Prairie Lights bookstore. The kind that hits the Deadwood immediately afterwards, waxing on about Herbert Selby.
What is it about writers and their bipolar tendencies? If they keep this up, they’re liable to run the risk to lead us to think that their suicides, successful and otherwise, are nothing more than the attempts at creating a lasting legacy. To ensure the sales of their creative works is marketed with better returns.
No, I’m not suggesting that Berman is a phony and making his condition up for the sake of sales. I’m sure the sales aren’t even that impressive and that his condition is severe enough to warrant continual attention. I just think the lineage between genius and mental health is such a fine line in many cases and, yes, I think it’s warranted to place David in that upper echelon of people with high IQ’s. How do you explain some of the caliber of his work?
He gets bonus points for hanging out on stage and interacting with some fierce fans that simply needed to speak or shake his hand after the performance. This is a good indicator that he’s getting comfortable with his stage presence and that his stability is well enough to interact, even with those that may be out in the fringe alongside him.
The “off” comes from weird stage banter, throwing out dedications to who knows and advising us to keep an eye on the date “11-7” just like we do for “9-11.” The only thing I could come up with is that was the date W won the election…er, stole the election…in 2000. Berman sounds like a political guy and I’m willing to bet that he takes issue with the Bush administration.
Or he could just be a rambling savant, blessed with a wicked pen and unconventional stage mannerisms. Whatever it is, he was curious enough and the band good enough for me to want to see them again.
Besides, I wish now that I would have gotten that signed copy of Actual Air.
Check out those weird eyes in the photo. That's even after the red-eye removal feature.
Full write up coming later here