Best. Voicemail. Ever.
by Katie
Friday night, while Mikey and I enjoyed the smooth stylings of the Monsters of Folk, Gimmy was catching up by seeing Thao at the Black Cat. Because she likes to party, she started texting me the set list and some comments.
I told Gimmy that, though I’d adored the Philly show, I wished she’d played “Swimming Pools.” I can’t choose a favorite Thao song, but that’s just one of the many standouts. The next setlist-update I received said simply “swimming pools!” I responded that Gimmy made me sick.
Then I fell asleep. It was well after midnight, and I’d only had a few hours of fitful sleep, plus a little too much gin. Also, I was in a hostel room full of sleeping travelers, so when Gimmy called me, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Only upon hearing the voicemail the next morning did I learn that I missed possibly the most important/badass phone call of my entire life:
“Hey, Lucky, this is Thao. I’m here with your friend Sara, and we’re in DC, and I wanted to apologize for not playing ‘Swimming Pools’ last night in Philadelphia. I don’t know why we didn’t, I think I just forgot. I’m very sorry and the next time we see you, we’ll play it. Thank you, have a good night!”
Oh, Thao. I still loved every second of that Philly show! I just hope your next DC tour date doesn’t conflict with another longstanding commitment of mine 
If I could get this message off of my phone and onto the glory of the internet, I would. We’ll see.
Hello, can’t you just play it into your mac and press record? If not, you know I have sophisticated recording equipment at my house. Bring it over.
Thieves not welcome.
you’re welcome
Gimmy: Do you know what song they played in between Easy and Cool Yourself?
yikes, i wish i knew. all my text notes have since disappeared and i think i stopped taking notes at swimming pools! sorry!
Christine, if you remember anything about how the song went, Gimmy and I are probably familiar enough with Thao’s catalog to identify it. I believe in Philly she played “What About” and “Tallymarks” off her first album, “Like the Linen.” She also played “Moped” by special request. It was probably one of those, I’d say.
Thanks for responding, guys! All I wrote down was “tough . . . soft?” (helpful, I know). She played “Moped” next to last, but everything else (apart from the mystery song) came off the last two albums.
Ohhhhh I think that’s “What About” from “Like the Linen.” The chorus is “What about me/Me on top of you/All soft in your ear/Time-tested radio tunes.” I thought the second line was “Me, I’m tired of you” for a long time, and I can definitely hear how it would sound like something about “tough.”