Dear Backspace,
I know it’s cliché, but you need to hear it. It’s not you. It’s us. Nobody did anything wrong. We just grew apart. When we played there last July, not that many people knew about us. Saddle Creek had re-released our album that day. Do you remember that? It seems like so long ago.
Don’t get us wrong. Your high ceilings are still really charming. And your low corner stage is perfect for an intimate performance. But when so many people come out, it’s hard to see, and the sound dissipates into a muddy mess past the first few rows. I’m not blaming you. It’s just that we’ve had a lot of time to think out on the road, and that’s not the kind of show we’re really doing now.
Our songs have always had an immediacy to them; you knew that going in. Being on tour for so long just made it clear. And I know it was hard for you to hear them, but the new songs are only more so. We can’t go back to the way things were. We’re going to have to have to play encores now, and you just don’t have a backstage to go to. That was really awkward. We all felt it. There’s no sense pretending we didn’t.
But that’s not the real reason we’re breaking up with you. Ultimately, we need something else. Something you can’t give. No. Don’t try. You’re great the way you are. And some up-and-coming band is going to be really lucky to play on your stage. I mean it.
We’ll always have the memories. It’s . . . just . . . it’s just not going to work out the next time we come to Portland. I’m sorry.
Sincerely,
Nils, Amy and Paul
The Rural Alberta Advantage*
*[Please note that this review expresses only the views of melophobe, and not those of The Rural Alberta Advantage or any of its members]
