Found Magazine Brings the Darkness

We had been curious how the night would start, and then it just kind of did, with Davy introducing himself and reading a series of found items relating to love and relationships. This introduction was in honor of a close friend in attendance who had just gotten engaged. Found love notes are a good medium for the sincere Rothbart, whose heart is worn clearly on his sleeve (even if he tried to hide it by wearing a sleeveless throwback George Gervin basketball jersey). Favorite lines from this part include, "I don't want any other girl to remember my number. Not even Iesha" and "PS I want to build a life together."

After reading from a stack of his "favorite notes" (a common refrain used to for each stack), Davy introduced his brother, Peter, who played some songs inspired by found items. The last, a cover version of a found demo tape called "The Booty Don't Stop," had the crowd signing along by the first chorus. Peter's bare-bone singing style fit the feeling of the show and compliments well Davy's earnest effusiveness. We would have liked to see more than the three songs he played.

Davy then came back to read a story by filmmaker Jim Carroll. The tale told of an unlucky soldier who, after spending 20 years in the most uncomfortable and disgusting conditions imaginable, was freed from his bondage by an afternoon colonic. More found items followed this, along with an uncensored reading of a story, an edited version of which had appeared on This American Life. Favorite quotes from this section were, "Help us bring the darkness" and, "It's not kinky, it's gross."

For the most part, our experience with Found has been seeing the items online or looking at the books or magazines, so we enjoyed hearing them read, and almost acted, by Davy. It's fascinating how much words on a found note can grab you, even without any contextual details. Hearing them read out loud heightens that experience. The sappy missives of lovesick teenagers are moving; the mundane to-do lists of strangers are hilarious.

We did an interview with Davy in advance of the show where he explained his approach:

"...When you read these notes, you find yourself tearing up or laughing out loud. I think ultimately when I'm reading them during and an event it's the same kind of thing. I try to be really present with that item, that note, and the person that wrote it."

This presence with the notes and compassion for the writers touches the audience and makes Davy an engaging performer. You could have left last night without making a connection to one of the found items, but if you did, you're probably lacking a soul.

Precinct's small elbow-shaped showroom was made even smaller by a dozen patrons who had dragged bar stools io the front of the stage (and three who were sitting on the stage) to take up twice as much room as someone standing, but the crowd remained rapt for the entire hour-plus performance and left happy. A Found Event might have been better enjoyed in a theater setting, but it's not clear Davy and Peter want to leave the dank club rooms behind.