Howdy howdy,
Summer merrily rolls along. Long, mild, mostly gentle days as the high country heats up. I’ve been making the case that there might not be a time and space as appropriately romanticized as a Montana summer1. The river is open for amusement. Floaters and sunbathers, the tourists and their pink frisbees, a river dip is always in the cards. Tuck a towel in the tote before you head out the door. Necessary preparation. The Clark Fork River and its stretch through town between Jacob’s Island and the Orange Street bridge will be the Clark Fork Riviera until further notice. Change the maps.
On my mind while I write this introduction is the MJ Lenderman lyric about how vacation brings the worst out of everyone2. While I don’t firmly cosign the belief, it’s fabulous commentary to consider when travelers aplenty are tiptoeing around town. It’s amusing behavior to experience: adults walking around with ice cream cones at 1:00 PM on Tuesdays, people approaching you while you are checking out CDs at the public library to inquire which local burger joint is better. A personal favorite: the way certain people walking a city for their first time will often recite the name of an establishment before they enter or while they observe the space. Equal parts consideration and curiosity, perhaps. Like saying the words out loud will help answer a question. This grand ol’ mystery. Ooo, Cafe Mimosa?, they question. Ohooh, The Montana Scene, should we go in?, they say. So cute!
And boy howdy, thank you for being here. The land of Big Ideas that is Substack. Another feed fertile with consequential thoughts, so many essays and fascinating articles, digressions on current affairs, and so many if there is one thing on x issue you need to read, this is it. Essays that everyone in their twenties must read. I joke to no one but myself that if you squint hard enough, it’s turning into LinkedIn, but then I see something that makes me chuckle, and the immediate concerns are absolved. It’s good to see some humor wedged between the serious sort. And yet here Benches prevails, posting on, contributing to something (*twirls hand in the air*). And while I’m at it, I have a Big Idea of my own. Are you ready for it? Here it is:
Swiss chard.
Put it on everything this summer. Never let it leave your sight. Shift into Swiss chard mode.
The Benches of June
Duncan Field
Missoula, MT
It’s a Sunday afternoon, and I make my way up the Rattlesnake with intentions to wade around, read, and sit in a rocky alcove of the creek. An hour or three of river and solitude. It’s early June, the valley mesmerizing in green and blues, the frequency of hell yeahs is in a healthy range as I wind the roads en route to the water’s edge. Rattlesnake Creek runs well, verbal enough to drown out the splashing of dogs and hollering youths upstream. Returning from the creek, I pass two well-framed sitters with trapezoidal lumbars on the northern corners of Duncan Field. Sturdy, well-stained, and versatile. The creek is back in session.
Absaroka River Adventures
Absarokee, MT
The scene in Absarokee was magnifique and everything I am about to say is complimentary. I love the hanging planter and the crispy yellow school bus as a river shuttle. I love that the building is painted like someone was given the direction to make it look like 3D glasses. I love that the bench looks mildly emaciated, with wood around the same thickness as a slice of butcher shop bacon running $10.99/lb (worse marbling, unfortunately). I love that changing rooms are a value proposition on the outfitter’s sign. I love that there was a thrift store around the corner.
Tippet Rise Art Center
Fishtail, MT
Nosedived into Fishtail for the opening day of Tippet Rise Art Center, attempting to cover a decent amount of acreage. After a bike ride abridged by a summer squall, rolling over ridges with the Beartooths on horizon, a walk led to Xylem. “Named to evoke the vital internal layers of a tree’s living structure, Xylem is a place where visitors of this vast outdoor art space can gather to converse, or sit and contemplate in solitude.”, reads its digital introduction. Additionally, a bend of benches is presented to the traveler, carefully leveled, with a variety of lumbar depths. “I like it when the sky has something to say”, said the employee at the visitor center, which I thought was a well-fitting sentiment to capture the time at Tippet.
Livingston-Park County Public Library
Livingston, MT
Another entry into the Benches portfolio of cataloguing our country’s finest cultural institution: the public library. This rendition in Livingston, Montana, comes with some built-ins on the retaining wall. Plucky green benches pop in contrast to the mulch work with epitaphs too weathered to read.
Pine Creek Lodge
Livingston, MT
Riding through Paradise Valley, nestled between the Absarokas and the Gallatin, the neon sign of Pine Creek Lodge came into frame. A storied venue in the sense that many people have complimented its vibe, the lodge lived up to the tales. If the stage was the lid, the benches were a bowl, supporting the crowd3. The lodge was noteworthy for its seating diversity: benches, logs, camp chairs, picnic tables et al. Sit near the back if you’re shy, closer to the stage if you’re courageous, or along the namesake creek if you’re looking for different instrumentation.
The Fox Theatre
Spokane, WA
Opened in 1931 to celebrate Spokane’s golden jubilee, the Fox Theatre dazzles with Art Deco flourishes. Intricacies abound from architecture you hope remains forever. Accompanying the evening were many an elder wearing their Friday Evening Keens, pinot gris order before the show for pick up during intermission, and respite along the railings. While the Deco design didn’t make its way to the lobby’s bench decisions, a well-positioned seat to collect and gather, to wait and wonder, to appreciate the brilliance and mastery of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. To hear them command a room with a near-alchemic sound. What I’d imagine is one of the finest acoustic performances of its kind.
I’ve been reading Mood Machine, a book about Spotify. It’s not particularly favorable. Extensive reporting, important context into the the business, the artist, and the consumer in the age of streaming music. In the closing remarks of the book, there was the following passage:
“At its most potent, music helps us give form to ideas and feelings that were previously inexpressible — fleeting moments where the ineffible becomes real, where loneliness dissipates, where the world briefly makes sense.”
The combination of Welch/Rawlings and the Fox Theatre: a special evening.
Take care,
— Markus
Re: Missoula summer
The song “On My Knees” from the album Manning Fireworks (good album)
developing analogy