From her work leading indie stalwarts Speedy Ortiz to her vibrant solo material as Sad13, we’re always quick to support whatever Sadie Dupuis might be doing at any given time. Tonight (October 5), she’s at Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, reading from her new book of poetry Cry Perfume alongside Michael DeForge, who reads from his own new graphic novel Birds of Maine. So that headline up there is slightly misleading, as it’s more an event than a show, but what an event it is, in all its show-y form, as the evening is rounded out by a Q&A hosted by Maura Johnston and a post-read DJ set from Great Scott talent buyer Carl Lavin.
Dupuis and DeForge are currently on tour doing readings across the eastern half of the country, and this is marks Dupuis’ second poetry book, the follow-up to 2018’s Mouthguard. It was written over four years during her time playing music on the road and experiencing all that comes with being a musician on tour.
“I’d lost friends to overdose, and felt anger at the ways in which live music largely ignores the needs of musicians and music fans who use drugs or who face addiction — and how in many ways, artists are encouraged toward untenable living,” says Dupuis. “The chronic underpayment of musicians, the inseparability of venues and alcohol sales, and the arts’ increasing absorption into algorithmically-motivated tech felt like interwoven concerns.”
SADIE DUPUIS + MICHAEL DEFORGE WITH MAURA JOHNSTON + DJ CARL LAVIN :: Wednesday, October 5 at Faces, 50 Pleasant St. in Malden MA :: 7 p.m., $5 :: Advance tickets + info
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