One critical component to making it through this pandemic seems to be establishing routines and habits to keep yourself sane. Thursday evening, Amanda Shires led the latest installment of her I So Lounging series on YouTube, which streams from a stage in the barn at her home most days at 5 p.m. Having played every day since the past Friday, Shires and her co-host Kelly Garcia Plemmons have the format down, loose though it is. As Plemmons explained at the beginning of the day's stream, their goal is to offer "some music, some chats, maybe bust a ha-ha, who knows."
Different friends and family members join in on different days, and for this show that included Shires' bandmate (and Garcia Plemmons' husband) Seth Plemmons and Shires' husband Jason Isbell, providing most songs with a three-guitar attack. Shires kicked off the stream with a bit of banter. Isbell chimed in, noting that Kirkland's, Inc., the company behind the chain of home decor stores, donated supplies to the COVID-19 relief efforts, and he plans to "go out and buy a bowl full of wood" as a salute. Shires also mentioned that she has a pair of Chanel galoshes which she wears to "clean up chicken shit." The more you know.
The band pulled some deeper cuts from Shires' catalog, including a couple of songs from 2013's Down Fell the Doves: First was "Stay," which recounts in gorgeous detail the early days of falling in love, and then "Bulletproof." The latter song was inspired by Shires' encounter with a Tampa, Fla., resident who went by "Tiger Bill." Shires tied this tale in with Netflix's recent bizarre, much-loved docu-series Tiger King. (If you want to hear more about “Tiger Bill,” see Shires' video recounting the story.) Shires then picked up her fiddle while Isbell took the lead on “Flagship” from his 2015 LP Something More Than Free.
Before wrapping up, the group shared ways they were trying not to "go crazy" while self-isolating at home. (For what it's worth, they noted that the Plemmonses have been staying with Isbell and Shires since calls for social distancing began.) Isbell recommended only watching the news for up to an hour a day, while Shires quoted the Ron Padgett poem "How to Be Perfect," which offers timely advice like "get some sleep" and "don't be afraid of anything beyond your control." They ended the stream with an impromptu blues jam in honor of the Plemmons' dog Zeyk, who made a tail-wagging cameo appearance.
Shires and her crew collect tips via a digital tip jar on Shires' website during each performance, with a portion of proceeds benefitting MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund. The remainder goes to Shires' touring band, who were supposed to be out on the road as part of her spring Atmosphereless Tour, which has been postponed. They also still have plenty of tour merch for sale, and those purchases also benefit the band.
