Lotus Helps You Keep Moving
Write Lotus blog series begins with Maggie Smith book mashup
Lotus fans travel, sometimes great distances. Washington, DC, represents the southernmost city in my regional footprint for driving to the band’s shows, and that’s where I found myself a couple of weeks ago. For the start of their summer itinerary and the final All Good Now Festival pre party.
Opening slot at The Anthem near the waterfront. “Wax” and “Spaghetti” kicked things off, “Flower Sermon” and “Shimmer And Out” closed it out, but those in-between tracks made the nine hours of roundtrip driving even more worth the trek. I love when layers in music add to the experience but don’t overwhelm it, and “Reed” is my favorite current example of this density—already en route to becoming a Lotus all-timer. “Electric Orange” has a happy sizzle that doesn’t quit, and their take on “Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put the party on steroids. Having not seen Lotus in five months, the short set still breathed plenty of oxygen into me.
I stayed in The District with the daughter of a cousin of mine. She and I hadn’t spoken much since the pandemic hit, but we have a knack for quickly finding conversational groove regardless of our age difference. Commonality in themes, connection on successes but more so the challenges, and The Dew Drop Inn was a ripe setting for us to catch up prior to the show. Located in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast DC, the bar hosted iconic Black musicians like Ray Charles and Little Richard back in the day. And it’s not that our dialogue covered as much ground as the miles I was logging on my Forester, we’re just able to dig into things in this friendly, real manner. That matters.
Then off I went. Miller time.
Returning to her apartment after midnight, I noticed a book on the coffee table by the couch I was preparing to get acquainted with. Keep Moving was positioned in such a way that made it seem like it was for me, and her note on the inside front cover confirmed my suspicion. Had no idea who Maggie Smith was, but what I learned was that she’s a poet, well known at that. This collection of short essays is unlike her other output, apparently. She fills the gaps between the pieces with quotes from her meant to encourage, inspire, or motivate—each one ends with the refrain “Keep Moving.” Not my usual fare, but it was solid. I think I read it at the right time for me.
The book is divided into three sections: Revision, Resilience, and Transformation. While the latter two are beautiful and worthy of lengthy discussion, it’s the first word that appeals to me most, given what I do from 9-5 and enjoy doing after that. Smith argues that revision is the underrated and underappreciated part of the content creation process. I totally agree. You have writing, you have editing, but what about in between? Hopefully no rewriting, but initial ideas on paper tend not to cross the finish line as is. They require refinement, though be careful, Smith says: It’s quite possible to revise something to the point where all the juice has been sucked out of the blog, poem, song.
Or life. Goalposts are forever in flux, so we need to revise our own story on a routine basis. Out of convenience, out of necessity—for peace, for survival. Revision also happens to be part of the Lotus repertoire, or re- words that fall, broadly speaking, under the umbrella of revision. Luke Miller (keyboards/guitar) and his twin Jesse (bass/modular synth) are adept at reinventing and remixing. Tim Palmieri and his guitar seem as if they’re in a constant state of reenvisioning, while Mike Greenfield has had to realign behind the kit through the addition of select percussion. This is a highly electronic outfit that organically redefines itself at every turn.
After all my years of chasing Lotus, this was the first time I’d ridden the subway to a show. When transferring to the green line, I asked a dude in a tie-dye if the lingering train was heading in my direction. “You must be going to The Anthem. Follow me.” So I did…and we talked…and he met some of the fine folks I’ve met because of Lotus…and he and the girl he was with shared the space with me for those therapeutic 75 minutes.
Nothing scary on that Friday the 13th aside from the DC humidity in June. Familiar faces, familiar places: Luke on our left, Jesse to the right, with Tim and Mike staggered to fill two levels of the middle. Pretty lights. And as I walked out of the venue and toward the Metro station, I was grateful for, and gratified by, yet another unique sonic adventure for mind and body brought to you by this band that just keeps moving.
Let’s continue to dance and evolve with them.
Lotus 06/13/2025 Setlist
Wax, Spaghetti > Reed, Electric Orange > Heads Will Roll* > Flower Sermon > Shimmer And Out
*Yeah Yeah Yeahs (A-Trak Remix)