Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest

[Editor's Note: We sent photographer and videographer Dylan Priest on down "The 5" for a weekend tour with Kelli Schaefer and Drew Grow and the Pastors Wives. We'll be sharing Dylan's photos, videos and tour diary every day this week.]

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“This one is for anyone who ever tried to do something in the world.” –Drew Grow.

I arrive early to the High Dive to meet up with Kelli Schaefer, where she will be playing to a sold out crowd of Wild Flag fans.

Kelli and I grab some tea before the show and talk a bit about her new record. She and her label (Amigo/Amiga, run by her drummer Jeremiah Hayden) set up a kickstarter to help fund the record. Although by this time they had yet to reach their goal (they ended up exceeding it), Kelli’s not too worried about it. Mostly, she is just filled with excitement about releasing a full length album into the world, having only released EPs thus far. Kelli glows as she tells me about how she will record the new album. She plans on going into the studio and setting a tempo to sing lyrics over, then having Jeremiah come in and doing whatever he wants with the drum track. Once that is in place, she plans to come back and write guitar parts to the songs. She finds it easier to figure out the guitar parts once everything else is recorded.

As we sit in the High Dive, the place starts to fill up. It’s a few minutes before show time and Kelli is getting excited to play. Most of the crowd has no idea who she is, but she knows it is a great chance to win over some new fans. Tonight her backing band is comprised of her housemates and friends, Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives sans Seth (who plays organ and slide guitar in DGPW). Over the course of this small tour, they have really tightened up their set list and how they play together.

As the band starts to play, the room is filled with the chatter of people who are there only for the headliner, but by the time she plays “Better Idea,” a solo song about her ailments, the room goes silent. She sings “I can’t treat my body as a temple when its failing, are you kidding, was that your plan to keep me grounded, well its not working.” The audience is so captivated you can almost hear a pin drop. Kelli’s powerful voice and songs grab people’s attention, making them want to hear more and know more. After the set, I overhear people in the crowd people talking about Kelli, and I even hear a few “that was fucking amazing!” Kelli comes close to clearing out her merchandise that night.

After the show, we crash at a house near the venue. We have an early day tomorrow as we’re heading back to Portland to play another show with Wild Flag at Doug Fir.

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Check back tomorrow for a Van Session with Kelli Schaefer and check out the rest of the Dylan’s Day One tour photos on our Flickr.

Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest

Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest

Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest

Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest