Mimi Gilbert Offers LA The Chance To Come Together And Cry

During her set, Mimi tells the audience that if you feel yourself dissociating, one of the best ways to ground yourself is to touch the person you're with. A simple hand squeeze or hug will do the trick. She explains how at her show the night before, an audience member shared similar advice: if you keep a stone in your pocket you will always have a grounding piece to hold. She then pulled a stone out of her pocket and encouraged us to find a stone or hug a loved one.  

Now especially, it can feel very hard to remain present. With so much uncertainty of what's to come, it’s only natural to want to dissociate and zone out of what's happening. But she reminds the crowd that it’s important to surround yourself with people and things that can keep you safe and grounded.  

Before singing “Unload The Gun”, a song that asks “America who are you?” and urges gun control, Mimi tells the audience that when writing the song in 2020, she didn't think it would still be relevant almost 5 years later. She starts the second verse with the line “I will not hate him, I will not harden” about Donald Trump. It was at this moment that the whole audience began to weep. 

Tears shed down everyone's face as the lyrics came to life right before our eyes. A song about Queer love, gun control, and women’s rights, all things that are now being threatened. Her words and sincerity forged a space that could hold the whole room's fear and sorrow. 

The show was closed with cheers and gratitude, for everyone needed this show. Her set accomplished much more than just a performance, it was a chance for people to be together and ground one another. Holding each other tight as we braced for the future of our country.