Event Wed Apr 24 2013

Record Store Day Recap 2013

By Abigail Covington

In an effort to avoid the typical post-RSD malaise that befalls me every April, I decided to go into this Record Store Day with no expectations. After all, the best Christmases I ever had were the ones in which I didn't even make a Christmas list. Thought it seemed almost futile to browse casually on a day stocked with rewards for the earnest purchaser, RSDs of the past had left me too disappointed and frustrated to deal with the search for an exclusive, elusive split 7" all over again. In order to facilitate my carefree foray into Record Store Day I avoided Twitter and Tumblr and wandered clueless into Chicago's musical wilderness without a Record Store Day wish list.

I decided that treating this Record Store Day differently meant moseying around one shop instead of mad dashing to a slew of them, so I settled on Numero Group and headed over to Logan Square. This year they housed their pop-up shop at the Comfort Station. Conveniently located and easily navigated, the Comfort Station was far superior to last year's location: Empty Bottle. I'd like to think it was my new and improved philosophy about RSD that enabled such a happy and stress-free browsing experience but more likely it was my post-brunch buzz or just plain good luck. Regardless, this year there was no line for entry and no need to strategize beforehand about how to get to that crate way over there, the one with fifteen people hovering around it.

Everything about my experience at Numero was a win and I particularly enjoyed talking to the staff who were amiable, spirited and hopped up on IPAs, which only made them all the more eager to explain to you the power of their power pop collection. Though everything Numero releases always intrigues, I was actually relieved that contrary to years past, this year's RSD exclusives weren't really in my musical wheelhouse. It meant that I didn't have to shell out my limited allowance right away and could instead save it for something a little outside the typical RSD offerings. I decided to just let myself stumble upon something and in this case it ended up being the Numero staff mix tapes. These connoisseurs and connoisseuses of obscure sound had been playing their mix tapes over the speakers while I was browsing and I wanted to hear each sophisticated earworm over and over again.

Fearful that the tapes would sell out in front of my very eyes, I headed towards the makeshift check out to try and get my hands on whatever was playing. "Just give me that," I said to the staffer, signaling towards the speakers. He began to shuffle through the remnants of the tapes pile and managed to find it. It was Haley's mix and there was only one left. One left! I was finally the person right before they sold out instead of right after. Happy day, my new "no-strategy-strategy" had paid off. I bought a few extra tapes for good measure and left the Comfort Station resolved to treat each future Record Store Day with similar ease.