Saw Bocelli at the Capital One arena. Not my favorite type of music, but still very enjoyable. I particularly liked the Eric Carmen “All By Myself” cover one of the singers (not Bocelli) performed. Bocelli did a cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. He also did his classic, Time to Say Goodbye. The show also featured a solo violinist who put on quite a show.
Great show. No Wilco songs, not surprisingly. Played mostly songs from Twight light Override. Two of his kids in the band. The rest were apparently friends with his kids from the neighborhood.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jeff-tweedy/2025/lincoln-theatre-washington-dc-7b42aaf4.html
Saw James McMurty at the Birchmere, BettySoo was the opener. Soo did a duet with McMurty of Deportees which was worth the price of admission. Enjoyed the show a lot, McMurty is a talent.
Went to see Forbert at the Jammin Java. Excellent as usual. The keyboardist was a nice addition. I particularly liked the songs he played accordion on. He finished the show with an excellent version of January, 1978.
From a few years ago.
Went to see Teng. Got there really early, so got seats up close. She has changed a lot since Warm Strangers, the older album I was familiar with. Use a lot of computer thingies now, which actually, wasn’t a bad thing. Really good show. I’d see her again.
Went to see a new play. Data, at Arena Stage, about the ethical dilemma a brilliant data scientist faces. Is it ethical to create an algorithm that automatically decides if a person gets a visa or not? Or is the software a good thing, shortening the wait time for a decision.
I enjoyed the play. Although the authored tried to add some humor, it was still a lot. I would definitely recommend it though.
Went to see Jack White at the 9:30. Rocked it out!
Went with kids to see the tournament. Very hot, but didn’t rain for a change. Saw lots of top players, Korda, Tiafoe, Jordan Thompson, Ben Shelton, others. Every match we saw was competitive.
Section 13 is good, sun at back. The parking was atrocious. One of the lots they list on the web site closes at 10:30 pm. The matches run much later than that. Great. The new route the shuttle buses take seems longer than before. Food is wildly overpriced. Not a customer friendly event at all.
Funny….
Went with D. to see Wilco at Wolf Trap. Good show, a really tight band. The opening act, Cut Worms, was also good. They were kind of a 60s pop throwback. Enjoyable.
Setlist
Went to see Maggie Rogers on Father’s Day with D. Good show, although I wish I had been more familiar with her songs. I tried listening to the new album a lot before the show, but I guess not enough time to sink in.
I particularly liked her solo piano version of I Still Do, and also Don’t Forget Me, which I think it a particularly good song.
Setlist
Saw Trucks Tedeschi band with D at Warner Theater. Good show.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/tedeschi-trucks-band/2024/warner-theatre-washington-dc-4baab782.html
Saw Power at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. Good show. Her band really killed it.
Ate at Busboys and Poets before the show. Cool place.
Went to see Moulin Rouge at the Kennedy Center. It was kind of entertaining but also predictable. The way they told the story using popular songs was clever.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2023/08/17/moulin-rouge-review-kennedy-center/
Saw Forbert at the Millilumen Stage at the Kennedy Center. Y and Dave came too. He played for one hour, did title track and Fried Oysters from Moving Thru America. Did The American in Me. And also, of course, Going Down to Laurel and Romeo’s Tune.
Another great show by Richard Thompson at the Birchmere.
Really was nice to be in the second row. Could really see the interplay among the sections.
Steven Mercurio, conductor
Robert McDuffie, violin
Dvorák: Scherzo (Furiant) from Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
The acclaimed Czech National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) returns to the Center with an uplifting program of masterworks and embraces the sheer joy and optimism of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. This good-for-your-spirit concert also showcases GRAMMY-nominated violinist Robert McDuffie, performing Brahms’s electrifying Violin Concerto in D major (Brahms’s only violin concerto). An international celebrity, McDuffie not only has appeared as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras, but he has also performed with such diverse performers as Chuck Leavell, the late Gregg Allman, and actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith. Composers including Philip Glass and Mike Mills of R.E.M have written music especially for him, and critics have raved about his performance style that is “demonstrative and physical, hard-driving without sacrificing sensitivity” (South Florida Classical Review). This program opens with Antonín Dvorák’s Scherzo (Furiant) from Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60. Under the direction of Music Director Steven Mercurio, the CNSO celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023. Join the Center for this unforgettable and inspiring afternoon with McDuffie and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Did this for an encore.
Went to the Studio Theatre to see the play, English.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2023/01/17/english-studio-theatre-sanaz-toossi/
by Jafar Panahi
Went to the Annual Iranian Film Fest at the Freer Gallery. Excellent film.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/movies/no-bears-review-jafar-panahi.html
Went to see Hersch and Spalding at The Reach Lounge at the Kennedy Center. They made for an odd combo. Not sure it really worked. Hersch is quite the pianist. His song Dream of Monk was a highlight.
Went to the beloved Birchmere to see Water’s Christmas show (it was postponed). I didn’t really know what to expect since Waters is a film director and writer. He basically did a standup routine then took questions from the audience. It was good, dirty fun.
A gift from my work trip to NYC. Symptoms started on 12/11. Still feeling it as of today (12/19) although not bad now. At it’s peak was like a bad cold.
Went to 33 Whitehall to discuss strategy. Took United from IAD. Uber costs about $75 to Manhattan. Probably should have taken the train. Would have been significantly cheaper. Driving to Union Station is painful though.
At dinner with the group at a place called Da Andrea. Pretty good. Very loud.
Stayed at MOTO by Hilton. Pretty stylish. Small. Way over-priced. Almost 1k for one night. Somebody suggested I stay in Jersey. Not far and way cheaper.
When to the Whitney the next day, mostly to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. It was very good. Took an informative tour that helped explain the art. They also had an exhibit on early American Modernism thaf featured some of my favorite artists, such as Georgia O’Keefe, Joseph Stella, and Stuart Davis. And another from the Whitney Collection between the years 1900 to 1965. These were more realistic, artists such as George Bellows, George Ault, Elise Driggs, and Jasper Johns. All in all, pretty cool.
Went to see the Violent Femmes at the 9:30 Club. Fun show.
Went downtown to participate in the march. Huge crowd.
Melody and Sammy’s Wedding Trip
Flew into Denver International Airport. Went to see the Denver Botanical Garden. Spent about two hours checking out the gardens. Very much worthwhile. Got some excellent coffee at the Copper Door Coffee Roasters.
Next, drove to the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. Looked around the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Checked out the Red Rocks museum. Went inside the amphitheatre. Drove to the top of the mountain to see the view.
Met up with a bunch of the wedding attendees to visit Garden of the Gods. Nobody organized the excursion, so more than a bit chaotic.
Drove over to the town of Manitou Springs for lunch. Found a cool little hippish coffee shop. Talked with the owner for a bit. He was a follower of the Grateful Dead back in the day. Told us about the town’s traditional coffin race.
Finally, we all went over to the Broadmoor Resort, which was gigantic and nice. Walked around and ate (mistakenly) a chicken salad.
In the morning, went to visit Seven Falls. I enjoyed it. Although it was not natural, it was very well laid out and pretty.
Next was the wedding. Nice place and a nice couple. Usual wedding activities.
Drove to the top of Pike’s Peak. Part of the drive was a little scary, so close to the edge of the cliffs. Beautiful views from the top. The highlight of the trip.
Drove to Boulder. Hiked all around the Flatirons. Afterward, drove over to the well-known Pearl Street Mall. Ate at a decent Thai restaurant. Then back to Pearl Street for ice cream.
Drove from Boulder to Denver International Airport. Longest security line in the history of the world.
Went to Rockville, Maryland to see Steve Forbert. The place, Hank Dietle’s Tavern, was sort of a throwback to the fifties. Looked like – on the outside anyway – the kind of local bars that once dotted Route 1. Inside, it was fairly nice. Very small, probably held less than 100 people.
Anway, Forbert put on his usual great show. The verison of Going Down to Laurel was especially great.
Went downtown to see two exhibits.
Saw the works of two Iranian photographers at the Museum of Asian Art.
August 6, 2022–January 8, 2023
Living in Two Times features the work of Bahman Jalali (1944–2010) and his wife and closest collaborator Rana Javadi (b. 1953). Noted for their sharp documentary images and haunting photomontage works, the artists are among the most influential figures in the development of late twentieth-century photography in Iran. Driven by the medium’s powerful—and fragile—relationship to memory, Jalali and Javadi created an unparalleled visual record of a tumultuous period in their homeland.
This exhibition features images by both photographers from the iconic series Days of Blood, Days of Fire, capturing events in Tehran during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, as well as images from Jalali’s Khorramshahr: A City Destroyed and Abadan Fights On, drawn from his years spent on the Iran-Iraq warfront. Throughout his career, Jalali returned continually to his project of observing the changing lives and landscapes of Iran. A third section of the exhibition presents a selection of his images of fishing communities along the northern Persian Gulf. In addition to their documentary projects, Jalali and Javadi preserved early twentieth century archives, which they used as a basis for creating vivid photomontages that explore the role of the medium in documenting history. This will be the first museum retrospective in the United States that offers a glimpse of Jalali’s extensive practice and the first to be presented together with a selection of Javadi’s evocative work from the late 1970s to the present.
and when to National Gallery East, saw “Doubles: Identity and Difference in Art from 1900s
https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2022/the-double-identity-and-difference-in-art-since-1900.html
Quite the spectacle.
Started at Great Falls Park, Virginia side, and walked to RiverBend Park, about 5 miles. Nice easy walk.
Went to see Steely Dan at Wolf Trap. Remarkable band, so precise. Really good, Donald Fagan still has it. Worth the $.
Went to see Hot Wing King at the Studio Theatre. Sat in the very front row, just feet from the performers. A different experience, up close and personal. Good show, but certainly nothing special.
Ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, Lalibela. Nothing remarkable, to say the least, but ok. Very cheap, $60 for four people.
Went down to see the Laurie Anderson Drone’s – a tribute to Lou Reed – show at the Hirshorn. Very cool to be able to see her up close.
Went to the Richmond Museum of Fine Arts to see the Man Ray in Paris exhibit. Worth the drive for sure. Bought the exhibition book.
Ate lunch at Lemon Cusine of India. Very good, especially the appetizer, Lasuni Gobi (fried cauliflower).
Visited the Glenstone Museum. They had a very interesting exhibit, the photos of Jeff Wall.
https://www.glenstone.org/art/exhibition/jeff-wall/
Saw the exhibit of David Driskell. Also spent time with the Alma Thomas works. Interesting.
https://www.phillipscollection.org/event/2021-10-16-exhibition-david-driskell
https://www.phillipscollection.org/event/2021-10-30-exhibition-alma-thomas
When to the career retrospective at the Hirshorn. Perhaps the most enjoyable exhibit I’ve ever seen.
https://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/laurie-anderson-the-weather/
Dylan, Yavar, and I went to Capital One to see the Capitals play the Nashville Predators. Lost 5-4. The Caps goaltender accidentally passed the puck to the other team, which resulted in a goal. Whoops.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”7″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]Big crowd.
Went with Dylan to the Steve Forbert show at the City Winery in DC last night. He played the Jackrabbit Slim in its entirety, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of its release. His band was truly outstanding! City Winery is a fine place to see a show, more than decent food.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”5″ display=”basic_imagebrowser” ajax_pagination=”1″]
Saw the Shin Yun troupe at the George Mason Concert Hall. A somewhat strange mixture of Chinese traditional dance and religious cult propaganda. The group is banned in China. Part of the show focused on the repression of free expression in China, religious expression in particular. The dancing was entertaining and the show was educational.
Saw Richman again at the 9:30 show.
Complaints. Too short. He only played part of both Summer Feeling and Affection. 🙁
Still a great show. I’m glad I found out about him. He has a very unique sensibility, outlook.
The highlight for me was “When We Refuse to Suffer”, a song I was not familar with before. Profound.
Sad Trumpets of the Afternoon was another highlight.
People Are Disqusting.
The one in Italian (?). “Feel bad about that for a year” etc..
I wanted the boys to see a play a bit off the beaten trail. Mission accomplished. Play used boxes of stuff stored in an attic to represent our past experiences. Set was a huge attic full of boxes; no seats, the actor wandered around the room, pulling stuff out and looking thru the boxes. No seats -we sat on boxes. Definitely a worthwhile experience. The bit where he makes salad with ice skates was particularly funny.
Cut and paste from website, articles.
THE OBJECT LESSON
created and performed by Geoff Sobelle
directed by David Neumann
scenic installation by Steven Dufala
Do you have what you need? Do you need what you have?
With boxes stacked to the ceiling, physical theatre artist Geoff Sobelle transforms Stage 4 into a storage facility of epic proportions. Breaking, buying, finding, fixing, trading, selling, stealing, storing, and becoming buried under…a world of things. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this immersive performance-installation unpacks our relationship to the stuff we cling to and the crap we leave behind.
We went to see the Nats play the Twins yesterday. What a game.
Game story.
Strasburg started, pitched well until he gave up a three-run homer late. Harper pinch-hit in the eight, homered like the stud he is to tie the game. Nats ran out of position players, so pitchers pinch-hit, hit for themselves. in the 15th, relief pitcher Perez laid down a good bunt, but the catcher in his rush overthrew first base, and Espinoza scored from second to tie it. Heisey of all people homered in the bottom of the 16th to win it.
Wow.
Went to see Laurie Anderson’s show, Language of the Future, last Saturday night.
Anderson has always appealed to me, even though she is about as far way as you can get from my musical sweet spot, American root music. I don’t know a lot about her type of art, but it seems to me her way of combining music, words, and multi-media is something special. I also have an affinity for her existential themes, and her relationship with the Beat generation.
I wish I could buy a dvd of the concert; type of thing it would nice to watch over and over.
An oldie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2x5pARGdE
Went to see my old favorite, Steve Forbert, Friday night. His first album, Alive on Arrival, come out on 1978. The song Going Down to Laurel got a little bit of radio airplay. I was hooked immediately.
Forbert may not be one of the greats like Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, but I feel he’s definitely in the next tier down. He has a lyrical gift, which I believe is what drew me in long ago.
Well, well I’m goin’ down to Laurel
It’s a dirty stinkin’ town, yeah
But me I know exactly
What I’m going to findLittle girl I’m goin’ to see
She is a fool for lovin’ me
But she’s in love
And love’s a funny state of mind
Alive on Arrival really nailed what it’s like to be a young, carefree and careless guy out to have a good time. It’s probably his best album, but he has continued to make high quality records up to this day. He’s worth checking out.
The show was highly enjoyable. He played a good mix of old and new tunes. It was nice to see all the fellow fans. I felt like a member of a special, secret club. Too bad so few people know him.