Lyle Lovett
last update: 06/01 @ 15:23

Finishing out Sarah’s birthday month, we headed to The Birchmere to see Lyle Lovett last night.

It was great fun and a good show with some new to us music along with some old favorites.

And we had a small world experience:

We joined a couple in the waiting area (outside the main music hall) while we waited for our number to called to find a seat in the main hall. (At the Birchmere, it’s open seating; you show up and get a number before the main doors open, then get to find a seat (all are good) when your number is called.)

It turns out they live in Fort Hunt and know Tom and Emily and Ken and Nancy from the swim team the kids all swam on.

We were about 25 spaces ahead of them in the seating order (A73 vs. B00). But just after we ordered dinner in the main hall, they sat down at our table to join us again.

They also tend to go left after they get into the music hall :)

A fun evening and good pre-show conversation.

Fun Musical
last update: 07/27 @ 14:47

We drove back up to New York yesterday to visit Little Island and see The Gospel of Colonus, their final show.

It was a great show; I’m really glad David Z. pointed it out and that Sarah was able to get tickets. I went in to it almost clueless — Sarah gave me a very brief overview. It was fantastic; I never would have thought I’d enjoy Greek Tragedy that much :)

I can only imagine the original show, with The Blind Boys of Alabama and Morgan Freeman playing Oedipus. This version was great!

And we really enjoyed being out of Alexandria’s swampy weather (we’ve been spoiled by a week in Seattle); the outdoor amphitheater was a very nice venue (except for the occasional, overly loud party boat going up the Hudson during quieter moments).

The drive up was a little slow, but we gave ourselves plenty of time and arrived with time to walk around for a bit and enjoy the breeze. It’s too bad Amtrak hasn’t figured out how to price tickets from DC to NYC that are reasonable. We’d much rather take the train than drive.

The drive back was more exciting than we wanted. Major thunderstorms for about 45 minutes that had the little traffic on 95 at 2:00am going about 40mph.

We plan to stay out of NYC for a few weeks now, at least.

Distracted
last update: 06/16 @ 14:37

Robert’s visit was a little distracting.

Sarah and I went to see Marc Cohn at the Birchmere on Thursday; we invited Robert but he decided to chill at home instead.

It was a great show and the new version of Silver Thunderbird was a fantastic treat.

Recommended if you get the chance to catch this tour.

Fun weekend part one
last update: 05/07 @ 18:02

We went to Martin Sexton and KT Tunstal at the Birchmere Saturday night.

The Birchmere is always a fun place and the show did not disappoint. We sat across the table from a couple who took the train up from Richmond to see KT; it was their first time to the Birchmere.

It was fun to hear how great they thought Martin Sexton was. That was the reason we got tickets. He opened for Rickie Lee Jones and blew us away years ago.

Merry Christmas!
last update: 04/20 @ 22:10

One of the many nice things I got for Christmas was tickets to see Graham Nash. Of course, he wasn’t playing around here at Christmas.

But Sarah and I went to see him last night at the Birchmere.

It’s the perfect Covid bookend: Just before everything shutdown, we saw him at the Birchemere and as he was on stage he said, “This may be the last time we’re together for a while.” There was a lot of Covid news then and the next day, they closed the schools and sent everyone home from work.

Now we’re back; hopefully with most of Covid behind us.

Lyle Lovett
last update: 03/11 @ 18:48

Sarah arranged for Lyle Lovett (and his acoustic band) tickets for the Birchmere last week. While Lyle had a bit of cold, the band was great and it was an excellent show.

Happy engagement anniversary to us :)

It’s great to have the Birchmere so close by; we’re looking forward to Graham Nash next month.

Fun Weekend!
last update: 09/13 @ 19:45

While Robert is settling into Seattle, Sarah and I took a quick trip up to New York to meet up with Nanette and Adam. They just dropped off their daughter at school upstate.

Sarah met Nanette in the mom’s group back in the day.

We were very sad when they moved back to Australia so it was fantastic to see them again.

We talked about our kids and how it feels send them off into the world. And we saw Hamilton.

It’s very much a great musical.

We need to take advantage of their offer and go visit them.

It really was a very fun, special day and evening to hang out can catch up with them and all they have been up to.

Birchmere!
last update: 02/02 @ 22:45

We got back to the Birchmere!

Maybe this whole Covid thing is getting better. Or maybe we’re getting blasé. The Birchmere wanted to see vaccine or negative Covid test at the door. And generally folks were well masked when not eating.

And, it was Marc Cohn!

A great evening, lots of fun; great show and a feeling of getting back on our feet after yet another Covid variant.

Robert was busy with Ultimate Frisbee but maybe next time he’ll be able to join us. The Birchmere really is a great venue, even when the smoke machine is turned up to 11.

Great Concert!
last update: 03/10 @ 22:47

As a belated Anniversary present, Sarah and I went to see Graham Nash at the Birchmere. It was great show full of familiar ballads we’ve both loved.

And the audience singing Teach Your Children was a fanatastic way to end to the evening.

On a serious note, it was an excellent reminder how messed up the country and world has been before, and we made it past those times; I’m sure we’ll make it past these times.

Group Muse Time
last update: 02/22 @ 14:24

Now that it’s mid-winter (but a very mild one so far) and we’re starting to see the days get longer, it seemed like time for more music.

Sarah arranged another Group Muse last night. And, again, it was great.

Most interesting, unexpected and I thought fun was Kenji Bunch’s Three Gs.

And we had plenty of company. Which was a good thing…

… because: our heating system decided to stop circulating water yesterday.

And, did I mention it’s the middle of winter.

So we were fortunate to have some residual heat and then to get all those nice warm bodies, interested in hearing good music to help warm up the house.

Pipes!!!
last update: 11/21 @ 22:54

We went to go see Gaelic Storm at the Birchmere and it was a great, fun show!!!

Thank you Sasha for having a birthday align with the show, and for inviting us.

A new band, more bag pipes and great folks to hang out with.

Extra bonus, Eleanor (from Burgundy) was able to come and brought her friend Katherine (Also from Burgundy, but a couple years ahead of them).

Eleanor and Katherine are both Irish dancers; they managed to stay in their seats for the first half of show.

And no people or furniture were damaged when they got up and started dancing in the aisle.

Twenty20
last update: 08/18 @ 22:05

Delayed Birthday Present
last update: 06/08 @ 09:50

We went to see the Subdudes at The Birchmere last night.

It was another great show and lots of fun. And there is a new album on the way but not out yet. We’ll keep our eyes open for that.

Belated Happy Birthday, Sarah!!!

Bind Boys of Alabama
last update: 03/24 @ 23:02

We saw them at City Winery, a little off the beaten path for us (not as convenient as the Birchemere) but well worth the trip.

Most of the set was off their new CD (which we have now, of course), Almost Home.

It was really a great show. Extra bonus, we got to meet up with Kelly and share dinner and a couple glasses of wine.

Sarah saying thank you after the show. (And after getting to dance with Jimmy Carter when he came out into the audience).

If you get the chance, go see them.

Wonderful Evening!!!
last update: 10/21 @ 23:11

Sarah did another great thing: she signed us up to host a Groupmuse concert. You offer to open your house, ask friends to come by (or they will fill out with neighbors) and yoiu get a private concert.

It was fantastic!!! Joel Michael-Schwartz on mandolin and Todd Shelar on guitar were a lot of fun to listen to, meet and get to know. We recommend others sign up (or come by the next time we host). It’s a great evening.

(Also, a very nice way to enjoy the work recently done on the house.)

Jess Nolan
last update: 04/15 @ 22:04

She has several new fans; perhaps none as jazzed as Robert.

He’s clearly a big fan of Jess Nolan

Actually, we all are. The show was great.

And Robert insisted we stay for the second set.

If you get the chance, go see her!

She did several of her own songs and covered Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, and Carol King (Aretha Franklin).

The Subdudes!!!
last update: 04/07 @ 14:09

To celebrate that anniversary, she got ticket for us to see the Subdudes at the Hamilton (they were playing on the 5th).

Yes it was a school night.

And, yes, the Hamilton is in DC, not as convenient as the Birchmere.

But it was the Subdudes.

The Hamilton had the volume up pretty high (higher than needed). But that didn’t deter from the show.

We clearly had great seats (thank you SZap for both the tickets and the great seats).

And the seats were even greater when they came out into the audience for a few accoustatic numbers at the end of the show. (That is Robert’s profile on the left.)

Really a great night!

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