I’ve been to more concerts than I can remember, but here are some notable ones from the years before Covid. Much appreciation to Setlist.fm for making it easier to look up old dates and venues.
Jake Shimabukuro and Sierra Hull, February 2020 at Strathmore Music Hall, Bethesda. I went on my own to this show, my first at the Strathmore, a jewel of a music venue. Both Jake and Sierra were near reverential about playing in such a great hall, which was nice to see. Sierra opened and played an hour with her quartet. Her mandolin chops are first-rate and her singing is pleasant, but the songs were a repetitive set of downbeat, minor key laments. Sierra seems to be carrying some angst, which runs counter to her girlish look and plucky mandolin. Jake, on the other hand, began with three or four high-energy, jaw-dropping solo pieces on ukelele, then one by one introduced his trio and guest singer, Rachel James. Rachel is married to Jake’s Trio guitar player, Dave Preston, and together are a Denver-based band called Dearling. It seems like a big year for Jake who, in addition to the Trio album just coming out, will release an album in October with a bevy of all-star guests. I actually went to this show expecting bigger things of Sierra as an up-and-coming talent but was knocked out by Jake and his upbeat energy and showmanship. As a bonus, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer led a ukelele strum-along in the lobby before the show. It was fun to be in a crowd with 40 or so ukeleles strumming, singing along to some easy songs. Jake showed up there, too, and good-naturedly played a Hawaiian song.
Damn Tall Buildings and Bennett Sullivan, January 2020 at Isis, Asheville, NC. While visiting Laurie in Asheville, we took in two different shows at the Isis Restaurant and Music Hall. On Tuesday we got dinner and a free show from Damn Tall Buildings, a quartet out of Brooklyn via Berklee College of Music. They played a fine set of upbeat bluegrass original and traditional tunes. Two days later we returned to catch Bennett Sullivan, a banjo player from Asheville that was for a time based in New York City. Bennett was fresh off a teaching tour in Australia and played a few classical-influenced solos before bringing out some friends and bandmates to play a nice variety of more traditional bluegrass. Both shows were good fun and a reminder of just how much luck, talent and hard work it takes to survive as a working musician in this world.
Greensky Bluegrass, August 2019 at Pier 6 (MECU Arena), Baltimore, MD. I won free tickets to this concert via the Baltimore Sun and went after spending the afternoon with Jenny at the Guinness Brewery for a tour and tasting. I arrived at the concert around 8pm (it had been billed to start at 6:30) and ended up giving my second ticket to a very appreciative guy near the gate. I think I made his night, which was nice. I’m pretty sure I was there in time to catch the end of Greensky’s first song (“How ya doing, Baltimore!”). The opening act, the Chris Jacobs Band, had gone unadvertised. I didn’t know much about Greensky Bluegrass other than they were a sort of bluegrass jam band. I’d listened to some of their stuff in the preceding days and had a hard time distinguishing one song from another. The same was true at the concert. They were five clearly talented musicians and it was nice that the music was acoustic and not overamplified, but it was honestly a bit dull. It didn’t help that most of the audience stood, swayed and talked with their neighbors through most of the show. For the encore, Greensky came out with the full Chris Jacobs Band and slammed through a couple of lengthy Grateful Dead tunes (Scarlet Begonias and Fire on the Mountain — I had to look them up). Not my favorites. The evening’s weather was pleasant, though, and I took a few nice pictures of the sunset and harbor. That was basically the best thing about the night.
Rhiannon Giddens with BSO, May 2019 with Larry and Ashley at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. Barb alerted me via a co-worker the week before that this concert was happening. Somehow I had missed it entirely but I was able to get tickets and invited Larry and Ashley. The concert was part of the BSO Pulse series which mixes a little classical music with independent artists. First, ten string members of the BSO performed four pieces from Mozart, Bartok and others. Then, Rhiannon Giddens did an excellent set accompanied by Dirk Powell. Finally, everyone collaborated on a final set of songs made more powerful and lovely with BSO strings. The only disappointment of the evening was that Rhiannon did not do any of the material off her lovely new album, there is no Other, which just came out the week before. Laurie and I had just spent a pleasant Friday evening on YouTube listening to most of that album and Rhiannon’s back catalog, reaffirming Laurie’s faith in contemporary old-time music a little bit, I hope (see New Yorker article).
Ellicott City Spring Fest, April 2019 with Laurie. We went down to Ellicott City on a fine Spring Saturday to have lunch at the Syriana Cafe, not realizing we would stumble into Spring Fest. We wandered a bit, happy to find a parking space (all the lots were given over to the Festival stages and tents) and then had a nice lunch at the Cafe. We happened upon an intimate 2nd floor set by the Oella Fellas, a ragtag group of older guys, who played a loose set of songs we all knew. We checked out the Main Stage and tents in the upper EC parking lot but were underwhelmed, so headed down to the Patapsco to search for the Trolley Trail, which I hadn’t known was there but discovered on Yelp (thanks!), only to discover that it was closed for repairs. We headed back to the Riverside stage to listen to a female bluegrass trio, Strings Attached; they were pleasant but we caught just the last few songs of their set. A Brazilian drum band, Bataria Terra Maria, followed for a fun interlude of samba rhythms. Then came The Fly Birds, a more established female folk/bluegrass trio who were quite good. Very nice vocal harmonies and a good blend of banjo, guitar and bass. They played some original songs as well as covers; I’m listening to their EP now on Apple Tunes, and a full album was promised soon. They could benefit from a little more showmanship but certainly have talent and potential. We stayed for the final act, Kipyn Martin, who played with Mike P. Ryan. Kipyn was more polished and has a really lovely voice, shown especially when she covered some Joni Mitchell songs. In all, this was a very pleasant and serendipitous afternoon of music on a beautiful Spring day.
Jeff Tweedy, Lincoln Theatre, Washington DC, April 2019 with Larry. Went with Larry to further indulge his Jeff Tweedy fascination and made a fun day of it by wandering around the U St. corridor in DC for the afternoon. Solo acoustic show was solid, with Jeff having a good time with the audience and covering a large span of his catalog. He makes a willing and affable troubadour, despite a repertoire of mostly downbeat songs. Thanks to Larry, I had read Tweedy’s book, Let’s Go, and had a better sense of where he’s coming from, even if I still don’t know many of his songs that well. Opening act, James Elkington, whom I’d never heard of but has connections to Tweedy and Richard Thompson, was a formidable guitar player but I had trouble understanding his lyrics. Took Metro into DC in the early afternoon, had a proper chili dog at Ben’s Chili Bowl (now mainly a tourist trap but still fun and messy), did most of the U St. Heritage Trail, and lingered in Meridian Hill Park listening to podcasts before good tapas meal with Larry at Tico. A very pleasant day and evening.
Helicon Winter Solstice, Goucher College, December 2018 with Jenny Beatty and Yonie. Jenny invited me to this annual concert by their good friend, Ken Kolodner of Helicon. Also featured was Ken’s son, Brad, and his band Charm City Junction. It was a very pleasant evening of tunes in various flavors of Celtic, bluegrass and new age-y stuff. We followed it by meeting Barb for dinner at Tarks at Greenspring Station.
Hot Tuna, Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, November 2018 with Larry. Years ago, our friend Gerard Keating went to a Hot Tuna acoustic concert and came back raving about how good they were. Based on that, I talked Larry into giving this show a try. I’d tried studying up on Hot Tuna via iTunes but found myself nodding off most of the time. Sure enough, that’s what happened at the concert. Jorma Kaukonen is a fabulous guitarist but an uninspired singer. Jack Casady is likewise a terrific bass player and has the good sense not to sing at all. Nevertheless, their selection of mostly blues tunes never popped for me.
Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Pier Six, Baltimore, June 2018 with Larry. This “LSD Tour” sounded good in theory but was less than inspirational. Steve Earle opened and was fine but businesslike. Lucinda Williams was louder but her downbeat songs are not much more fun in concert. Dwight Yoakam was spangly and jarringly loud, his band was sharp but still seems like a Vegas act.
Turnpike Troubadours, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Denver, June 2018 with Joe, Betsy and Sara. I’d wanted to see a show at Red Rocks for the longest time, and had lately started to enjoy some songs from the Turnpike Troubadours. When I looked into local dates for the Troubadours I noticed their show at Red Rocks and decided to build a trip to Denver around it. The show included three additional acts: Charley Crockett, The Old 97’s, and Randy Rogers Band. We bought some sandwiches and beer and made it to Red Rocks about 5pm in time to tailgate in the parking lot before the gates opened at 5:30 for the general admission show. We got seats (bench spaces) about 15 rows from the stage, low enough that we could see pretty well, but also relatively close to the speakers and too low to get a view of the city. The show started at 6:30 with Charley Crockett who did an enjoyable, twangy set, with sort of a latter day Hank Williams feel. About an hour later the Old 97’s came with a screechingly loud set that didn’t even include the one song of theirs I knew (“Murder”). Then came Randy Rogers who I didn’t know at all and turned out to be a good ol’ boy mainstream Texas country act whom none of us enjoyed. But boy, the crowd of good ol’ boy, beer drinkin’ young folks all around us sure did. It was pretty miserable. The Troubadours finally came on after we were mostly worn out already, and their volume mix was loud and heavy on the guitars. I couldn’t make out their words or harmonies and barely recognized the handful of songs I knew. The overall show was a big disappointment, but it was fun to finally be at Red Rocks and have an evening with Joe, Betsy and Sara.
Chris Smither, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, April 2018 with Larry. Guitarist-singer-songwriter Smither played with percussionist (???) for a delightful 2+ hour set. Chris has a deep catalog of witty and soulful songs, and his finger-picking style is fun to watch and hear. Creative Alliance is a nice space for about 200 people, and we had a good dinner before the show at Gnocco nearby.
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, November 2017. A solo acoustic show with the married duo performing from their two records together. It was a low key evening with evident love for the music, the audience and each other. Some of the songs are a little harsh like a rye whiskey, and the banjo jokes are corny. The musical chops really sparked during a Bela Fleck solo showcase. This is not music for a wide audience, but on this night and in the right mood, it hits the spot.
Celtic Colours Festival, Nova Scotia, October 2017. I treated myself to this festival which happened to be in Nova Scotia at the same time I wanted to drive there after visiting Allie in Boston. Saw five shows in four days, featuring the likes of Alison Brown, Shane Cook, Troy MacGillivray, Paul McKenna, The Alt, J.P. Cormier, Cherish the Ladies. See trip posts, Part One and Part Two.
Randy Newman, Annapolis Hall, September 2017. Went with Larry. Randy played solo and was in good form. A retrospective of whole career, attended by mostly over-50 crowd of boomers. Ticket was expensive ($100) but came with download of Dark Matters which seems like maybe a way to sell albums nowadays.
Jason Isbell and 400 Unit, Merriweather Post, June 2017. Went with Larry Harder since he had a spare ticket (Ashley didn’t want to go). Loved it! Isbell has a great catalog of songs and seems to be getting stronger. The band, including his wife Amanda Shires, was very tight. He told a fun story about how he hoped to still be returning on tour in 20-30 years to meet some of the kids produced from tonight’s show. Set List.
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Abigail Washburn, Wolf Trap, July 2011. The Flecktones were awesome, especially Victor Wooten on bass. Abigail Washburn was eclectic with a number of Chinese songs. The Carolina Chocolate Drops were my favorite, especially Rhiannon Giddens.
Cast of Glee, O2 Arena, London, June 2011. Went with Allie. We sat in the rafters of the O2 Arena and enjoyed the spectacle, as seen on TV. It was fun to take in as an event; not necessarily a great concert. Set List.
Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, September 2010. Went with Gerard. I enjoyed David’s opening set, some solo and with a small band. This was the first time I’d seen Jackson Browne live and he was better than I’d expected. Set List.
Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Dum Dum Girls, Merriweather Post, Columbia, MD, September 2010. Went with Allie. We both enjoyed Vampire Weekend quite a lot. The other two bands didn’t do much for us, though I had hoped for better from Beach House, a Maryland band. VW Set List.
Levon Helm, John Hiatt, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, July 2010. Went with Gerard. I had high hopes for this show, but Levon was on his last legs as a performer and singer, unfortunately. Hiatt did a fine, workmanlike job with opening set. Levon was only able to sing a couple of songs before leaving things over to his band featuring Larry Campbell, who is a fine musician but not who we came to see. JH set list. Levon set list.
Taylor Swift, Verizon Center, DC, June 2010. Went with Allie. Fun to see Allie and her buddies get excited. Not so much fun to see Taylor blatantly manipulate the crowd. Set List.
Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright, Goucher College, Towson, MD, October 2009. Went with Gerard. Great opportunity to see RT and Loudon in small setting. Loudon was touring off the Charlie Poole album. Each of them were terrific and they played a few songs together. Gerard stayed for an RT autograph. Set List.
Jason Mraz, G Love and Special Sauce, Merriweather Post, Columbia, MD, July 2009. Went with Allie and Gerard, who was gamely filling in for one of Allie’s friends. G Love was predictably awful; Jason produced some overly mellow nondescript pop. JM Set List.
Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, May 2009. Went with Gerard. A fine show with good songs, but not a lot of spark or real interaction between all the talent on stage. BM set list. SC set. EH set. PG set.
Santana, Derek Trucks, Merriweather Post, April 2008. Went with Gerard, who kind of dragged me to it as I was somewhat interested in Derek Trucks, not so much Santana. One of the most satisfying concerts I’ve ever been to. Derek was up and coming, with Susan Tedeschi in what would effectively become their band. Santana was sublime and the band was on fire. Paul Reed Smith joined the two of them for stretched out encore of “Soul Sacrifice.” This concert got my juices up to go see more with Gerard. Derek Trucks Band set list. Santana set list.
Widespread Panic, Merriweather Post, Columbia, MD, August 2006. Went with Nancy. I was shopping for new bands to get interested in and liked Widespread Panic’s cover of “Superstitious”. Nancy was game to give it a try. It was mostly endless jamming with no real character in the band to get excited about. Bleh. And they never played “Superstitious”. Set List.
Eagles, Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, April 2005. Gerard and Chris convinced me to go to this $100 concert, the most I’d ever paid for a ticket. The show was solid but soulless, a note-for-note reproduction of all the Eagles greatest hits. Joe Walsh was the only real source of energy or excitement. Set list.
Todd Snider, Rams Head, Annapolis, August 2003. I went to see Todd mostly on the basis of “Alright Guy” and “Beer Run”. He seemed like a particularly wasted stoner but he told some funny stories. Set List.
Peter Gabriel, MCI Center, Washington, DC, November 2002. I went alone at the last minute, partly because Bayard from work was a fan and I enjoyed Peter Gabriel’s live album and Tony Levin on bass. The arena was less than half full which was depressing. PG worked really hard but it mostly just smelled of desperation and a waste of his and our money. Set List.
Blondie and the B-52s, Merriweather Post, Columbia, MD, July 2002. I don’t remember much about this oldies show (even at the time) or who I went with other than that Blondie was better than expected, especially the drums on “Dreaming,” and the B-52s were worse.
David Lindley with Wally Ingram, Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD, 2001 or 2002. Terrific two-man show with David playing all kinds of stringed instruments and Wally banging on all kinds of percussion. Stayed for two shows, bought two CDs, signed.
Austin Lounge Lizards, Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD, 2000-ish, maybe with Leila. Very funny set of songs by longtime band of Texas wiseguys.
Little Feat, Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD, June 2001. Much to my regret, I missed Little Feat’s first incarnation with Lowell George, getting turned on to them shortly after Lowell’s death in 1979. Their “Waiting for Columbus” live album is one of my all-time favorites. They started doing “residences” at the Rams Head in 2001 and I saw them that year up close and personal. They were terrific. Great musicianship, energy and a fun show. Their 2002 album, “Live at the Ram’s Head” pales by comparison.
Brian Wilson, Pier 6, Baltimore, July 2000. Went with Gerard and Harders. Gerard was a big Brian Wilson fan and talked us into seeing this recreation of the Pet Sounds album. I was wary, having seen poor performances by the Beach Boys and hearing about Wilson’s difficulties performing. This show was excellent. The band Wilson put together, featuring Jeffrey Foskett, was remarkable, recreating Wilson’s complex creations note for note. Set List.
Steve Earle, Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, around 2000? I was in Las Vegas for a trade show and had been a fan of Steve Earle’s music since maybe 1996. He was doing a 10pm show at the Venetian so I figured I’d drop by and try to get in. Some funk band has just wrapped an 8pm show and we crossed paths with their crowd filing out, which felt weird. The Venetian theater was excellent, and Steve’s band was tight but the performance was entirely businesslike. Steve said as much after an hour when he announced his last song and said that management “wants to get your asses back out on the casino floor.” There was no doubt he was just there for a paycheck.
Leo Kottke, Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD, mid-1990s? I’d long admired Leo’s 12-string guitar work, but this was one lousy performance. Maybe an hour or less, file under contractual obligation for him. His disinterested performance soured me on concerts for several years.
Richard Thompson Band, Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, early 1990s. Went with Joe. The next time Richard Thompson came to town, Joe and I were there. He came with his four-piece band and while they were still very good, it was not quite as wonderful as seeing him solo.
Richard Thompson, Lyle Lovett?, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, 1990-ish. Went with Joe and Betsy. We went to this show mainly for Lyle Lovett who was terrific with his Large Band. Opening for him on solo acoustic guitar was Richard Thompson who was a revelation. His guitar work, playing multiple parts simultaneously, was jaw dropping. His songs were great, especially upbeat ones like “Valerie” and “Tear Stained Letter,” and he was funny and droll between songs. He became a new favorite.
Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Warner Theater, Washington DC, 1980 or 1981? I was eager to see Ry after “Bop Til You Drop” album and mostly knew Taj Mahal by favorable reputation. Taj opened with perfunctory blues set, Ry followed with even more painful and disinterested set with full band. He was dressed up to be a pop star but pretty plainly his heart was not in it. A big disappointment of a show. I still admire and follow Ry, through his long and varied career, but a showman he was not.
Bruce Springsteen, Capital Center, Landover, MD, Nov. 24, 1980. The River tour. Went with Bill Englehart, I’m pretty sure. Still awesome. Set list. Full concert video.
Bruce Springsteen, Capital Center, Landover, MD, Nov. 2, 1978. Darkness tour. First time he was doing bigger arenas. Still awesome. Set list. Full concert recording.
Fleetwood Mac, Capital Center, Landover, MD, August 1978. Rumours tour. I went with Barb, Betsy and (was it Joe or Graham? I don’t think Joe was on the scene yet.). We were in the CapCenter on Aug. 6 when they announced that Lindsay Buckingham had a spinal tap and couldn’t perform. We filed back out to the cars and were stuck in a horrendous traffic jam for hours because none of the parking lot staff were there. We were in the gridlock far longer than we’d been in the arena. Barb, who didn’t want to be there anyway, was incensed, and doubly suspicious when they announced rescheduled shows for the next day (one doesn’t recover from a spinal tap that quickly, she suspected). She never went to another concert. Meanwhile, Betsy, her mystery date and I went to the rescheduled show and it was excellent (setlist, with Bob Welch as opener). Mac in its prime was a powerhouse.
Weather Report, Warner Theater, Washington DC, April 1977. Fantastic musicianship, Jaco Pastorius was outstanding. I think I stayed for two shows that night.
Bruce Springsteen, McDonough Gymnasium, Georgetown, Oct. 18, 1976. First show I saw in college was awesome. McDonough is a sweaty old high school gym of a building and Bruce was great. Unbelievable energy and weaving long stories into and between songs. Set list.
Jose Feliciano, Hong Kong City Hall, Jan. 1975. My infamous first date with Barb. Didn’t see her again until the following September.
The Band, Beach Boys, and CSNY, Houston Jeppesen Stadium, July 28, 1974. Dad had some meetings in Houston when I was 16. I was bored and begged to go to this all-day concert; somehow Mom and Dad agreed.
They dropped me off at the stadium and I wandered the grounds for the day. I don’t remember a whole lot about it other than the Beach Boys were terrible and CSNY were pretty good except for when Neil Young played guitar solos. And it was hot as hell all day. Found a site with photos — you never know what’s on the Internet! I think I might have gotten a contact high from the weed in the air. By the time the show was over I had no idea how to get to our hotel or how exactly to call Mom and Dad to come get me. I ended up being rescued by some people at a 7-11 who either drove me back to the hotel or helped me figure out how to make a phone call (I’m not sure which). Either way, I’m lucky to be alive. Ah, the days of naive, dumb youth.
Leon Russell, The Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, Sons of Champlin, Isis, Miami Orange Bowl, July 7, 1974. I persuaded David Schmitt to take me to this show, one of the first large rock concerts in Miami since Jim Morrison exposed himself in 1969. It was a 10-hour event in the middle of summer. We missed the first two acts, which upset David because he was interested in the Sons of Champlin. I remember the Eagles being good and Lynyrd Skynyrd being better (Free Bird!). The Band were impressive though I didn’t know their stuff very well at that point. I remember Rick Danko playing a fretless bass, the first I’d ever seen. Leon Russell, however, was not good; we left early in his set but it had been a long, good day.
Rod Stewart and the Faces, Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Feb. 12, 1974. Hands down the biggest and best rock show while I was in HK. Stewart and Ronnie Wood were amazing. Can’t remember who I went with (not Barb) but I remember being there on the field and having a great time.
Three Dog Night, T. Rex, Steve Goodman, Milwaukee Arena, July 20, 1973. I dragged Bill Barnett and one of his sisters (not sure if it was Susan or Leecy) to this. I think this was my first official rock show in the U.S. Steve Goodman opened…one guy on a 12-string and I enjoyed him the most. None of us could handle T-Rex and I remember walking the concourse during their set. Three Dog Night were a big deal at that point and did a professional, Las Vegas-y show, like they were on TV. I think the show was part of Milwaukee’s Summerfest and we wandered the waterfront area and had brats before the show.
Sweet, Hong Kong City Hall, Mar. 8, 1973. Glitter band from the UK was mostly awful, but it was one of the only rock shows to come through Hong Kong, and I was 14, so give me a break.
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