SHARING THE SHOWS
The first week of classes is always WIDESPREAD PANIC with students trying to get in and out of classes. Hahhahahahahahha (Laughs for 10 minutes). Anyway, I can’t think of a better way to cap off that first week (along with a Friday chock full of work meetings) than with a show. It’s the 25th anniversary of Umphrey McGee’s founding, and they blessed us DMVers with the opening show. Preshow dinner was an adventure. Pete and I planned to meet at Thai X-ing, which had moved to a new location. Once we found that new location, we learned that it was a fixed price menu, costing $40. Fuck that, we thought simulatenously. The next try was an Italian restaurant, which, upon our examination of the menu, proved to be too rich for our blood. The third time, though, proved to be a charm, as we found Shaw’s Tavern, a reasonably priced bar and grill. I perused the menu and decided on a country fried steak for this reason: A while back, I devised the joke that I should have a flank steak in the Shaw neighborhood of DC so I could call it the “Shawflank Redemption” and post it on Facebook so I can laugh at that joke for ten minutes. When I saw it was a flank steak, my heart fluttered, having gotten my wish to do so. And, of course, I didn’t limit it to Facebook. I told the waiter this, and he laughed, though not for ten minutes. Even Pete thought it was “cute.” I don’t typically eat fried food or red meat, but I had to in this case. Also, just LOOK at it! Anywho, we walked in the wind to the 9:30 Club, and that line went around the corner, past the nearby restaurants. Even Pete, a veteran of the DC club scene, hadn’t seen the line this long. I was reminded of that Dead & Company show at the Hampton Coliseum where the venue kept Maggie and I, along with the rest of the tribe, waiting way past doors. Passive-aggressive much? Fortunately, this club values its audience; they opened the doors AT 8, and we moved quickly. I ran into my friend Kathy, and met some new folks, including Donny, Jake, and Andrew. I also had the opportunity to learn about GrooveSafe, an organization that aims to stop unwanted touching at shows. While I haven't seen that per se, I do remember the Phish show at Merriweather with Mark, Gary, and Jesse, where a guy passed a lady and said "Nice tits!" I was hugely disappointed, but sadly, not shocked. I'm glad there's an organization that aims to stop this type of behavior. I love this sticker below: The show started at 9:05 (almost on time). I can’t identify most of Umphrey’s songs by ear, and I couldn’t tonight. There are a few I love (“Ordinary Times” and “Half Delayed” being my favorites), but I didn’t hear them. No matter, though. They jammed hard, possibly the best of their shows I’ve ever seen. They add a metal component to their jams too, which gives a nice edge. I’d never been to a sold-out show at this venue, and we really had to fight for every square inch of space. The second set was more dancing-friendly, as some folks cleared out.
I was pretty worn out by the end of the second set, and Metro can be funny, so Pete and I parted ways at midnight. I did my usual post-show routine of munching, zoning out in front of the tube, and falling asleep on the couch, Chester on leg. Good first 2023 show experience.
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New Year’s Eve is really just a day. But a day we’ve been socialized into regarding its importance. And I include myself in the plural pronoun “we.” I always made it a point to do things on NYE, particularly starting in 2016, when I hit those Phish shows that inspired the title of this blog.
COVID put a detour in that mission. The last two years, I’ve spent NYE Netflixing, accompanied by Chester sitting on my stomach. So when I heard moe. would only be playing two hours from me, I thought, why not? And I had the opportunity to meet up with my good friend Shana. Dinner was at a restaurant called Bourbon & Branch, close to the Fillmore and a mere 20-minute walk from my Airbnb (I do walks longer than that in DC). At the suggestion of the waiter, I tried a salmon cheesesteak (when in Rome, right?), and my taste buds had a nice shindig. Some good conversation ensued. That conversation continued in the pouring rain that accompanied us to the venue, which also included a rendition of “Cuddle in a Puddle,” a parody of Jethro Tull’s “Bungle in the Jungle” we wrote on the spot. Eventually, we got into the venue, where we met up with some cool folks, including Matt. Some cool costumes adorned the lobby, including sequins, a few dunce caps, and a dude in a S&M-style leather cowboy outfit. Shana and I found a spot on the side of the crowd but closer to the stage than I usually stay at, which was a nice way to break outside of my cathedral (moe. lyric). But before moe. came on, we were treated to an opener from Eggy. I hadn’t heard them before tonight, but Pete did send me a video from a recent show of theirs and John recommended I get there for their opener. I was enamored by both the video and the set, particularly by their cover of Phil Collins’s classic, “Sussudio.” I want to see them again. And again. My ability to spot titles of moe. songs upon the initial notes extends from 1996’s No Doy to 2003’s Wormwood; after that, my fanaticism dropped, although I still appreciate the msuic. I did identify the opener, “Spaz Medicine,” off 1998’s Tin Cans and Car Tires. The rest of the setlist is on this link (thanks, Pete, for sending me the article). A distinguishing feature of moe. is that of their xylophone; tonight’s show was enhanced by their horn section and the return of Chuck Garvey. Highlights for me included their covers of Paul Simon’s “Late in the Evening,” Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” and the theme of Rocky (we were in Philadelphia, after all), the latter of which came on just a bit after midnight. The accompanying balloons were fun as well. Originals include “Not Coming Down,” “Wormwood,” “Ophelia” (very different from when Widespread Panic performs it), “Plane Crash,” and the encore, “Blue Jeans Pizza,” one of my favorites. Shana has a good ear, likening “Johnny Lineup” to the vibe of a Van Morrison tune. We also took turns spotting when people would love their spots so we could move closer to the stage. By the end, we were chilling at the tables in the back. All in all, it was good to be celebrating at a show on NYE with a friend. It’s been three years FFS! And here’s a shout-out to my friends who were at other shows: Maggie – Last Fair Deal – Virginia Beach, VA Fred – Phish – New York, NY John – Phish – New York, NY Robert – String Cheese Incident – Denver, CO Kelly – String Cheese Incident – Denver, CO Ken – Widespread Panic – Nashville, TN If you were at a show, feel free to correct me, and I’ll add you. But 2022 was a big year for shows; I see it as making up for the last two years. I’ll be cutting down in 2023, but I’m thinking it’ll make the shows that much more enjoyable. Happy start of 2023 |
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