SHARING THE SHOWS
I’ve always loved riding public transportation. When I was in my 20s, my favorite thing to do in New York was to take the subway to concerts, sporting events, museums, restaurants. In fact, it’s still my favorite thing to do there (even though I haven’t been in over a year). So one of the things I was looking forward to the most about DC was being able to take Metro to post places, and I’ve been dreaming of the day I can ride the Metro to shows instead of having to deal with post-show traffic.
And this is what made this event special. My first live music experience (as a spectator) in almost eight months took place on the wonderful Wharf. After an afternoon spent hiking, writing, researching, and course planning (a summer day in the life of a professor), I had a nice quiet dinner at home before taking the Red and Green lines to get to the Wharf. I followed a music, and saw the band, La Unica, featured on Wednesdays at the Wharf, a series of free concerts (thereby combining two of my favorite words). This band did a pretty nifty combination of Celtic and Latin beats. I walked in during their cover of the Dubliners’s drinking song, “Whiskey in the Jar,” which brought me back to my trip to Ireland in July 2015, particularly this pub I went to on during a tour of the Cliffs of Moher, where I enjoyed some Irish potato soup and a steak sandwich while an Irish band played in the corner. Other selections include Santana’s “Oye Como Va,” Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain,” and U2’s “With or Without You” (the Nationals jersey-sporting vocalist even included the Spanish phrase“contigo” (which means “with you”), as well as Harry Belaftone’s “Jump in the Line,” which I’ll always associate with the end of Beetlejuice. Some stray observations: a bespectacled adolescent girl reading a book while grooving (that’s my spirit animal), and the family next to me who tried in vain to get their little daughter to stay near them, but she just kept running around. I felt some empathy, but also relief that I can enjoy something like things without having to be charge of a little one (Chester doesn’t do concerts). One person offered the helpful hint, “She’ll behave for M&Ms.” As the night went one and the alcohol flow continued, more and more people got up from their benches and danced. Me, I was happy to just sit observe and write in my journal. I’m that bespectacled girl’s future (with a gender switch, of course). The ride home was pretty peaceful, and I basked in the fact that I wouldn’t have to contend with post-concert traffic. DC, I am home.
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April 2024
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