SHARING THE SHOWS
So I’d delivered a very well-received presentation on Journaling for Self-Care (and I even gave passing mention to this blog as an example). What better way to celebrate than with a concert? At about 5:30, I hopped on Metro to Shaw, and I’d wanted some Cajun food after seeing Galactic, but the only place nearby, Creole on 14th, wouldn’t take reservations for one, thus earning them a place on my “wall of shame”, particularly in a city where you see lots of solo diners. Shame, shame, shame, you should know better… Therefore, I wouldn’t even bother going there. At any rate, soul food isn’t the same as Cajun, but it’s Southern (bringing me back to my Virginia days), so I did find a spot near the club called Ooooohs & Ahhhhhs (great food, but it really needs a website). I didn’t’ read the website closely enough, because I learned it was for takeout only. No matter, I got my food and took a spot at a bench by the U Street Metro stop, where I happened upon a group of women that appeared to be a dance troupe. I just listened to their R&B while I ate my grilled catfish, green beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread. A pretty cool ambiance for sure. I had time to kill before the doors opened, so I just bopped down U Street, which was much quieter this evening, save for the groups of people heading to the Lincoln Theater to see Lovett or Leave It, that political comedy troupe. And I thought of that trip Ellen and I took to see Jimmy Herring & John McLaughlin back in 2017. I got into the venue at about 7:30 and met up with Pete at the back of the venue. As a sign of the pandemic declining, the venue put out pitchers of water and cups to keep us hydrated. The show started at 8:15, and I immediately started boogeying. I had seen Railroad Earth twice before (2/19/05 at Mexicali Blues Café, where I met Sal for the first time; and 9/30/16 at the Jefferson Theater with Drew/Brometheus), but I don’t remember them jamming and rocking that hard. Pete (very knowledgeable in all things music) pointed out a few songs I didn’t know: “All Across the Great Divide,” “The Butterfly and the Tree,” “Adding My Voice” (an anti-Trump song), “Mourning Flies,” and “Long Way To Go” (which I did know). Two I certainly knew were Warren Zevon’s classic “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” and the RR original, “Peace on Earth.”
While Pete went outside for setbreak, I had two cool conversations, one with a woman named Jessica, who, despite having her foot in a cast from an injury sustained at String Cheese Incident’s Jamaica event, still made it out. Truly badass. I also chatted briefly with a man named Dan who grew up with Todd Sheaffer, the lead singer. I hope both of you are reading this to see your shout-out! The show ended a little bit after 11 (another nice early ending ), and I Metroed it home. Unfortunately, all that water I drank caught up with me (even after using the facilities at the venue before leaving), and I had a 15-minute wait between Metro trains at the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop. At about two minutes before the Red Line train arrived, a lady tapped her foot loudly and yelled, “Come on already! I gotta pee!” I thought, I feel you. They really do need public bathrooms at the Metro stations. I kept thinking of this scene involving one of my favorite cartoon characters. Despite that, it was a wonderful night. Now to rally up for Round 2 tonight.
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May 2024
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