SHARING THE SHOWS
This week was hectic. Papers to grade and a portfolio to turn in for my yearly evaluation at the "dayyyyyyy job." This evening’s festivities would be a nice cap and a helluva way to start a three-day weekend (my current school is closed President’s Day!). After a day of grading and providing comments on papers, dealing with a last-minute revision on my portfolio, and an eleven-minute committee meeting (I love when they’re short like that!), I hopped the Metro to L’Enfant Plaza, a different stop than I normally get off at to go to the Anthem, but I thought I’d try something new. And it’s a pretty neighborhood. Pete and I met at Momo Chicken & Grill, a Korean restaurant I spotted on 4th Street two weeks prior when waiting for Masala Art to open. The atmosphere was earthy, as was the food (if the rice was a bit lumpy, the edges of the dumplings were hard, and the waitstaff was less than attentive). Those quibbles aside, I’d go back. Pete hooked me up with some dark chocolate for the walk down to the Anthem. The line to check vax info was quick, and I have to thank my friend Michael for introducing me to Clear, the app where you can store your vaccination info, and it’ll function as your card. I also have to thank Pete for introducing me to Friends With Benefits (no, not THOSE kinds of benefits), which gives me certain, well, benefits for attending shows at certain DC- and Maryland-based venues. I get points I can use toward a free concert at one of those venues, a free cupcake on my birthday, but my favorite immediate benefit is free coat check so I don’t have to wrap my coat around my waist or place it on the railing and have to keep watch over it. While waiting for the show to start, Pete and I shared summer plans (including a 7-night concert run I’m planning in Philly and NYC in July) and favorite Widespread Panic experiences and songs. Umphrey’s is typically a high-energy band, and they remained true to form. I don’t know too many of their songs by sound; I was hoping for my favorite, “Half Delayed,” but no dice. They did kick ass, and I was dancing and spinning. Most of the folks there weren’t masked, which was no surprise, given that the Umphrey’s crowd is very young, so their frontal lobes haven’t developed yet. I still had a blast (and the show ended early, which this introvert always likes). Umphrey’s, like most jambands, is known for busting out surprise covers, and they closed the second set with a neat mashup of Metallica’s “Sad But True” and Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood” (the latter of which brings back vivid memories of my college years). Upon further research, I discovered this song is called “Sad Clint Eastwood.” The band recorded Zonkey, an album full of similar mashups (including “Strangletage”, a mashup of Ted Nugent’s “Strangehold” and the Beastie Boys’s “Sabotage”). An aside: my next show is a Metallica tribute band that’s playing the night I’m presenting at a work-related conference in Baltimore. I was half-asleep on the Metro ride home, which I capped off by indulging in some chocolate-covered macadamia nuts a student gave me for Valentine’s Day. The intense energy knocked me right to sleep as I tried to watch the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer takes a karate class with children. As I write this, I’m still pretty wiped out, but I’ll take a power snooze before I meet up with Mark/Brodysseus and Sheila for their journey into showland with Tedeschi Trucks. I’ve been “extroverting” a lot since I recovered from COVID AND went back into the classroom, so I need some downtime. I’m happy to have a three-day weekend to recuperate.
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May 2024
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