292 -- Alanis Morissette -- Saturday, June 29, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

--- Alanis walks out on stage. Here comes the applause! Oh, wait, it’s a dog...

--- “One Hand in My Pocket”: *slightly* bigger reaction than for Joan Jett… Love the harmonica section!!

--- “A Man” includes on the screen harrowing stats about continued violence towards women. Good for her.

--- “Reasons I Drink” leaves me without a buzz.

--- She starts to play guitar on “Hands Clean” — nice!

--- Solid dark vibes but very little to connect with.

--- Crowd returns for “Hand Over Feet.” Woo, harmonica’s back too!

--- “You Learn”: Aww at all the audience singalongs!!

--- Angie has a CrossFit competition in the morning, so she has to leave a bit early. It’d be ironic, in the Alanis sense, if she started playing “Ironic” right as she left. “That’d be Perfect,” Angie quips. Clever!!

--- Angie: “I forgot about these songs!” As soon as we sit down, Alanis launches into favorites, so time to sit…

--- Alanis just spun an ice-skater circle for a solid minute!!!

--- “Rest”: the best pure vocal of the night!!! I dig it as a ballad and because it probably means a high-energy rocker next. In a moment of actual irony, I realize it’s the song I was most awake for! Angie: “That was beautiful.”

--- “Mary Jane”: even better — she held out that note forever!!! I wonder if she starred in Jagged Little Pill, the Broadway musical.

--- She plays the flute. Who knew?

--- “Ironic”: the first verse was sung by an eight-year-old on stage!!!! The whole thing was an unexpected rush.

--- “All I Really Want,” a Jagged track, pumps them up. Love the harmonica-guitar battle at the end of the next one.

--- Do not love that she did not personalize a single thing the entire night. She oughta know better. That said…

--- “You Oughta Know” RIPPED!!!!! Merriweather’s wall shook — and Merriweather doesn’t even have walls. Awww at the awesome woman in front of me motioning to me to fist bump — for a mighty fist bump at that. So satisfying.

--- Lol at her skipping off for the encore.

--- Wow, “Uninvited” is a completely different triumph. Piercing, spare, and ends with another literal spin?!?!? Evanescence, but better.

--- Awww, I take back part of what I said about the personalizing since has thankful tweets from fans to loved ones in the background during “Thank U.”

Grade: B+

291 -- Joan Jett -- Saturday, June 29, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

--- Surprise… In a rare last-minute decision, Angie joins me for the Joan Jett / Alanis Morissette concert! 

--- Angie appreciates the Columbia Central Library parking lot secret. As at Hozier, the Merriweather crowd is packed, yet barely anyone is parked at the library, one hill away from the entrance! I appreciate Angie’s water bottle in the heat. I’m shocked Merriweather allows people to bring bottles. I’d assume one would be $89, to match the temperature. They wait for us to walk in to start the show…

--- “Victim ofCircumstance,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me,” and “You Drive Me Wild” don’t drive me wild, but they’re solid.

--- “If You’re Blue,” a new single, is top so far — more breezy and upbeat.

--- Love that Jett includes that she got her musical start in Rockville, where she lived from 8 to 13! Wish I could understand almost anything else she said, as the microphone (or her lack of enunciation) seemed to swallow every other word.

--- “Different” basically sounds the same as the opening numbers — until a mini electric riff at the end, which was cool.

--- Clive Davis’ apparent cousin on the keyboard explains that they couldn’t get a record deal for years with a female guitarist as their lead. Hence the song “Fake Friends.”

--- Angie informs me Joan Jett is 65! So, compared to Bruce Springsteen (74), Paul McCartney (82), and first-time lead actress June Squibb (94), a spring chicken!

--- “Androgynous” has intriguing queer lyrics! Wish they weren’t lost in Mumble Land…

--- “Everyday People” (AKA the song from the Toyota commercial) is my favorite so far. Catchy rhythm and instrumental the middle — woo.

--- The crowd gets (justifiably) loud for “I Love Rock and Roll” — it’s fun!

--- “Crimson and Clover”: What?!?! My mind is blown as the best part of one of the my 100 favorite songs, Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus,” was stolen from Tommy James and the Shondelles.

--- “I Hate Myself ForLoving You”: strong crowd song.

--- “Bad Reputation” makes me bounce and bounce and bounce. So many great Danny Ibanez Freaks and Geeks memories!!!

Grade: B/B+

290 -- Ben Platt -- Sunday, June 23, 2024 -- Wolftrap -- Merrifield, VA

--- Hark and I started the night with Inside Out 2, so far the best film of 2024. Then, as we walk to our stage-side seats, we run into Nathan Koterba and Senani Fernando! 

Can this night get any better? [Update: just wait…]

--- Heh, the guy in front of has a Ben Platt trucker hat.

--- “Right Kind of Reckless”: good title, mediocre opener.

--- “American Queen”!!! Best new song I’ve heard in a while. From the first time I’ve heard it until now.

--- “Thank you for bringing the heat. Your fans look gorgeous actually. Everyone has a beautiful glow.” 

--- So, I was brought up gay…~Sorry for the tangent. Back to being sad and queer.”

--- All the unrequited loves combined into “Andrew.” 

--- “My new album, Honeymind, has been out a month, so if you have heard it, you’re already off brand. There are cameras here, so they’re watching and judging you.”

--- “I wanna love you, but I don't’”!!! So much better with his hilarious, earnest intro. Better vocal range than “American Queen” as well. The concert has officially started. 

--- “Rain”!! Somehow I don’t remember it from the first album, but it’s awesome. Such a different rhythm. Love the variety. 

--- “Share Your Address”!!!!

--- “If you’re here, you’re either gay or anxious. If you’re both, you win a prize. I win a prize.” Hark: “You know about anxiety,” right after we’d seen Inside Out 2. I yelp “Inside Out 2” to the crowd because, of course I do.

--- “Ease My Mind”!! I’m glad he invited me and the audience to join in, but his range is better than mine.

--- “Grow As We Go”!!!! It’s been so long since I’ve played Hark’s arm as a guitar. Clearly this one was acoustic guitar. So smooth.

--- “Shoe to Drop”: Brody, Riley, and Raffi!!!

--- James Taylor’s “Your Smiling Face”: “This song was the soundtrack to the Camp Friends section of my sister’s bar mitzvah.” Awww at him literally running off so the electric guitarist, drummer, and accompanist could take literal center stage!!!!!

--- Joni Mitchell’s “River” is haunting AF!!!! If he wanted to, I think he could make it on Broadway. Move over, Bruce, I now have two “River” songs.

--- “Shall we go and sing this in our ‘Treehouse”?” Yet another facet. He and Brandy Clark are exquisite!!!! I wonder if I could get them to come to Busboys next year…

--- “Cherry On Top”: Technically, strong as usual, but it’s midtempo, so it gives me a breather. That is about his fiancé Noah.

--- “Need You Like This”: Aww, the guy in front of me is the air in my lungs, as he is loving every moment!!!! Love that Ben Platt went for it, in the song and life. Brought me to Lukas’s dad after my A Few Good Men scene at Busboys.

--- Hahaha at his Liza Minelli’s “Maybe This Time”!!!!! I have never seen an involuntary, collective ovation – like an unplanned ovation flash mob. Hehe at “See you next time” — like Riley. 

--- Awww at Hark grabbing and kissing me during “Loved You Before I Knew You” before I was about to go for it!!!! Heh at me referencing the website and the other dates.

--- “Imagine”: Not a closer, but points for the “Buddy Holly” / “Monkey Wrench” pause.

Grade: A+

289 – Wilco – Thursday, June 20, 2024 – Wolftrap – Vienna, VA

--- “Misunderstood”!!!! How do you start with that?! Immediate buy in. 

--- “Forget The Flowers”: I have no use for the song, but I love that they have two Being There tracks to start with! The women who have seen them since the 90s love it too.

--- Heh, the guy next to me thought “Handhake Drugs” was off Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. He also choked when he found out I was born in 1985 -- he graduated high school then. The actual song is dynamite of course!!! Love Jeff’s precise feedback solo; I swear it’s new.

--- “At Least That’s What You Said”!!!!! They actually played it -- for me! I end up yelping this to the world, and happy laughter could be heard from the rows in front and behind me. At this point, they have hundreds of songs, and they played that one. Woo. They also added piano, which it’s never had before. The piano may have taken a little away from the transition from spare to fierce, but it was worth it.

--- “I Am My Mother” and “Cruel Country”: The lyrics stand out, so it makes sense that they’d play them. Their new stuff is often indistinguishable, but I enjoy hearing the songs live.

--- “How are you all doing?” Heh, he needs to talk more, but anything is appreciated.

--- “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”: hahaha at him mirroring the guy in the crowd with the touchdown motion. Not coincidentally, the crowd virtually all starts to stand!!!

--- “Meant To Be”: validation: this one did stand out on their most recent album, Cousin! It's insistent and upbeat. Heh, “I just sang, ‘Each day is longer than the day before.’ If I sang that tomorrow (June 21st), it wouldn’t be true anymore.” Hee!

--- “If I Ever Was A Child”: box checked off for Schmilco.

--- “I hear you when you say ‘I love you.’ I’m not ignoring you. I get it.”

--- “Theologians”!!!

--- “Cousin” has drive, but it needs variation.

--- “You guys look amazing. Earlier, when the sun was fading, it looked like the back of a Meat Puppets record.”

--- “Bird Without A Tail / Base of My Skull”: !!!!! Ironically, I stated to pre-write that the title was much more memorable than the song. Well! From there on out, it grew and grew and blew me away. I’d never even heard the song. It cut off right as I finished my run, and I’m glad it did. I could experience it first live. A minute in, I could tell it was way better than the one-note norm for most of the new albums. Then this swirling electric wormed its way in, and it was off to the races. The best part is it didn’t just throttle, which is inherently powerful live. It went in all these nuanced, comforting places that felt right. Discovery, man, there’s little better.

--- “Every once in a while, you have to ask the audience how they’re doing. Otherwise you don’t know. It’s in the rule book…[We love you, Jeff.] Thanks for loving.”

--- Aww, “Hummingbird”! I think they know it.

--- “Evicted” has a cool recurring plink. “That was a single off our last record. This is a single off our first record.” Nice! The 90s women next to me are so excited for “Box Full of Letters.”

--- Hahaha: “This is a song off our second record….[checks with the band]…our third record.” Lol! “I’m Always In Love”!! I’m not sure I’ve actually heard it live, but it’s so fun.

They need to play for another two hours!!!!

--- “Impossible Germany”: awww, the 90s woman gives me a high five at the start. Her song came! Oooh, I swear Nels switched it up. The plink is slower and smokier -- and now it goes to the moon -- and the band joins in -- wheeeeeee!!!!!

--- “Heavy Metal Drummer”: woo.

--- “A Shot In The Arm”: Seconds before I plead they play it, they PLAY IT. Fogies who wouldn’t get up earlier are nearly doing a mosh pit!!!!

--- Aww, “California Stars,” an ideal warm table-setter after the encore. Cool new piano and ghost electric as well.

--- Ha, pretty bold putting “Falling Apart (Right Now)” this late. At least they’re not pandering and are playing something they presumably like. It actually has a fun cowboy vibe — especially when the other guitars get involved.

--- Woo at “Via Chicago” — with Jeff’s son seemingly drumming!!

--- Wait, why is Jeff bringing out electric for the first time all night? It couldn’t be. It’s already super late, the song is super long, they don’t often play it, and yet again, I requested it. Yet…there it is…”Spiders”!!!!! Lawn, balcony, orchestra, and the band in a first-time call-and-response complete with a shout out to a guy lifting his crutches. Unreal.

Grade: A+

288 -- John Legend -- Thursday, June 6, 2024 -- Wolftrap -- Vienna, VA

--- I missed “Save Room, “Tonight,” and “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” but I walk in on him referencing his school’s spelling bee – which he apparently won!

--- “Bridge Over Troubled Water” intro involves his grandma, who died when he was 10: “Music helped me navigate troubled water. One of my biggest regrets is she never got to see most of this. I have to think she’s looking down now.”

--- He started high school at 12! College at 16!

--- Whoa, John Legend is from Dayton! His first concert was a Star Search at the Dayton mall. He won a $500 shopping spree to the mall, but Ed McMahon didn’t turn his chair for me. “That’s okay; I can turn my own chair now…”

--- This Stevie Wonder song is not strong.

--- Heh: “Disclaimer, I’m going to be dropping some names tonight.” 

--- At his wedding, Stevie randomly played the song he’d been playing on the piano since he was 13!! “My friend Kanye played too”: lllllonnnngg awwwkward pause.

--- “I was number two in my high school class, but going into University of Pennsylvania, I’d never even been on a plane, and I felt like the poorest/non-whitest.”

--- On his John R. Stephens piano credit on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: “I asked for $500. Y’all laughing like you know how much you’d ask for.” “They started calling me Track 13.” 

--- In Philly, he went to a lot of open mic nights – like the one I managed at Busboys the night before, where I referenced him!!!

--- Heh: “I was a management consultant for three years out of college. I created value for our clients -- you might refer to it as BS.”

--- “Stay With You” is no crescendo heading into intermission. Odd…

--- The mood after intermission is night and day: everything’s great!!! The acapella opener and the moody version of “Dancing in the Dark” is haunting. Bruce!!!

--- He was featured on Jay-Z / Linkin Park’s “Numb,” Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Know My Name,” Estelle’s “American Boy,” and Kanye’s “Jesus Walks”!!!

--- Heh, he got turned down by the record label he’s on now. “The same music they’d heard.” 

--- “How am I going to call myself a legend when I don’t even have a record deal yet?” I’ve gotta live up to it! No backup plan. F’ it; I’m going to call myself John Legend. Hahaha, him having to distinguish himself from rockabilly musician and adult-film producer Johnny Legend!!!

--- Wow at his process à He mumbles his melodies first and then adds lyrics!!! 

--- “Ordinary People”!!! A masterclass in mood, pacing, and by the end, vocal jungle gym. “Pretty glad I kept it for myself.” Can’t wait to re-listen after seeing the film.

--- Hahaha: “I knew I’d made it in 2005 when Magic and Oprah called me on the same day. I’d never spoken to them before. The who’s who at Oprah’s Legends Ball was off the charts!”

--- “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley: love how it didn’t try to do too much. Spoke for itself.

--- “What’s Goin’ On” felt the opposite. Big choir, way too busy. Whoa at Marvin Gaye being from DC though.

--- “Glory”!!! Startling example of how important all elements of a song are, as it really misses the verses by Common. That said, with the McDonald’s Civil Rights essay intro, the choir (this time majestic), and his instrument, it still soars.

--- “Free” is a meandering misfire. The end is interesting, but overall, meh.

--- “All of Me” intro, about his wife Chrissy Teigen: “She’s the fire to my ice. And she can cook too…She knew it was her from the first lyric: ‘What would I do without your smart mouth’: LOL. The actual song: exquisite!!!

--- Omg at the masses leaving early!

--- “The definition of being cool is being able to be yourself in any circumstance.” Quincy Jones 

--- “Memories” is not the song to end on, but I’m glad he went for it if it really spoke to him. Dig the silky electric accompaniment. Aww at this Indian family taking a selfie at the end. He does bring people together. I have legit never seen a concert more of a mix of rages and ages. Fascinating. I take back my dismissal of “Memories.” Fittingly, by the second half, it slays! Falsetto city!! Melody first, lyrics later!!! Introduced everyone by name and lets them be the last ones on stage!!!!

Grade: A+

287 -- Hozier -- Friday, May 17, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

 --- The first time he ever played in the states was at Merriweather! Apparently he was “as green as the grass on the lawn out there.” Individualizing from the start!!

--- Omg, I’ve never seen this place so packed. There’s no room on the LAWN. Now they’re telling me there’s no room in General Admission?! A manager had to get me in?!

--- Hozier is genuinely moved by the guy in the front with the Free Booze t-shirt. “Did you actually know that was the name of my dad’s band? He’s going to get such a kick out of that.” Aw!!!

--- The first ten songs are solid and varied, though, like on the albums, they drift for me and rarely land.

--- “Wildflower and Barley”: First music he got to share with Allison Russell. He wrote it during the pandemic.

--- “Movement” has dark excitement — woo! 

--- “Too Sweet”: it’s no Will Baskin on Google Meet, but it’s aight… In reality: !!! The crowd energy makes it soar. “A sincere thank you to anyone who’s been playing that or streaming it. It’s been the first number one of my career. It’s been nice.” 

--- Love the twinkly calypso in “Almost (Sweet Music).”

--- “Would That I” is way better live. He includes so many instruments and vocalists to go with the falsetto. For the first time, I involuntarily cheer!

--- Heh, I think they know “Take Me To Church.” I don’t have much connection to it, but the familiarity and the crowd make it rip.

--- Awww at him moving to a stage right next to the lawn and him addressing them!! The acoustic “Cherry Wine,” on the first songs he ever wrote, has a purity that has been missing for me amidst all the midtempo.

--- Aww at the woman next to me: “He’s really doin’ it.” 

--- “Nina Cried Power”: Awww at Mavis Staples turning 85. “The small things we do can have a lasting impact.” He connects Mavis’ protests songs to protests in Northern Ireland, products in South Africa, work hours, pensions, reproductive freedom, lgbtq, and Free Palestine. [Wow at the thunder for Free Palestine.] There has been no revolution without poetic expression.” He then connects it back to Mavis Staples and Allison Russell. The actual song is fine, but the urgency is !!!! 

--- Awwww, he thanks by name security and the CARPENTERS!!! That’s a first and strong symbolism. 

Grade: B+/A-

285 -- Nighthawks -- Sunday, August 12, 2022 -- Burke Lake Park -- Fairfax Station, VA

--- On “Save The Last Dance For Me,” Heather Shue hits much lower notes than she did during her virtual concert. Impressive range. Aww at the couple dancing during it. Good for them.

--- “All of Me” by Billie Holiday. Now we’ve gone all the way the other way -- high notes aplenty. She contains multitudes.

--- “Natural Woman” brings me to Melinda Doolittle. Any memory of Melinda is a good memory.

--- Wish I could highlight the other members of the band, as there were some legitimately enjoyable solos. Hard not to talk to Annelle, Barb, Randy, Therese, Katie, Mike, Pam, and Mama Purcell.

--- “Respect”: Mama Purcell says without prompting, “Wow, she’s good.” Her clarity, power, and *ease* was remarkable. I ask Randy and Annelle why this one stands out from the others. Randy’s reply: “She has been drinking wine.” If I drank wine, I’d sound like a duck. She sounds divine. 

Grade: A-