Crowd Surfing

The crowds at last week’s show with Wilco and Conor Oberst were pretty intense. How intense, do you ask? Take a look for yourself, with this short video of the lawn rush and ensuing revelry on the plaza and in the grass. If you're curious what a sold-out show at Wolf Trap looks like, this is it.

Wilco at Wolf Trap - 7/8/2009

Never before have I expended so much mental energy preparing for a concert. I of course take pride in each and every artist that performs at Wolf Trap, but from the moment I laid eyes on the booking sheet that read "Wilco," I became irreversibly consumed with an overwhelming sense of giddiness that will probably stick with me for the remainder of the summer. My favorite band, performing at my favorite venue...words borderline escape me, but not enough for me to write this post chronicling last night's experience. How could I live with myself if I didn't recount every surreal detail between 9 - 11 pm last night?

I suppose I should touch on Conor Oberst first. As I was still corralling my friends who arrived a bit late due to job constraints, I wasn't able to watch him from my pit seats, but what I heard from the lawn/plaza sounded great, and it was obvious from my intermittent watching that Conor was having a blast with his long time buddies who comprise the Mystic Valley Band. Songs I recognized were NYC-Gone Gone, Cape Canaveral, Spoiled, and I Don't Want To Die, but they played 4-5 in addition to those.

Wilco, came on promptly at 9pm as to not waste any stage time with the looming, mandatory 11pm curfew. I RAN from the plaza and made it into my FRONT ROW CENTER pit seat just as Jeff Tweedy was positioning himself in front of his mic stand. He's looking very healthy and happy these days, and is sporting a full mane of grayish/dark-brown hair. You could almost mistake him for Wayne Coyne if Tweedy didn't have a very distinctive face. I had talked to Tweedy earlier in the day on the loading dock after an interview he did with Baltimore's WRNR and he wasn't quite sure what to expect from the crowd considering they'd never headlined Wolf Trap, so I told him we'd take care of him, and from the opening note of "Wilco (the song)" the whole pit bounced, sang, danced, smiled, high-fived and swooned over our proximity to the band till the final note of encore closer "I'm a Wheel." Having seen them several times over the years, I must concede that this set list wasn't quite as interesting or diverse as I had initially hoped, but I honestly didn't care. They could have played 120 minutes of smooth jazz covers and I would have been through the roof. Not too many deep cuts, mostly straight-forward, concise rockers, with the exceptions of "How to Fight Loneliness," and "At Least That's What You Said." Set list is as follows:

Wilco (the song)
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
IATTBYH
One Wing
How to Fight Loneliness
Impossible Germany
Deeper Down
Jesus, etc.
Sonny Feeling
Handshake Drugs
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird-----------------

Encore:

You Never Know
Heavy Metal Drummer
Misunderstood>Spiders (Kidsmoke)
I'm A Wheel

I got a copy of the set list after the show, and they had initially planned to play "Kingpin," "Hoodoo Voodoo," and "Everlasting Everything," but had to scrap due to the curfew.

The absolute highlight of the night was when Tweedy strolled up to the front of the stage during "Spiders," handed my buddy Mike his pick, and let him strum/pick the guitar while Tweedy held down the notes/chords. Mike is actually a very talented guitar player, so instead of just mindlessly strumming away, he carefully watched Tweedy's hand and methodically plucked certain strings resulting in a collaborative solo in front of 7100 cheering fans. Pictures posted below!

To sum up, it was truly a special night. My friends and I were treated to what essentially felt like a private concert by Wilco. We got to hang out with arguably the hottest band in the U.S., and the frontman let us play his instrument. Not your average night out on the town. To briefly refer back to the mental energy expended in preparation for this show, it only makes sense that I am now suffering from a mild case of Wilco separation anxiety.

Our videographer put together a small collection of crowd footage from last night, featuring some exceptional shots of the lawn rush. I'll have that posted soon!

Thanks to Wilco, and to Wolf Trap programming for such a memorable night under the stars.

Ever Get the Feeling That you Just Have to Dance?!

Enjoy this masterfully produced collection of Wolf Trap 2009 dance footage, courtesy of our resident videographer Ted Hogeman, and our lovely new HD Sony minicam. Featured performers in this video are part of Riverdance, Rasta Thomas' Bad Boys of Dance, and Cirque Dreams - Jungle Fantasy, and we are grateful for their permission to use these clips. If you're hungry for more, Wolf Trap is hosting three additional dance companies this summer with:

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet - July 7 at 8:30 pm

Merce Cunningham Dance Company - July 14 at 8:30 pm

Face of America: Glacier National Park, featuring The Sun Road, a new work by the Trey McIntyre Project - August 19 at 8:00 pm



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc-NTeRigYQ

Live Shots!

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Get your own

For your viewing pleasure, I've embedded a slide show of several performances so far this season. We’ve had a wide range of performers and musicians this year, from the colorful, gravity-defying Cirque Dreams -Jungle Fantasy, to Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, to the varied and worldly music of Pink Martini, and many more. Enjoy this sample of the first part of Wolf Trap’s 2009 summer season!

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

How does one even begin to reflect on the life this man has led? Very sad day in the history of music. What a tragedy at the age of 50.

The L.A. Times has a timeline of events during his last minutes and some details on future plans for Jackson prior to his passing.

Wow. I'm pretty speechless.

Regeneration Tour Part 1 Contest Winner

Jeffrey Anderson took down the pair of front row tickets to tomorrow's Regeneration Tour 2009 for posting this hilarious Devo reincarnate photo on the Official Wolf Trap Fan Page. Take note of the old school bottle of Popov Vodka and the wall of job rejection letters on the wall in the background.



The 2nd part of the contest begins tomorrow, out at Wolf Trap, on the lawn. Arrive in your best '80s outfit, I'll snap your photo, will post on Facebook, and will have our fans vote on the best costume. The chosen one will receive a V.I.P package to the B-52s concert on August 8, featuring front row seats, dinner for two at our on-site restaurant, limo transportation to and from the show, and a night's stay for two at the McLean/Tyson's Corner Hilton. Can't wait to see those outfits; it's supposed to be a beautiful night, so get in the '80s spirit and join the party!

Diana Krall Set to Take the Stage

Out here for Diana Krall, but not before opener Frederico Aubele, an Argentine singer-songwriter with some pretty serious hair (Andy Samberg resemblance, no?) and skills as a fusion artist who blends pretty much every genre imaginable including hip-hop, reggae, bolero and tango. Diana Krall is armed with a new album titled Quiet Nights, which incidentally is the most commercially successful release of her career, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album is inspired by her recent visit to Brazil and showcases an intimate, bossa nova-laced collective ode to her musically eclectic superstar husband, Elvis Costello, who was just here last week for a 2.5 hr set backed by his new bluegrass/Americana incarnation, The Sugarcanes, featuring Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, and Jim Lauderdale. Some sounds problems plagued his set early, but that was quickly remedied as he had the crowd singing along from the lawn during the extended 60 minute encore that have become a defining characteristic of his live shows.

Geoffrey Himes with Washington Post Weekend has the review of Krall's Quiet Nights.