Wolf Trap and Our General Sensitivity to Your 2010 Concert Needs...It's a Beautiful Thing

On days like today where my office is freezing and all I can see out my window are wet leaves falling from trees, signaling the rapid approach of winter, I occasionally begin to daydream about summers on the lawn at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The overall experience of picnicking with friends and family, listening to your favorite band with your beverage of choice cresting and falling with each beat of the kick drum and swing of your hips, is unmatched in the Metro area.

As we look forward to summer 2010, we've altered our performance roll-out strategy for the better with your needs in mind. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are unveiling summer shows as they are booked in four separate announcements and on-sales, the first of which hit our web site yesterday. 42 individual performances are currently on-sale to our membership base, with a general public on-sale to come on November 21. You can become a member right now for $65, securing advance priority ticketing before anyone else. Aside from ticketing access, the philanthropic benefits and additional perks of a Wolf Trap membership are plentiful.

The performers represent an array of legendary artists both new and familiar to Wolf Trap audiences, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company, which will feature a brand new Wolf Trap commissioned dance piece from its iconic choreographer. Dubbed as “one of the most exciting, innovative, and delightful dance companies in the entire world!” by the New York Times, this piece will be presented as part of Taylor’s 80th birthday celebration.

Full List of 2010 shows unveiled thus far:

1) 21st Annual Swamp Romp
2) Beach Boys
3) Irish Tenors
4) The Temptations and the Four Tops
5) Smothers Brothers and the Kingston Trio
6) The Ultimate Doo-Wop Show
7) Cats
8) Legally Blonde The Musical
9) MAMMA MIA!
10) Riverdance
11) The Mikado
12) A Prairie Home Companion
13) Cirque Dreams – Illumination
14) RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles
15) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Three more rollouts to come in February, March, and April...so stay tuned!

Great Music in the Metro Area this Month

October has been and will continue to be quite an exceptional month for live music in the D.C. area.

I caught two shows this past week at 9:30...The first was Them Crooked Vultures, the newest 'super group' consisting of Josh Homme (Eagles of Death Metal and Queen of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). It was a close second to the loudest show I've ever seen, the first being Animal Collective, but in the greatest way possible. It was a thunderous blend of Zeppelin and Queens of the Stone Age, highlighted by some otherworldly drumming from Grohl. I never got to see Nirvana, but Grohl looked exactly as he did in 90s bootleg videos, thrashing wildly about while shrouded behind a thick mane of long black hair.

The second was Built to Spill, one of my favorite bands of the past decade, even though they've been around since the early 90s. I fell heavily under their spell thanks to a recommendation from my cousin Jay, and a subsequent CD gifting of their live disc, simply titled LIVE. I've seen BTS three times before, and while they were solid, Saturday night completely blew them out of the water. Martsch and co. delivered a blistering set of BTS classics in a fashion that I can only describe as 'relentlessly blissful.' I really couldn't get enough...and was particularly enthused by 'The Plan', 'Time Trap', 'You Were Right', set closer 'Carry the Zero', and the entire encore.

Set list included below courtesy of setlist.fm.

Planting Seeds
The Plan
When Not being Stupid is Not Enough
In the Morning
Life's A Dream
Time Trap
Traces
You Were Right
Alarmed
Hindsight
(Unknown)
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
Carry the Zero

Encore:

The Weather
Big Dipper
Conventional Wisdom

Upcoming shows I'm attending this month are Dr. Dog, Andrew Bird/St. Vincent, Deer Tick, Guster, and potentially Dirty Projectors.

Wolf Trap Summer 2010 Performance Teasers! Free Tickets up for Grabs!

In the latest bit of exciting Wolf Trap news, we have decided to break tradition this year and roll out our entire 2010 Filene Center summer season at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in four separate installments, the first one on Monday, October 26.

By announcing shows as they are booked throughout the winter and spring months, we are giving you (the patrons, members, and prospective members) advanced access to your favorite summer performers. Premium in-house seats will be available on October 26 to Wolf Trap members, well in advance of the November 21 general public on-sale.

I'm not at liberty to announce them quite yet, but I thought a few teasers couldn't hurt. I'll give you two, and the first person to answer both correctly will receive a pair of complimentary in-house tickets to your choice of productions.

1) The "memory" of this musical--never before made at Wolf Trap--should make for a warm and fuzzy evening under the stars.

2) No Pierce Brosnan and Christine Baranski this time around, but this Wolf Trap debut production will still offer plenty of borrowed sing-a-longs from one of the greatest pop groups of all time.

Will Hoge Takes The Barns Intimacy to a Whole New Level

After effusing for a good portion of the night about how thrilled he was to be playing The Barns with statements such as "How were y'all able to keep this place a secret from us for so long?" and "We're already making plans to come back...," Will Hoge played two encores. One on the actual stage, and the 2nd...in the LOBBY of The Barns. It's not often that you get to witness a performer expose himself in this fashion, without a mic, PA, or rhythm section, but Hoge pulled it off well, treating us to acoustic songs in their most stripped down, elemental packaging.

I must say I was also surprisingly impressed by The Alternate Routes, who performed a solid set of straight forward American rockers with a bluegrass tinge, at times channeling Tom Petty or The Band (not so much in their recordings, but definitely live.) What a voice on front man Tim Warren.

I've included a slideshow of pics below from his intimate lobby performance, courtesy of Andrea Riley. Thanks, Andrea!

Fall is Here, Summer is Past...

Upon noticing the significantly cooler weather today, once and for all signaling that summer is but a pleasant memory, I'd like to take a moment to solicit your opinions on that memory...

As The Barns at Wolf Trap fall schedule looms near, rife with such massive names as Nick Lowe, Cowboy Junkies, Janis Ian, and Stanley Clarke, I'd love to here your reflections on Wolf Trap summer 2009.

While your response doesn't need to adhere to any specific line of questioning, some of the general queries I'm most interested in posing are:

-Which performers would you like to see return and why?
-Which performers do you feel didn't fit particularly well at the Filene Center?
-What can we do differently at Wolf Trap which would prompt you to return on a more frequent basis?
-Based on current industry trends, which performers would be a good fit for summer 2010?
-How would you rate Wolf Trap amongst other venues in town with regards to customer service, programming, ambiance, etc.?