3 concerts... 5 days

No, I'm not a Deadhead. I only like some of their music.

So last week, Jen made me go to a concert-- she lured me with the promise of everything paid-- to go see The Duhks (new grass/country band from Canada). I didn't think I'd like it-- not because I don't like bluegrass, but just because I don't like their name (in case you're wondering, you say it like the animal-- ducks). Anyway, so Jen and I went to the Birchmere in Alexandria. I think the Birchmere is my favorite concert venue for many reasons.

1- it's non-smoking so I didn't have to worry about smelling like someone's nasty ash tray.
2- it's a sit-down place where they serve you food... so I didn't have to stand so long and try to see.
3- they serve food-- and it's not that bad.

The concert was cool. The Duhks, despite their not so cool name, are actually very entertaining and their songs are actually cool. It's a little Allison Krauss, a little Nickel Creek, and a little Riverdance all in one band. And the bands opening for them weren't too shabby either. A man-and-his-guitar singer/songwriter, Rex Moroux opened the show. A an all-women band named Fruit opened for the Duhks. Both were very good bands. I ended up buying the Fruit CD-- because their music is fun. It's very Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls, but happy.

Second concert-- National Symphony Orchestra playing Halloween-y tunes on Sunday afternoon at the Kennedy Center. Played stuff from Harry Potter (my main reason for wanting to go), Psycho, and other scary-like music. It was a great concert. It was a kids concert where they could go and where their Halloween costumes and the orchestra also dressed up. It was really cute! My problem was with the parents. This family in front of us were UNBELIEVEABLE. The kids were fine-- well-behaved, even. The parents were antsy and talking and just annoying. I finally had to just stand up so I could see without their head in my view or their whispering in my face. Crazy.

Finally, the last concert was on Monday after work at Iota in Arlington. We went and saw this band called The Veltz Family (formerly Cecilia). I have a history with this band. When I first saw them a few years back when they opened for a band I was seeing, I really liked their sound. I even went to their website and ordered not 1 but 3 of their CDs. So I waited and waited... and no CDs ever came. So I emailed the band and actually got a response back where they apologized and sent the CDs again. Again, no CDs in my mailbox. I gave up on them eventually, but when I heard they were coming back to DC on Monday (I'd missed the last few times they were around here), I thought I'd give them another try. It was a great show-- not crowded at all, only problem was the tall people in front of me-- but I went for the music and not for the sights, I suppose. Jenny bought their newest CD and it's really good. Lesson: Buy indie music at the concert and not from their cheapo website.

I think I'm done with concerts for now... I hadn't been to a live concert in awhile (I think Nickel Creek was the last one... they're breaking up by the way at the end of 2007). It was nice to go out and hear live music again and hear something new for a change. Oh, something interesting: Turns out that on Monday, Beck had a surprise midnight show at another club in the DC area. Didn't make it to that one. Maybe next time Beck...