Homecoming (Josh Ritter / 9:30 Club / 2/23)

I feel a change in the weather
I feel a change in me
-- Josh Ritter --Homecoming

A random rainy Tuesday in February, quickly double-booked between a happy hour and spontaneously purchased Josh Ritter tickets. The StubHub envelope came with an extra, creating unexpected complications and cancellations and co-worker round robin.

All of that settled, pedaling north through the cold and rain up to the show - alive. Happy. Josh was already in the middle of his first song, mixing Birds of the Meadow with Frank Ocean's hook on No Church in the Wild. And it just rolled from there. Some surprises - a sublime cover of Roger Miller's Engine #9 (which shows just how hard it is to nail a Roger Miller song). And he was at his best when it was just him and the guitar. He had a power over the audience, a command of language and line that was palpable.

Bang! Bang! (Kaleo / RnR Hotel / 2/20)

Saturday night. RnR Hotel. Trev and I slip in on the wind of free tickets and work our way mid-way through the crowd. Tight. Hot. Sweaty. And they had a presence, a Scandinavian sensibility. Cool but passionate. And mid-set they did a slow-build on Sonny's classic:

Tomorrow it's Josh Ritter at the 9:30. Can't wait. As they say..

Getting Ready to Get Down

Just discovered this. And like it.

Otherwise rolling along..

Greek Bronzes and Glad Girls

Lunch hour ramblings this week:

• Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World (NGA) - Simply stunning. Who knew? The detail. The mystery. The coy traces of humanity. The fragility. Short on time, I breezed through yesterday. But will be back. Often. There are worlds here.

• DC Public Library. Main Branch: One Pot French, Kayaking Made Easy, Appalachian Trail: Overnight Hikes, City Cycling.

Then, back at my desk, Guided By Voices' Glad Girls came on.. transporting me back to 2001, ducking out of the 9:30 Club to catch the train back to Takoma Park.

Mostly unpacked. Record player spinning. Off to NYC this weekend..

Don't You (Wet)

Flashes. Friday night, after a day of playing craigslist, Barry snagged Bruce tickets and we were off. His 3?th show - my first (unless you count that concert for Obama in '08). Lobster rolls and beers and big Bruce fans shuffling into the Verizon Center. Bruce was full of energy - a performer. An entertainer. He played The River in order and it surprised me - there are nuances, conversations, lines that grab you. And then he did a greatest hits set ending with "Shout" and I floated out, dancing. Biking through the late-night slushy streets.

Packing. Boxes on Boxes on Boxes. Lease signing soon (hopefully!). New routines and rhythms. Spaces. New cases in Southern California... back to the land of Joshua Tree and that high, delicious, desert.

On my radar:

• Wet (the band). Cat Power by way of Brooklyn. Strangely present and palpable. I missed their show at U Street Music Hall but like what I've heard online..

• New Lucinda. Of course.

• New Kanye. Even better. Feb. 11.

• Kayaks. I'm in the market for a kayak.

• Basia Bulat @ RnR Hotel

KUTX

Reconnecting with KUTX, so nice to have a sentient being on the other side of the sounds. Segueing from the Bangles 'Hazy Shade of Winter' to Guided By Voices 'Doughnut for a Snowman'.

Dreaming of Naples.

Approved at the new apartment.. looking forward to settling in.

Untamed Sense of Control

Let's make this a random notes post. It's been a while...

Christmas in the Sarasota sun. Kayaking in Oscar Scherer State Park and the Chassahowitzka. Days spent between beach & pool & fried fish. Then Repeat. Delicious. Then some work meetings in Ft. Myers and Miami - from Cape Coral to Coral Gables. Alligators. Pelicans. Swimming in spring-fed rivers. Now back and apartment hunting.

Random cultural notes:

• I finished the first of Elena Ferrante's Naples novels - "My Brilliant Friend" - and am spellbound. Now on to Book 2 ("The Story of a New Name") and it's getting even deeper. Richer. The texture, the way the world is changing for the characters. Seriously some of the best stuff I've read since, well, NW.

• Listening (on repeat) to Dawes ("All Your Favorite Bands") and Chris Stapleton ("Traveller"). And this:

  After the Adidas commercial that was "Facts" - this is back to White Dress-level introspection. And sonic depth.

• And this was originally going to be a blog post about Roscoe Holcomb.. And this great article about his discovery in the 60's. But I put this post in draft so long ago that I lost the thread..