As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

David Buskin w/ Eryn Michel -- Positano Ristorante Italiano (Bethesda), 2/18/2018


I hadn’t been to a World Folk Music Association Showcase since they moved the location to Bethesda, so this was a good chance to catch up with some friends and try out the restaurant. A huge parking garage a block or so away is free on Sundays, which is a big improvement on the parking situation at their previous venue. Service is always a challenge at sold-out music events; our entrees didn’t arrive until the first set was nearly over, no one offered to refill my iced tea or water all evening, and someone else’s appetizer appeared on my bill. They did do a nice job with the penne al’arrabbiata, however.
 
Eryn Michel accompanied herself on acoustic guitar in a 25-minute opening set that included a couple of originals, in addition to covers of songs done by Emmylou Harris (“Boulder to Birmingham), Maren Morris (“Dear Hate”), and Edith Piaf. After intermission, Buskin (on acoustic guitar and keyboards), with Marshal Rosenberg on percussion, kept the audience entertained for the next 90 minutes. Highlights included a smorgasbord of song fragments rewritten to reflect their writers’ advancing years (“Urge for Going”, “Try to Remember”, “YMCA” turned into “AARP”, etc.), a great rendition of his “All In All” that reminded me of Stephen Bishop at his best, and his classic “Jews Don’t Camp”.

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