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.)

Friday, December 9, 2016

Mary Chapin Carpenter w/ Rose Cousins – The Birchmere, 12/7/2016


Table 125 – dead center, second row of tables in the raised rear section. (We had the number I82 and they started at I57, so were the 26th group to get in.)
 
As was the case at Wolf Trap this summer, it’s good to see Mary Chapin Carpenter playing with a full band again. Longtime bandmate Don Dixon prowled the stage with his electric bass, while Jon Carroll and Johnny Duke impressed with their solo work (piano and guitar, respectively), especially on “I Feel Lucky” and “The Bug” near the end of the main set. (Drummer Nate Barnes was great throughout.) I was also delighted that they included “I Know You Know”, which is my favorite track from her latest album. She did change a few lyrics in light of recent events: “We doctor the receipt” (from my all-time favorite “Stones in the Road”) is now “We posted a tweet”, and a different “celebrity” (no longer a musician) has his hand on her thigh in “I Feel Lucky”.
 
Setlist
 
Rose Cousins started with a 45-minute opening set accompanying herself on guitar and piano, with mostly self-written material somewhat reminiscent of Mary Chapin in her more contemplative moments. (She joked with the audience at one point that doing happy, upbeat material was “not her job”.) I wasn’t terribly surprised when she mentioned that she was from Prince Edward Island, since her voice reminded me of fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards. The north-of-the-border connection was further strengthened by her one cover, Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind”.
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2 comments:

  1. JFDecember 10, 2016 at 9:04 AM

    "The Rolling Stones claim they made their new blues album in three days - which is remarkable since it sounds like they couldn't have spent more than two."
    -Mikael Wood, L.A. Times

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    1. Mike RhoadsDecember 11, 2016 at 10:42 AM

      Great review, actually -- love the "amplified death wheeze". Might have to pick up the album (although I've already voted for my top choices for the year).

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