Crank this
one up to 12. Or possibly 13.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Arlo Guthrie - Weinberg Center for the Arts (Frederick MD), 2/15/2017
Row E, Seats 105-106 (best seats we’ve had for him, 5 rows back in the
center section)
“Alice’s Restaurant” is back in mothballs, following the conclusion of
the extended “50th Anniversary” tour, but Arlo and his four
bandmates nevertheless put on a satisfying show Wednesday evening at the
Weinberg. He featured 3 Dylan songs, sounding more like the 60s version of the
Nobel laureate than Bob himself currently does. Other highlights included the
mandatory “Coming Into Los Angeles” (which ended the first set) and “City Of
New Orleans”, “St. James Infirmary” (which was also a holdover from the
previous time we saw him), and a timely rendition of Woody’s “Deportee”.
Food-wise, I’d highly recommend the Ayse Meze Lounge for its wonderful
Mediterranean food at reasonable prices; it’s less than half a mile away from
the Weinberg, but enough on the fringes of downtown Frederick to have its own
free parking around the back. (Be sure to try one of the pide.) As a bonus,
since it was a Wednesday, we got to enjoy Patty Reese playing in the bar area
as our opening act for Arlo.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
#137 Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You – Wilson Pickett (1971)
For quite a
few years, Reston Town Center has sponsored a free Saturday night concert
series during the summer months. Often they’d close out the summer with an
appearance by the great doo-wop group The Legendary Orioles. While they would
play their hits, most notably “It’s Too Soon To Know” and “Crying In The
Chapel”, they would also do their versions of Motown and other soul classics.
Each time I went to see them, they opened with this track originally done by
Wilson Pickett (who, coincidentally enough, was living in Reston at the time of
his death in 2006).
They made an
excellent choice. It comes from the album Wilson
Pickett in Philadelphia, which was the only time that Pickett worked with the
Gamble and Huff “Sound of Philadelphia” production team. Musically the song is
lighter and more upbeat than, say, “Mustang Sally” or “Funky Broadway”; Stewart
Mason has a great writeup at Allmusic.com.