Loge Center, Row L, Seats 101-103 (upper level, our own
three-seat pod AND row, at the very top so we could stand up and/or dance
whenever we wanted to without blocking anyone else’s view)
First in-person live music show in 17
months!
Given the difficulty in predicting the covid-19 situation in
terms of both risk and government restrictions, Wolf Trap opted to offer a
slate of in-person June and July shows with limited capacity, with pods of
various sizes both inside the Filene Center and on the lawn. Since every other
row was left vacant and there was plenty of space between pods in the same row,
I’d estimate that capacity was no more than 20% of normal. This certainly had
some advantages – concession lines were short, and it took almost no time to
get out of the parking lot. We did encounter an unexpected (for a Saturday)
amount of traffic on a stretch of the Maryland beltway on our trip getting
there.
The “jukebox” consists of a scrolling video screen, listing
in apparently random order 50-some songs that audience members can request
(shout-outs, Max asking individual audience members, whatever). The repertoire
was heavy on British-invasion and classic rock tracks; I’m not sure what the
most recent song was, but I only noticed two that predated 1964.
Max started things off with “White Room” and “Rebel Rebel”
before getting to the first audience request, which wound up being “Jumpin’
Jack Flash” (the first of three Stones numbers to appear in the set). About
halfway through, Max brought up his daughter, PBS news producer Ali Rogin, who
provided lead vocals on “Piece Of My Heart” and “Somebody To Love”. The band
concluded with “Glory Days”, as Max invited the audience (or as much of it as
could fit, apparently) to join them on stage. Unfortunately, it proved to be a
LONG way between Row L of the loge and the stage, particularly for someone
encumbered by a walking boot.
It was definitely an enjoyable show, with great musicianship
from Max and the other three members of his band. We were agitating for “Pink
Cadillac” from our far-distant seats, and eventually were joined by some other
folks in our neighborhood. He may or may not have heard our shouts, but he did
get to the Springsteen classic towards the end of the show, to our delight. I
was particularly pleased to hear them do “Louie Louie”, “Dead Flowers”, and “American
Girl”. My podmates and I also agreed that Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” was a
standout.
