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.)
The shirt is now 3-0! We kept our switched seats as well,
which may have helped.
Anibál Sanchez continued his recent turnaround, giving up a
solo homer to Oakland rookie 1B Dermis Garcia in the second but otherwise
keeping the visitors off the board through seven innings. The A’s did mount a threat against closer Kyle Finnegan in a 9th
inning that featured four pinch-hitters, the last of whom he fanned with the
bases loaded to finish things off. Meanwhile, the Nats scored all the runs they
needed in a 4-run bottom of the 5th, featuring a leadoff walk to CJ
Abrams, RBI singles by Josh Palacios and Luís Garcia, and a two-run Luke Voit
HR.
There were a couple traffic backups on the way down, but the
return trip was faster than for our typical Sunday games. The $16.00 “Original
Chicken” sandwich from Roaming Rooster wasn’t bad, although pricey even by Nats
Park standards. (Suggestion: try a chicken sandwich from Popeye’s at less than
1/3 the price.)
Prime Orchestra, Row G, Seat 104. Center section, but close
to the left-hand center aisle this time. Excellent view and sound.
On an exceptionally humid (but rain-free) evening, what struck
me most was the sheer joy exhibited in both sets by elite musicians who
obviously wanted nothing more than to play before live audiences again after
two years of pandemic-related restrictions. Harris and Carpenter were in fine
form, with their bands contributing both with their instruments and voices. (I
only recognized one member from each band – bassist Don Dixon, who’s been with
Carpenter for many years, and guitarist Will Kimbrough, whom I remember from a
couple of Rodney Crowell shows.)
The house was completely sold out, and there were plenty of
folks on the lawn as well. All of them were as enthusiastic as the performers, greeting
both with standing ovations when they came out – not surprising given the
connections of both artists to the Washington area. Near the end of her set, Mary
Chapin mentioned that her first of many appearances at Wolf Trap was in 1989,
opening for Emmylou. I remember that well, as several friends and I had been
going to see Harris whenever she came to the Filene Center. After that opening
set, all of us became big Mary Chapin Carpenter fans.
Harris’s 90-minute opening set was a nice mix of familiar
tunes from the 1970s and early 1980s with more recent material, after she had gotten
more seriously into songwriting as well as performing. Highlights included “Wheels”
and “Pancho & Lefty” (two of my personal favorites), an especially hot take
on “Luxury Liner”, “Bang The Drum Slowly” (a heartfelt tribute to her late
father), and the closing “All The Roadrunning”, with Carpenter coming out to
join her on vocals. Over the course of the show, she also managed to pay her
respects to several other artists, including Nanci Griffith and Billy Joe
Shaver, each of whom died within the past two years.
Setlist
(thanks to kadelejjr for posting both setlists, of which this one was by far
the most complicated)
Carpenter’s 100-minute set was equally strong if not
stronger, featuring all self-penned material except for the inevitable “Passionate
Kisses”. While giving the audience what most of them came for in terms of her
big hits, she also mixed in more recent songs, including four from 2020’s The
Dirt and the Stars. Musical highlights included “Stones in the Road” (one of
my all-time favorites), “Between the Dirt and the Stars”, an extended take on “I
Feel Lucky” followed by a hard-rocking version of “Can’t Take Love for Granted”,
and the one-two encore punch of “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” and (of course) “Down
at the Twist and Shout”.
In addition to the music, Chapin also supplied quite a bit
of poignant and/or hilarious between-songs patter, including her experiences
during the pandemic, her favorite grocery store (both the service and the music
are great), and her band’s ongoing croquet competition.
Two wins in a row! (I made sure to wear the same shirt I had
on last time, and we switched seats prior to first pitch in search of
additional good karma.) The Nats ended their MLB-record streak of 43 straight
games without a starting pitcher being credited with a win, and Patrick Corbin
avoided his 18th loss of the season.
Once again, the visitors jumped out to an early lead. Leadoff
hitter Jonathan India singled on the second pitch of the game, moved up to
third when Alejo Lopez singled and RF Joey Meneses couldn’t field the ball
cleanly, and scored on a force out by Kyle Farmer. Cincinnati doubled their
lead in the second on a leadoff homer by Stuart Fairchild. (If some of these
names don’t sound familiar, you have plenty of company.)
The Nationals did very little with Reds starter Nick Lodolo
in the first three innings, but got quite a bit of help from him in the 4th.
He hit two consecutive batters following a leadoff double by César Hernández,
and then walked Nelson Cruz to force in a run. The next two batters were
retired without further damage, but Riley Adams picked them up with a single to
center; Meneses scored to tie the score, but Luke Voit was thrown out at the
plate to end the inning. Ildemaro Vargas, however, homered to lead off the
bottom of the 5th to give the Nats a one-run lead.
Corbin settled down nicely after Fairchild’s blast,
finishing the 6th with 82 pitches total. Davey opted to go with his
top bullpen arms to finish the game, with Harvey, Edwards Jr., and Finnegan
each putting up a scoreless inning to seal the victory.
The drives down and black were blessedly event-free. Four of
us met for lunch at Canal Park on M Street SE. I had a chicken teriyaki bowl
from Kihn’s Sushi, while everyone
else ordered from Wiseguy Pizza.
