April 21, 2024 – Nats 6, Astros 0

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202404210.shtml

 

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 23,193

 

The home team provided a satisfying conclusion to the weekend’s 5-year-anniversary celebration of the 2019 championship team by conquering the much-loathed Houston Astros, their World Series opponents that year, for the second straight day.

 

Unlike Saturday, when the victory required a two-run 9th inning rally and some heroics in the 10th, the Nats easily disposed of their rivals on a chilly Sunday afternoon. They wasted no time taking a quick first-inning lead off Hunter Brown, who was filling in for the just-injured Cristian Javier. CJ Abrams led off with a single, stole second, and scored on an RBI single from Jesse Winker. After Lane Thomas walked, a balk advanced both runners, who scored on Luis García Jr.’s base hit.

 

Brown blanked Washington for the remainder of his 4-inning stint, but the Nats plated two more in the 5th on a two-out bases-loaded single by Joey Meneses, who had also provided the walk-off hit that won the previous game. Nick Senzel completed the scoring with a solo homer the following inning.

 

Meanwhile, previously-unheralded rookie Mitchell Parker turned in his second straight strong start, blanking the Astros through 7 innings that required a mere 73 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. He allowed just three hits (all singles), walked no one, and fanned eight.

 

Two friends of mine, who had graciously provided me with transportation for the day, waited in line for 45 minutes before the 12:15 gate opening so they would have a shot at getting autograph vouchers. (Fortunately, they succeeded.) I decided to stay warm and instead had lunch at Rasa, two blocks from the park.

Dickey Betts

https://variety.com/2024/music/news/dickey-betts-dead-allman-brothers-guitarist-1235975041/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/04/18/dickey-betts-allman-brothers-dead/

 

I can’t add much to the excellent obituaries referenced above, other than to state the obvious (IMO): The Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East was the foremost live album of its time, and one of the greatest ever.

 

Favorite Allman Brothers tracks:

In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed*

Jessica

Stormy Monday*

Blue Sky

Ramblin' Man

Hot 'Lanta*

Midnight Rider

Whipping Post*

Ain't Wastin' Time No More

Statesboro Blues*

* - from At Fillmore East

Richard Thompson – The Barns at Wolf Trap, 4/11/2024

Row E, Seat 105 (5 rows back, almost dead center)

 

One of the pleasures of seeing Richard Thompson is the mixture of familiar and seldom-heard tunes, with the latter changing from tour to tour. This time, most of the “hits” appeared relatively early, with the obligatory “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” nestled among “Valerie”, “Beeswing”, and “Walking The Long Miles Home”. The less-heard tracks included three that were new to me: “Sunset Song” (which kicked off his three-song encore), “The Poor Ditching Boy”, and “Pharaoh”.

 

Zara Phillips came out to provide harmony vocals during the second half of the show, which consisted primarily of Richard and Linda Thompson tracks, along with three cuts from his upcoming Ship to Shore album. The high points were “Wall Of Death” (which ended the main set) and “I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight”, which was the final encore.

 

Thompson’s vocals and acoustic guitar work were great throughout, although he did forget one verse of “Sunset Song”. He was certainly well-received by the sellout crowd, although it was notably less demonstrative than those that typically attend his performances at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis.

 

Setlist