Jesse Colin Young – Rams Head On Stage, 11/4/2017

Table 102, Row A, Seats 3-4 – front and center, with my seat only about a foot away from the stage 

This was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. Jesse, who remains an excellent acoustic guitarist after all these years, began with a seven-song solo set, which started with “Sugar Babe” and included my two all-time favorites of his, “Songbird” and “Sunlight”. After a break, he brought out his band, consisting of his son Tristan on bass and 6 other recent Berklee College of Music graduates. The musicianship was stellar, particularly on electric guitar and sax, and Jesse was obviously enjoying himself throughout. The band portion of the show featured some material that I wasn’t familiar with, although it also included “Ridgetop”, “Darkness Darkness”, a great medley of “What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me”, and the obligatory audience sing-along on “Get Together” to end the set (with “T-Bone Shuffle” as the encore).

 

Setlist

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jesse-colin-young/2017/rams-head-on-stage-annapolis-md-6be0be3a.html

Hey, Dems, a better tax plan isn’t going to write itself

The title of this Steven Pearlstein column is pretty self-explanatory.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/03/hey-dems-a-better-tax-plan-isnt-going-to-write-itself/?utm_term=.8b8ceaf2fafa

Livingston Taylor – AMP, 11/3/2017

Great VIP seats again, center table in front row

 

It’s always tough for a solo performer to pull off a two-hour show while keeping the audience engaged throughout, but Livingston Taylor managed to pull it off last night at AMP, with his songs and stories accompanied only by his work on guitar, piano on several songs in his post-intermission set, and frequently-tapping feet. Although many of the songs he performed were older than I am (most notably “Pick Yourself Up”, “Heart And Soul”, and his standard closing medley of “Merry Old Land Of Oz”/”Over The Rainbow”), he also spotlighted more contemporary songwriters such as Stevie Wonder (the opening “Isn’t She Lovely”) and Laura Nyro (the classic “Sweet Blindness”), as well as such originals as “You Can Take Me Home”, “Life Is Good”, and “Writing A Book” (undoubtedly Taylor Swift’s next move). His love of nicely-tuned song lyrics was evident throughout, as he did a recitation of Oscar Hammerstein II’s lyrics to “I Cain’t Say No” (from Oklahoma!) and spent a few minutes praising the beginning of Lesley Gore’s big hit “It’s My Party”.

#160 The Boys of Summer – Don Henley (1984)

http://uploadstars.com/video/YX8AW27OOBS9

 

This one has to make the list, even if Henley doesn’t seem to be a big YouTube fan …

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100805/15015310512.shtml

#159 I Confess – The English Beat (1983)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEuxBbybuj4

 

The best of several great songs from the band that begat both General Public and Fine Young Cannibals.

 

“Being dead don't hurt,

No only dying.”

#158 Happy – Pharrell Williams (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZSe6N_BXs

 

Over 6 million of us in the United States bought this song in 2014. It sounds just as good today.

The religious right carries its golden calf into Steve Bannon’s battles

“Who would now identify conservative Christian political engagement with the pursuit of the common good? Rather, the religious right is an interest group seeking preference and advancement from a strongman — and rewarding him with loyal acceptance of his priorities. … When Christians ally their faith with bias and exclusion, they are influencing how the public views Christianity itself.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-religious-right-carries-its-golden-calf-into-steve-bannons-battles/2017/10/16/53717dcc-b28c-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.332dfe64cc55

October 12, 2017 – Cubs 9, Nats 8 (NLDS Game 3) – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/258393242/cubs-outlast-nationals-advance-to-nlcs/

 

Attendance: 43,849

Duration: 4:37

Weather: 62 degrees, Cloudy

Wind: 13 MPH In From Right

Umpires: HP: Jerry Layne. 1B: Will Little. 2B: Cory Blaser. 3B: Ron Kulpa. LF: Fieldin Culbreth. RF: Laz Díaz.

 

Game notes – Nats’ 4-1 lead after 2^nd-inning homers by Murphy and Taylor didn’t last, as Gio gave up 2 more runs in his third and final inning, and Cubs scored 4 off Scherzer in the unbelievable 5^th frame … Cubs scored 1 more run each off Kintzler and Solis, giving them just enough to hold off the Nats’ 4 in innings 6-8, including another RBI hit by Taylor … game ended as Werth and Harper fanned against Chicago closer Wade Davis, running on fumes in his third inning of relief … longest 9-inning post-season game ever

 

Other – traffic on the way down was not as bad as it could have been (although slow on the GW Parkway), and we had no trouble getting into our parking lot, although getting out of SW onto M Street after the game was over was unbelievably slow … chilly and breezy on the concourse before the game with a little rain, but rain-free and reasonably comfortable once the game actually started … concessions stands were out of pretzels (both levels) and pizza (upper level at least) by the top of the seventh … Metro wound up letting people in until 1am, thanks to them and to Exelon (but no thanks to the Nats)

 

The problem with some progressive politicians

Not to particularly pick on Sanders-endorsed Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous, but he’s the one who happened to catch my eye today:

 

“Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous is calling for Maryland to join the state of New York in providing public higher education for a large segment of the population free of charge.”

 

And four paragraphs later …

 

“Jealous has not estimated how much a Maryland tuition-free state program would cost, how many students would benefit or what type of income-eligibility requirements would be required.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/ben-jealous-wants-tuition-free-college-in-maryland-his-plan-is-like-sanders-college-for-all-bill/2017/10/10/06500cec-ad47-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.e5b49780dac6

October 7, 2017 – Nats 6, Cubs 3 (NLDS Game 2) – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/257843238/nationals-homer-rally-to-beat-cubs-in-game-2/?topicId=27118414

 

Attendance: 43,860

Duration: 3:06

Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 8 MPH Out to Left

Umpires: HP: Ron Kulpa. 1B: Fieldin Culbreth. 2B: Laz Díaz. 3B: Jerry Layne. LF: Will Little. RF: Cory Blaser.

 

Game notes – Rendon broke the Nats’ scoring drought with a first-inning homer, but Willson Contreras answered for Chicago in the top of the second … visitors took the lead in the fourth on a Bryant double and Rizzo HR off Gio, who wound up with a kept-them-in-the-game 5-inning outing, giving up only those 3 hits and runs … Nats didn’t get another baserunner off Jon Lester until the 5^th, when they loaded the bases on a leadoff single by Zim and 2-out walks to Taylor and pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick, before Turner fanned to end the frame … Washington finally broke out in the bottom of the 8^th, when pinch-hitter Adam Lind singled, Harper hit a 2-run HR to tie things up, and Zim hit a 3-run shot after a walk to Rendon and a Murphy single … Doolittle got the save, finishing up 4 innings of scoreless ball by the Nats’ bullpen