I Do Stuff…

A couple Nancy and I know wanted to get together for a night on the town.  It was suggested we go see Elephant Room, which is currently playing at Arena Stage.  It is a magic show but with a twist so this intrigued us.  I have never been a fan of magic, it is the illusion that gets me.  I know I am being tricked and I end up spending my time trying to figure out how they did it instead of enjoying the show.  The Elephant Room was going to be a mix of a stage play and magic so I was hoping it would grab my attention and keep me distracted long enough to enjoy the show.

Arena Stage by Nic Lehoux

We pregamed at Station 4 just around the corner from the venue.  Nancy booked reservations through some website for $10, but this got us 30% off our entire bill, alcohol included!  When it came time for the bill I was glad she did this, we saved a ton.  Both of us were impressed with the decor of the place when we walked in.  The dinner crowd had yet to arrive so it was pretty empty, we quickly found a seat at the bar and I started scanning the beer taps.  They had about a dozen draft beers from around the world, many I knew and a few were completely foreign to me.  Three in fact I didn’t know and through the night I worked my way through them.  So the decor, very trendy if you ask me.  High ceilings, black walls, small splashes of gold and silver to accent everything.  The chairs are this yellow/gold color and make the dinning room pop with color.  Modern bathrooms that are open and a little awkward if you ask me.

Shortly before 5:30 our friends meet us at the bar for a quick drink before getting our table.  We ordered a full three course meal from the menu.  The restaurant describes themselves as “modern American”, not sure what that means but the food was rather good.  We started with grilled pears that had brie and black truffle honey drizzled over crostini.  It was tiny but packed full of flavor, we should have ordered two of these.  For the main course I got braised short ribs and Nancy the double bone pork chop.  Being an American restaurant the menu is not very adventurous, but they do make some good food.  We all were impressed with our meal, the presentation was great and the portion sizes were spot on.  Even got some dessert to go along with my Guinness at the end of the meal.

Louie Magic, Dennis Diamond and Daryl Hannah

By 7:30 it was time to head over to Arena Stage, literally around the block from the restaurant.  The complex in fact has three theaters all enclosed in this giant glass structure.  The theater was moved to its current waterfront locations many years ago and beginning in 2008, the entire complex was remodeled into its new swanky glass spectacle by Bing Thom Architects.  Each theater is a different size to accommodate every size of productions.  In fact the new complex is so big, it completely encloses the old Arena Stage.  This bigger building allows for the other two theaters, common lobby and restaurant.

The Elephant Room was performed in the Kogod Theater which seats only 200 people, small and intimate and Saturday it was a packed house.  The show is a mix of redneck theater and magic that I thought was very entertaining.  At times it had everyone laughing their ass off and other times intently watching the magic unfold onstage.  To give you an idea of the night, the opening sequence was a good example of how things where going to go that night.  The lights come up and we see a raised stage on center blocks.  There is a couch in one corner and a fog machine starts filling the stage with smoke.  Then the lights go out, the fog machine starts up again and when they lights come backup, the three performers are on the couching glaring out into the audience.

All night it was a mix of comedy, story telling and magic that I thoroughly enjoyed.  There were a couple of musical numbers, some audience participation along with serious and goofy magic.  As a non-traditional magic show it was great and for those like me who doesn’t much care of magic, I was amazed.  Three times during the performance one of the magicians would be talking in rapid fire while all three of them were doing random, unrelated magic tricks.  There was just so much going on you couldn’t pay attention to it all.  My only complaint would be the magic setup could have been a little smoother.  I would be watching and could tell they where setting up for the next trick, a disappearing hand here, jacket roughly there.

by Scott Suchman

When you take in the performance as a theater production that involved magic, it was great.  Hands down better than any other magic show I have seen in the past.  With its mix of magic, jokes, storytelling and the outrageous characters, the production was a marvelous hit.  I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good date night in the city.  Hit up Station 4 for dinner and then walk over to the theater for a performance.

After the show we headed over to Capitol City Brewing in Shirlington for some drinks to cap the night off.  Nancy and I didn’t stay long as we had a long drive home.  It was a wonderful evening out, spent with friends we don’t see often enough.  The food was great and the performance worth traveling to the city to see.  We have already talked about setting up another double date at Arena Stage.

Washington Monument

Photo Gallery

This past weekend Nancy was in North Carolina for a baby shower, so I had Saturday to myself.  It is not often that I get a day by myself so I took the opportunity to walk around Arlington and DC.  The weather started off below freezing but the high was going to be near fifty and for the middle of winter around here, that is not bad.  I saw Nancy off around 8 and by 9 I was out the door and headed north.

My first stop was to Arlington National Cemetery, weird I know.  A good friend of mine died a few years back and I have always wanted to go back to his grave and smoke a cigar.  I sat there for 45 minutes or so, smoking my cigar and just enjoying the early morning.  I left one on his grave for him, I hoped he liked it.

From there I was in a walking mood and took the Mount Vernon Trail north to Roosevelt Island.  The trail was filled with runners and bikers also out enjoying the weather.  The island is a little slice of nature just outside the city.  It is an 88 acre island in the Potomac between DC and Virginia that years ago was last purchased by the Theodore Roosevelt Association and given to the American people.  On the island is a memorial to the 26th president with several hiking trails that cross the island.  I took the longest trail around the island and was pretty impressed with the amount of wildlife I saw for such a small island.  I managed to photograph cardinals, robins, a woodpecker and strangely, saw a couple of deer roaming around.  I ended at the memorial which is rather large.  In the center is a giant statue of Roosevelt depicting him giving a speech with several sayings of his on either side about manhood, democracy, etc…

smoked a cigar with a friend

By now I had worked up an appetite so I walked back across to Virginia and had lunch in Rossyln.  I wanted to head to the Mall and enjoy a cigar but decided to cheat and take Metro.  For a beautiful day, the Mall was packed with people taking full advantage of the nice weather.  Most of the lawn was occupied with Frisbee football games, regular football and even a couple of rugby games at the far end.  On each side runs and bikers zipped by the tourists and pedestrians who where out in droves.  I just sat on one of the benches and did some people watching while enjoying my second cigar.

To end my day, I headed to the National Gallery of Art that just reopened their French masters section for a little reading.  I was disappointed I had to check my bag at the door but I grabbed my book and found a nice comfy couch to relax in and catch up on some reading.  I was trying to close to place down but I needed to get to my dad’s house for dinner.  For an entire week me and Nancy were not eating meat, out of choice, but tonight I was going to break that fast and enjoy a nice steak.  To wash all this down we headed over to Rustico after dinner to sample some beers.  We lucked out and got a booth in the back as some people where leaving as we were arriving.  We took the opportunity to sample some different Belgium and Germany beers from their extensive list.

Pileated Woodpecker

After a long exciting day I was happy to get home around 11:30 that night.  According to my GPS logger I walked about 6 miles in total and I was feeling it.  I didn’t get much sleep the night before, then up early to see Nancy off and all the walking wiped me out.  On my adventures that day I did get a few ideas of things to do with Nancy.  I can’t wait for spring and the cherry blossoms, if they bloom, I would like to have a picnic on the Mall again.  This winter has been crazy and is causing the plants to get confused.  There were the tulips starting to bloom on the Mount Vernon trail and some cherry blossoms at the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden starting to bloom as well.

WSP Wood Tour poster

I posted twice about this performance from the show, now I have more time for an in depth review from last night.  The Fillmore in Silver Spring only opened last September and none of their booked acts thus far peaked my interested.  In November it was confirmed that Widespread Panic would be taking a indefinite hiatus starting in 2012.  They would play their already book, and sold out, four nights in Puerto Morelos Mexico and limited engagements in Atlanta, Denver, Aspen, and Silver Spring.  I jumped all over the tickets when they went on sale in middle November.  It could possible be the last chance to see the band for a few years and it was going to be an all acoustic tour which sounded really cool.

The two shows at the Fillmore would kick the tour off and I decided to catch the first of the two shows.  As much as I wanted to see both nights, the high ticket price and distance from my house on a school night precluded me.  I left work at 6pm for an 8pm show time which Widespread is pretty good at keeping.  I knew that traffic would be a little rough, only once I got to the American Legion Bridge did things slow down.  I still managed to make it to the parking garage by 7:30, enough time to find a bit to eat and head into the show.

Just the lobby alone was impressive.  You are given a choice to go upstairs or into the club on the ground floor.  On either side of the floor there is a huge bar that has a good selection of bottle beers.  They do have drafts, but it was limited to only domestics, prices were “ok” at $7 for my bottle of Anchor Steam.  I was impressed they had it however so the price was worth it.  The upstairs has a VIP section with seats along either side of the balcony and on the second level opposite the stage is a tiered VIP section with tables.  Behind all the VIP sections there is space for general admission patron to stand.  You can’t see much of the stage from these spots, but there are tvs hanging from the ceiling that have a feed of the stage.  The live feed, with audio, is piped into a bar and lounge in the basement which is really cool.  The dance floor is made of wood and there are the signature Fillmore hanging chandeliers, four in all, next to a mirror ball.  All in all this is a really nice venue and I can’t wait to get back to the place.  Even the bathrooms are impressive.

jam on guys

As for the performance, it kicked ass.  I have seen acoustic songs before and been to quite venues like the Birchmere and Rams Head Tavern but this was completely different.  The song selection was good, each version was played in a mellow fashion to go along with the acoustic instruments.  John, Dave, and Jimmy all sat in chairs while they played.  One thing I noticed about Jimmy was he didn’t switch his guitar much, if at all.  I am use to seeing him get a new guitar every couple of songs, depending on what sound he is looking for that particular song.  All the band members seem to enjoy the night and really get into the acoustic vibe.

The audience was a typical WSP crowd, a little older and much more mature than some other acts I see.  There was of course lots of drinking, the floor after the show was covered in spilt beer and empty plastic cups.  All in all, they were respectful of the performance and really got into at times.  On several songs, because of the performances quite nature, the audience would sing along with John.  When I was dancing to the music at times I would look up at the balcony and see everyone grooving to the music.  It was also funny to see the audience at the start of each set whip out their cell phones to snap some photos.  Don’t think I am throwing stones, how do you think I got my shots from the night?  Just a funny observation from the night.

Getting home took about 70 minutes cutting through downtown DC.  Unfortunately I can’t make the performance tonight.  I do look forward to going back to the venue sooner rather than later.  I think it is a welcome addition to the live music scene here in Washington DC.  I just hope top caliber acts continue to go to the State Theatre, Birchmere, and 9:30 Club.

Set 1 (8:18pm start)
01. This Part Of Town >
02. Worry
03. Fishing
04. St. Louis >
05. Clinic Cynic >
06. Wondering
07. Free Somehow
08. Genesis >
09. Holden Oversoul
(9:12pm end)

Set 2 (9:55pm start)
01. From The Cradle
02. Can’t Get High
03. Gimme
04. Degenerate >
05. Pilgrims >
06. Travelin’ Man >
07. Saint Ex >
08. jam >
09. Driving Song >
10. jam >
11. Driving Song >
12. Breathing Slow >
13. City of Dreams
(10:56pm end)

encore: (11:00pm start)
14. None of Us Are Free
15. May Your Glass Be Filled
16. Walkin’ (For Your Love)
(11:16pm end)

Notes:
Wood Tour
Last ‘Fishing’ – 11/29/08, 215 shows
Last ‘Free Somehow’ – 10/28/08, 225 shows

time to go home

This venue is incredible and seeing WSP here us a real treat. I love the acoustic playing, very mellow versions of known songs so far. Been very impressed with the first set and can’t wait for the second. For a tour opener this has been a great performance. I am missing the president’s state of the union address for this show but it is totally worth it. I will catch it on my way home.

What will happen for second set…..oh boy oh boys.

Let’s try some live blogging tonight. At the Widespread Panic show in Silver Spring, MD. The tour opener for the Wood Tour and probably the only six shows in America all year. I am psyched! Got a beer in hand, show should be starting shortly.