I Do Stuff…

Friday was the second straight show of Medeski, Martin and Wood I was going to see.  Of the two this was definitely the one I was most looking forward to.  Yeah the Lewis Ginter was a new venue for me, but the last time I saw MMW at Rams Head Live it totally kicked ass.  Plus it was a Friday in Baltimore so that was it’s own fun right there.  For this show I planned on doing a little drinking and there is always Sabatino’s for some after show dessert and coffee.

Medeski, Martin and Wood

Unlike last nights show, this one started at a more reasonable hour.  The doors didn’t open until 7 where as with the Lewis Ginter show, by 7 MMW was getting ready to take the stage.  The extra time allowed me to put in a full day of work with plenty of travel time before the show started.  I couldn’t leave work till 6pm but even at this late hour traffic was not an issue and I was in Baltimore just after 8.  When I got into the venue The Wood Brothers were already on stage, but only a couple of songs into their set.   Not my favorite band.  They play really well and it was certainly different just having a due on stage.  I like to call it hard core bluegrass, it was mostly time to get drinks and mingle with the other fans.

Trying to find other fans turned into a little bit of an issue as NO ONE showed up!  That is not entirely true, probably 400-500 people showed up for the show.  The last time I saw them at the Rams Head Live back in 2005 the placed was packed and I was hoping for the same amount of people.  Baltimore has got a great scene when it comes to live music and I was expecting the hoards of people to flood into the inner harbor and support the band.  Even on a Friday night and still no one showed up.  So as showtime approached I was a little apprehensive on how good the show was going to be.

Another beer and it was time to find my permanent spot on the floor to enjoy the show.  Because of the low turnout the upstairs area was closed off, so I took  a spot dead center about 20′ away.  There I meet two really cool people from Annapolis, Gretchen and Michal.  A couple of young people who were well traveled when it came to seeing concerts.  We all reminisced about various concerts we had been to and the upcoming Phish shows we were going to see.  When the lights went down the fun was about to begin.

Rams Head Live!

The quick and dirty is that the show was 10,000 times better than last nights.  Having such a small crowd did not diminish the vibe.  The boys were on fire this night performing many of their new songs from Radiolarians II.  They also threw in some new new stuff that should appear on the third installment of this series.  The energy during the entire show was well maintained throughout.  Reliquary starts off the first set and had this building quality to it.  It sounds as if at any moment they are just going to breakout into this crazy bizarre jam without limits.  Riffin’ Ed continued in the same way.  When they got to the third song, a new one, they changed direction into something a little mellower that flowed right into Junkyard and back into an uptempo beat.  For the set closer it was all energy with two more songs from their recent album, ijiji > Flat Tires.  This left the crowd on a high and me wanting more, that second set couldn’t get here fast enough.

One last run to the bar for beer, I am responsible you know so no more drinking once the second set starts, and then to procure more real estate.  This time I was able to get within a few feet of the stage, everyone else was not as quick at getting the last beer like I was.  While waiting for the second set I meet Jennifer, now what I am about to say sounds straight out of a porno, but it is not.  She is a airline stewardess out of Detroit who was in Baltimore for the night just to see the show.  A real lovely woman to talk to and a true music fan like myself.  I don’t know many people that will travel such a great distance just to see a band.  When the lights went out and MMW stepped onto the stage it was time for my attention to shift.

copyright Tim

The second set was a little more adventurous in it’s tone and arrangement.  Set highlights included three new songs, including one for the encore and another great version of Amber Gris which I have been really digging from their new album.  Right in the middle of the set they change temp and pull out Baby Let Me Follow You Down.  Not sure why when they were rocking hard they felt the need to slow things waaaaay down.  Fortunately once it was over it was time to get back to the funk and boogie.  When the set ended the crowd was pretty tired and I doubted they would be able to pull the guys out for an encore.  Fortunately we didn’t have to wait long for them to bust out a new funky jam to leave us all on a high.

At the close of the show it was not exactly time for me to drive home.  I was hungry for some dessert and besides, I needed to sober up a little.  On my way to Sabatino’s I ran across this woman throwing an orange around and I just had to ask what she was doing.  Being the gentleman I am I couldn’t just let her walk alone in the city this late at night.  When we reached Sabatino’s however we parted ways, she headed home and I was headed for tiramisu and a cappuccino.  I don’t know what it is about this combination, but it totally kicks ass and is but one reason I like coming to Baltimore for concerts.

Sober from the evenings concerts and still jamming to the tunes in my head it was time for the long drive home to my nice comfortable bed.

Set 1 9:38
Reliquary
Riffin’ Ed
unknown >
Junkyard >
ijiji > Flat Tires

set ends at 10:41

Set 2 11:13
Sweet Pea Dreams
unknown
Amber Gris
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
Amish Pintxos
unknown

encore 12:03
unknown

show ends at 12:11

One of my favorite bands, Soulive, was coming to the area.  These guys are one of the best soul/funk bands around and I have been seeing them since December 2001.  Not only were they playing a Saturday show, but it was at Rams Head Live! which is one of the best places around to see live music.  The venue itself is very spacious with many bars.  If you want to just chill and not be bothers you can, want a seat, they are available, you can get a good view from the balcony, or get down to it on the floors right in front.

Since the show was on a Saturday August 16th I decided to make a day of it in Baltimore.  I got there early in the afternoon to eat some food, do some shopping, reading and walking around.  When I arrived I got a parking spot in a garage near little Italy.  I was hungry so I got some food at Sabatino’s.  It came recommend by two Italian customers and if anyone will know good Italian food it would be these two guys.  I must say I was impressed with the place.  It is definitely a small family run place.  The food was simple stick to your gut goodness.  One thing I quickly noticed was the waitresses.  It was very professional and attentive, but none of them were lookers.  Everyone working there could have been my mother, but it added to the charm.

Baltimore's Italian Festival

When I was finished my waitress asked if I want dessert and coffee.  I told her no, which seemed to break her heart, but she then suggested something.  She suggest I check out the Italian festival happening a couple blocks a way and then come back for some tiramisu, they even closed at 3am.  That last part I took note of, 3am is pretty darn late.

After paying the bill I walked and found the Italian festival like she said.  It took over several city blocks and was a great little festival.  There was music, food, beer(!), and even some bocce ball.  One thing I did notice was all the gambinos around, never had I seen so many in one place before.  Lots of tight shirts and slick back hair.

The Players

Once I couldn’t stand the smell of pasta I walked to the inner harbor.  This is what Baltimore is best known for.  There is so much to do there that every weekend it is packed with visitors.  I decided to take a seat on a bench and watch the world go buy.  After that got boring I finished the book I was reading, Dangerous Days of Daniel X.  After watching the sun set it was time to start making my way to the concert venue.  On the way over I found a free concert from The Players, a local Baltimore ska band and decided to stick around for them.  Glad I did as they rocked the house!  Come to find out every weekend there was another band playing in the common area between the two shopping centers in the inner harbor.  It was great to see such a diverse crowd gather to watch.

Finally I got to the venue and was getting ready for the show.  I ditched my back pack and was lean and mean for a long night of rockin.  Soulive is always a funky band that loves to play, they would play all night if the venue let them so I was getting ready for a long night.  The only disappointing thing about the show was the number of people attending.  There were so few tickets sold the second level was closed and only the main bar was open.  Despite all this the crowd showed much love to Soulive that night.  About the time the band should have come on was the exact moment Michal Phelps was going for his eight and final gold medal in the Olympics.  Fortunately the venue showed it on the tvs around the venue.  I am pretty sure that the band was watching as well, 30 seconds after he won the medal the band comes walking out on stage.

The band did not disappoint with the set list.  This was a classic show from back in the day.  Filled with a groove and a funk that was infectious in the crowd.  For just over two hours I was dancing and grooving to the tunes.  I was so happy I didn’t miss this show.  The last few times I have seen the band they were changing up the sound.  They added vocals with Reggie Watts (of Maktub) and Tosan (spelling?) after that.  It was….ok, not the stuff I liked best.  Soulive was still there, they were just muted, under the surface in my opinion.  But not this night, they rocked the house and I couldn’t get enough, disappointing when the show was over….but not the night.

takes the stage about 11:18pm

Set 1:
Elron
Stepin’
1 in 7
Bobby Bird
Flurries
Reverb
Tuesday Night Squad
Lenny
Dig

encore:
Tighten Up
Do It Again

show ends about 1:12am

After the show I headed over to Sabatino’s for some tiramisu and some much needed coffee.  You see during the show I had a few beers and I was still a little drunk.  To drunk to start driving home.  Since the restaurant didn’t close till 3am on Saturday I knew I had a place to go and sober up a little.  The tiramisu they have was delicious and the capacino I had went perfectly.  After about 30 minutes I could feel the life coming back to me, with the help of the coffee of course, and hit the road.  Just to make sure I could get home I took a capacino for the road, it would go well with the cigar I had for the drive home.

After getting to my truck I started the 1:30 hour drive home.  I had some good music playing, a nice cigar and the excellent capacino from Sabatino’s to nurse me home.  It was just after three o’clock in the morning when I got home and I promptly crashed hard.  The next morning I was headed to Fredericksburg to visit my mom for lunch and I was not looking forward to getting up.

All in all that was one of the best days I had had in a long time.  Most of it was un-planned and it turned out pretty darn well.