A really satisfying concert and a great musical

Friday started at Wolf Trap as I went over with friends and met Jill and my sister there. We had a big picnic on the lawn (I made some quick chicken wraps beforehand), then went down to our seats for Great Big Sea. It’d been a couple years since we last saw them, and they had a new album out. The new songs were good, but I’d only been listening to it for a week and it wasn’t that familiar, but the old songs were great, especially “The Night Pat Murphy Died” and “General Taylor”. I was a little disappointed that the slightly shorter set due to co-headlining meant dropping their covers of “Gallows Pole” and “Good Girls Don’t” but maybe we’ll catch them when they return in the fall.

Great Big Sea at Wolf Trap

After a short break, Eddie From Ohio was up, and in great form and spirits. They were once again joined by Jake Armerding on fiddle (like Falcon Ridge) and they used him to good effect. They played most of what they played at Falcon Ridge, with some nice additions including “1000 Sarahs” and “The Candidate”. Encoring with a cover of “If I Had A Boat” was a nice treat as well. Between a nice dinner, hanging out with friends and a long show with good performances it was my favorite night at Wolf Trap this summer (one more show to go Tuesday, though).

Eddie From Ohio at Wolf Trap

Our friends Meg and Z stayed over, so Saturday morning I made French toast for everyone. They took off and we got busy, I read newspapers and made another DVD, Jill ran some errands. We had steak and salad for dinner, then Jill tried to make ice cream, but the maker needed to be frozen first. Sunday I ran on the trail with Illa while Jill ran out to get bagel sandwiches since she’d used up the eggs. After a quick breakfast we went over to my mom’s house to help with her dog’s nail trimming before heading over to Alexandria. We were early, and since we were right next to the Potomac, sat in the shade of a tree for a while.

Potomac River

I’d read a review of Rooms, a two person musical, that sounded like it’d be right up my alley. When I found half price tickets I grabbed ’em, and we chose a matinée. The show was really good and the performers were excellent. Too bad they didn’t have a cast CD or I would’ve bought one – my favorite song was “I Love You For All Time”. We took a winding drive home and had a snack before I started some more auctions (wouldn’t normally start that late but next Monday’s Labor Day). Jill made burritos for dinner and finally got her ice cream, she was pretty happy about that.

Jill at Potomac River