Not that I wouldn’t go to see two shows in one day, there are just logistical problems, mostly because headliners usually go on at the same time. But last night one of the concerts was at Jaxx, which I know from past experience runs late, and the other was supposed to start early, so I gave it a go. I grilled burgers for dinner while Jill made a salad and boiled corn, then she had a meeting and I headed to DC. I didn’t get started until 8 and had to stop for gas, so by the time I found a parking spot it was just after 9. I was worried I was missing some of the headliner since the show was supposed to start at 8, and I hurried to the Black Cat, but I didn’t need to as the opening act had just started. Not that US Royalty were bad, as I matter of fact I quite enjoyed them. But that meant Tinted Windows didn’t go on until quarter after 10, endangering the double header (especially since the last time I’d tried one it was an epic fail).
You may not have heard of Tinted Windows yet, but you know their members. James Iha was the guitarist for The Smashing Pumpkins (and briefly A Perfect Circle), singer Taylor Hanson is one of the Hanson brothers, Adam Schlesinger plays bass for Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and Bun E. Carlos is the drummer for Cheap Trick. With a pedigree like that, you’d think they were a power pop supergroup, and you’d be right. Adam Schlesinger wrote most of the songs and that’s always a good sign (you may not know he also wrote the title track for the movie “That Thing You Do”), so they were a must see for me. The show was good – with only one CD out, they played the whole thing, a couple b-sides and covers. The highlights were the singles, Kind Of A Girl and Messing With My Head. I didn’t stay for the encore as I had a feeling I’d be missing some of the next show.
So I headed to the car, took 14th Street as it turned into 395, then got off in Springfield. Sure enough, Extreme was on stage and I’d missed about 30 minutes, they’d just finished “More Than Words”. But I wasn’t too upset, seen that plenty of times and they still had an hour to go, lots of good stuff including a recent twist of going from Get The Funk Out into a cover of Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’. The best was yet to come in the encore – after stellar versions of “Am I Ever Gonna Change” and “Hole Hearted”, they decided to throw away the setlist. Nuno called for something totally different, and launched into a Van Halen riff. Usually when that happens, Gary says “That was a long time ago” and they do something else, but not last night; instead, we got the first full version of “Mean Streets” since he left Van Halen. Great night and worth the trouble of getting to both shows, even if I didn’t make it home until 1:30AM.