The last time I was at Merriweather Post Pavillion was in the late 80's to see New Order, P.I.L., and The Sugarcubes. I remember being on the lawn and there being items on fire thrown in the air (sorry- saw Dead Man's Chest on Friday, aargh). Last night, I was lucky enough to get center 4th row seats in the pavillion to see Belle & Sebastian play.
Opening around 6:30pm was
Ted Leo + Pharmacists. He's had a lot of fans present as he's from DC, but I've never been huge on his music. He was okay. Not sure if I would rush to buy his records though.
Second up was Canadian supergroup
Broken Social Scene. The group was sans Jason Collett, Feist, and Emily Haines, but they did have Stars' vocalist Amy Millian joining them. They had a few sound problems, but I did enjoy their set.
Last night's show was probably my favorite time seeing
Belle & Sebastian. This was probably due to our nice comfy seats, but the sound was fantastic, and the band played a great mix of songs from all of their albums. They had 4 ladies on violin accompanying them (like Bond), and I liked their stage set up with large banners of images from their past album covers including Tigermilk. I quite liked hearing "A Summer Wasting", "If You Are Feeling Sinister", and "The Boy with the Arab Strap" - which I hadn't heard them play live before.
Last week, I went to Merriweather Post Pavillion to see the Last of the Breed tour featuring Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ray Price.
Ray Price started the night backed by the Cherokee Cowboys led by his son on guitar. He sings a pretty old school crooner style of country. Nice, sobering songs about love and heartbreak. I like his version of "Please Release Me" and Hank Williams' "Mansion on the Hill".
Up next was the Okie, Merle Haggard. He was pretty awesome to see play- I've always loved his blue collar working man songs. He did "Mama Tried", "Silver Wings" and "Okie from Muskogee". Towards the end of his set, Willie came out and they did my favorite of the night, "Pancho & Lefty".
Last up was Willie Nelson. He has always been amazing live- full of great songs and energy. I love how he always opens with "Whiskey River". He had Merle and Ray Price on stage, and the did "Crazy" and "Nite Life" all together. It was an amazing evening of real country music.
