On the first Friday following Halloween the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented The Nightmare Before Christmas Live at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Tim Burton’s Gothic Halloween Christmas classic was brought to life with a Movie and Music presentation.
Friday, October 19th Lindsey Buckingham performed at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. to support the release of new Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham CD Set. The Warner Theatre was filled with fans whose excitement to see Lindsey live was evident all night long.
I will admit, I am a big Lindsey Buckingham fan. I first saw him live in 1993 at the Bayou in Georgetown, Washington D.C. which unfortunately is no longer there. Some of the biggest bands have made a pass through The Bayou. For me when I think of my favorite artists who I would love to see live in in concert, Lindsey Buckingham is in the top 5.
John Lodge, bass player for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band The Moody Blues performed on Sunday Oct 14th at the City Winery in downtown Washington DC for an intimate group of energetic fans.
John Lodge and his band started the show at 8pm sharp which is unusual. Usually shows start at least a few minutes late but not this show. I have been a fan of The Moody Blues ever since I was a kid. I am not young, but there were a lot of fans at this show that have been fans of The Moody Blues since the beginning of the band back in 1964, which is a few years before my time, but not by much!
The queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige was the main act for the grand opening for the new venue in Southeast Washington DC, ESA (Entertainment and Sports Arena) Saturday night. Mary J. held nothing back with a powerful performance of all her hits throughout the years and a medley only the queen of hip-hop so could do. The new venue, that holds about 4,200 people, was a sold-out success on October 13th. The Grammy Award winning the lodge bar with her talented opening act British singer and songwriter Jacob Banks.
On Tuesday September 4th, I saw Chris Isaak in concert at one of my favorite concert venues in the area, The Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. I have been a fan of Chris Isaak since as with a lot of people, his song “Wicked Games” in the David Lynch movie of the same name.
Chris Isaak has an amazing voice. He has been compared to a few of my favorite artists of all times, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. I love the beautiful, yet eerie at times voice of Roy Orbison. Not many performers can sing in the manner of Roy Orbison, but Chris Isaak sure can. He also is great with Elvis’ songs, not as great as Roy’s songs in my opinion but still very good. But Chris Isaak covering Roy Orbison or Elvis songs is not the reason I like Chris Isaak. He is a masterful songwriter. He has written hit songs for other artists and has had good success with his music doing well also.
On Saturday August 25th, Dave Mason and Steve Cropper performed at the Baltimore Soundstage. Opening the night, the Dave Mason Band, sans Dave Mason and Steve Cropper came on stage to warm up the crowd. As one of them said, they really needed to warm us up since they had the AC cranked down to 65. It was cool, but not bad. Once the stage lights came on and the band started to play, that changed quickly!
Dave Mason’s band, played for about 30 minutes to warm up the audience. The resume of the Dave Mason band is impressive.
Photos by Ari Strauss
For those that have never had the pleasure of a real New Orleans live show, its not your “sit down and enjoy” type of event. I say event because that’s exactly what it is, an Event! Performers from the Crescent City don’t know how to do small. That in mind, on Saturday June 23rd the perfectly named “Big Sam’s Funky Nation” showed up, and showed out.
On Monday, June 11th, the pop-rock and soul duo Hall & Oates performed at the Capital One Arena. Looking around the arena, there were not a lot of empty seats.
Jonathan Wilson performed at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC on Thursday March 8th. He plays guitar and keyboard on Roger Waters latest album, and touring with him supporting the new album. They performed last year at the Capital One Arena, at a concert which I attended.
If you believe in life after love, then this show would make you into a believer! The Iconic Legend we know as Cher performed an amazing show on February 20, 2018 at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland.
