Top 10 Shows - 2018

As another season at Wolf Trap comes to a close for me, I always enjoy reflecting back on the great shows I've seen this summer. Each one is different but a few stood above the rest so I've compiled a list of my top 10 shows for 2018! It took a lot of deliberation to make this list and there are definitely some good shows that were left off but in the end, I think it represents what I love about the venue and the level of artistry we bring every year.

Enjoy!

#10 - Reba McEntire: The queen of country delivered a great performance and despite the blistering heat that day, a sold out crowd welcomed her with open, sweaty arms. On of country music's true pioneers, she still has a great voice and I loved her ability to talk about all her long years in the business. I quickly realized you don't have to like country music to like Reba, you just need ears.

#9 - John Fogerty and ZZ Top: There may not have been a cooler moment this season then when Billy Gibbons and John Fogerty traded licks during "Green River". These two artists may be on the other side of 65 but they played like the seasoned rock stars they are and they have more than enough hits to go around.

#8 - Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me: Trump sucks (oops am I allowed to say that?) but at least with this show, we can laugh about it. Having James Comey answer questions about loyalty programs is something only Peter Sagal and company can conjure up and regardless of your political feelings, "Bluff the Listener"will get a laugh every time.

#7 - Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band: If you're a rock fan, there's nothing better than to hear Steven Tyler sing "Dream On" as good as he did 45 years ago. While he didn't have Joe Perry backing him this time, Tyler happily went back to his Aerosmith days and those tunes really elevated this show to a new level. I mean "Sweet Emotion"? Come on.

#6 - Barenaked Ladies: I wonder if they wrote "If I had $1,000,000" thinking that one day, they most certainly would. The Canadian rock band might seem lightweight sometimes, but they pack a punch and gave a great performance filled with jokes, feel-good music, and a happy audience . Now if only they ended on time...

#5 - Slightly Stoopid: The show that spurned me to create a reggae playlist on Spotify, I not only discovered a band but a whole new genre. Sure there was a lot of pot and drinking, but it's only a little illegal in a national park right? Stick Figure also gave an awesome performance and leave it to reggae to make you forget about the heat and that green smell.

#4 - Alison Krauss and David Crosby - I will totally shame myself for not knowing how good Alison Krauss is. Having seen David Crosby three times now, he might be the only person I know who kicks more ass as he progresses through his 70's. Krauss has the voice of an angel and not only represents the pinnacle of bluegrass, but of heartfelt artistry.

#3 - Juanes: At the end of this show, one happy patron questioned why we don't bring more latin artists to Wolf Trap. I've been asking that since I first got here because no one had a better time this season than Juanes fans. This show might have reminded me of my futility with the spanish language, but is also showed me the amazing power of a cultural icon and a strong latin beat. Ths show was so good that no one wanted to leave: indeed it took an hour to clear the lawn and when I was walking back to my car, I could hear the party didn't stop, it just moved.

#2 - Fitz and the Tantrums - Contrary to popular belief, I didn't put this show this high simply because it was also the night the Caps won the Stanley Cup. That was just the sugar on top a high-energy pop concert that featured two of my favorite bands. I had seen X Ambassadors before but they had a few more great songs this time around and they could fill a 50,000 capacity arena, much less a 7000 capacity one. Fitz and the Tantrums are just so fun to watch and they were the band I was looking forward to all season long. Luckily, they went the way of Ovechkin and didn't disappoint.

#1 - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - It may seem strange putting a band I had never even heard of before the show at #1 but that's exactly what I'm doing! The best part of Wolf Trap for me is gaining a little more appreciation for every artist and listening to their music in the fullest form: on stage. Jason Isbell is an incredible singer-songwriter because he has lived through all the emotions that he conveys. His band helps out by being awesomely talented and what really made them stick out was that this was a band at the top of their game. Their opener, Hiss Golden Messenger were also very good and that was also what put this show on top. It had top talent throughout the night and reminded me of why I like rock music above all else. It just brings a unique feeling to me that nothing else can. So thanks Jason for giving me the whole audience a great night. You deserve it.

Honorable Mentions

Charlie Puth - Screaming teenage girls aside, Charlie has more talent than your average Youtube singer and the Berklee educated star lived up to his hype with a great show. I could've done without the shirt removal but if that's my only complaint other than partial hearing loss, I guess it was a pretty good night.

Roger Daltrey Performs the Who's Tommy - He may be a little more restrained now than at Woodstock, but the music is what carried this show and the album was performed as it should be: as a piece of art. Only one thing was missing from this Tommy performance, the guy who wrote it.

Ludovico Einaudi - Perhaps the weirdest show I've ever seen, it also turned out be one of the best and as a musician, I was awe struck. His 20 minute piano solo was great, but it was when the ensemble came together that Einaudi really worked his magic. Using instruments I don't even know the name for, he entranced the audience like few others can while bringing a relaxing mood bereft of hype and show. The music is all he needs. 

Thanks for reading everyone!

DC

Italian Jester - Rigoletto

For my final show of the season, I was able to catch a great opera put on by the Wolf  Trap Opera Company. The company is a group of up and coming singers and actors who typically put on one show at the Filene Show while doing additional shows at the Barns. This year, they too on Verdi's Rigoletto. Giuseppe Verde was born in 1813 in a small town in Italy. A child prodigy, he was writing music by the age of 13 and wrote an 8 part Cantata when he was 15. He wrote his first opera, Oberto, in 1839 but it wasn't until he wrote Nabucco that he gained worldwide success. Over the next 16 years, he wrote over 20 different operas and became one of the most famous composers in Europe. It during this time that Rigoletto premiered in Venice. He scaled back his production in the late 1850's but came back to the forefront in the 1870's with perhaps his most famous opera, Aida. He continued to write until the 1890's and is seen as one of the most famous italian composers of his time. Rigoletto is based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Hugo's play was cancelled after only one performance for being anti-government but Verdi was adamant on using the material for his new opera. The Libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave and is considered a classic example of Verdi's middle period. The opera had a difficult beginning as it makes fun of the aristocracy, something frowned upon by the Austria government (they controlled the part of Italy where Verdi lived). Luckily, Verdi was fairly popular by then so was able to push it through and it finally premiered in 1851. The opera was a great success and has since become a standard of opera companies. In particular, "La Donna e Mobile" is an incredibly famous number that has been sung around the world outside of opera. Verdi wrote many other popular works but Rigoletto is certainly an artistic triumph.

As I said for the last show, I've never been a true opera fan but I really tried to pay attention to the show. The opera company put so much time in this production and it's just hard to do a show of this scale in an outdoor venue. And to their credit, the did a great job. All of the singers were spot on and the music was beautiful without being overpowering. The story was actually pretty easy to follow, something I feel like is not always the case with opera. Overall, it was  a great production and a fitting end to my time as an usher!

My favorite part of the show was when they performed the classic "La Donna e Mobile". I immediately recognized the melody and had no idea it was from this opera! Learn something new everyday.

Looking forward to coming back to Wolf Trap one day!

DC

Giuseppe Verdi

Apollo - Yanni

Over a 35 year career, Yanni has filled the world with his music all the while becoming recognized worldwide for his performances and concerts. He has come to Wolf Trap before but this was the first time I had seen him and it was truly a concert like I have never seen before. Yanni was born in Kalamata, Greece and first learned music at a very young age. He was originally taught music with a shorthand version of notation, a device he continues to use to this day. He went to the University of Minnesota to study psychology and joined the band Chameleon in 1977. He soon moved to LA to pursue a career in music and released his first independent album in 1980. During this time, he also started making music for movies and this was where he achieved his first success. He began his first world tour in 1987 and soon gained recognition for his appearances on public television and films. He had a rather unconventional rise to fame as he released his music independently and relied on concert films and public television to reach his audience. His albums Dare to Dream and In My Time were both nominated for Grammys and his career reached its pinnacle when he recorded his Live at the Acropolis album and concert film in 1993. The event was fully funded by Yanni himself and is the best selling concert film in history. He has performed in many iconic locations including the Forbidden City, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramids, After taking a brief hiatus in 1998, he has continued to release new music in this millennium his latest album came out in 2016. His sound is rooted in new age and instrumental experimentation but his recent album has a more electronic and upbeat feel. Outside of music, he has been a firm supporter of both NASA and the World Wildlife Fund. He even broadcasted one of his shows all the way to the International Space Station! Yanni has pushed musical boundaries his entire life and while has never had great chart success, his work stand up against even the biggest musical stars and few have the international recognition that he does. 

This concert had a lot of great moments and I ultimately liked it more than i thought I would (seems to be a common theme for this season!) His music is good but its the musicians he plays with that bring the concert to another level. His multinational band were phenomenal and each person dazzled the audience at some point. Yanni himself was comfortable in being more of a conductor but his distinctive keyboard riffs come out loud and clear. His quieter numbers have a haunting, melodic quality that I really like and his upbeat songs are catchy and downright danceable His only problem is he likes to talk a lot and sometime his melodramatic speeches go on for too long. He should leave more time for his music as that's what the 6000 people came to see. On the other hand, you can tell he still loves playing and at the 25th anniversary of his acropolis concert, the Greek star has no plans except to keep pumping the music everywhere he can. 

My favorite part of the show was when he played this song that had sort of a swing beat and featured the best drum solo I've ever seen! That drummer can really play and it was amazing to see him play along for almost 10 minutes. 

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC  

Yanni

Gesamtkunstwerk - The Best of Wagner's Ring

In the world of opera, very few have had as big an influence as Richard Wagner. The German composer wrote some of the finest works in operatic canon and of those, Der Ring des Nibelungen is undoubtedly the most complex and intricate. For Wagner, it was the culmination of his tireless pursuit of artistic connection and fusion. Born in Leipzig, Germany, Wagner grew up surrounded by the music of Beethoven and Mozart and this had a profound impact on his work. From an early age, he desired to become trained in both harmonic melodies and traditional musical composition. He wrote his first Opera, Die Feen, at age 20 but he struggled to make a living and lived in debt for much of his life. He was exiled to Switzerland for much of the 1850's do to his left wing politics and he continued to write operas until he returned to Germany in 1862. It was during this time that he began writing the first of the Ring Operas as well as Tristan and Isolde. Tristan and Isolde is considered the beginning of modern operatic work and the beginning of his Gesamtkunstwerk period. This was when he began to create works that combined various forms of art including music, poetry, lyrics, and visual representation. The Ring Operas was the culmination of this goal and was conceived over a period of 20 years.  The text was created first as a series of poems and they were published in 1853. The music came next but it was not until 1869 that he would finally write the music to all four dramas. The opening premiere for his work was delayed until 1876 because he wanted it to occur in his opera house build especially for his work. While it quickly gained notoriety for its storyline and music, it has only been done in full a handful of times due to the financial and time commitments required by opera companies. After he completed the Ring, he continued writing Operas until his death in 1883. Wagner is seen as one of the most important German composers ever and his work was instrumental in hastening a new era in opera.

I had heard of Wagner before but other than name recognition, I knew nothing about his work or his set of Ring operas. Of course, this show only contained a few of the operas numbers and merely had the singers and instruments sans the stage sets. Nevertheless, those elements were enough to exemplify Wagner's goal of combining different aspects of art into his work. The libretto is beautifully written and Wagner doesn't mince words. The music, however, is what really drew me in. Both emotional and triumphant, the NSO sounded great as always and the singers were all incredible. The story itself is really complicated but I'll summarize it as a mix of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. While opera isn't really my thing per say, I respect the discipline immensely and this seemed like a true example of high art. I enjoyed myself and am glad I discovered the work of Wagner!

My favorite part of the show was when the NSO performed the signature number from the opera; the Ride of the Valkyrie. A powerful horn sound is my guilty pleasure as a clarinet player and that song just resonates so well .

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Richard Wagner 

American Genius - Bernstein at 100: A Celebration

Since the United States is such a young country in respect to European and Asian nations, we are often left behind when it comes to discussions on great classical composers. We don't have a Beethoven, Mozart or Vivaldi. Luckily though, we do have Leonard Bernstein. Next month would have been his 100th birthday and Wolf Trap played host to a wonderful display of his work to pay homage to the great composer. Born in Massachusetts, Bernstein studied music at Harvard and later at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1943, Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time and would continue to lead the orchestra off an on for the rest of his life. He substituted as a conductor for various other orchestras and became known for his work with Young People's Concerts on CBS. This gave him national recognition as it introduced a new generation of people to classical music and was critically applauded. The 1950's also yielded perhaps his two most famous works, West Side Story and Candide. The musicals have remained incredibly popular but are but a small part of his vast compositions. He has been associated with may of the best orchestra in the world including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Orchestra, the London Symphony, and the Israel Symphony. He's also been credited with exposing Gustav Mahler to a larger audience as well as many American composers like George Gershwin, Charles Ives, and Aaron Copland. His repertoire is incredibly unique and he's often considered the most famous American composer of all time alongside Gershwin, John Philip Sousa and Brian Wilson.

I'd be remiss if I said I knew a lot about Leonard Bernstein before last night. As a musician, I've played selections from Candide and West Side Story but until writing this blog, I was unaware of his vast list of his work or his international reputation. This show did a lot to educate me and perfectly encapsulated the variety of styles that Bernstein employed. From the Doo Wop of West Side Story to the beautiful ballets, Bernstein did everything well and that showed in the performances. It helped that many iconic artists like George Takei and Misty Copeland were there to give their own interpretations of his work. But even they stepped aside and let the music control the evening. While this wasn't the best or most exciting show I've seen this summer, it was perhaps the most educational and I'm grateful that I was able to get such a great introduction to Bernstein's music. Under a full moon and a beautiful evening, I couldn't help but feel that this would've been one of his best birthdays yet.

My favorite part of the show was the clarinet solo! Bernstein composed Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for solo clarinet and I loved seeing my instrument gaining the spotlight!

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Leonard Bernstein 

Attention - Charlie Puth

As my time as an usher this season starts to come to an end, I've started to reflect on all the shows I've seen and which ones were the most memorable. My last four shows should be pretty tame so this one is  probably my last big show of the year. Luckily, amongst a throng of soaked teenage girls and slightly disgruntled parents, I was able to enjoy Charlie Puth's performance last night. Puth grew up in New Jersey and attended the Berklee College of Music where he studied music production and engineering. He's an accomplished piano player and has studied jazz since he was 11 years old. He gained his first pop exposure when he began releasing Youtube videos of his songs in 2010 and gained the attention of none other than Ellen DeGeneres. She signed him to her record label and he began writing songs for himself and other artists. He signed to a new label in 2015 and released his first major record, "Marvin Gaye" later that year. His first album, Nine Track Mind was released in 2016 and Voicenotes followed in 2018. Puth has co-written and produced almost every song he has released and his slick pop has found great success around the world. At only 26, Puth is still in the beginning of a promising career and his musical background will hopefully lead to great music in the future.

To say it was raining is an understatement. It was pouring when I got there and the sold out lawn were reduced to huddling under the theater overhang to avoid being soaked. Despite that, the lawn did eventually fill up and Puth's primary artist, teenage girls, came out in droves. His opener was Hailee Steinfeld who's also popular among that demographic. Another actress turned musical performer, Steinfeld has the talent but still needs to find her voice in the crowd of female pop-stars. That being said, she's still 21 and hasn't even released her first album yet so she has plenty of time to figure that out. Puth gave a clean and crisp performance that didn't have any surprises but gave the audience everything they wanted. Yes, that does mean he took his shirt off. On the musical end though, he has a unique and passionate voice and surprisingly, he's been able to translate his jazz background to the often constricting landscape of electronic pop. He does really seem to care about his fans and I was happy he left the long cultural monologue at home. I may criticize him as a light pop star, but Charlie Puth makes catchy music and there's nothing wrong with that. Plus he did go to Berklee and to be sure, they probably wouldn't even let me touch th instruments there so hats of to you Charlie!

My favorite part of the show is when he sang "How Long". It's just so damn catchy and I love it I can love pop music music ok!

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Charlie Puth 

Hailee Steinfeld 

 

Alabama Rock - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

If you're looking for a new band to get into, look no further than this one. I had never heard of Jason Isbell before yesterday but there's no doubt that he and his band were the best we've had at Wolf Trap this season. Everything gelled together and he gave an emotional and incredible performance I won't forget. Born in Green Hills, Alabama, Isbell spent his early years in various garage bands and attended the University of Memphis. In 2001, he joined the Drive By Truckers (who came to Wolf Trap about a month ago) where he contributed vocals,guitar and songwriting to the band. He left the group in 2007 and began releasing solo records which he continues to do now. In addition, he formed his own band, the 400 unit, in 2009. His last two albums, Something More Than Free and The Nashville Sound, have found great commercial and critical success and both took home the award for best Americana Album at the Grammy Awards. Isbell has cited Bob Dylan and Neil Young as his biggest influences and that can clearly be heard in his work. While his songs rock a little harder than Dylan or even Young, the thoughtful lyrics and his vocal style do hearken to the artists. Isbell has battled drug addiction and alcoholism in his life but an intervention led by his wife and friend Ryan Adams staged an intervention which has left him clean and sober. He is married to country violinist Amanda Shires and the two have collaborated on numerous records since their marriage in 2013.

As I listened to his music on the way to work, I realized that this could be a good show if they sound anything like their records. I was right on the nose and Jason Isbell gave an amazing concert that had me completely impressed. His opener was Hiss Golden Messenger who were great in their own right. Lead singer MC Taylor has a Dylanesque voice and their exceptionally crafted folk-rock songs held their own against any other band I've heard this season. Jason Isbell closed he show and he has a number of musical weapons at his disposal. First is of course his band. Guitarist Sadler Vaden may be the best rock guitarist we've had and the whole band has the ability to make slow and fast songs sound powerful and complete. Isbell has guitar chops in his own right and the interplay between the two musicians was one of the highlights for me. Jason also has an incredible voice that carries both emotion and power. Sometimes he belts like Springsteen and other times he lets his Neil Young influences come to the forefront but regardless of his tone, the lyrics are the main focus. Isbell's words often evoke harsh emotions but those hard times are usually rectified and Jason performs as a man who has come back from many low points in his life. At their core, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are a rock band but what differentiates them from other acts is their expert muscality and their southern roots/emotions that all coalesce together to form a unique sound. Groups like this give me hope that rock n roll isn't dead, you just need to know where to turn to. I now happen to know a band.

It was hard to pick a favorite part of this awesome show but when he opened his encore with Neil Young's "Ohio", I was forever sold to the band. Having seen both Neil Young and Crosby Stills and Nash do this song, I will go on records saying this was my favorite version and Isbell carried the song as if it was his own. That shows a true artist!

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 

Hiss Golden Messenger