Magical

I thought I would give everyone a break from my "All Elbow, all the time" coverage late last week before I wrote up the review from their show on Sunday night at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue. Simply put, the show was phenomenal.

Guy and Co. worked their way through a hand-picked set of tunes that played up the band's sonic strengths in a venue unlike any other. Although we did a get a few stompers ("Leaders of the Free World," "Grounds For Divorce"), the band mainly stuck top their mid-paced material like "Mirrorball" and "The Stops," letting the songs expand and contract as necessary. The audience, seated in pews, sat in wonder and gave the band no fewer than three standing ovations. "Newborn" earned one of them, and rightfully so, even if the end bit didn't melt anyone's face off like I had hoped. Elbow saved the best for the last song of the night, as they played a truly memorable version of "Scattered Black & Whites", one of my favorite Elbow songs and one of the songs I requested from Guy when I did my DCist interview earlier in the week. That's what I call BEST.

Last night The Future Ms. Leaf (formerly known as Ms. Smith) and I went to see Dolly Parton at the Patriot Center, which was ultimately a bit disappointing. Mostly because the show was a concert for people that don't go to concerts. Everyone sitting in our section was twice our age. Seriously. It was more like a dinner theater show without the meal. Dolly talked for what seemed like forever in between songs, so the pacing was a bit hit-or-miss.

Oh, and the show STARTED at 7:30. Started. It took us forever to find parking and to be honest I wasn't in that much of a hurry, because, who starts a show at seven freaking thirty? So apparently we missed "Jolene." (Argh!) But Dolly's voice was fantastic, and she did tell some good jokes. I just wished she had played more tunes.