Day 267/365 - Jazz on Jackson Place

Tonight I went to the Jazz on Jackson Place concert at Decatur House just up the street from the White House. It's a great deal. For $25 you get all the beer/wine/soda you can drink, all the appetizers you can eat (tonight it was empanadas, cuban sandwiches, and chips with salsa, guacamole, and 7-layer dip), a jazz performance, and a tour of historic Decatur House. They host it at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month between May and September. Tonight's concert features a pair of excellent tango musicians from Argentina teamed up with some locals playing bass, keyboards, and fiddle. It was a good time.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 169/365 - Ida Maria & Glasvegas in Concert

There was a double bill of Norwegian rocker Ida Maria and Scottish band Glasvegas at the Black Cat tonight and I went, largely on the basis of a single song -- Ida Maria's "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked."

Before heading over to the gig I stopped by Al Crostino, a small Italian restaurant and wine bar on U Street, for dinner. It turned out to be one of the best meals I've had in a while (and it gave me a chance to slurp down a couple glasses of prosecco). The pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup) was comparable to the version I had in Venice and the Osso Bucco with soft polenta was one of the best dishes I've had in DC. The polenta in particular was mindblowingly delicious. I was running late for the concert, so I didn't have time to try any of their desserts, but now I have an excuse to go back. I'd rate Al Crostino as the second best Italian restaurant I've been to in DC, after Galileo.

As for the show, Ida Maria was as good as I'd hoped. She played a short, full throttle set that was pure attitude, energy, and rock and roll. And the live version of "Better When You're Naked" didn't disappoint. With the way she sings I don't know how she has any voice left. She must have vocal cords of steel. Glasvegas isn't really my thing, so I left about 20 minutes into their set. A lot of people there seemed to like them (although I did notice I wasn't the only person leaving early), but to me all their songs sounded the same. They were just kinda mopey and dull and the vocals were very muddy and indistinct so I couldn't tell you what the hell they were singing about. They seem to try and cover their shortcomings by amping up the volume. It's rock so it's supposed to be loud, but playing 'stadium loud' in a small-ish club like the Black Cat is neither big nor clever. It's just L-O-U-D.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 59/365 - Go Navy, Beat Army!

I took the train up to Philadelphia today to watch Navy's football team put a 34-0 whuppin' on Army in the 109th playing of the Army-Navy Game. This marks Navy's seventh straight victory over their arch-rival. I was actually worried that this might be the year Army took one from Navy. Army had been playing better this season and Navy had been up and down. I should've had more faith in the Midshipmen.

Unless you're a Navy fan like me, it probably wasn't a very interesting game given that Army never really even came that close to scoring. I thought it was great, though. The weather was cold but the end result made it all worth it.

Now if the Navy basketball team can just beat Virginia Tech tomorrow the weekend will be doubly awesome.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)