The Wednesday Feature

Calendars:

Dirty Linen
Monday, March 27, 7:30pm ~ John McCutcheon ~ St. Mark Presbyterian Church/Bethesda ~ (301) 754-3611

Maybe he'll sing the Dick Cheney song.
Ooops! No wait, the show is in a church! Perhaps not.
Maybe he'll sing the Monkeys song.
Ooops! Again, the show is in a church! Perhaps not.
Well, it sure will be interesting to see what he might be able to sing!

The DC Bluegrass Union

Venues:

The Friendly Inn
Roots Cafe
The Cellar Stage
Institute of Musical Traditions
Music Center at Strathmore
Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
Gordon Center for Performing Arts
Common Ground on the Hill Bryan Bowers/Andy Cohen, April 1
Madam's Organ Bob Perilla and Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, Every Wednesday
The Birchmere
Tiffany Tavern Bluegrass every Friday and Saturday, Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, March 24 / Flyin' Blind, March 25

Theater:

Center Stage Rodio Golf begins March 24
Vagabond Players Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All and The Actor's Nightmare through April 2
Fells Point Corner Theater The Tale of the Allergist's Wife through April 16
Everyman Theater A Number through April 23
Spotlighters Jesus Hopped the "A" Train through April 8
Theatre Project Moms Gone Mad March 24-25
Performance Workshop Theater The Well of the Saints begins April 21

. . . additional Theater listings

Cinema:

The Charles
The Senator and The Rotunda
Openings and Top 10


At University of Maryland, College Park:

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
School of Music
Department of Dance
Department of Theater

Highfalutin:

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Opera
Lyric Opera House
France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
Baltimore Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art
Library of Congress

John Cowan Band

Noam Pikelny,Wayne Benson,John Cowan,Shad Cobb,Jeff Autry


The John Cowan Band performed at the Gordon Center on Saturday night; a fine show in a great venue. The concert was lightly attended -- a half-full hall of maybe 200 fans. Folks don't know what they missed. John Cowan, formerly of New Grass Revival, still puts on a great high-energy show. He is surrounded by four great instrumentalists, including long-time member of IIIrd Tyme Out, Wayne Benson on mandolin.

I'm still tinkering with this new camera. These blurry photos were taken without flash. I still have not found the right settings for this kind of photography.

Tell Us About That Clock Tower Fatty

In response to a comment posted by "Spluck" :

The Bromo-Seltzer Tower Building

Situated at the comer of South Eutaw and West Lombard Streets, the Bromo-Seltzer Tower Building has been a landmark in Baltimore since the early part of the 20th century. A former Maryland resident recalls hearing that Captain Emerson modelled the tower after one he had seen in Florence, Italy. Certainly, a comparison with the Palazzo Vecchio, by architect Arnolfo di Cambio, confirms the resemblance.

Although the tower is fourteen stories high, the top story is numbered fifteen because there is no floor numbered thirteen. According to an earlier newspaper account, the flashing light on the huge revolving Bromo-Seltzer bottle atop the tower served as a guide to aviators flying the night mail. It could be seen from trains arriving in the city.

In 1935, the bottle was taken down, after twenty-five years of dominating that part of the Baltimore scene. The base upon which it stood was disintegrating. The outer covering was burned and its framework sold as twenty tons of scrap metal.

The Arts Tower Committee reopened the Tower Building in 1973 as an arts and crafts center. An adjoining part of the building is presently used as a firehouse. A decision was made only recently to preserve the landmark building, now dwarfed by larger office buildings in the area.

From: http://www.scripophily.net/emdrugcomofb.html

New Band Ron?

Dry Branch Fire Squad

Brian Aldridge, Dan Russell, Ron Thomason, Tom Boyd

Dry Branch Fire Squad performed at Cherrydale United Methodist Church on Friday night. It seems that Ron Thomason has all new band members. Ron started this band in 1976 and naturally there have been some personnel changes over the years, but it was a disappointment not to see Suzanne Thomas this time. I'm not sure how long she has been gone but Charlie and Mary Jo Leet were still with Dry Branch in 2002 when the latest live album was recorded. Ron offered no explanation and didn't even introduce the new band members during the show. I don't know when this new incarnation occurred and I came up dry when I searched the internet looking or clues. Even the cover story on Ron and Dry Branch in the November 2005 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited simply offers, "They're touring more than ever and currently comprising a different lineup." Nevertheless, the show was mighty good, albeit a tad heavy on the Gospel selections. I guess I need to allow for that seeing as how the show was in a church!

This is Baltimore!

The Wednesday Feature

St. Patrick's Day, Friday March 17, I have 4 picks:

Iona Cellar Stage

Del McCoury Recher Theater ("stand up" venue)

Blue Daze Friendly Inn

Dry Branch Fire Squad will appear at Cherrydale United Methodist Church, 3701 Lorcom Lane, Arlington VA 22207, (703) 527-2621, 7:30pm (General Admission, doors open 6:30) $20 Benefit for Missions and Out Reach Ministries

This looks like a great weekend:

Dry Branch Fire Squad on Friday,
John Cowan Band on Saturday and
Mill Run Dulcimer Band on Sunday.


Calendars:

Dirty Linen

The DC Bluegrass Union
Sunday, March 19, 2:00pm ~ Mill Run Dulcimer Band ~ Colvin Run Mill Park ~ Great Falls, VA

Venues:

The Friendly Inn Best bet in March, Blue Daze on the 17th
Roots Cafe
The Cellar Stage Iona, March 17
Institute of Musical Traditions
Music Center at Strathmore
Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center Irish Rovers, March 15
Gordon Center for Performing Arts Fatty Billy thumbs up! John Cowan Band, March 18. John played bass and sang for New Grass Revival along with Pat Flynn, Sam Bush and Bela Fleck.
Common Ground on the Hill Bryan Bowers/Andy Cohen, April 1
Madam's Organ Bob Perilla and Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, Every Wednesday
The Birchmere
Tiffany Tavern Bluegrass every Friday and Saturday, New Mode Grass, March 17 / Naked Mountain Boys March 18

Theater:

Center Stage Rodio Golf begins March 24
Vagabond Players Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All and The Actor's Nightmare through April 2
Fells Point Corner Theater The Tale of the Allergist's Wife begins March 17
Everyman Theater A Number through April 23
Spotlighters Jesus Hopped the "A" Train begins March 17
Theatre Project Gala Fundraiser March 18
Performance Workshop Theater The Well of the Saints begins April 21

. . . additional Theater listings

Cinema:

The Charles
The Senator and The Rotunda
Openings and Top 10


At University of Maryland, College Park:

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
School of Music
Department of Dance
Department of Theater

Highfalutin:

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Opera
Lyric Opera House
France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
Baltimore Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art
Library of Congress

Is It Just Me . . .

. . . or are these funny?

This should give my readers some insight into at least two things:

1. My warped sense of humor (but I can't be the only one if they sell this stuff in a catalog!)
2. How I waste my time on-line!

Anyway, my birthday is next week. (48, and thanks for asking!)

Gift ideas from What On Earth:

More sardonic than sarcastic, don't you think?
It's a fine line!(XXL please.)

That symbol is pi. . . . It's a "Pie" Dish . . . Get it?And, how appropriate that this entry was made on 3-14!(For you non-mathematicians pi is approximately equal to 3.14.)

Above: Speaks for itself. *********** Below: A snuggly gift for my wife!But I like it too.
It sure would make my life a little easier!The Huggy-Hubby Arm Pillow:

Spicy Salmon Stew

OK, you're really not quite right if you're spending time reading this one. Of course, I'm way not right because I spent time writing it!

Anyway, I had a hankerin' for a potato and I just happen to have some nice red skin potatoes in the fridge. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a boiled potato as long as you don't load it up with butter or sour cream. And it's got lots of potassium, especially if you leave on the skin. So, I half-filled a quart sauce pan with some water to boil up one or two. Hmm, this might need a little flavor. Into the pantry .... ah ha, beef bullion cubes .... two should do it. Over to the fridge for the potatoes. Oh look carrots! Choppity-chop ... and celery ... and look, I forgot I had this big vidalia onion in here ... mmmmm! Oh yeah, almost forgot ... potatoes too. Uh oh, this pot is going to boil over. Dump! Into a two-quart sauce pan. Plenty of room now! Let's see if I have any left-overs I can toss in here. Chopped kale. Had it a few days ago and of course I was the only one who had any. So, naturally it was left over. In it goes! How about this piece of salmon I did on the George Foreman G5 the other night? Man I love that thing. It's the next grilleration, you know! Green beans? OK, in they go. Now let's spice it up. Let's see ... Italian seasoning ... bam! ... Crushed red pepper ... bam! What else? Needs color. There's a jar of spaghetti sauce in the back of the fridge somewhere. Ah ha, about a third of a jar. Perfect. And Bennett's Chili Sauce ... that stuff is good in anything! One glug should do. And, just for good measure, one can of Campbell's Chicken Gumbo soup. (I'm starting to sound like a commercial now.) Simmer, simmer, simmer ...... Ohhhhhhhh man! Does it sound awful? Because, I'm tellin' ya, it turned out GREAT!

Rugby Video Clip - 1 Minute

My first attempt at posting a vid on my BLOG.
This clip was taken with an Olympus SP-500UZ digital camera.

No sound on this one. Even though the camera is capable I had the sound turned off this time.

Here goes . . .



CLICK the photo and see the video.

Ohhhhh, I'm lovin' it ! ! !

New Camera!

Friday Weigh-In

Hey Fatty Fans! Well, thus far today I have avoided the scale. I know the news will not be good. I'm slightly below where I was when I started this BLOG on February 3rd, which is good ... but not good enough! So, first month - marginally successful. Time for a fresh start! Gotta try harder starting NOW.

Well, I have my eye on a new camera. (Mrs. Fatty is not happy about this.) But I'm itchin' to make the leap from 3 mega-pixels to 6 mp. (I originally wanted 8 mp. But, hey, I'm an easy-going guy. I'm willing to compromise.) So, when you start seeing some higher resolution photos in the BLOG (perhaps as soon as tomorrow), you'll know there's trouble in the Fatty house. "But honey look, it has a 10X optical zoom ... 10X ... OPTICAL!"

Have a great weekend everybody.

Everybody? I make myself laugh .... like anybody is reading this .... ahhhh, ha ha haaa ! ! !

The Wednesday Feature

Oh my goodness! Wednesday has rolled around again already. I have been on an entertainment binge lately. Last Wednesday I kicked off the week with David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago at Towson University followed on Thursday by Arthur Miller's The Crucible at University of Maryland. On Saturday afternoon the students at the high school where I teach performed the musical comedy You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Saturday evening, as featured previously in the blog, Belfast based Irish traditional music band Craobh Rua performed at the Carroll Arts Center. Sunday evening Rose and I enjoyed Center Stage's production of Motti Lerner's The Murder of Isaac, which continues through March 12. And finally, last night I went to the first event of the American Piano Festival at University of Maryland - jazz pianist Steve Kuhn. Festival events continue daily through March 12.

Hmmm, six events in seven days. That might be a personal record of some kind. And I didn't even mention the pancake breakfast at Oregon Ridge or the ravioli and spaghetti dinner at St. Leo's Church in Baltimore's Little Italy . . . seven, eight! But, who's counting? It will be hard to top that week! Nevertheless, onward to coming events.

As mentioned last week in The Wednesday Feature, Robin Bullock will appear tonight at An Die Musik LIVE. Tickets were still available when I called this morning ($15). Also, the American Piano Festival continues tonight at University of Maryland with American Piano: Copland, the Piano and Politics (FREE).

Looking ahead to St. Patrick's Day, Friday March 17, I have 4 picks so far:

Originally, I was planning to see Iona at the Cellar Stage, then I found out that Del McCoury will be in Towson at the Recher Theater. I am considering it. Del and his band are great but The Recher is a "stand up" venue. Fatty Billy prefers to sit! Also, the 17th happens to be the 3rd Friday of the month and we all know what that means, right? Blue Daze at the Friendly Inn, of course. And finally, this one is looking like my top pick even though it is a very long drive for me. Dry Branch Fire Squad will appear at Cherrydale United Methodist Church, 3701 Lorcom Lane, Arlington VA 22207, (703) 527-2621, 7:30pm (General Admission, doors open 6:30) $20 Benefit for Missions and Out Reach Ministries

Calendars:

Dirty Linen

Wednesday 3/8 ~ Robin Bullock ~ An Die Musik/Baltimore ~ (410) 385-2638

The DC Bluegrass Union

Venues:

The Friendly Inn Best bet in March, Blue Daze on the 17th
Roots Cafe Barn Burners/Pale Stars, March 10
The Cellar Stage Iona, March 17
Institute of Musical Traditions The McDades, March 13
Music Center at Strathmore Taj Mahal/Mavis Staples, March 14
Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center Irish Rovers, March 15
Gordon Center for Performing Arts Fatty Billy thumbs up! John Cowan Band, March 18. John played bass and sang for New Grass Revival along with Pat Flynn, Sam Bush and Bela Fleck.
Common Ground on the Hill Bryan Bowers/Andy Cohen, April 1
Madam's Organ Bob Perilla and Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, Every Wednesday
The Birchmere Delbert McClinton, March 13 and 14
Tiffany Tavern Bluegrass every Friday and Saturday, Dixie Cannonballs, March 10 / Skystone March 11

Theater:

Center Stage Murder of Isaac through March 12
Vagabond Players Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All and The Actor's Nightmare through April 2
Fells Point Corner Theater The Tale of the Allergist's Wife begins March 17
Everyman Theater A Number begins March 14
Spotlighters And Then There Were None through March 11
Theatre Project Culture Bandit through March 12
Performance Workshop Theater The Well of the Saints begins April 21

. . . additional Theater listings

Cinema:

The Charles
The Senator and The Rotunda
Openings and Top 10


At University of Maryland, College Park:

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
School of Music
Department of Dance
Department of Theater

Highfalutin:

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Opera
Lyric Opera House
France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
Baltimore Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art
Library of Congress

Craobh Rua

Great Show last night!

Belfast based Irish Traditional Music band Craobh Rua played at the Carroll Arts Center. Craobh Rua(pronounced CRAVE ROO-AH) translates from Irish to RED BRANCH and is a name that is well known in Celtic history from THE RED BRANCH KNIGHTS OF ULSTER.







Sorry about the quality of the photos. They're not too bad considering they were taken from the sixth row without a flash.

You can see better photos at the Craobh Rua web site.








The Band:

Brian Connolly - banjo, mandolin
Michael Cassidy - fiddle
Conor Lamb - uilleann pipes, tin whistle
Jim Rainey - guitar and vocals

Excellent Production

Now showing in the Kay Theater at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at The University of Maryland, an outstanding production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. A stinging look back at the Patriot Act . . .oops! I mean, the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. I thought the guy who played Rumsfeld was particularly good.

"You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God’s grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it."

Performances through March 11. CLICK this link for more information.

The Wednesday Feature

Last weekend's highlight was Saturday night at Frazier's on the Avenue in the Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood. What a place! I never saw so many hard-drinking, chain-smoking, tattoo-wearing, hootin', hollerin', and cussin' people in one place at one time in my life. And that was just the women! It looked like a tough crowd but everyone seemed to be in good spirits -- just out for a good time. I didn't see anyone flash any guns or knives, although I'm sure there were plenty around. I give a lot of credit to the band for keeping the crowd focused on the music. I would imagine that if the band was no good, things might turn mean and nasty in a hurry. As it turned out, J.B. Beverly and the Wayward Drifters were just the kind of hard-driving, high-energy, honky-tonk band that this crowd was craving. Find music samples and a link to their myspace profile on the Media page of the Wayward Drifters web site.

So, onward to what's happening this weekend . . .

Calendars:

Dirty Linen

Saturday 3/4 ~ Croabh Rua ~ Common Ground on the Hill/Westminster ~ (410) 857-2771

Wednesday 3/8 ~ Robin Bullock ~ An Die Musik/Baltimore ~ (410) 385-2638

The DC Bluegrass Union

Saturday 3/4 ~ John Starling and Carolina Star ~ The Birchmere/Alexandria ~ (703) 549-7500

Venues:

Roots Cafe
The Cellar Stage
Institute of Musical Traditions
Music Center at Strathmore
Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
Gordon Center for Performing Arts
Common Ground on the Hill
Madam's Organ
The Birchmere
Tiffany Tavern

Theater:

Center Stage
Vagabond Players
Fells Point Corner Theater
Everyman Theater
Spotlighters
Theatre Project
Performance Workshop Theater

. . . additional Theater listings

Here's one from the "additional Theater listings" that I might try tonight . . .
Towson University Department of Theater Arts presents
Sexual Perversity in Chicago by David Mamet

Cinema:

The Charles
The Senator and The Rotunda
Openings and Top 10


At University of Maryland, College Park:

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
School of Music
Department of Dance
Department of Theater

Highfalutin:

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Opera
Lyric Opera House
France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
Baltimore Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art
Library of Congress