The Boss and Eddie Take It to Church

I know it's a little overdue, but I finally have time to do my holiday weekend recap. I know, I know you all have been dying to hear about it ;)

The reason I waited was because my weekend didn't officially end until last night, when I had the pleasure of attending my first Pearl Jam concert. Malibu Ken is a longtime fan and it was plain to see that Pearl Jam has completely DEVOTED fans. The show was packed and PJ were so gracious.

This was a solid rock show. PJ played for more than 2 hrs. There was no bullshit - just a band that has a commitment to creating the kind of music they love.

I never would have thought that 14 yrs after "Alive" came out that I would be hearing it live. The show was definitely a great experience!

So I guess I'll do my weekend recap in reverse, because there was another special concert I attended. On Sunday May 28 MK and I got to see Bruce Springsteen at Nissan Pavillion. He performed with the Seeger Band, a jazzy bluesy down-home revival act. The Seeger Band features 2 guys from the Conan O'Brien show in the horns section! I swear MK was more excited to see "La Bamba" than The Boss (sadly there was no rendition of "In The Year 2000").

Bruce took it to church y'all with his soulful renditions of bluegrass favorites, gospel covers, early 20th century folk songs and a few of his best acoustic songs. This was one of the most special live experiences I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. I never thought I would enjoy bluegrass musical stylings but I did! The spirit of all of the songs was great and Bruce showed that you can rock out with a banjo and horns section for sure. And ladies, Bruce is just smoking hot. I didn't realize it until then but he has got some serious mojo.

On Saturday May 27 MK, friends from college and myself ventured out to the far far hills of the Shenandoah to go to the Farfelu Winery. The weather was great and we had a great time tasting wines and playing Bocce Ball (I found out I'm pretty good at this game). Farfelu apparently is old French for "crazy." :) I got some nifty wine glasses and "feasted" on cheese and E.L. Fudge cookies while a band called October Skies played. If you get a chance to go to Farfelu do it quick - there's a rumor that it might close shop at the end of the year.

On Friday May 26, the kick-off of the weekend, I bid adieu to a very good friend who is moving to NC. The most appropriate way we could think of doing this was a night out in Adams Morgan getting sloppy and eating jumbo slice. Some things just come full circle :) Actually, I am ashamed to admit that we were so drunk we got the brilliant idea that "all we wanted to do was DANCE!" so we went to Heaven and Hell. We choose Heaven and I am also ashamed to admit that the DJ there kicked ass and played booty shaking after booty shaking songs all night.

Sadly, the only pox on the weekend was my effin camera. Something is wrong with it and every picture appears blurry and too bright. I look like I'm a victim in "The Ring." I've tried fixing the settings but it hasn't worked. Anyone have a recommendation on a decently priced digital camera?

So that pretty much sums up the past 5 days. Good weather, good wine, good company and a couple of good ear-gasms from live shows. The summer is shaping up to be a good one!