Last Night With Al Stewart

Had a wonderful evening seeing Al Stewart perform at the Barns.  As many of you know, he's one of my all-time faves, (and the Barns is also one of the best venues in the region).  He did a variety of old and new, well known and obscure, all punctured with little talks about the meanings behind each one.  Stewart's specialty is folk rock songs about historical events and personages, with twists applied to modern life.  He'll write about the tensions between the ruling elites of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in lyrics that sound like he's describing a love affair (The Gypsy & The Rose), for instance. 
At any rate, it really helps if you know your history, and that's one thing I do like about DC - we've got folks with the chops.  Even Al commented on it - people were reacting to names and obscure jokes and trivia with actual applause. He was in his element.  (Stewart was even corrected by several members of the audience when telling an anecdote about President Franklin Pierce.  He mistakenly said that Pierce came from Maine, it was actually New Hampshire).  Imagine a folk rock concert for Jeopardy fanatics.   It was a fun evening, and although he didn't perform Time Passages, he did do his biggest hit, The Year Of The Cat.