Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

driving sideways

Rob and I saw Aimee Mann play at the Birchmere last night, the second night of a two-night run at the Alexandria concert venue. The show was pretty good — I particularly liked the new arrangement for “One” and the drum-less version of “Little Bombs” — but it wasn’t as energizing as her show last year, when she had a full band behind her. (I’d also agree with “pnhphd88,” who commented that it sounds like the Sunday show I attended was a lot more relaxed than the Saturday show, where the Washington Post reviewer characterized Mann’s performance as “distant.”)

Maybe it was just because there was no opening act, but the concert did feel very short. The show started at 7:30 p.m., and it seemed like we were out by 9:15. (Granted, that’s an hour and 45 minutes. But it still felt shorter than most concerts do.)

One thing that really interfered with my enjoyment of the show: At the next table, sitting right by the stage, this couple really got on my nerves. Despite the venue’s “no cameras / turn your cellphones off” policy, the man held up his Treo to take photos during almost every song. I can understand (and even empathize with) the desire to sneak in a quick photo — He was sitting right next to the stage, after all. I might even excuse a second photo if the guy’s first one didn’t turn out well. But this guy wasn’t just sneaking a quick snapshot: He was shooting the whole concert, something I felt was rude and disruptive to everyone around him. On top of that, his wife, sitting next to him, was propping up her feet on the stage! It’s one thing to be casual and relaxed; that was just tacky. My irritation depeened into hatred when Mann asked for volunteers to play percussion on the song “Frankenstein” — and Mr. Treo practically lept onstage before he was even picked.