I got a big treat tonight. I got to see Julia Nunes perform at a small local club, DC9, and it was wonderful. This place epitomized the term funky. You enter downstairs which appears to be a small, somewhat grungy, bar. The musical performing area was upstairs, in an area about three times as big as my apartment. The stage was an area in the corner raised a few inches relative to the rest of the floor. While there were some chairs and tables towards the back, out of the way, the audience primarily crowed around the stage, right next to the performers. The performers basically had to work their way through the crowd to get to the stage.
The show kicked off with a half hour warm up by Jessica Louise Dye, who did a nice solo set accompanied by guitar. She apparently is the lead vocalist of a local band Lightfoot. Julia came on soon after. She sang and played great, and the audience was very engaged. She seemed to enjoy the enthusiasm of the audience. She’s as friendly and engaging in person as she appears on her videos. She did about an hour set including a number of my favorites. She mentioned that she was rushing through it because I guess in DC minors have a curfew, and there were a few younger folks in the audience. It was very very enjoyable. During part of her set she was accompanied on guitar by her friend Mike. I’m glad I got to hear her perform a full set live, to follow up the one song performance I heard at YouTube live. I know she’s playing in Annapolis in a couple of days. I’d be tempted to see here again.
Tonight as I was walking to the grocery store, I came upon a brass band playing Dixieland style jazz right outside the Metro. They were very good, and had attracted quite a crowd. There were about a dozen band members, and there were between 50-100 people gathered on the corner listening to them. They started pulling people in from the crowd to start dancing. It was like a spontaneous street party. I’d love to hear them play again.
Tonight I saw Henry V the second half of this season’s “Leadership Repertory.” It was great. Like Richard II, the basic staging was spare, but the staging was used to great effect. The three person chorus effectively moved the story along and changed the scenes. From a dramatic reveal of the cast from behind a dropping curtain, to a hanging map that was turned into a sail, to helmets lowered from above symbolizing dead soldiers, the staging was great but not overpowering. Also great, again this time, was the acting. Strikingly good. Of particular note was the actor playing Fluellen, and certainly the lead actor playing Henry, who also played the lead in Richard II. I’m tempted to see both of these again before they close.
Tonight I saw an excellent production of Richard II at the Harmon Theater. In contrast to previous productions, the staging was more spare, but still beautiful. It was more in step with what I’m used to from Cal Shakes productions. The acting was again superb. This play was the first of two plays paired as “The Leadership Repertory.” The next will be Henry V. The same actor who played the lead in this play (who was excellent) will also play the lead in the next. I’m very much looking forward to it.