The Black Crowes and Dave Matthews Band Concert!!

On Saturday night a group of us drove up from Chicago to East Troy, WI for The Black Crowes/Dave Matthews Band concert. After grabbing dinner at Culver's, we loaded up the mini-van with some sodas and headed to the show. The last time I went to Alpine Valley, we got there late and we were never able to get a good look at the venue. This time, we got there in time and the venue is really cool with a backdrop of a ski slope. Pretty cool. The Black Crowes opened up but only played for about 45 minutes. A little disspointing and the only 2 songs I remember them playing were both from the new album. DMB came on a rocked the house for over 3 hours. Really awesome setlist and rare performances of Halloween and Spoon. Loved the old school set list but enjoyed some newer favorites like So Damn Lucky and Corn Bread! Another great addition to the show was Tim Reynolds! This was a great show and I'd love to see DMB again next year!

The Black Crowes Set List:
Movin' On Down The Line
Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution
Wiser Time
Poor Elijah - Tribute To Johnson (Medley)
Oh Josephine
Jealous Again
Wounded Bird

DMB Set List:
Dancing Nancies
Seek Up
Proudest Monkey...>
Satellite
So Damn Lucky
Bartender
Corn Bread
Spoon
Water/Wine Jam
Burning Down The House
Louisiana Bayou
Anyone Seen the Bridge? ...>
Too Much (Tease) ...>
Halloween
Water/Wine Jam
Out of My Hands
Crush
Money
You Might Die Trying
Ants Marching
Encore:
Don't Drink the Water
Two Step

A quick trip to DC

On a whim, Mr_BTM and I decided to go to DC for the weekend. We already knew we wanted to go to one of the Nationals vs. Reds games but a quick search on Priceline and Stubhub and we were set for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we got to DC around 1:00 PM and after checking into the Hyatt Regency Hotel we walked over to the National Building Museum. The museum, created by an act of Congress in 1980, was free and featured exhibits on building materials, architect Eero Saarinenand (he designed the Arch in St. Louis), and the urban planning of DC. We spent about 2 hours here, a bit longer than expected for such a small museum, but the building itself was also an attraction! Our next stop was the National Portrait Gallery & Museum of American Art. The two museums are housed in the same building with a courtyard in the middle. We mostly walked through the Portrait Gallery and sat in the courtyard.

After our afternoon of museums we took the Metro to the Nationals game vs the Reds. Got to have my picture taken with Teddy! Highlight of the day :) The Reds lost and we got rained on a bit, but it was a nice night to be out for a game. After the game we stayed for the movie they were showing until the crowds to the Metro died down a bit. On our way back to the hotel, we detoured to the Capitol to take pictures at night when it's all lit up. We were disappointed you couldn't get on the steps to get a better view of the mall. But Mr_BTM got some great photos.

Sunday started with brunch at Georgia Brown's, a southern style brunch place on McPherson Square. The buffet selections were okay but our entrees were much better. I tried the Carolina Shrimp & Grits and Mr_BTM had the Carolina Gumbo. Both were pretty good but we weren't all that impressed.

After brunch we were back to the ball park for the afternoon game with the Reds and Nats again. We were fortunate to have seats that were shaded so we enjoyed the game in relative comfort. This time I got my picture taken with Abe! Another highlight! Again, the Reds lost, but the game was fun.

I'm sure we'll be back to DC for another overnight stay sometime soon. We want to visit the monuments at night next time!