My wife, daughter, and I are all fans of Kamelot. Kamelot's music is operatic in the true sense of the term as far as sweeping stories and orchestrations (sans clichéd tales of dancing unicorns and bloodied warrior elves, thankfully). We finally had an opportunity to see them perform on October 16th in Springfield, VA … the stars never aligned before in terms of our location and personal funds … and that opportunity fit nicely with a joint CD-release show by Brave and Todesbonden on the 18th in neighboring Vienna. I've been a fan of Brave since I first encountered them on MySpace a couple years ago; Scott and Michelle are friends of mine via MySpace and I'd approached Michelle about singing on some of my music. Brave was going to perform for the first time in a while (Michelle became a mother earlier this year) and I wanted to be part of it. So, although a four-hour trip, we decided we were going to Washington to see Kamelot on Thursday and Brave on Saturday. We figured we could catch up with some of Renée's friends in the local area and get some sightseeing in around the capital. I also planned to spend some time recording new music since my friend/producer/musical editor Brian was in the immediate area as well. Road Trip!

We arrived at the Red Roof Inn in Springfield shortly after 6:00 and checked-in, dropping off our baggage; we had plenty of time because the doors didn't open until 6:30, we already had our tickets, and the club (Jaxx) was only three miles or so down the road. Well it turns out we had more time than that because Kamelot's bus had broken down and nobody got in until late but that wasn't the weird part: Jaxx is basically in a strip mall and neighbors an Afghani kebab place (among other establishments) so the parking lot was full of both concertgoers in their de rigueur rock and roll outfits and restaurant customers in traditional garb. We parked at a neighboring 7-11 and walked over.

The concert featured two local acts followed by Edguy and Kamelot. The first of the local bands featured a guitar slinger with an awesome set of pipes, Matt Aub (who I later contacted about singing on some of tracks), and Edguy were really energetic and entertaining. Kamelot rocked pretty hard and I'm very glad I went. You can't tell from the pictures but we were in a really good spot and could see everything very clearly. Here's one:

We ended the evening eating a 2:00AM dinner at a Greek restaurant nearby.

We spent the next day sightseeing around Washington after eating lunch there at the Hard Rock Café , including spending the better part of the afternoon at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the later walking to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I could've easily spent days at the Smithsonian, fascinating! I barely scratched the surface. A brief aside: I was standing inside the Smithsonian somewhere around the dawn-of-man type of displays when a woman rushed past me with her young son in tow, obviously trying to usher him away from the area, saying to him … and I am not making this up … "Remember, we don't even believe in evolution." How illustrative that such ignorance is being inculcated into the next generation … and in what is probably the most ironic location imaginable, to my way of thinking. I'll refrain from further comment here. In sharp contrast to that, let me just say that I found that standing in front of the imposing Lincoln Memorial and silently reflecting upon his words to be possibly the most purely reverent moment I have ever experienced outside of witnessing my daughter's birth. I freely admit that I was moved to tears.

Later that evening we visited with one of Renée's high school friends by the name of Kristy. Kristy, in true superhero fashion, leads a quiet life as a college English teacher while maintaining a secret-identity double life as a renaissance fair contortionist on a seasonal basis … I'm not making this up either. She was entertaining and hospitable and I enjoyed meeting her.

We spent some time on Saturday eating lunch with another college friend of Renée's, Scott. He was kind enough to chauffer us around to the mall and take us to lunch … at an Afghani kebab place, yes, but NOT the one I mentioned earlier. Afghani and Persian places abound in the area, by the way. It was filling and delicious. We returned to the hotel afterward and prepared for the Brave/Todesbonden CD release party at the Jammin' Java in Vienna.

It took some finding because the map never indicated that East Maple Avenue changed to West Maple Avenue but we eventually found it without too much confusion. We walked in and I finally met Scott Loose ("Brave's Scott, not the aforementioned "Scott") and his sister Michelle in person and they introduced me to the rest of Brave, very cool people one and all. Scott and I talked for a while and then he went to prepare for the show. Renée, Catie, and I sat down at a table and ordered food; I had an excellent roast beef sandwich and Renée had a mozzarella salad that she claims was also very good. I had a double shot of Johnny Walker Black Label with my dinner; I don't remember what the meals and drinks specifically cost but it was very reasonable and uniformly good. I would definitely visit Jammin' Java again next time I'm in the area.

Todesbonden rocked and I was thoroughly impressed with their show and the musicianship they displayed throughout. I especially liked the way they seamlessly incorporated pre-recorded samples of orchestrated instruments, auxiliary percussion, and vocal harmonies into their show. The resultant sound was huge and resonant and provided for a depth of musical experience, losing very little in the translation of the CD/mp3 experience to a live environment.

Brave was similarly impressive. I could repeat almost verbatim what I had just written about Todesbonden's superlative performance but that wouldn't do them justice; Brave's sound was nearly perfect and their performance nearly flawless … and I only add the modifier of "nearly" as a sort of disclaimer; I didn't notice a single "clam" (wrong note) or miscue. I really enjoyed the show. Please bear in mind that Brave is the 17th band I watched perform this year when I say that I enjoyed them most of all. Granted, the show was more intimate and that fact also greatly contributed to my enjoyment but let me say that they definitely held their own in comparison of all the acts I've seen this year, even the "major" ones. It was especially nice of Michelle to dedicate "Sooner or Later" to my family and I; I deeply appreciate the shout-out. (You've had a chance to hear "Sooner or Later" if you've followed my bulletins I've posted from my music page. Watch for it again if you haven't yet heard it.)

Renée shot this picture of Scott Loose and I after the show:

…and Scott in turn took this shot of Michelle, my daughter Catie, and I (down-angle from the stage):

I spent three or four hours on Sunday recording supporting guitar tracks for "Navigation". (You will all be hearing more about it soon enough so I'll spare you any further mention of it here and now.) We then drove home after that.

I will be returning to the area in (probably) February to try and complete recording of "Harlequin Domino" and "Precipice" with Michelle and "Buffalo Head" with Matt. I really enjoyed the trip; I touched upon history, I met some wonderful people, and I experienced some incredible music. I am even more thankful that I got to do this with my wife Renée and my daughter Catie. I look forward to going back.

Warm regards,

Chip QNP