Future of Music - the NPR Broadcast, and the Blog

Isn't it strange that the proliferation of music has exploded while sales are way, way down?

Where does the future of music lie and more importantly, how can artists get their work out there with the decline in CD sales? Does the answer lie in subscription services like Rhapsody? Name your price downloads (i.e. Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead?) Give the public more of a stake in the album production process? Discount CDs at live shows? Or should everyone finally embrace file sharing in hopes that they become the next Dave Matthews Band?

If you have 45 minutes, NPR's Where We Live recently broadcasted a great piece on the future of music featuring Jeff Price from Tunecore, Tim Westergren from Pandora, and David Kusek, a VP at Berklee. Take a listen.

The Future of Music is also a great blog resource, so add it to your reader.

http://www.futureofmusicbook.com/2009/07/future-of-music-on-npr-berklee-tunecore-pandora/

Another Brilliant Idea from Emil De Cou

If I asked a random sampling of 100 people to "describe their best friend," I venture a guess that at least 25 of those 100 would answer, "my mobile phone." A little twisted, but I don't necessarily fault them as I consistently wonder what I would do without my newly acquired iPhone 3G. We simply crave connectivity. We need information and we need it right now. Ever been to a classical concert and wondered what inspired the composer to create this beautiful movement, only to find out you have to consult a lengthy playbill description while sitting in the dark? NSO@Wolf Trap festival conductor Emil De Cou to the rescue.

This Thursday night, during Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, the "Pastoral," the NSO will utilize Twitter to tweet program notes in real time to lawn patrons, providing insight into Beethoven's "most colorful and atmospheric work," as quoted by De Cou. What better way to engage younger audiences in classical music appreciation than to encourage and necessitate cell phone use?! As confirmed by The League of American Orchestras and Symphony Magazine in NYC, this is the first Twitter initiative of its kind, so come be a part of history!

How to receive tweets:

Those interested in following the NSO at Wolf Trap feed should go to www.twitter.com/nsoatwolftrap

$10 Lawn Tickets for NSO at Wolf Trap and Wolf Trap Followers:

Current NSO at WolfTrap and Wolf Trap followers on Twitter have the exclusive opportunity to purchase $10 lawn tickets through a promotional code included in a series of tweets currently streaming. Those interested in purchasing tickets at this highly discounted price should watch for periodic tweets from both NSO at Wolf Trap and Wolf_Trap which feature the discount code. In addition to the code, tweets will include a link to the Sarah Chang page on www.tickets.com.

Timely News for Tonight's Jackson Browne Performance

Oddly enough, on the day of his performance in D.C., Jackson Browne has won his suit against John McCain and the RNC for a web video featuring the (very liberal) artist's hit song "Running On Empty." Interesting terms of the agreement...read more from Mary Ann Akers, "The Sleuth" with the Washington Post.

Best part of the post -

"Will Browne have some fun dedicating "Running On Empty" to McCain at his scheduled concert at Wolf Trap outside Washington Wednesday night? Probably not, says Browne's publicist, Michael Jensen. "This isn't about him."

Sitting in the press office listening to Browne's set right now...I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a tactful comment during "Running on Empty," which I can't imagine will fall anywhere but the last song of his set. He sounds smooth as ever...what a voice.

Any Good First Date Stories Out There? Front Row Tickets to Chris Isaak are up for Grabs.

Chris Isaak w/ special guest Martin Sexton are set to perform at Wolf Trap Monday, July 27th. I gotta tell you, the women in the office are swooning already! Tears will flow, husbands will be ignored, and panties will fly onto the stage. Isaak is armed with a new album, titled Mr. Lucky, but of course he plans to play his classic material, while dressed head to toe in one of his snazzy sequin suits.

This pair of artists is a great date night idea for any guy out there – and the women will love you for it! In honor of these two romancing artists, we are hosting a contest. What’s up for grabs? Two front row seats and dinner for two at Ovations, our on-site restaurant!

Check out details below and post your BEST first date story as a comment on this entry, or on our Facebook page, where we've set up a specific event for this contest!

“What was your BEST first date?? Share your best story with us by posting on the Facebook event wall, and the winner will win 2 front row seats to Chris Isaak, July 27th; plus dinner for 2 at Ovations, our on-site restaurant.
Share your most hilarious, exciting, all-around best first date in just a few sentences for a chance to be a winner! The deadline is noon on Friday, July 24th. We'll vote and announce the winner via Facebook and the blog on Friday afternoon!”

Crowd Surfing

The crowds at last week’s show with Wilco and Conor Oberst were pretty intense. How intense, do you ask? Take a look for yourself, with this short video of the lawn rush and ensuing revelry on the plaza and in the grass. If you're curious what a sold-out show at Wolf Trap looks like, this is it.

Wilco at Wolf Trap - 7/8/2009

Never before have I expended so much mental energy preparing for a concert. I of course take pride in each and every artist that performs at Wolf Trap, but from the moment I laid eyes on the booking sheet that read "Wilco," I became irreversibly consumed with an overwhelming sense of giddiness that will probably stick with me for the remainder of the summer. My favorite band, performing at my favorite venue...words borderline escape me, but not enough for me to write this post chronicling last night's experience. How could I live with myself if I didn't recount every surreal detail between 9 - 11 pm last night?

I suppose I should touch on Conor Oberst first. As I was still corralling my friends who arrived a bit late due to job constraints, I wasn't able to watch him from my pit seats, but what I heard from the lawn/plaza sounded great, and it was obvious from my intermittent watching that Conor was having a blast with his long time buddies who comprise the Mystic Valley Band. Songs I recognized were NYC-Gone Gone, Cape Canaveral, Spoiled, and I Don't Want To Die, but they played 4-5 in addition to those.

Wilco, came on promptly at 9pm as to not waste any stage time with the looming, mandatory 11pm curfew. I RAN from the plaza and made it into my FRONT ROW CENTER pit seat just as Jeff Tweedy was positioning himself in front of his mic stand. He's looking very healthy and happy these days, and is sporting a full mane of grayish/dark-brown hair. You could almost mistake him for Wayne Coyne if Tweedy didn't have a very distinctive face. I had talked to Tweedy earlier in the day on the loading dock after an interview he did with Baltimore's WRNR and he wasn't quite sure what to expect from the crowd considering they'd never headlined Wolf Trap, so I told him we'd take care of him, and from the opening note of "Wilco (the song)" the whole pit bounced, sang, danced, smiled, high-fived and swooned over our proximity to the band till the final note of encore closer "I'm a Wheel." Having seen them several times over the years, I must concede that this set list wasn't quite as interesting or diverse as I had initially hoped, but I honestly didn't care. They could have played 120 minutes of smooth jazz covers and I would have been through the roof. Not too many deep cuts, mostly straight-forward, concise rockers, with the exceptions of "How to Fight Loneliness," and "At Least That's What You Said." Set list is as follows:

Wilco (the song)
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
IATTBYH
One Wing
How to Fight Loneliness
Impossible Germany
Deeper Down
Jesus, etc.
Sonny Feeling
Handshake Drugs
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird-----------------

Encore:

You Never Know
Heavy Metal Drummer
Misunderstood>Spiders (Kidsmoke)
I'm A Wheel

I got a copy of the set list after the show, and they had initially planned to play "Kingpin," "Hoodoo Voodoo," and "Everlasting Everything," but had to scrap due to the curfew.

The absolute highlight of the night was when Tweedy strolled up to the front of the stage during "Spiders," handed my buddy Mike his pick, and let him strum/pick the guitar while Tweedy held down the notes/chords. Mike is actually a very talented guitar player, so instead of just mindlessly strumming away, he carefully watched Tweedy's hand and methodically plucked certain strings resulting in a collaborative solo in front of 7100 cheering fans. Pictures posted below!

To sum up, it was truly a special night. My friends and I were treated to what essentially felt like a private concert by Wilco. We got to hang out with arguably the hottest band in the U.S., and the frontman let us play his instrument. Not your average night out on the town. To briefly refer back to the mental energy expended in preparation for this show, it only makes sense that I am now suffering from a mild case of Wilco separation anxiety.

Our videographer put together a small collection of crowd footage from last night, featuring some exceptional shots of the lawn rush. I'll have that posted soon!

Thanks to Wilco, and to Wolf Trap programming for such a memorable night under the stars.

Ever Get the Feeling That you Just Have to Dance?!

Enjoy this masterfully produced collection of Wolf Trap 2009 dance footage, courtesy of our resident videographer Ted Hogeman, and our lovely new HD Sony minicam. Featured performers in this video are part of Riverdance, Rasta Thomas' Bad Boys of Dance, and Cirque Dreams - Jungle Fantasy, and we are grateful for their permission to use these clips. If you're hungry for more, Wolf Trap is hosting three additional dance companies this summer with:

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet - July 7 at 8:30 pm

Merce Cunningham Dance Company - July 14 at 8:30 pm

Face of America: Glacier National Park, featuring The Sun Road, a new work by the Trey McIntyre Project - August 19 at 8:00 pm



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc-NTeRigYQ