Levon Helm and John Hiatt at Wolftrap, July 21, 2010

I love Wolf Trap. Absolutely love seeing shows there. Parking is easy and not too far away, kids are welcome (though they do have to pay full price; ouch!), you can bring your own picnic dinner and wine to have on the nicely manicured lawn under the stars while great bands play, and the crowd is generally well-mannered. Best place to see a show during warm months.

Last night we went to see John Hiatt and Levon Helm, two country-western-ish people I don't know all that much about. John Hiatt's set was charming, though I didn't recognize any songs. Levon Helm, who used to be a member of the Band, played drums and had a rather large group of musicians and singers accompanying him. Apparently he had throat cancer a few years ago but is recovering, at least enough to go back on tour and even sing a little. His voice was shaky but emotive, and the crowd didn't seem to mind.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep for part of Helm's set, so I missed the horn section stepping out in front and playing un-amped with only the pavilion's acoustics to carry the music to the lawn. It was apparently very cool. But something about the warm air and mellow vibe was so soothing I couldn't stay awake. That's not an entirely bad thing, coming from a chronic insomniac.