Rains, pours, etc.

I never cared for the adage “it never rains but it pours,” as the antiquated use of “but” caused me endless confusion as a youth and I was unable to make sense of the sentence. Not the kind of question I’d go running to my parents with. But now I know the meaning, and it’s especially apt for those of us who live in the Northeast, where a year’s worth of outdoor activity gets crammed into a couple of months, and there’s simply too much to do in the summer. And, more literally, it’s been raining a lot, but you really can’t let that stop you from getting out and about or before you know it the kids are back in school, Nutcracker rehearsals are up and running, and you can’t do anything.

Free concerts dominated the weekend — Cowboy Junkies at the Plaza, amazing as always, though playing in the open there was no roof for them to blow off. They were preceded by The Mother Truckers, whose sizzlin’ rocker “Streets of Atlanta” had caught my attention on the Underground Garage, and their show was lots of fun. Momentary rain toward the end of the Junkies’ set, but it passed and the show went on. They’re releasing a complete remake of their first big album, The Trinity Sessions, called Trinity Revisited, which excites me and confuses me in equal measure, since the Natalie Merchant involvement strikes me as very odd, but check out a preview yourself at their website.

Then last night, a free Aimee Mann show in Washington Park. There was a well-timed downpour after the opening act, but once they got the West Side Story set dried up (lots of anxious shop-vaccing) she came out and put on her usual great show. (Note to idiot in the audience: please stop shouting out “Voices!” It’s tedious.)

Upside to outdoor shows: well, you’re outside on a pleasant summer evening. Downside: smokers. I suppose it says something that if about 1 in 50 people is smoking, it’s an annoyance and nothing like it used to be — but it’s still an annoyance or worse when the air isn’t moving, and somehow a set of hipsters and their very busy cellphones and cigarettes ended up in front of us even though we moved to get away from them. Too hip to actually watch the show (the downside of a free show) or to get cancer, but not too hip to share their endless smoke with us. Thanks, dudes!

That made three concerts within a few weeks, so we’re probably done for the year. See ya next summer, live music!