I love living in the mid Atlantic. I'm an hour South of DC and an hour North of Richmond. I live about an hour and ten minutes from Charlottesville. The resources of those three dynamic cities plentiful and the musical opportunities are legion. Some weeks work out better than others and this was one of those weeks.

On Tuesday a friend of mine reminded me Bonnie Raitt would be playing the Kennedy Center Saturday night before Easter. I had heard the show was sold out but decided to check. There were 7 seats available including 4 parterre box seats. Parterre, literally translated, means "on the ground". These box seats flank the orchestra but are slightly elevated. The cost was $75 and I happily snagged one of the rail box seats.

Then I got an email reminding me that the Moody Blues were playing the Altria Theater in Richmond on Good Friday. I checked out the ticket situation and discovered an abundance of really good seats.There were second and third row, center right and left Loge seats available for $65 and lots of good orchestra seats for $90. I decided to wait until Friday, recheck the availability, then perhaps drive down and buy at the box office avoiding the fees. The theater seats about 3600 and the Moody Blues probably should have played the Carpenter Theatre which seats about 1800.

Here it is around 1am on Sunday and I'm still jacked up from tonight's Bonnie Raitt performance. I'm a little tired seeing as I did catch the Moody Blues as well. It was an embarrassment of riches and I feasted on the music.

Both were darn good shows. The Altria in Richmond, the former Mosque Theatre for those familiar with the area, is not the best venue for music. The theatre itself is gorgeous. It has recently undergone a multi million dollar renovation and you can't help but be moved by the elegance of the restoration. Unfortunately the domed ceiling and oblong seating leaves gaps and space in the sound.

For the Moody Blues that meant the loss of some vocals. I also thought Justin Hayward's guitar was turned too low in the mix. The sound improved by the third song but there is still too much air in that venue for my tastes. Still, "Knights in White Satin", "Gypsy", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question", "Late Lament", were all stellar and well the show was well worth the price of admission. This was a bigger production than the show I caught about a year ago. The LED screens and fog were nice touches and added a big concert feel to a show that was, for me, an after thought.

Of course Bonnie Raitt puts on a completely different kind of show and tonight she gave a solid, no frills, exceptional musical performance. Driving into DC during the peak of the Cherry Blossoms is a very different experience than driving into Richmond. I left early allowing myself time to walk around the Tidal Basin and monuments. I usually avoid DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival because of the crowds and the traffic. But since I was going to be there for the show I decided to throw myself into the entire experience. Especially since I could park at the Kennedy Center for the same price no longer how many hours my car remained garaged.

After a couple hours of sight seeing and a quick dinner I walked back to the Kennedy Center. I came in from the front and walked through the sculpture garden. The Kennedy Center itself is immense. There are three primary performance areas, the Opera House, the Eisenhower Theatre, and the Concert Hall. (There are several other smaller theaters.) Tonight's show was the 2400 (appx) seat Concert Hall. The scale of the main building is amazing. Soaring ceilings, massive windows, giant columns, humongous chandeliers and roadway sized corridors. The wide exterior terrace provides great views of the Potomac and the city. You can imagine how the space and architecture make any event at the Kennedy Center more momentous.

My excellent seat also made the show more momentous as did the theatre's elegance and acoustics. The National Symphony Orchestra play the same theater. Every aspect of the space is designed to compliment music. Bonnie Raitt took great advantage of the sound and the welcoming audience. She commented that the last time she had played the space was during the Kennedy Honors show a couple years ago. You could tell that she was authentically moved to be back playing in the space on her own.

The set consisted mostly of songs off her new album. Of course she threw in some of the older hits but the stand outs of the night were "Angel From Montgomery" and "I Can't Make You Love Me". The latter was almost instrument free featuring just Bonnie's voice with keyboard. It was a show stopper. Her set list stayed mostly true to this tour's set lists. Even thought there were no surprises the show felt unique because of the venue.

I know I had a great time.

I sure do like living in this neck of the woods.