# I saw Loudon Wainwright III last night **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646 "2008-11-20T14:34:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/1 "2008-11-20T14:34:46Z")
It was at the Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. He’s definitely a funny, talented musician and we enjoyed the show, but… What’s with the crowd? There were lots of pretentious academic types who kept shouting out names of songs (ok, we get it, you’re sofuckingcool because you knew an obscure Loudon Wainwright song from 1972 – now, please shut the fuck up). My wife and I liked his songs “Daughter” and “Grey in LA” from the movie Knocked Up, so we thought we’d give it a shot. Well, he didn’t play either of those and filled his 1:45 on stage with new songs (some were very good) and these odd requests – many of which he didn’t remember right away. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/2 "2008-11-20T14:48:26Z")
My sister and her b/f went to hear him (I think). The jury’s out on whether or not they would be part of the crowd calling out the old songs :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/3 "2008-11-20T14:52:44Z")
Man, that’s what I hate, too, about going to hear a certain type of respected but not mass market musician – the pretentious jerks in the audience. I’d like to have the power to teleport them into a KISS concert, or to Branson Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/4 "2008-11-20T15:01:33Z")
But did anyone in the audience scream “FREEBIRD!”? Since there apparently wasn’t a riot, I’d guess no. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/5 "2008-11-20T16:47:05Z")
I’ve been to a couple of Loudon Wainwright concerts and never saw this sort of thing happening. Must have been the venue, or else it’s something that developed in the past few years. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/6 "2008-11-20T17:11:04Z")
Did he at least sing “On the Good Ship Venus?” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/7 "2008-11-20T17:15:16Z")
Hehehe…if I were Loudon Wainwright III, I’d play “Rufus Is A Tit Man” at every single concert, prefaced with an introduction that ends, “Well…turns out I was wrong!” and a shrug of the shoulders… ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/8 "2008-11-20T17:23:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Did he at least sing “On the Good Ship Venus?” Not that I could tell… I don’t know many of his songs. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/9 "2008-11-20T17:33:30Z")
One of his cd’s I have addresses people telling him what to play. It comes down to he’s going to play what he wants to. Yes the audience was calling out play this. It’s an old cd so it’s nothing new to have pushy people there. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/10 "2008-11-20T18:03:24Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > One of his cd’s I have addresses people telling him what to play. It comes down to he’s going to play what he wants to. Yes the audience was calling out play this. It’s an old cd so it’s nothing new to have pushy people there. This one? > [@Loudon Wainwright III](#): > > Sing Motel Blues? > I’ll possibly do that…another time. > No, I wanna do this. And my therapist has told be to be particularly assertive with women. > Don’t do stuff you don’t wanna do for them. > So pardon me but…no. > > From _Career Moves_ 1993. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/11 "2008-11-20T18:06:52Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > This one? Damn, and that’s the song I’d most want to hear if I went to a LW3 concert. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/12 "2008-11-20T18:30:13Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Did he at least sing “On the Good Ship Venus?” Hah! I’ve just been listening to that collection. Wonder how _that_ would have gone over :p? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-loudon-wainwright-iii-last-night/473646/13 "2008-11-20T21:04:27Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > This one? Yep.