On February 13th, Wainwright played the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley (once a cramped coffee house, the Freight has since expanded into a modest auditorium large enough for bluegrass moshing) as part of a Northwestern cluster of solo shows. Advertised as a representation of theHigh, Wide & Handsome album, the program turned out to be more or less a Loudon Wainwright show with the distinction of exemplary recent material; rather than waiting impatiently to hear “Red Guitar” or “I’d Rather Be Lonely,” I was anxious to see whether or not he would attempt “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” or “Awful Hungry Hash House” sans thumping double bass and rousing four-part harmony. After a pleasant if predictable fiddle-and-guitar opening act, Wainwright carried a glistening D-28 and a scruffy banjo (allegedly purchased the evening before in Petaluma) to the stage and unabashedly launched into “Hat,” an as of yet unrecorded song about his daughter Lucy’s debut utterance and its possible significance. Afterward, he feigned an apology about his choice of material, explaining Charlie Poole’s backstory and gloating over the new album’s Grammy win earlier in the month. “Yeah, we’ll get around to some Charlie Poole numbers,” he said, grinning mischievously. “But first let’s hear some Loudon Wainwright songs.”