New York
I effing love this city. I first visited in 1999 and fell head over heels. As of September 13th it had been about three years or so since I had last dropped in and clearly it was too long.
I was scheduled to leave Chicago on a 10am-ish flight out of O'Hare and promptly got lost on the way to the airport. Getting lost on the way to the airport after living in a city for over 11 years must say something about me. Hopefully it points out an endearing naiveté that I've managed to maintain despite my encroaching thirties. More likely it points to my daft sense of direction.
My flight was cancelled and fears of United losing my checked guitar and Dollar losing my car reservation began to creep in while I waited in the terminal watching the rain on the tarmac and listening to The Californian by Bob Schneider. Thankfully after a smooth flight I made it into La Guardia only two and a half hours later than planned with a dentless guitar in it's newly purchased and now newly scuffed flight case. My car was ready, though a compact Ford Focus it was not. After two experiences with Dollar Rent a Car I now know to expect a PT Cruiser when they've run out of their compacts. It's an odd sort of upgrade unless you're into PT Cruisers (which I am not). This one was cream colored with gold trim and a convertible top. A nice feature if it hadn't been raining and if keeping it up meant you could actually see out of the car. (I don't intend this journal to be a review of anything other than my life, but I wholeheartedly do NOT recommend the convertible PT Cruiser. I've never had worse visibility out of a car.)
The drive out to St. James was just fine. I spent most of it in moderate rush hour traffic but had no trouble finding the town or the venue and made it in just the right amount of time. The Cool Beanz cafe is a lovely place with white fairy lights, high ceilings, warm comfortable seating and a friendly staff. Dave Dircks, the evening's host, welcomed me with a great sound check and I was ready for great evening. After a dinner from a nearby Chinese place of beef and broccoli, I settled in with a glass of Beaujolais to watch the open mic.
The place was packed and I got the feeling that this was more of a community of music appreciators, poets and songwriters who cherish the opportunity to gather once a week and share new songs and stories in this warm and friendly environment. I found them all to be incredibly welcoming and attentive to my own stories and songs and had a delightful time performing for my new friends. After a very memorable experience I got back said goodbye to Long Island and climbed back in the Cruiser and headed back to the city.
I had the great fortune to crash with my friend, Jamie, whose apartment overlooks the Hudson River from the southern end of Fort Tryon in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, a neighborhood I hadn't previously visited or even known about. After driving around for at least an hour and a half I finally gave up on parking and decided to leave the Cruiser in the nearby Staples public garage until the next morning.
With a gorgeous view of the George Washington Bridge I awoke the next day to live selections from 'Wicked' and 'The Will Rogers Follies.' Jamie is a pianist and music director and was rehearsing for an upcoming audition; his baby grand is just outside his guest room. I have to tell you, there is no better way to wake up then to someone playing incredible music just outside your door.
I spent the first part of Thursday exploring Washington Heights and Fort Tryon Park, a beautiful hilly and green area home to the Cloisters museum which I didn't have time to do more than poke my head into. It was delightfully overcast and grey and just the perfect time of year to be discovering a new corner of New York. I was impressed and enchanted and couldn't wait to come back next time.
I made my way by subway down to the Lower East Side in the mid afternoon and grabbed a quick $20 hamburger (which was frikkin' delicious, but still - twenty dollars?) before meeting up with Olivia Greer. We had planned to meet before the gig we were both scheduled to play at Pianos that night but unfortunately due to some scheduling confusion with the venue, there was only one slot available and Olivia was kind enough to step aside to give it to me since I had traveled so far. I was happy to still have the gig but disappointed to not get to play it with Olivia. Additionally, my show was pushed up an hour and I was scheduled to finish at the time I was planning on starting. Despite this the venue was still very friendly and the band following me was very friendly as well and hung around to pad my audience. (They're called London Egg and I caught the first half of their awesome set.) After the show I made my way with some friends who had come to see the set to a pub next door to enjoy a few drinks before calling it a night.
The next morning I woke up to "The Light In The Piazza" and decided that when I got back to Chicago my Sony "Dream Machine" was going to half to step it up a notch if it was going to compete with Jamie. We had lunch at Bette Midler's restaurant in Fort Tryon and then jumped in the Creme Cruiser to get Jamie down to Rockefeller center and me back to La Guardia.
After I dropped off Jamie I drove through Times Square to get down to the Queens Midtown Tunnel. I don't recommend this, especially in a Convertible Creme Cruiser...
I got to the airport and learned that my flight had been delayed at least three hours. It was raining in Chicago, several shuttle flights had been cancelled and the terminal was filled with angry Midwesterners trying to get back to the Notre Dame/Michigan game that weekend. That was fun. I bought another book.
I finally made it home sometime after 2am. I had a great time, saw some great people I knew and met some great people I hadn't known. I got my New York City fix and planted seeds for the next one. Hopefully it won't be long from now.
-Brian
If you want to listen to my Long Island Show, visit Acoustic Long Island.
I was scheduled to leave Chicago on a 10am-ish flight out of O'Hare and promptly got lost on the way to the airport. Getting lost on the way to the airport after living in a city for over 11 years must say something about me. Hopefully it points out an endearing naiveté that I've managed to maintain despite my encroaching thirties. More likely it points to my daft sense of direction.
My flight was cancelled and fears of United losing my checked guitar and Dollar losing my car reservation began to creep in while I waited in the terminal watching the rain on the tarmac and listening to The Californian by Bob Schneider. Thankfully after a smooth flight I made it into La Guardia only two and a half hours later than planned with a dentless guitar in it's newly purchased and now newly scuffed flight case. My car was ready, though a compact Ford Focus it was not. After two experiences with Dollar Rent a Car I now know to expect a PT Cruiser when they've run out of their compacts. It's an odd sort of upgrade unless you're into PT Cruisers (which I am not). This one was cream colored with gold trim and a convertible top. A nice feature if it hadn't been raining and if keeping it up meant you could actually see out of the car. (I don't intend this journal to be a review of anything other than my life, but I wholeheartedly do NOT recommend the convertible PT Cruiser. I've never had worse visibility out of a car.)
The drive out to St. James was just fine. I spent most of it in moderate rush hour traffic but had no trouble finding the town or the venue and made it in just the right amount of time. The Cool Beanz cafe is a lovely place with white fairy lights, high ceilings, warm comfortable seating and a friendly staff. Dave Dircks, the evening's host, welcomed me with a great sound check and I was ready for great evening. After a dinner from a nearby Chinese place of beef and broccoli, I settled in with a glass of Beaujolais to watch the open mic.
The place was packed and I got the feeling that this was more of a community of music appreciators, poets and songwriters who cherish the opportunity to gather once a week and share new songs and stories in this warm and friendly environment. I found them all to be incredibly welcoming and attentive to my own stories and songs and had a delightful time performing for my new friends. After a very memorable experience I got back said goodbye to Long Island and climbed back in the Cruiser and headed back to the city.
I had the great fortune to crash with my friend, Jamie, whose apartment overlooks the Hudson River from the southern end of Fort Tryon in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, a neighborhood I hadn't previously visited or even known about. After driving around for at least an hour and a half I finally gave up on parking and decided to leave the Cruiser in the nearby Staples public garage until the next morning.
With a gorgeous view of the George Washington Bridge I awoke the next day to live selections from 'Wicked' and 'The Will Rogers Follies.' Jamie is a pianist and music director and was rehearsing for an upcoming audition; his baby grand is just outside his guest room. I have to tell you, there is no better way to wake up then to someone playing incredible music just outside your door.
I spent the first part of Thursday exploring Washington Heights and Fort Tryon Park, a beautiful hilly and green area home to the Cloisters museum which I didn't have time to do more than poke my head into. It was delightfully overcast and grey and just the perfect time of year to be discovering a new corner of New York. I was impressed and enchanted and couldn't wait to come back next time.
I made my way by subway down to the Lower East Side in the mid afternoon and grabbed a quick $20 hamburger (which was frikkin' delicious, but still - twenty dollars?) before meeting up with Olivia Greer. We had planned to meet before the gig we were both scheduled to play at Pianos that night but unfortunately due to some scheduling confusion with the venue, there was only one slot available and Olivia was kind enough to step aside to give it to me since I had traveled so far. I was happy to still have the gig but disappointed to not get to play it with Olivia. Additionally, my show was pushed up an hour and I was scheduled to finish at the time I was planning on starting. Despite this the venue was still very friendly and the band following me was very friendly as well and hung around to pad my audience. (They're called London Egg and I caught the first half of their awesome set.) After the show I made my way with some friends who had come to see the set to a pub next door to enjoy a few drinks before calling it a night.
The next morning I woke up to "The Light In The Piazza" and decided that when I got back to Chicago my Sony "Dream Machine" was going to half to step it up a notch if it was going to compete with Jamie. We had lunch at Bette Midler's restaurant in Fort Tryon and then jumped in the Creme Cruiser to get Jamie down to Rockefeller center and me back to La Guardia.
After I dropped off Jamie I drove through Times Square to get down to the Queens Midtown Tunnel. I don't recommend this, especially in a Convertible Creme Cruiser...
I got to the airport and learned that my flight had been delayed at least three hours. It was raining in Chicago, several shuttle flights had been cancelled and the terminal was filled with angry Midwesterners trying to get back to the Notre Dame/Michigan game that weekend. That was fun. I bought another book.
I finally made it home sometime after 2am. I had a great time, saw some great people I knew and met some great people I hadn't known. I got my New York City fix and planted seeds for the next one. Hopefully it won't be long from now.
-Brian
If you want to listen to my Long Island Show, visit Acoustic Long Island.
