Emerging out of the Lincoln tunnel and into mid-town, I remembered why we came. This city is part of the fabric of my being, and her inhabitants feel like family, somehow. As novel and surprising as the sights and sounds can be, I never feel like a stranger here, twisted up as it is in my cultural memory.
This time out was my first trip with Ally to the Big Apple. The first thing we did was drive down into midtown, the 'City of Blinding Lights'...
The next stop was to meet my sister and her family at 'Maison', a lovely little 24-hr french restaurant up around 50th. It was wild to see them so far away from their stomping grounds in T.O., and we had a great little visit.
I think m'lady is the prettier of the two.
I am blessed to know a great host of quality people, many of whom have offered me hospitality on the endless road trip that is my life. If I have survived the ups and downs of the music business, surely this is one of the only explanations for it.
Susie and Tim Griffin put us up for the week at their house in Jersey, providing that we looked after their two cats whilst they were away. I would have also looked after a rabid wolfhound with a bad case of Parvo and the mange, to stay in this place. It was ummmm...beautiful. In a gorgeous neighbourhood...we were very comfy to say the least.
Taking the commuter train into NY was a hoot, and we met the nicest people on board. New Yorkers are friendlier than you can imagine. And their world-weary humour and tough as marshmallows exterior is very endearing. I listened to a Jersey mom lovingly and hilariously henpeck her kids all the way to Penn station. It was like music to my ears, and I felt like I was in the middle of a Woody Allen movie, which is how I imagine many New Yorkers must feel most of the time.
When we arrived in town, we went to Central Park while the sun was still out, and we hoofed around that wonderful place for a few hours. People were skating in the park, courtesy of Donald Trump (tickets $14), and many were in the horse drawn carriages that circle the park ($35). Both looked like fun, but we wew restless and wanted to see it all...
We found the John Lennon Memorial, and had a solemn moment there.
Coming back into midtown, we happened upon this fella. Seeing a man strum a guitar on the wintry, crowded streets of New York in late December is a sad and pitiful sight. Somehow if you remove most of his clothing (save a snug pair of tighty-whiteys) and put him in cowboy boots and a hat, it's traffic-stopping entertainment! You have to hand it to him, though. That is one plucky pick-wielding pardner right there.
As evening fell, we made our way to the first in a series of shows. Cirque de Soleil's Wintuk, a sort of lite version of what they normally do, but no less ingenious and breathtaking in its acrobatic imagination and innovative set design. Plus they made it snow at the end!
Next up was 'In the Heights', a terrific musical about the people of Washington Heights, way up around 181st St. It was written by a new face on Broadway, a college kid who also starred as 'Usnavi' (thusly named when his father saw a US Navy ship in the Caribbean Sea). Killing music and story, and very entertaining. Latin music and rap were the main flavor, and it made for an irresistable mixture.
Winner of Best Musical at the Tonys last year.
The real highlight, show-wise was "All My Sons". Imagine being in the prescence of John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest! Now imagine being in the second row(!). These titans of the stage, practically in our laps, were ably abetted by Katie Holmes and Patrick Wilson, and together they brought this Arthur Miller play about family secrets through the full range of emotions to a devestating conclusion. Afterwards they all came outside to sign posters and Playbills...very cool.
The other show that we managed to sneak in this week was a Mike Stern quartet show at the Iridium on Broadway. He had Kenny Garrett, Dennis Chambers and Tom Kennedy with him, and man...it was beautiful stuff. Funky, jazzy and playful with a muscular backbeat, this was jazz without borders, and the audience loved it. We met a nice couple from Queens in line and sat with them for the show. Salt-of-the-earth people.
I got a picture and a CD from the man himself. Heavy player and super-nice guy...
Other highlights included a trip to 30 Rockefeller Centre for a Studio Tour (SNL, Conan, the NBC News) on January 1st. This was one day when the crowds weren't too bad. Dang, it was cold though...I had to buy me a hat!
Nice!
We ventured into Brooklyn for a visit to the Brooklyn Tabernacle...famous to me because of the Choir, and for the pastor (Jim Cymbala). It was an honour and a privelege to be amongst those people, and Ally and I were spoken to and blessed by God that morning through the music and the things that Jim had to say. It was a perfect morning, and we finished it off by heading to Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village for some cupcakes, then walked by this sign at a local Salvation Army.
All in all it was a wonderful week, and we cannot wait to return...in warmer weather. :-)
We stopped into Scranton PA on the way home, to shoot this iconic building from the opening credits on 'The Office' (US version).
Fun!
