Swish & J's adventure in the Big Apple.

[Swish]

So my friends Bob and Mark and I head to NJ last Wednesday, got to our hotel just before noon, and grabbed a cab to Princeton Junction to catch the train that would take us into Penn Station. We arrived at about 1:40 PM and, as promised, our RR buddy J met with us shortly thereafter. After introducing him to my friends (I met J on a prior visit to NYC), we walked a few blocks to a great Japanese all-you-can-eat restaurant for lunch, upon J's recommendation, and ate ourselves silly. The place was huge and had a long line of sushi and other cold items, and an equally long line of cooked items. J and Bob talked about music (Bob is nearly as knowledgeable as J) while Mark and I ate all we could. It was a great start to a great day.

J asked what we wanted to do next, and my friends wanted to see Ground Zero, so we hopped on the subway and headed to the financial district. As we walked by the fenced-in area, J pointed out all the nearby buildings and what was going on at the time, as well as what happened on that fateful day. He pointed out things that you would never see on the news, and having the perspective of a 'local' was much appreciated as well as very interesting. We entered a building that overlooks Ground Zero, going up a couple floors to the front of the building that was solid windows, offering an excellent view of the entire site and the buildings around it. There was a large group of Japanese (my guess) tourists taking pictures, but they moved on shortly after we arrived so we had the spot almost to ourselves as J pointed out all the names of the nearby buildings, including the one where he lives, and what was planned for the memorial, offering a wealth of information about what was damaged and what has been rebuilt since 9/11. Even though this happened just over 7 years ago, being at the site and seeing it in person was pretty disturbing and our mood grew quite somber for awhile. The whole thing just sucks beyond belief.

From there we headed to a pub called P.J. Clarke's located at New York's World Financial Center. They patterned this one after their original 125-year-old bar on 3rd Avenue, and what a great spot to hang! It's right on the Hudson with views of Ellis Island and, or course, the Statue of Liberty. While they had a large patio outside, we opted to stay inside since the Phillies playoff game was on the tube and the weather was less than ideal with rain in the forecast. The exterior wall in the bar area was all windows, so we still had a great view outdoors. The place was fairly empty and we got seats at the bar and started ordering some pints. The beer selection wasn't vast and contained no IPAs or Pale Ale's, so I opted for Bass Ale. The Philles were winning and the place started hopping when the skies opened up as it started pouring and got really windy. This was right after 5 PM, as I recall, and the place was soon packed as those outside came inside, along with the happy hour crew coming out of work on Wall Street, or as J called it, Killed Capitalism Dead Boulevard.

The rain finally let up after about 90 minutes and around the time the Phillies won their game, so we headed out and back toward the subway, stopping at a nice little pub for another round of beers from a nice barmaid named Eleni .I think she digs me, but then again, don't they all? We didn't stay very long as we needed to get back on the subway and head to our show at Radio City. J wasn't going to the show, but he gave us all the instructions we needed to get us to Radio City, and then how to get back to Penn Station after the show, and even knew a place where we could get a good slice of pizza after the show. This guy is one gracious host and my friends were quite impressed with his knowledge of the city and grateful that he would take time out of his day to meet us and show us around since the city can be so daunting. We said our goodbyes and hopped back on the subway.

We had no problem making our way to Radio City, arriving shortly after the opening act, Glasvegas, from Liverpool I think, but till we got another round of beers (who's counting?) and took our seats on the first mezzanine level, in the front row I might add, we only caught their final two songs. We really didn't pay much attention as we were there for one band, and one band only, Echo and the Bunnymen.

About a half hour later, Ian, Will and company took the stage to a standing ovation of what I would consider a sell-out crowd. We heard some seats were available on the second mezzanine level, but the main floor and our level were completely packed. The stage looked awesome and, with its large size, the band was able to spread out quite a bit. The orchestra which would accompany the band for all the songs of Ocean Rain were not there yet as the band cranked out 13 tunes without them, starting with their 'hit' Lips Like Sugar. Not one of my favorites, but I understand why they play it. Next was one of my EATB faves, Rescue, getting me on my feet and hollering. To my ears, the bands sounded as good now as they did 25-30 years ago. Ian's voice is still among the best in rock, and Will's guitar shimmered. I'm not going to recount each song and my impressions as that would take all day, but let me say that the addition of the orchestra, especially on tracks like Seven Seas and My Kingdom, was awe-inspiring. I can only hope that a concert DVD was made of this show, although I would bet they have it in the works from the prior show at Royal Prince Albert Hall. If you want to listen to some of the songs from that night, you can click here and check it out. I also have the entire track list below.

After the show we hit Pizza Familia and had a couple great slices (J was right on the money again) before jumping back on the subway to Penn Station, where we had to wait about 30 minutes for the next train out, departing around 12:50 AM. Once on the train, we had a 70 minute ride back to Princeton, and some beeyotch yakked on her cell phone for nearly the entire ride while we were trying to sleep. I felt like grabbing her phone and stomping on it. We got back around 2 AM, grabbed a cab back to the hotel, although he missed the turn, had to drive down the highway almost another 5 minutes to get a place to do a U-turn, then almost missed it again on the way back. Then he asked us if we 'lived here'. Uh, yeah, we live at the Holiday Inn. Dumb arse!

All in all it was a great trip and a great show, and I want to again express my appreciation to J for being an excellent host, providing a ton of info prior to our trip, then hanging out with us and escorting us around the city. J is the man! This was the fourth time I met with someone from RR; first being with DLD and his wife at the NOLA Jazz Fest back in '04 (many others from RR were supposedly going on that trip but it ended up with just my wife and I along with DLD and his wife), the second was with Forever Autumn and her husband, Audio Bill and his wife, along with Barry L. back in '05 (I think) in Toronto, the third was J in the spring of '06, and then J again on this trip. All were such nice, fun people and I had a great time with all of them and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. In fact, I hope to in the near future as a trip to Austin, TX is on the horizon.

G Swishdaddy

“Lips Like Sugar”
“Rescue”
“Bring on the Dancing Horses”
“Think I Need It Too”
“The Disease”
“All That Jazz”
“The Back Of Love”
“All My Colours”
“People Are Strange” (Doors cover)
“Nothing Lasts Forever”
“Walk on the Wild Side” (partial Lou Reed cover)
“In the Midnight Hour” (partial Wilson Pickett cover)
“The Cutter”
–Intermission followed by Ocean Rain–
“Silver” (MP3)
“Nocturnal Me”
“Crystal Days” (MP3)
“The Yo Yo Man” (MP3)
“Thorn of Crowns” (MP3)
“The Killing Moon” (MP3)
“Seven Seas”
“My Kingdom”
“Ocean Rain”

[MindGoneHaywire]

Next time I'll just let those courier guys drop their cargo. Let it fall off the cart, and break.

[Swish]

Next time I'll just let those courier guys drop their cargo. Let it fall off the cart, and break.

I can't believe I forgot to mention that part, so thanks for reminding me. As we were heading toward the subway after lunch, some guy had a load of about 20 flat containers on a hand truck crossed the sidewalk in front of us toward a truck parked on the street, and one of the containers appeared to be falling off. J said out loud, 'That one's going to fall' or something similar to that, and sure enough, it did fall to the street. Being ever so helpful,. J started going toward the fallen object but was stopped by the woman who was with the hand truck guy, saying something like 'I got it" with a stern look on her face.

The funny part? The two people were working for Brinks Security and the containers were obviously full of money. Now that was funny. It all happened so fast that J didn't realize they were armed and moving money.

Swish

[ForeverAutumn]

It sounds like you had a great trip. Good friends, music, beverages, food and memories. Life doesn't get much better than that.

And J sounds like a great host. I hope that I have the pleasure of meeting him someday.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Sounds like an amazing time. Congratulations on a score of mega-proportions. I only saw Bunnymen once - back when Ocean Rain was released and it was such a great show. I would love to see them the way you did, in a first-rate venue, with orchestral accompanyment.

Ian's voice is still among the best in rock,

He is is still great; I find from what I've heard on record and from the few clips I've seen on the net, that his voice has aged gracefully. While he can't hit those notes anymore - he has adjusted his style to stay within his voice's limitations. Was he able to strech out a little and hit those notes like in Kingdom or at the end of the song Ocean Rain?

I also had a nice nostalgia night last night when I saw Wire at a little club here in Montreal called Le National. I thought they were amazing -much better than when I saw them in the '80s. If you're a fan and they're coming to a club near you, I would highly recommend seeing them.

Nice to relive your youth isn't it?

[Swish]

Sounds like an amazing time. Congratulations on a score of mega-proportions. I only saw Bunnymen once - back when Ocean Rain was released and it was such a great show. I would love to see them the way you did, in a first-rate venue, with orchestral accompanyment.

He is is still great; I find from what I've heard on record and from the few clips I've seen on the net, that his voice has aged gracefully. While he can't hit those notes anymore - he has adjusted his style to stay within his voice's limitations. Was he able to strech out a little and hit those notes like in Kingdom or at the end of the song Ocean Rain?


Nice to relive your youth isn't it?

J mentioned seeing them last way back in 1986 at a fairly small venue that is somehow attached to Madison Square Garden (can't remember what he called it). Anyway, turns out my friend Bob was at that show, and then we find out that a guy sitting aside of us at the show was also at that one.

As for Mac's voice, it still sound great but he's not hitting those high notes these days. I guess the cigarettes and his age is catching up to him. He did mention early in the show how he wasn't able to smoke. I saw them at the Chameleon in Lancaster a couple years ago and he probably had 6 or 7 cigs while on stage, and who knows how many before and after.

Swish

[Mr MidFi]

What an awesome show, Swish. You lucky bastard.

How did "The Cutter" sound? I loves me that freakin' song.