After lots of laughs with old and new friends at Penn State it was time for us to hit the road and drive on through to the Big Apple. The drive itself was gorgeous. It's fall around these parts and the hills of Pennsylvania were an amazing site and inspiring to drive through.
After another 4 hours of road time logged in (the Po'Wagon is about to hit 100,000 miles!), we began to see the New York cityscape in the early afternoon. We knew there would be free parking at the club so we made sure to get to the city around an hour before parking became legal to get us a good spot in front Sullivan Hall. We made our way through with Maggie (our GPS system) and hit the Holland Tunnel ready to enter Manhattan. As we were about to hit the checkpoint, I said "Wow, this trip has been good logistically speaking so far." Without a surface of wood to knock on, I knocked on my head...
Not more than a minute later the lady at the gate told us trailers weren't allowed into the Holland Tunnel and we would have to be re-routed to the Lincoln Tunnel. We obliged, but not before a Port Authority policeman stopped us to search our trailer. By the time we got back on the road, the infamous NYC rush-hour began and we were soon stuck in a complete traffic jam.
Moving on for what seemed like an eternity, we finally got close to the Lincoln Tunnel. The traffic eased off and we were soon going at a decent speed when we got stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel traffic! ARGH!
Needless to say, NYC kicked our ass that evening and we were all a little on edge driving through Manhattan with the Po'Trailer. Luckily we managed to find the club okay and there was still free parking right in front of Sullivan Hall.
After a quick dinner of falafels and Mexican food, we walked around New York for about an hour and then quickly realized that there simply wasn't enough time to really do anything, so we found a nice looking sports bar in the Village and settled in to watch the the Vikings/Green Bay game.
After a few brews it was time to hit the club. The Sugartone Brass Band was laying it down good and funky. Man, these guys have soul. They took me right back to the sights and sounds of New Orleans and made me homesick more than ever! Nick sat in and jammed with the band since they were short a trombone player and of course he kicked ass.
As the evening continued, the crowd started thinning out. With it being a Monday night, I was happy we had any crowd, but by the time we took the stage (11:40-ish), a few dedicated friends and fans were around but the rest of the place was empty.
Undeterred, the 'Boys unleashed a fury of funk in the faces of all. We hit em' hard with good old favorites like RAF Riff, Garbage Platin', and Man Power while introducing a few newer ones like Sellout and our version of Carry on Wayward Son. The evening concluded with Jimi's Bones. The amazing lighting system in the club created an ethereal atmosphere when Nick began shredding the intro. The crowd of the mighty few exploded at the end and our first show at NYC was over.
After the dust settled and we made it out of the city, I began to think about the experience. What was great, what could've been better, and what we'll never do again. Overall, I'm excited about last night. There were some logistical and technical issues that came up, but we were well-received by the people who stuck around and the club management really enjoyed us. We know we're welcome back to the city any time.
Shows like last night aren't anything the band makes a ton of money on, but I can't think of a musician out there who wouldn't agree that it's one of the most-exciting things in the world for your band to play NYC. It's a mixture of intimidation and all-encompassing love. And for your music to be well received is all the payment we need. We'll be back, NYC. Thanks for the good times.
We're off to Ithaca today for the final leg of the tour. We teach at Ithaca College for the good people in the Ithaca Trombone Troupe and Hal Reynolds. Then we take the party to a local favorite club called The Nines. It's the first time we've played there and we're looking forward to it.
Thanks for keeping in touch with the band and our adventures! Leave a comment and let us know what you think about NYC!!
-ej
