To New York, My Love!

It is Tuesday and we have just arrived in Richmond, VA to play a show at a club called The Triple. It is rainy and sleepy here, meaning that we have once again returned to the mundane. By now, New York feels like a distant memory, a favorite holiday of years long gone to be wistfully remembered but never repeated. Of course I am being dramatic, and overly sentimental, but New York has that effect on me. It is my second favorite city in the world, falling just short of my true love, Paris. I love New York for the myriad bodegas that line every street and refuse to give way no matter how redundant they may become. I love New York because it makes you feel like you are a part of a greater something, even if you are not. I love New York simply because it is. We left the city on Sunday night by way of the Lincoln Tunnel with it's beautiful view of Manhattan dancing above the Hudson river despite the midnight hour. Today, even with the distraction of touring, I feel like I am missing out on the opportunity to live unhindered by expectation that is afforded to all who reside there.

Now to let you in on the fun

We arrived in Manhattan on Thursday night and played to a small, but appreciative crowd at a club called Fontana's. Part of the stress that comes with playing NYC is parking a fifteen foot van and trailer combo, but luckily we have a Stephen who is a parallel parking savant. Strangely though, as he expressly admits, he cannot parallel park his Honda Accord back home. I wish I had a picture to prove his skill but we were so taken aback by his stunning accomplishment that I simply forgot to take one. Even the hardened Manhattan door man was impressed enough to let a "wow." slip from his surly lips.

After the show we met McKinley and Adam, who are friends with Kiley and would be our hosts for the next three days. They are the kind of people who turn touring into a pleasurable adventure. Adam, even with his complete derangement of the mind, is one of the most wonderful person you could ever hope to meet. If ever you have the pleasure of running into the man below, be certain to pick his brain for as long as he will allow, his reality is not the same as yours or mine.

The following day we were to play at The Annex, also in Manhattan, but the booking agent dropped us from the show three days prior due to the fact that the owner double booked the date. It was disappointing that the venue buyer decided to drop the traveling band while keeping the locals on the show, but as it was, we had a day off in New York. And what a day it became.

To alleviate the burden of the van and trailer from our minds for the next few days we decided the best idea would be to ditch our gear at a house on the Upper East Side, where we would be playing the next day, and then ditch our van where ever we could find a spot. We expected this to be a stressful process but never expected that we were about to experience the most exciting and illegal move ever to be pulled in a four wheel vehicle. So, with Adam sitting in the front passenger seat, and Stephen driving, we set out for the eighty some odd blocks we had to go down 2nd Avenue. Adam played the role entertaining tour guide exceptionally, but, unfortunately for our cumbersome van that did not include the ability to adequately alert Stephen to upcoming turns. And that is what led to our adventure on the Queensboro Bridge.

Just as we were about to turn onto 61st Street, Adam realized that we were in a lane that would spiral us down into the hellish gridlock that occurs during the rush-hour exodus from Manhattan to Queens. No matter how loud his cries of "Do it, GO!" grew, it would have been impossible to swerve through five lanes of traffic. At this point in the day, Adam was already late for a work related appointment and this disaster would only have made worse his already tardy status. The tighter we lodged ourselves into traffic, the more irrational he became, culminating with his decision that the only thing to be done was to make a u-turn, on a bridge, in rush-hour traffic, with this. Having just met him the day before we all laughed, not thinking he would actually follow through with such a ridiculous stunt. But, after moving no more than twenty yards in five minutes, he jumped out of the van saying, "Yep, this is going to happen."

Wearing no more than Umbros and a shirt that read "Batman Sucks" he exited the van and calmly outstretched his arms stopping all traffic, nearly making me a believer in miracles, something twenty years of Catholic schooling failed to accomplish. It is no lie when I say that he cleared a path large enough for a 747 to taxi onto, giving Stephen ample room to maneuver our vehicle from East to West, on a bridge, in rush-hour traffic, again, with this. Then, just as quickly as he jumped out, he was back in the van and we drove on. The most amazing part was the fact that in New York we were able to complete this act without one irate driver using their horn to threaten our escape.

Now, I would like to think that in a city where the unexpected is expected, and even ignored, that those who witnessed a black conversion van with a black trailer in tow complete a u-turn on a busy bridge, sat at the dinner table that night and said, "Honey, you would not believe what happened on the way into work today..."

I wish I had a video of "The Queensboro Turn" as it will most certainly be known, but all of this happened in less than a minute. So all I have is this picture of us perpendicularly taking up space on a six lane bridge in New York. Be certain to study the stern look of admiration on the kind Middle Eastern man who helped facilitate "The Queensboro Turn."

I have more to come from our second day, including a great bike ride I took through time square, but the band before us just announced they have just one more song left so that will have to wait 'till tomorrow.

Some more from our first day of adventures...

The view of the Queensboro Bridge from the house party

Central Park during the first nice day of Spring

It was 75 and sunny all day

The speed of New York

The view as you exit the Lincoln Tunnel