Coney Island, old and new memories...

This week Park takes a break from the music ... or the music takes a break from Park and the duo heads out to Coney Island, land of the legendary Nathan's hot dog. Naturally, Nathan's is the first thing hit upon arrival. The dogs are cooked perfectly (attention Jersey Square Mall, study the training video or talk to your friends on the cell phones while they are cooking so that they are cooked thoroughly!) And the fries are fresh and ever so tasty.

Then it's time for a little healthy competition. First up, the Kentucky Derby. Roll your ball into a one, two or three-point slot and your horse moves across the top board accordingly. Boy, ark must have put in some time practicing with the balls or something, 'cause I got my butt whipped twice. Woe is me... But it was perhaps meant to be, 'cause ark's prize is a stuffed Husky.

For a couple of minutes anyway, cause now it's shoot the watergun into a balloon until it pops time. I assume the No. 4 spot, put on my best Devils' Hall of Famer Scott Stevens' face and open a can of whoopass on ark. My prize: A cross-eyed Devil with a diaper.

So how to break this tie? Well we try the balloon darts thing, and as Mark gets sidetracked by a phone call, I take home the lime green snake. But then it's unbroken again, cause we're at another one that combines the watergun with the ball-rolling and ark scores a Target dog. Enough competition, we're hungry! Well first we stop for a veeeeeeery long sketch done by a voicetronic "Leonardo Rembrandt." See here...



And now we're on the boardwalk. It's a beautiful day... not too hot (for ark), not too cold (for me), perfect Park temperatures. Blue skies, light breeze. We're out on the pier watching the waves... Walk down the shore, avoiding broken shells ... and broken glass. The water is cool at first touch and then perfectly comfortable.

Up we go to the New York Aquarium, a place I went to many times with my GREAT late great Aunt Ruthy. It's donation day, so tons of families with shrieking kids and shrieking moms are in there, but we do see many cool fishies and an otter and a walrus. Not one particular fish that is yellow at the top and blue at the bottom and burrows into the surface, but maybe he "retired" since it was many many moons ago since I last saw him.

Then it's back up on the boardwalk for a final stroll and some melt-in-your-mouth cotton candy.

The decision is made to go to Lombardi's for dinner. According to Zagat, "best pizza on the planet." And I'll have to admit it's very very good, but didn't do the tangy tastebud tantalizing dance that John's Brick Oven has. I will afford it this much, since I prefer my John's as a plain cheese pizza, Lombardi's can own the title of "best pepperoni pizza," cause the 'roni is quite tasty and has a nice lasting flavor to it. Park shakes on the deal. And we'll see you next week from Yankee Stadium!

Soaked/blue to the bone

Park is in different states this weekend for two wildly different concerts.

Mine was tonight. It was originally billed as Buddy Guy and George Thorogood, but a look at the ticket with GT's name only told the real story. During the 11-block-or-so walk from fabulous dinner to Hammerstein Ballroom, the skies started to open. Result: some soaking wet concertgoers. It took Buddy's scorching riffs to eventually dry everyone off!

But first things first. Opening was the fabulous slide master Elvin Bishop -- who somehow rose above the aura created by his hot pink, hot green and white shirt -- to play some tremendous blues and New Orleans grooves. Highlight: "What the Hell Is Going On?" Lowlight: Fish-fish-fishin'. Surprise highlight: "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" -- then again if I realized that was his song in the first place I wouldn't have been so shocked. No, I would have, cause the slide killed! See for yourself:

Around 8, Buddy appears -- and he looks like Samuel L. Jackson's twin. As it is 8, he's not even one sheet to the wind yet... and for the second time this year one of Chicago's legends tells New York that he was expecting NY to be his favorite gig. (First was Liz Phair during her Exile in Guyville show.) Poor Chitown, really taking it on the chin.

He delivers a fabulous rendition of "Best Damn Fool" and "Out in the Woods" from the new album, Skin Deep. And with the downpour outside creating the pre-show mood for him, "Feels Like Rain" was particularly sweet and soulful. And, much to ark's expected dismay, "Who's Gonna Fill These Shoes" proved to be a real crowd please -- I'll admit myself to shrieking when Muddy and B.B. and Stevie Ray are name-checked in the song.

Buddy really got the crowd on his side (well those who were, let's say, paying less attention to him than the guy who took their tickets) when he made his way through the crowd as a medley paid homage to BB King and Muddy Waters. Not just the front half, mind you but through the entire venue -- including right past me and Liam. Even blew on the $3 harmonica as he went by, got the slimmest of smiles at that from him. He went up to the second floor, frightened a little kid by playing in his face and had the cell phones tracing his moves throughout.

And then he drove the audience even madder! There was a joyful "Boom Boom" for John Lee Hooker... But then ... I couldn't have even fathomed this one. The unique take on "Strange Brew." LOVED IT! This should be released!!!! (The below doesn't pay it justice at all, but it's on the right path.) And then a step further, Buddy wailed on some riffs by "Voodoo Chile." Topped off by ... I've seen Buddy play "Sunshine of Your Love" with a drumstick ... BUT NOT BY SLAPPING A TOWEL AGAINST HIS GUITAR. And it still sounds like it should... don't know how it's even possible.

As all great concerts do, it left me wanting to see Buddy again tomorrow! Oh well, whenever he does come back... there I will be. Oh, and just try following THAT Georgie.

P-

Paying the cost to see the boss...

Not The Boss, "the boss" aka "Love" in "When Love Comes to Town." The reigning King of blues. BB. Took an eight-hour train right after work to get to Virginia and thanks to the weather and the fabulous people at US Airways, it took 10-plus hours to get back. I was way late for work and had plenty of reason to sing the blues.

But back to the good stuff. Had spectacular 10th row seats at a very nice venue at the Ferguson Center in Newport News. I had seen BB earlier in the year and much of the stage patter was the same, but damn if it all wasn't as funny the second time around. His voice -- both on guitar and vocals -- is sounding strong, but he only plays/sings about 30 percent of the show, so he keeps one a-wantin'.

The blog photographer aka "ark" should be around at some point with some really awesome shots to share. After seeing B from several levels back a few months ago, it was cool to catch all the facial expressions from up close this time.

Oh, I meant to share the greatness of a tiny harmonica I got in Cape Cod last weekend. I jammed on the Soul Stew Revival's version of "The Weight"!!! At BB, I didn't jam, but I did use it to make myself known as an appreciator of the blues!

Forgive the BLUNTness of this blog. I'm still wiped, but I just wanted to let everyone know where in the F'n world Park was this weekend.

Coming up next? It's Splitsville for Park. Don't worry! Just two people in two different places. When not mailing in another day on the job (heehee), ark will be at Busch Gardens for not one but two Frampton concerts (wahhhhhwahhhhwahhhhhwahhhhhhh -- supposed to be the Geico commercial) and I'll be buddying it up with friend Liam at the Buddy Guy/George Thorogood show in NYC.

Ta-da! That's the end. ;)
P-

Park: The Early Works

Thought an email from ark covered many bases not touched in the initial entry, so I include it here for historical (and humorous) purposes.

Weekend last was Mark Knopfler at NJPAC in Newark, NJ. Beautiful venue, and perhaps the best sound I've ever encountered. I did pull the gig (2nd row, 2nd balcony) with a new set of Church Audio cards / Church 9100+ preamp. Haven't had time to work on it yet, this may be stellar. Next night, out to Oyster Bay on Long Island for Rick Springfield, who is the most well preserved 59 year old man I have ever seen. This goes beyond even Dick Clark standards. Puts on a good, fun show. Plus he picked on me. I'll be forever scarred by the words "Sir ... you DON'T want to do that".

This past weekend we packed up and headed to Hampton Beach, NH and Hyannis, Cape Cod, for 2 back to back Trucks / Tedeschi Soul Stew shows. Pai summed them up well:

http://whereinthefnworldispark.blogspot.com/2008/08/stewing-in-our-juices.html

I did not pull either show but the Hampton Beach show is up on archive.org for easy downloading:

http://www.archive.org/details/dtb2008-08-01.earthworks.flac16f

I got the camera unloaded fully today (it hasn't been getting along with my PC), and the photos from the trip are up, from the 2nd show at the Cape Cod Melody Tent:

http://picasaweb.google.com/AlmightyGeetarz/2008_08_02

It's a cool (well not cool, actually a little warm inside) venue with a slowly rotating stage, so every seat is fantastic. One has to wonder ... if they built the same thing in the southern hemisphere, would it rotate in the other direction? Enquiring minds and all that.

There are also selected clips from the Hyannis show up on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLI0aB1kpQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1PM72DH9jc

Not sure what is going on with my camera, this is the 2nd time I have shot video and it's "disappeared" in the days between when it was shot and when I got home. Last time I had been fidding with the camera, this time I didn't touch it! Going to try and format the card, but there were several videos on there that have disappeared into the aether.

Last but not least, be sure to check out more of the Soul Stew shows, they are no where near as fun as they are in person but still a blast:

http://bt.etree.org/index.php?cat=60

This weekend: 3rd row for B.B. King @ the Ferguson Center in Newport News, Tuesday is Robert Randolph and the Family Band (and a bunch of bands I know nothing about), and next weekend, 2 back to back Peter Frampton shows at Busch Gardens. See y'all on the road!

Stewing in our juices

The inaugural road trip for Park took place this past weekend, starting Friday and venturing from Jersey (once the GPS would allow it) to New Hampshire and Massachusetts for Derek Trucks/Susan Tedeschi's Soul Stew Revival shows and back to Jersey before my shift started Sunday.

Here are some of the highlights:

--For those who know of the Derek Trucks Band, drummer Yonrico Scott is known for making artwork for each night's setlist. Like this: http://www.dtbsetlists.com/stagelists/20071005.jpg I've actually saved images of the various setlists over the years and made a screensaver of them at Webshots. And as I missed out on getting the setlist because the guitar tech got distracted by someone who said "Hey!" I was anxious to get one on this trip. Well, the good news is I got one of each! The bad news ... Yonrico didn't do his famous artwork. Oh well, they're setlists, right??
Here's the first show's: http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii234/devsjunkie/Music/08-08-01%20Hampton%20Beach%20Casino/?action=view&current=0800801dtbnh.jpg
--As you can see on the setlist, a few Derek and the Dominos' tracks sprinkled in there. I think they really REALLY kicked on Anyday both nights.
--Backtracking to tell you about the little bit of luck involved in getting our tickets. Both shows were long sold out by the time we decided to go, and not in that we-will-put-tickets-on-sale-on-the-morning-of-the-show kinda way. So I wound up scoring New Hampshire from a guy on Craig's List from Boston. And was feeling kinda discouraged about the chance of getting the Cape Cod tix. But last day before we left, someone at the Allman Brothers board put up a post and I was able to put in for them.
--So the only dampening of the trip enthusiasm was the massive traffic we happened upon in Connecticut and because of the delays we wound up in rush hour in New Hampshire. We still got to the venue in time for the show though, even though I missed meeting up with ABB girl, Sue. More on her later, again...
--Mark gave a description of the feel of Soul Stew that I agree with. So I'll paraphrase here... It really is a very enjoyable show, there are no real lulls and even the slow songs motor right on. It's almost over before you realize it. Obviously the musicians really enjoy each other's company and you can see that. More on this right now...
--So Derek's younger brother Duane (age 19) was playing drums with Yonrico Scott! (This family does a good job of naming their boys!) He totally looks like Derek too, just with brown hair instead of blond. With the lights down, people mistook him for Derek we think.
--As usual Derek head-on-a-stick was a hit. (Thanks Steve!) It's really night and day with that thing, ain't it? People either think it's the coolest thing ever or look at you like you're an escaped lunatic. (Everyone watch your step here...)
--After being unable to reach Sue after the show, we took off for Cape Cod to avoid the traffic. That turned out to be a very good decision and gave us time to do other things before the show too. We went to a huge flea market out on the island and found a myriad of fabulous things, including Biofreeze (which I mentioned needing because my neck hurt), a rockin' floppy hat for $2, a gorgeous ring I keep misplacing and the piece de resistance, a mini harmonica on a chain for $3!
--So anyway we feared we couldn't get into the show but then I got a voicemail from Sue. She hadn't sold my tickets to someone else after all! We were back in the game. Good thing too, because it's a rather small venue and I didn't see one person selling outside.
--It's a great little venue. The stage is in the center under a big tent and it rotates slooooowly one way for two or three songs, then the other way. Everyone gets a great view at some point. Which reminds me... Doyle SOOOO needs to book at this venue. ;)
--The first show seemed more powerful and the second show was more laid-back, I think. They were both great in their own way though. And it's good to have the complementary experience.
--It was really nice to be able to watch band dynamics with the revolving stage. Like Derek is rather emphatic about taking songs where they need to go, giving nods and that sort of thing. And the drummers were just communicating by eye contact all night. Until Derek said it was Duane's 18th birthday (which it wasn't! he'll be 20 in december) and Yonrico came over and squeezed the stuffing out of him. And seeing our favorite stage couple relate was also pretty cool. Susan is from the area so she had a TON of friends and family. And oh, when they came back out for the encore, someone put their arm on Susan and Derek like pushed the person away and led his wife to safety. Awwwww.
--Again I thought Anyday was a real highlight. There were a lot of them in this show though. I hope Mark will pass along the second setlist and some of the great pix I know he took.
--Lest everyone think that Mark managed not to get hurt ... he walked into a glass door at my building and suffered a pretty gushy nosebleed. In true Mark fashion, he was cracking up for two or three minutes before he could manage to tell me what he did. Silly rabbit.

Next up: Virginia-bound for some righteous seats for B.B. King! And some much-needed organizational work on M's collection.

The intro to Park

So my other half has been jonesing for me to start a blog and commit our adventures to non-paper. It seemed like a good enough idea, although my natural tendency would be to try and clean it up and make it more editorial style. I'm going to make a conscious effort to go against that style here and stay more ramblin' and laid-back.

So what's up with Park, right? It'll be tough to follow in the footsteps of history's great couples -- Brangelina, TomKat, Bennifer -- especially since Tom's footsteps are so freakin' tiny ... but Paige + Mark = ... an easier way to say Paige and Mark.