A 212 State of Mind...

hi8us played a weekend run down to CT and NYC last weekend. The trip was really a ton of fun. As always, we had fun playing the night away at O’Neill’s in Norwalk on Friday 1.15.10. Saturday morning, Mike and I made our way towards the big city. Unexpectedly, we were able to meet up with a local legend, Mr. Ethan Insel, in his hood of Morris Park in the Bronx. Ethan brought us to Franky and Johnnie's for some afternoon Italian specialties. We sipped cappucinos and caught up with a solid 2+ hour “hang” that was long overdue.

After the restaurant, we stopped back at E’s place before heading out. The apt was great… completely unspoiled. Highlight of Ethan’s apartment is his cigar box collection, his original, turn of the century, World’s Fair upright bass in the corner, and his newly acquired seltzer-making machine which he showcased for us with amazing, seltzer-making precision. The seltzer that it produces has the perfect amount of bubbles, I would say.

After our refreshing afternoon in the Bronx, we descended on Manhattan Island. Part of our crew was already at our hotel on the east side hanging out when we met up. We all hit Fontana’s around 8. Everyone at the club was super nice, and we even found a parking spot smack in front of the place. These variables can sometimes make or break the enjoyment of a gig experience when looking back. Our parking good fortune turned out to be an accurate foreshadowing of the night as a whole. A bunch of our good friends made it out to the gig, and we felt that we pretty much melted face when we were up there playing.

“Then after the show it’s the after party.” In our case, this involved just hanging out at Fontana’s some more and catching up with our NYC friends while getting progressively more intoxicated. Mike and I split after a while and cabbed it back to the hotel. We met back up with Foss and crew and ventured back out into the big city. We were determined to take full advantage of the extended bar hours that the city has to offer. We stumbled upon a pub near the hotel that was whispering for us to come on over from across 3rd Ave. We obliged and headed in. We all hesitated right when we stepped in, since the pub kind of smelled like poop, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and they had a good beer selection, so we pulled up to a table. After a pint, we forgot about the poop, and enjoyed some oat sodas and gabbing.

After the Poop Pub, we headed back to the hotel, and I forced people that were still awake to play poker. We played… poorly. On the way home Mike and I stopped at the Silver Star Diner.

jim