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Like an eagle that flies over its chosen landscape and glides among the winds with poise and ease, my journey of the places i’ve been resembles the overview shared with the eagle, and it’s where I land that I can call home. I like to land in New York just as much as California. Where do I begin? Where have I been? Where do I go next? Where is my pen?

Not more than ten hours ago I was at the airport in Syracuse, New York and as I sat waiting for the schedule of flights to be announced I felt as if I could go either way; get on the plane or stay.

My gratitude guided me in the direction to travel back west and the reflections of the beautiful insanity that was my adventures in New York and all points in between took me home with a  heartbeat like a wild drum, and I felt fulfilled and I feel satisfied with where I had to leave off for the time being.

It all started in Boston. The first week that I arrived in Boston it was all work and chosen play. I was in town for work and when we represent for a company, we are professionals. And true to that, when we play, we are professionals. The whole work aspect was a success and at the same time it catered to evenings of networking and industry hosted musical activity so we were pleased. The days were set to be busy and locked into business but the nights, well, they were all fair game. The first night out we hit the town with an old friend Kevin. First he brought us to a great Italian restaurant where I couldn’t pronounce anything on the menu so I ordered a salad and a bottle of wine. The waiter was authentic and so were the mafia guys in the corner who ended up inviting us out for cigars. After what led into a raucous chocolate cake incident, we closed the place and headed out into the old cobblestone streets for drinks. Deep in the heart of the city, we got to experience the nightlife of Boston in its many different quadrants and the folks were friendly and the music scene was just right. Fun folks in Boston, yeah, they like to dance.

The second night there, the event coordinators threw an industry party at a really cool old, old ballroom called The Roxy Ballroom, in downtown Boston and Galactic was the band at hire. We took an exciting train ride from our hotel and got to the venue right on time. I hadn’t seen Galactic in years and they were better than ever and I was thoroughly impressed with their progression. They are no longer just a NOLA band, they have spanned dimensions and have dove into including a three piece brass section who are also hip hop freestyle lyricists and everyone in the band is now at the top of their game. It was such a great show that the Red Socks won and after the concert was over, the packed dance floor turned into a dance party that played actually choice picks to get down to. At one point in the night the music stopped and the playoffs game came on a TV screen that lowered in the middle of the floor and showed a home run hit that made the whole place go crazy and then the screen raised up and the dancing resumed even harder, it was awesome and i’d never seen anything like it. Boston has mad spirit. And that translates into mad fun!

So after five days of work and play with my trusty cohort, Katie, she turned in her conservative badge and raged it to the nine with me and by the last day of our event, she was in awe of the fun that she never bargained for and she was caked. Perfectly timed, my good friend Topaz from Maine came down by train to hang with us and carry on with me on our last night in town. Now, It just may be appropriate to give an award to the people who can hang with me whilst I am traveling. After spending a week in Boston where we lived each day to the fullest amount of capacity on the fun meter, my friends were taking those 5 hour energy shots just to be able to go out again. On our last night in town, Topaz and I hit up the Railroad Earth show at the Paradise Lounge. We called ahead and tickets were still on sale so we rolled up to the venue with bells on only to discover the disappointing sign that denied us tickets. Sold out. What? Sold out my foot. Without hesitation, I walked straight up to the cheif in charge and pulled out my California ID and my very last remaining Phoreal Records sticker (Viva!), and I told him that I wanted to get into this show and I would write a review of the band and the venue. He asked who I wrote for and I said with pride, “Phoreal Records of course”. Next thing ya know, we’re handed two tickets and on our way in right as the band takes the stage. So, we stroll to the left side and stationed ourselves with a good view, dancing room and bar access. The venue had great sound all around and a nice balcony that wrapped around above the stage as well as tier levels that staggered on each side which accomodated to the packed audience and gave ample room for comfort. I’m not too familiar with many RRE tunes but what they played was rockin’ and the energy in the club was bumpin’. It was actually the first time I had seen Tim Carbone shred it on guitar in addition to the fiddle and an accordian, he’s such an incredible musician and an overall bad ass. We raged the show and then on our way out, I ran into Tim and he recognized me from the radio show last year that Dgold and I did with him and  Tea Leaf Green. We chatted for a minute and then we bounced off into the night. Huge thanks to Chris Russell, the venue manager and Jesse, the bouncer, you guys rock!

So after the very great show we decided to make a short trek to check out the legendary Fenway Park which was recommended to me as the place I must see in Boston by all my friends who use to live there. And it turned out to be an unforgettable evening. I park right next to the field and we got out and started to walk around it to check it out. I called my Bostonian friends, Sean Leahy and OB and to share the experience with them and they were stoked. Topes is a huge Red Sox fan too and she gave me an indepth and detailed historical tour as we strolled around. At one point we got to a chain link fence and Topes told me to look through and we could see a tiny bit of the field. Just then, we were approached by the night security. Topes and him start chatting it up for a minute and we expressed our excitement to be there. About a minute later, in mid sentence, the security guard starts to unlock the gate and says “I’m not suppose to do this but…” and he swings open the door and invites us in to the park! I don’t think i’ve ever seen Topes light up so bright and we just looked at eachother and proceed in. We were treated to a few great stories and a tour of park and at 3am, we were elated. The security guy said that he had played on the field when he was 16 years old and with one of his idols. He was 56 now and you could still see the gleam in his eye as he spoke. I just listened to the two of them share tales of the park and I took in all the history while the two people next to me were smiling like the sun. After many thanks and shared gratitude we headed out of the park and on our way. We rolled on down the street like giddy teenagers, laughing and giving each other numerous high fives. I decided that I would call OB again to tell him and in the most classic phone pick up ever, OB answers and instead of saying “Hello”, he says “Don’t tell me that you were just inside Fenway Park”.Fucking classic! And that’s how well one is known by their friends.

I can’t say enough about how much the town of Boston showed us an incredible time. I mean really, Oh my Cod. We were there for 6 days and even though I had to work long days, the nights were unstoppable! Oh My Cod. Really, I think we adequately conquered Boston.

Up next it was the long awaited time to pack up and travel on to my beloved second home, New York City. I got in at about 6pm and Heady and Macky were meeting up with me at an old pub in central Manhattan. Safety Consultant joined us within the hour and we took the party to Revival and raged it there, plugged in our ipods, learned new dance moves and cheersed the night until we were ready to take it elsewhere. After a few hours and while in mid dance routine, Jeremy walked through the door and joined in the party to complete my excitement for the night. Now that my welcoming committee had solidified, it hit me that I was exactly where I wanted to be more than anywhere else in the world. I was so stoked to finally be in NYC. We decided at the witching hour that it was high time to have a jam session over at Headys so we high tailed it into Brooklyn. The next morning, Jaymes met up with me in Greenwich Village to check out this incredible art gallery that was over the top and by far the coolest art exhibit we’ve ever seen, ever. It was set up by the artist Banksy and it was a mock pet shop that was an engineering feat of genius created from an artistic mind. It’s hard to explain but do be sure to check out anything from the mastermind artist of Banksy, and New York City is his canvas so watch out. The photograph above is a shot I took of his art but is to no degree an example of the extent of what his work entails.

After the next few hours of parading around the village, and a stop at a killer Belgian beer bar, we jumped on the subway and headed back into Brooklyn for one of the main attractions of my trip, a special show by Turbine at The Lucky Cat Lounge and a gathering of many friends in the name of celebration. Turbine decided to put together this show and we put a party together to celebrate the birthday of Muleman and everyone came out and made this such a fun night. The band played a awesome set and the dance dial was cranked to 11. It was so great to see everyone and be back together with my favorite east coast crew and all together in one rock’n place!

I think I had crazy dreams that night of long winded music conversations on jazz and hardwood floors.

The next morning I caught a train heading north to Bridgeport Connecticut just in time for Muleman and I to hop in the car and drive up to Rhode Island to see Trey Anastasio at this amazing and super small club called Lupo’s in Providence. Fantastic show too and a wonderful time raging it again with Muleman. Trey was on top of the world and he also brought out special guests, Scott Muraski, Oteil Burbridge and Bill Kreutzman towards the end of the show for Get Back on the Train and First Tube. Well, I too eventually had to get back on the train and head back in to Manhattan to catch the next leg of the adventure which was to meet up with the Turbine boys and get back on the road. Destination, north.

Turbine tour Rocktober edition, awww yeah. We rolled out of the city at noon and were bound for glory upstate, Syracuse to be exact. The venue that night was appropriately called, The Westcott Theatre and was situated in a small town with a college crowd feel. The venue was large inside and had a grandiose stage. The entire theatre was scented with the age of 1920 and I loved it. The curtains were as ancient as the last movie that was played here back when it was an actual movie theatre with projection room and everything. The staff here was super cool to us and we got to hang out for two bands who played first and then Turbine was the headlining act of the night. Once geared up and good to go on stage, Turbine came at the night like a bat outta hell and threw down a monsterous concoction of rock and groove and this would prove to be the infamous night that the Syracutioner was born. The Syracutioner may now and forever be known as; the song, the jam, the drink, the dance. All of which are so evil and visciously fun that your head will roll…in the best way and in the kitchen whenever possible.

After Syracuse and a wonderful stay at the Bojack ranch, we boarded the trusty van and headed a bit more upstate to Sterling, Ny for the Halloween Hoedown festival which was right outside of ye ol’ Oswego. I go, you go, we all go, OSWEGO!  Ah, yeah, and it felt really nice to be back there again only with a different agenda but just as awesome. I was stoked that I switched my flight if only to stay one more day and true to that, what I considered to be the $300 show for the 6 million dollar woman, it was everything and more and just as epic as it could’ve ever have played out. It was raining and we got stuck in the mud and I recall wondering where the hell we were, and it was perfect. Upon arriving it was pouring and the promoter requested Turbine to start on stage as soon as they could load in and since there were no other bands that made it there yet, they were granted an open ended slot.

The whole show ended up being 2 sets and about 4 or 5 hours long, and I still didn’t want it to stop. The song selection and the way the guys threw down warmed my soul like hot cider and rum. There was hay on the ground which eased the dance floor but I still had to donate my shoes and socks to the Gods of the mud in the name of rage that was the music on such the rainy day turned rockin night. As far as the second set, I remember consecutively thinking that it was my perfect song setlist and at some point in the night, Jeremy brought the Syracutioner back out of its cage and we introduced the dance that we created to the rest of the audience. Awesome.

In lieu of even wanting to think back to mention the sad act of me having to leave the next day to go home, stoked, yes, but compelled to go back, no…  I’ll just say that…

Lastly, the Kalamatta olive is the best olive in its species. No contest.

tHANKS!

Thanks again Turbine and I can’t wait to have you out here in January and thanks so much to New York. Mwah!

-B

Filed under: General by phoreal