Day two in
the Big Apple. It was 30° and getting hotter. A day to wander, to wander
leisurely, taking in the sights and sounds of this wonderous metropolis. Beep! Beep! Toot! Beep! NYPD sirens, ambulances ('private', better make sure you got
cover, buddy), fire trucks, one glorious cacophonous symphony. First stop Penn
Station on 42nd St.
Tyne and Wear's Metro system ain't got nothin' on this! A cavernous, cathedral-like space, thousands making their way to who knows where. We were making our way to nowhere in particular. Macy's? Yeah, why not? Think Fenwick's multiplied by 10. NYC's equivalent of the 'blue plaque' popped up here and there. On the street at Macy's, the site of Edison's claim in 1896 to the 'FIRST PROJECTED MOVING IMAGE'. Over in Paris the Lumière brothers no doubt countered, beating the American to it a year earlier (1895). The debate continues...
Standing
on the corner of Joe Louis Plaza, there it was...Madison Square Garden. Fight
fans will know all about the classic bouts...Rocky Marciano v. Joe Louis
(1951), Ali v. Frasier (1971) and many more. Duckin' 'n' divin' we made our way
to the Jazz Record Center. You need to know where this place is or you'll never
find it. Thanks to BSH Editor-in-Chief, LL for his tip-off (LL had visited the
place back in the day), we pressed the buzzer (#804) at 236 West 26 St. The
intercom crackled, no one spoke. We pushed open the door and walked into the
lobby. The janitor said: Don't take that elevator ('staff
only'), take that one to the 8th floor.
Would it stop on the 6th floor? Would Bogie or Cagney get in? Perhaps casting a
nervous glance over their shoulder as they did so. Disappointingly, neither
were in the building.
The Jazz Record Center should come with a 'wealth' warning. Like a kid in a candy store ('candy store' not 'sweet shop'), eyes feasted on 'must have' items, they were everywhere. This ain't your shiny high street store, no way. Think dusty or not-so-dusty store room with vinyl, CDs, books, magazines, the works, piled floor to ceiling. Excitedly we said: We're from England, Newcastle upon Tyne. Our New Yorker replied: Oh, yeah. Well, if he wasn't impressed, we were! A few dollars lighter, we hit the street. It would soon be time to head down to the East Village for gig no.2. Russell
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