Thanks to my friend Col from Hull for this excellent picture!
I started this blog in 2010 seeing 53 show in 3 months in the US & Canada, In 2011 i saw 43 shows all over Europe, continued it into 2012 seeing 9 shows in Argentina and 15 more shows in the USA. In 2013 it was back to Europe for 18 shows to include Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria! I didn't do the blog in 2016/17/18 but saw 18 shows including multiple US shows and 3 trips to Mexico to see the end of the tour! So here we are in 2023, 189 shows and 156, 890 miles later and off we go again!
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
New York day 2…….
Its been a while since i was in NY, 2 years i think, it used to be my second home! I've known my friend Brad who lives here since 1999 we met through Rogers music and have been good friend for the last 10 years!
I was an usher at Brads wedding 3 or 4 years ago. I had made and brought him a Dark Side of The Moon Yhamakee for his wedding, we both wore one and It went down a storm at the wedding and everyone knew i was Brads “pink floyd friend”
I woke around 9am and left the apartment around 10. Walked down to Union Square and did a bit of shopping and then walked over to see a friend who works in one of Brads stores. I met up with my friend Paula for lunch and she took me to a great place a couple of blocks from where she works on West 20th St. It’s an old church that used to me a nightclub called Limelight, it was a pretty infamous place and became a bit of a drug hangout and got a real bad reputation from what i can gather. They've turned it into small gift stores inside and in the back there's a great make your own salad bar and a nice little sandwich place. Its the kind of place you'd go to buy a gift and get something either hand made or something that you wont be able to find in the rest of New York. It was quiet inside and i really hope it takes off and doesn't close down due to not being known about!
Paula had a salad and i had a caprese baguette, it was great to catch up. I've known Paula for the last 10 years and with the exception of last year (and soon this year) id been at her place for Thanksgiving dinner for the last 6 years!! as i said, NY used to be my second home!
I walked back to the apartment via a few stores and got back around 2pm. Chilled out for a couple of hours before making my way over to the meet up place just across the street from Madison Square Garden. On the way i called in to the Hotel Pennsylvania to meet my friend Jason, he had flown over from the UK yesterday just to see the two MSG shows. We got to the meet up around 4:30 and Renate and Eric were there already.
After 30 minutes or so the place was packed!! We had all met up here since 2002 and it was kinda tradition to meet up at this bar before the shows now. if its fine then they open the rooftop patio and its a great place just to chill out and drink, eat and people watch over the edge onto 33rd street!
RON and Col arriving Paul, Natalie and I Thomas, Myself and Thomas’s son
Col, Renate and Myself Jason and Emil Mark, Kami, Maria, Thomas & Beth
A good friend of mine Thomas in San Diego wasn't able to make the show tonight but he sent his sister along instead who sent him a message back!!
It was also Ron's birthday today and Beth had been out earlier in the day and bought a cake, after a few problems with the manager at the bar not wanting us to bring outside food in we arranged that we could open the cake, add the candles and do the happy birthday thing but we wouldn't eat the cake on the premises.
Ron opening his Birthday card
We stayed in the bar till around 7:15 before all of us making our way over to the venue across the street. We bumped into the “homeless man” Brent outside the venue and had a good chat with him.
Took a great panorama made up of three pictures inside the venue after the show:
More pictures from the meet up here:
New York day 1…
Maria, Renate and i took a cab into Manhattan from JFK. I was staying with my friend Brad, Maria was at a hotel 2 streets away from me and Renate was at a hotel on the west side of the city.
My friends Brad and Julee had had a baby girl Milla 8 months ago and this was the first time id got to see her.
I took a walk down to my friends UPS store (he owns seven Manhattan UPS stores) and dropped off a box that i had been carrying for the last week. Jens had ordered some shoes for his girlfriend and when they arrived they had sent the wrong size so i arranged to send them back by UPS but hadn't had chance to take them to a store to drop them off since Boston. Brad and i hung out for an hour before i headed back to the apartment and wrote yesterday blog.
Milla is adorable and hardly ever cries.we sat and watched TV together and Julee introduced me to Yo Gabba Gabba, what a shame i wasn't in town the night before as they were doing a live show at Radio City Hall! so upset that i missed it,lol
We ordered Chinese takeout for dinner and just relaxed and chatted till i went to bed around 10pm