Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2013 6:07:09 GMT -5
It's taken an age to write up, due to other things, but in the run up to Christmas here's
Quizz takes a trip (Part 1)
New York 10-10-13
Flying so high, 37,000 feet in fact.
Anyone who moans about US immigration shouldn't worry, talk of 3 hour delays were not evident, 30 mins saw me through to be met by Jeff waiting in the main concourse at terminal 7 at JFK,
Despite having never met before, only conversing for the last 13 years or so as virtual Tullian pen pals over the internet firstly on the official site and then the house of correction and then finally The Board.
As the plane left the runway from Heathrow Terminal 5, I have to admit to some trepidation in making the solo trip across the Atlantic to meet all these people, what if they were just screen names of people with MPD or worse, Tull Trolls! I'd been warned about trolls, it seems even people from the strangest of places were all to eager to tell me that these people might not be trustworthy and that Tull world was full of trolls (well except in their part obviously). So, how was I to cope without my taser and pepper spray? The warning I had been sent had tried to alert me to the dangers of these names, but since the taser and the pepper spray were unlikely to make it through Heathrow Terminal 5 security I put my faith and trust in the people I was due to meet since I'd never had any issues with them and even without meeting them face to face they had been friends for many years. No, sod the tosspot who sent me an unsolicited warning that these people were despised in Tull World, maybe in his backwater, but not in mine. This was going to be good fun.
here we go.
Leaving London with a clear blue sky and sunshine, the trip across the Atlantic was good, the weather turned as the plane approached the US Coast, cloudy and grey, as we broke cloud on the approach the New York skyline appeared in the distance looking like you'd expect it to look from every NY TV or film clip. Oddly in the grey, wet distance it was 'Escape from New York' that jumped to mind.
Landing in NY JFK
On exiting into the arrivals gate at Terminal 7 at JFK, Jeff was immediately recognisable and after greeting me with open arms straight away took on the mantle of tour guide to this Englishman now in New York. An air-train ride from the terminal and a couple of subway trips got me to my hotel pretty smartly I thought. Full marks to Jeff for getting me there and full marks to the hotel, which I can recommend to any travellers visiting New York. A really nice place and a great room overlooking 39th and Lexington Avenue.
After the flight and a quick freshen up, Jeff who had taken a couple of days off from his busy work schedule to meet, greet and chaperone me around, took me for a walk down towards the Empire State. Conscious of my limited time in NY, he had made plans to squeeze in some of the key essentials, given this was my first trip to the "Big Apple" (don't know if they still use that moniker but you know where I mean).
I've done Boston and Florida a few times, liking it enough to plan spending a chunk of the year there one day, but this was my first trip to New York and as my brother, and my mate Steve, both seasoned NY visitors said to me, you will recognise even the smallest details immediately due to the fact that it shows up so regularly in film and on TV.
view from the hotel room - not bad I suppose!
Jeff kindly treated me to a trip up to the observation level of the Empire State where despite a grey overcast day the view was still spectacular, and that view isn't done justice by many of the stock NY shots used in magazines and films, even From here on such a grey day, it looked busier and more built up than I had imagined.
Jeff pointed out many of the key landmarks and gave me a potted but very interesting lowdown (or should that be high down given our lofty vantage point) on the history of NY and the buildings and people that make it such a great metropolis. Jeff's knowledge of his city was impressive and whetted my appetite for a follow up visit. We spent quite a while up there and I think knowing my engineering background Jeff went out of his way to pick out key points that would have interested me.
We wandered back to the hotel, where a after quick freshen up and a couple of phone calls, including speaking to Jeff's lovely wife, who seemed intrigued by a rough cockney English accent, and a few texts to people to arrange the meeting place, we set off for a bar near the Beacon for that nights show.
We meet in a bar, I think called 'Blondies', where we found a whole number of Tull fans, names I had heard, read and in one case at least had spoken to by 'phone. Nothing can adequately describe how genuinely welcoming everyone was. Just a quick, and very much a non-exhaustive list of people I met included, Paul Englander and his mate Denis AKA Billy Fingas from the Board, Barry Goldberg, Rob Scollo, Denis Landau, Laura and more than several other great folk. How odd, none of that reserve (edge) or reticence you get at UK fan meet ups, people were chatting as if they had known me for years. Well, I suppose a few of them had known me for much more than that.
a few of thereprobates Tull fans
We left the bar, a bit too close to the start time for my liking, but we ambled down chatting and enjoying the walk. Jeff and Paul had done a great job of introducing me to people and I chatted with Rob Scollo as we walked down to the Beacon. I had no need of worrying about our lateness, the queue outside clearly indicated, no rush.
The Beacon and a few
Security is taken more serious than anything I've seen in the UK (other than airports and NFL games at at Wembley). The Beacon is a superb venue, fantastically decorated and restored.
The Beacon interior
A quick chat with a few people outside in the foyer, and then wandered in with Paul and Billy, as the stage was being set by the Tull stagehands Rob Scollo joined us.
Seats were 3rd row stage left with Paul and Dennis (Billy Fingas). It had the feeling of being a great show, despite some over zealous security right next to us at the end of the row who put paid to any decent snaps.
The Beacon is a great venue, nice acoustics, well to me anyway, the band sounded good and tight, out of all the examples I've seen of Scott's rendition of Barrie Barlow's excellently crafted drum solo this was the best so far and I think Scott made great emphasis of how integral any aspect of Barrie's work on TaaB remains to the whole piece. The beauty of Ian revisiting TaaB via TaaB 2 for me has been to revisit TaaB (The original) and appreciate again how good that piece of work is. Nothing can surpass the quality of the musicianship for me, it's clearly an ensemble piece that shows that the band were as strong individually as it was collectively. One of those 'if it ain't broke - don't fix it' albums.
The Manual makes an appearance in NY.
Although as expected it was show of two distinct halves, in the couple of times that I had seen the show this was the first time that I felt TaaB 2 actually flowed on from TaaB. Again, there was solid and crisp playing from both Scott and David Goodier which I think gave the whole gig a really strong basis for Ian and Ryan to perform around. Both Ian and Ryan linked well and were presented probably the strongest combination of singing duties I had seen to date. The more I hear John O'Hara's work with the band the more I feel he has been the strongest contender in 30 odd years to fill John Evan's shoes, but I can always understand that a few people would disagree with that simply based on Giddings' significant contribution to 'Divinities', still a vastly overlooked album in my view.
Gig over we made our way out to the foyer to drink in some more of the wonderful architecture of the theatre. A chat with a few people to compare notes and a short walk around the block past the stage door to partake of a pint or two and some food with fans and the band at The Amsterdam Inn.
Rob Scollo and me
We took a table out the back to get some food in, Jeff who hadn't been to the gig that evening, due to parental demands, returned and rejoined us as we as a group, with occasional band member, drank, talked and ate our way into the wee small hours. We talked Tull and more, Rob and Jeff told me of their experiences during 9/11. All I could do was listen in silence to the personal stories about a tragedy that most remember via impersonal and distanced TV images.
Courtesy of Paul, who gave me a lift back to my hotel later that morning I finally got to bed some 30 hours after leaving home, only to be woken by a 'phone call from Mrs Q shortly afterwards at 5.00am US time to see if I had arrived safely.
"It's 5.00am here and I've just got to sleep!"
"Well, it's 10.00 here" came the reply........no sympathy there then!
Day 1 over and a quick couple of hours sleep before embarking on a whistle-stop tour of Manhattan with Jeff and the 2nd night at the Beacon.
Part 2 to follow
Quizz takes a trip (Part 1)
New York 10-10-13
Flying so high, 37,000 feet in fact.
Anyone who moans about US immigration shouldn't worry, talk of 3 hour delays were not evident, 30 mins saw me through to be met by Jeff waiting in the main concourse at terminal 7 at JFK,
Despite having never met before, only conversing for the last 13 years or so as virtual Tullian pen pals over the internet firstly on the official site and then the house of correction and then finally The Board.
As the plane left the runway from Heathrow Terminal 5, I have to admit to some trepidation in making the solo trip across the Atlantic to meet all these people, what if they were just screen names of people with MPD or worse, Tull Trolls! I'd been warned about trolls, it seems even people from the strangest of places were all to eager to tell me that these people might not be trustworthy and that Tull world was full of trolls (well except in their part obviously). So, how was I to cope without my taser and pepper spray? The warning I had been sent had tried to alert me to the dangers of these names, but since the taser and the pepper spray were unlikely to make it through Heathrow Terminal 5 security I put my faith and trust in the people I was due to meet since I'd never had any issues with them and even without meeting them face to face they had been friends for many years. No, sod the tosspot who sent me an unsolicited warning that these people were despised in Tull World, maybe in his backwater, but not in mine. This was going to be good fun.
here we go.
Leaving London with a clear blue sky and sunshine, the trip across the Atlantic was good, the weather turned as the plane approached the US Coast, cloudy and grey, as we broke cloud on the approach the New York skyline appeared in the distance looking like you'd expect it to look from every NY TV or film clip. Oddly in the grey, wet distance it was 'Escape from New York' that jumped to mind.
Landing in NY JFK
On exiting into the arrivals gate at Terminal 7 at JFK, Jeff was immediately recognisable and after greeting me with open arms straight away took on the mantle of tour guide to this Englishman now in New York. An air-train ride from the terminal and a couple of subway trips got me to my hotel pretty smartly I thought. Full marks to Jeff for getting me there and full marks to the hotel, which I can recommend to any travellers visiting New York. A really nice place and a great room overlooking 39th and Lexington Avenue.
After the flight and a quick freshen up, Jeff who had taken a couple of days off from his busy work schedule to meet, greet and chaperone me around, took me for a walk down towards the Empire State. Conscious of my limited time in NY, he had made plans to squeeze in some of the key essentials, given this was my first trip to the "Big Apple" (don't know if they still use that moniker but you know where I mean).
I've done Boston and Florida a few times, liking it enough to plan spending a chunk of the year there one day, but this was my first trip to New York and as my brother, and my mate Steve, both seasoned NY visitors said to me, you will recognise even the smallest details immediately due to the fact that it shows up so regularly in film and on TV.
view from the hotel room - not bad I suppose!
Jeff kindly treated me to a trip up to the observation level of the Empire State where despite a grey overcast day the view was still spectacular, and that view isn't done justice by many of the stock NY shots used in magazines and films, even From here on such a grey day, it looked busier and more built up than I had imagined.
Jeff pointed out many of the key landmarks and gave me a potted but very interesting lowdown (or should that be high down given our lofty vantage point) on the history of NY and the buildings and people that make it such a great metropolis. Jeff's knowledge of his city was impressive and whetted my appetite for a follow up visit. We spent quite a while up there and I think knowing my engineering background Jeff went out of his way to pick out key points that would have interested me.
We wandered back to the hotel, where a after quick freshen up and a couple of phone calls, including speaking to Jeff's lovely wife, who seemed intrigued by a rough cockney English accent, and a few texts to people to arrange the meeting place, we set off for a bar near the Beacon for that nights show.
We meet in a bar, I think called 'Blondies', where we found a whole number of Tull fans, names I had heard, read and in one case at least had spoken to by 'phone. Nothing can adequately describe how genuinely welcoming everyone was. Just a quick, and very much a non-exhaustive list of people I met included, Paul Englander and his mate Denis AKA Billy Fingas from the Board, Barry Goldberg, Rob Scollo, Denis Landau, Laura and more than several other great folk. How odd, none of that reserve (edge) or reticence you get at UK fan meet ups, people were chatting as if they had known me for years. Well, I suppose a few of them had known me for much more than that.
a few of the
We left the bar, a bit too close to the start time for my liking, but we ambled down chatting and enjoying the walk. Jeff and Paul had done a great job of introducing me to people and I chatted with Rob Scollo as we walked down to the Beacon. I had no need of worrying about our lateness, the queue outside clearly indicated, no rush.
The Beacon and a few
Security is taken more serious than anything I've seen in the UK (other than airports and NFL games at at Wembley). The Beacon is a superb venue, fantastically decorated and restored.
The Beacon interior
A quick chat with a few people outside in the foyer, and then wandered in with Paul and Billy, as the stage was being set by the Tull stagehands Rob Scollo joined us.
Seats were 3rd row stage left with Paul and Dennis (Billy Fingas). It had the feeling of being a great show, despite some over zealous security right next to us at the end of the row who put paid to any decent snaps.
The Beacon is a great venue, nice acoustics, well to me anyway, the band sounded good and tight, out of all the examples I've seen of Scott's rendition of Barrie Barlow's excellently crafted drum solo this was the best so far and I think Scott made great emphasis of how integral any aspect of Barrie's work on TaaB remains to the whole piece. The beauty of Ian revisiting TaaB via TaaB 2 for me has been to revisit TaaB (The original) and appreciate again how good that piece of work is. Nothing can surpass the quality of the musicianship for me, it's clearly an ensemble piece that shows that the band were as strong individually as it was collectively. One of those 'if it ain't broke - don't fix it' albums.
The Manual makes an appearance in NY.
Although as expected it was show of two distinct halves, in the couple of times that I had seen the show this was the first time that I felt TaaB 2 actually flowed on from TaaB. Again, there was solid and crisp playing from both Scott and David Goodier which I think gave the whole gig a really strong basis for Ian and Ryan to perform around. Both Ian and Ryan linked well and were presented probably the strongest combination of singing duties I had seen to date. The more I hear John O'Hara's work with the band the more I feel he has been the strongest contender in 30 odd years to fill John Evan's shoes, but I can always understand that a few people would disagree with that simply based on Giddings' significant contribution to 'Divinities', still a vastly overlooked album in my view.
Gig over we made our way out to the foyer to drink in some more of the wonderful architecture of the theatre. A chat with a few people to compare notes and a short walk around the block past the stage door to partake of a pint or two and some food with fans and the band at The Amsterdam Inn.
Rob Scollo and me
We took a table out the back to get some food in, Jeff who hadn't been to the gig that evening, due to parental demands, returned and rejoined us as we as a group, with occasional band member, drank, talked and ate our way into the wee small hours. We talked Tull and more, Rob and Jeff told me of their experiences during 9/11. All I could do was listen in silence to the personal stories about a tragedy that most remember via impersonal and distanced TV images.
Courtesy of Paul, who gave me a lift back to my hotel later that morning I finally got to bed some 30 hours after leaving home, only to be woken by a 'phone call from Mrs Q shortly afterwards at 5.00am US time to see if I had arrived safely.
"It's 5.00am here and I've just got to sleep!"
"Well, it's 10.00 here" came the reply........no sympathy there then!
Day 1 over and a quick couple of hours sleep before embarking on a whistle-stop tour of Manhattan with Jeff and the 2nd night at the Beacon.
Part 2 to follow
