TL;DR:

Hotel on Rivington, Katz’s Deli, The Back Room, Minetta Tavern, Father Demo Square, Washington Square Park and Chess Masters, Essex Market, Times Square, Belasco Theatre and Goodnight Oscar, Verlaine, Mazaar Lounge, Four Seasons Downtown, Wolfgang Puck, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, St. Regis’ famed “Old King Cole Bar” and a $100,000,000 Maxfield Parrish mural based on a fart, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Dinner, The Highline, The Shed & Sonic Sphere, What’s Gaby Cooking and The Vessel, Joe’s Pizza, The Comedy Cellar, Olive Tree Cafe, More Comedy Cellar, The Oculus, September 11th Museum and Memorial, The Gala Awards Dinner and Party for Lauren and her Four Seasons cohorts, 30 Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock, More Comedy Cellar and Olive Tree Cafe, and the Blue Note Cafe for Soulive funky groovy jazz!

 

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Friday the 23rd of June 2023

I got in at Newark, and shuffled myself to the hotel on the Lower East Side before Lauren had even taken off from Chicago (work event). I was delayed on hour in the air, she was delayed 3 hours on the ground. I arrived to Hotel on Rivington at about 6p, and was anxious and overwhelmed being alone in this new city. My friend in Costa Rica said “GO TO KATZ’S DELI!” and lo and behold, it was a block from our hotel. So waiting for Lauren, I ventured out and got dinner.

I ordered WAY TOO MUCH, and it was the tastiest meal ever. Matzo Ball Soup, best ever. Turkey sandwich, best ever. Philly Cheese Steak, best ever. Yes, I had leftovers for days.  The lineup and experience of Katz’s alone was very “NY” to me, and I hadn’t realized it was from the famous When Harry Met Sally scene! =) What an intro to the city!

 

Then I just rolled around the lower east side, which Lauren wanted to show me as a grittier experience than our FS stay and time.  It was filled with the happiest and most friendly people ever. It was SHOCKING compared to tropes and narratives of New York. It was quite the Friday afternoon excitement, and just completely understood that NY is a “vibe” immediately. Amazing people. Friendliest city ever. For some reason, NY Finger Lake wine is being poured for free everywhere. I assume it’s because it’s NY Finger Lake wine. I did not have any, but *man* people were so happy.

Lauren got in at 11.30p, and we went out to The Back Room, a speakeasy era tavern hidden through tunnels and secret entrances. You drink booze out of teacups, as that was the style of the time during prohibition. It’s also known as the Lower East Side Toy Company at the street level door, to keep the cop-flies off the scent. =) Friday and Saturday are over 25 years old only, no real fur allowed, it’s got a secret bookcase door, and it’s been in a lot of film and TV, including Boardwalk Empire. It’s been around since the 1920s, closed for a bit in the 70s or 80s, and reopened in 2000’s.

 

All of a sudden, it’s about 3am. When a city doesn’t sleep, and you rely on seeing less people around as an indicator the night is ending, well… there are never less people around. 3am on the streets is like Noon in a busy part of SF. Actually, nothing compares to what we experienced, and ended up getting street food. Actually, I had leftovers from Katz’s, and Lauren dove into a street taco late night joint, and they were pretty great for the time and area. We were out til about 4am, by accident. No doubt we slept in a bit for the next AM.

 

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Saturday the 24th of June 2023

We explored the Lower East Side, Soho, Greenwich Village, and walked up a storm. It quickly became apparent that my shoes weren’t going to cut it. They were taking on a life of their own, eating my socks with a foul odor, and becoming unhinged beasts moving on their own. We stopped for a late brunch at the famous Minetta Tavern, and walked around the shops and restaurants. Minetta is famous as all get out:

Originally opened in 1937, Minetta Tavern was frequented by various layabouts and hangers-on including Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Eugene O’Neill, E. E. Cummings, Dylan Thomas, and Joe Gould, as well as by various writers, poets, and pugilists.

 

We also walked by my mecca and superbowl, The Comedy Cellar. Like Minetta Tavern, we had zero reservations or plans in any way.  But they say the greatest New York is the unplanned New York. I happen to agree, because it became a mythology building experience that few New Yorkers even believed.  Minetta without a reservation is apparently a rare treat, but there were two bar seats open for us to enjoy. I had my first proper martini in New York at this spot. The French Dip was just divine. Lauren’s french style omelette was PERFECT. We left satiated and happy. Lauren kept trying to get me to record stores, but that’s like watching ice melt for a non-collector. We ended up researching some stuff to do while relaxing at Father Demo Square with a lovely fountain, where it began to get a little drizzly. We decided to simply keep walking and exploring, and we got to another park called Washington Square Park where the rain really started to hit, but it didn’t bum out the chess enthusiasts. I have become addicted to watching videos on Youtube of Grand Masters surprising chess players and torching them alive. I love chess, I play chess, but I can lose in four moves. Maybe three. I wanted to sit and play, but it’d be a waste of just about everyone’s time.  In this park, there’s also a delightful assortment of vendors by the Arc De Triomphe style arch and stunning fountain, inclusive of some cute women’s clothes, paintings, and LSD and Mushrooms sold openly without a care in the world. Quite charming.

Midday, we met Lauren’s childhood friend at the Essex Market, a sophisticated and brilliant co-op style market and shops of various vendors, not unlike a giant version of Napa’s Oxbow Market, but with grander and broader scope and intent.  We met Danielle and her two beautiful girls for a quick beverage! Her husband, James Genus, is the SNL bassist, and on tour with Herbie Hancock currently, so we missed him which was a bummer. We’re pals, and he even facetimed from the tour bus because he felt bad he couldn’t be part of my first NYC experience, but has promised another wonderland of fun when we come during the SNL run after the writer’s strike.

We had to head back to the hotel to get ready for our Broadway night out. We nervously decided to take the subway, and the pandemic seems to have taken out any stereotypes about that system… it was a BREEZE. Pay with your phone NFC tap, and off we went. We got out and walked a few blocks to the weirdest and busiest place of capitalism and weirdness I’ve ever seen, Times Square.

What in the hell is going on there? Everything.

We observed for a few distant moments, and headed to The Long Room, a little tavern that presents quite a bit better online than the real world, but it was across from our venue, The Belasco Theatre, which opened in 1907 and was BEAUTIFUL.  We were seeing “Goodnight Oscar” about the amazing Oscar Levant, a drug addled and anxious raconteur played by the breathtakingly talented Sean Hayes, of Will and Grace and Smartless. It’s about the few hours before and during Jack Paar’s (played by Ben Rappaport of Inventing Anna and Mr. Robot fame) West Coast debut of The Tonight Show, and Oscar’s musical marriage to George Gershwin (legend). It was far and away better than anything I could have ever expected. The head of NBC was played masterfully by Peter Grosz, who is immediately recognizable and from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Key and Peele, Veep, Marvelous Ms. Maisel, and the somm in The Menu. Also, I’d be remiss not to mention Oscar’s nurse, Marchánt Davis, and Oscar’s wife and right hand played by Emily Bergl from so many shows like Desperate Housewives, Southland, Shameless, Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Mindhunter, and films like Blue Jasmine. Also, the scrappy and adorably funny and naive NBC intern was a highlight, played by broadway star Alex Wyse, also from The Bold and the Beautiful and another Maisel alum. It was pure joy, and our seats up front were such a treat. It’s lovely to see why Broadway shut down during the pandemic, because of the constant spray of mist from each actor’s mouths.

 

We headed back to the Lower East Side, and instead of going to our hotel immediately, we grabbed a drink at Verlaine, across the street, and as they were shutting down the outside around 11.30a, and inside was WAY TOO LOUD, we went around the corner to Mazaar Lounge and Hookah Bar, playing some fantastic NYC hip hop and rap. Another night out past 2am. Am I 24?  I got the Tacos this time, for the room, and Lauren got some pizza… it was HORRID. I mean, 3am “fine”, and she was well imbibed enough to get down a slice, but it wasn’t that great, and this is on the heels of a first piece she got from a different spot that was so bad she just threw it out and moved on to the next spot. I feared the legend of NY slices was to good to be true, but I did set my mind to find what is considered the best, so I didn’t sell NYC short.

 

 

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Sunday the 25th of June 2023

Another sleepy morn, we’re still filled with the energy of the unending city, so off we go to check in for Lauren’s Awards trip and Gala event. Who goes to Galas? WE DO. =) Lauren was one of the top 10% of all sales people in the Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts company, and they sent us to New York, all expense paid (even handed us an envelope of more cash than I’ve seen in a bit, which was hilariously wild and pretty nifty… some “walking around” money). So we check into the Four Seasons downtown (the midtown location is part of a battle between a grumpy owner and FS, which is also impacting the Santa Barbara property), which opened in 2016. So a fresh and beautiful luxury “urban resort” that fired on legitimately every cylinder possible. You’d never know it was a union property, to boot. The room was ready, we checked in to the event headquarters, and started our celebration of my amazing wifey. =)

We got ready for the welcome reception, helmed by heavy hitters within the Four Seasons organization (no, not the landscaping company), and all of a sudden… Wolfgang Puck! He’s such a breezy and charming man, we had the chance to chat with him effortlessly for about 10 minutes. It was fun to relate my tangential experience to his career, namely an important meal I had in LA at Spago in the year 2000. He’s either quite a good actor, but he truly seemed to enjoy our conversation.  The event was lovely, and it finally dawned on me how important the trip was. Lauren doesn’t have a toxic ego, but that means she sometimes downplays her accomplishments and I have to be her hype man! But in this case, I don’t think she nor I understood the gravity. Of the few dozen in attendance, she was one of 3 or 4 Americans. The rest? Costa Rica, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Madrid, Egypt, Paris, Taormina (of White Lotus fame), Athens, Abu Dhabi, Riyahd, Bora Bora, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Seoul, Tianjin, and IT GOES ON FOREVER. It’s simply breathtaking, her work, what she accomplished, and her organization. It was a lovely, if not daunting, evening, but Lauren caught up with so many friends, and I made some new ones. We knew the Paris sales gent, and met his fiance, and also became quite close with the couple from Thailand, as well.

A wonderful evening is wrapped up, and off to bed. A noteworthy notation for me, as I always like music or TV/movies on to quiet the internal nonsense of my own brain… this trip saw zero minutes watching any in room screens, be it TV or laptop. I think the only glowing digital rectangle I saw was in Times Square for about 2 minutes until it overwhelmed me. =) Oh yeah, this became the third night in a row we were up and out til past 1am, and I don’t think I’ve ever done a 4am, 3am, and 1am subsequent days in my life, not even in my 20s. Maybe Burning Man.

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Monday the 26th of June 2023

 

Today is a very, very, VERY special day for me.  And it’s not just that we started our day at breakfast speaking to Wolfgang Puck for another 15 to 20 minutes, a casual and friendly waxing about the industry and how much things have changed, his history and career, challenges and joys… it was amazing, and we did frankly feel like fast friends. Lauren was even offered to take a pic with him, and how would we pass that up?

And, it’s not just that we went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park, which was unbelievable.  I felt very fortunate that we ended with the Karl Lagerfeld exhibit, as a long time women’s fashion fan. Yes, I am.

 

And, it was a special day not just because I got to stroll most of all of Central Park where we got duly lost and met a man named Jim with the Parks league who gave us a map and walked us to Bethesda Terrace (16,000 tiles!!!) and Bethesda Fountain, Angel of the Waters.

 

 

Not to do a disservice to what amounts to one of the top 3 museums in the world, nor Central Park, but today was a special day because I went to the Old King Cole Bar in the St. Regis off of 5th Avenue. Yes, we had “lunch” at Tiffany’s as we passed by, so to speak, at the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s location (prior to the vault fire a few days later), but we really had a late lunch and snack at the bar (tuna tartare and shrimp cocktial), and I had the most iconic martini of my life. Next to us an old timer became a fast friend, namely because I ruined his 1000-time told story about the mural… which is *specifically* why I was there.

This bar was frequented by many celebs and notables, namely Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, John Lennon, and the iconic (and somewhat of a mentally ill jerk) Salvador Dali.  The latter enjoyed the bar namely for the famous mural by Maxfield Parrish, “Old King Cole”. The $100,000,000 dollar insured mural is the largest and most expensive piece of art ever dedicated to a fart. I marvelled like a giddy boy at this thing, and our compatriot to my left was an 87 year old New York old timer, dressed to the nines in a suit and sipping a glass of red wine. He had arrived in 1960 from Boston, and his aim was to get into the 21-Club, but was oft turned away as an aspiring actor and off Broadway gent. He folded that career to make something of himself, and finally got into The 21 Club after being turned away one last time for wearing brown dress shoes. Dress Codes and styles have certainly changed, haven’t they? He also regaled us with stories of old New York, Sardi‘s famous restaurant and more.  Truth be told, the acting bug never left him, and he was in that famous “Dear Young People – Don’t Vote” ad from the last election (he’s the cute guy in the spectacles).  But I had known of this mural because of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the filmmaker, because he had met Salvador Dali there to discuss his failed “Dune” movie in the mid 1970s. That failure led to so many things, namely Dali introducing Geiger to Jodorowsky, and where Giger became friends with Dan O’Bannon, who later introduced Giger to Ridley Scott for the film Alien. If Alejandro’s Dune hadn’t failed, there is a lot of Hollywood that would have never happened. I eagerly and forthrightly demand you watch the astonishingly brilliant “Jodorowsky’s Dune” Documentary for a wild ride through film history. I love that film so much I wrote a surreal and free form “review” of it. If anyone wants to pony up about a million bucks for the concept book of art and storyboards, I’ll give you my address immediately.

This day was heaven on Earth, and to see the only piece of art that is NOT in the Met, and then be able to have a martini and steep myself in history and feel part of something so grand and unreal… it actually brings some weepy tears to my eyes. For real. It’s hard to express the emotional experience of my first New York trip having jammed everything and the kitchen sink and sun into a few days’ time.

He knows what he did.

 

We needed to head back to the hotel for a SUPER SECRET WHERE ARE WE GOING FOR DINNER EXCURSION!! Where did we go?

We piled onto a bus, it took us to a ferry port, and off we go! Everyone is out on the deck (the weather the whole time was a muggy 78 – 82 degrees, but stormy and with plenty of drizzly clouds most of the trip… this night happened to be perfect, and we had none of that smoke that pestered the city and its residents a week earlier via the Canadian forest fires).  I am glad I don’t do touristy stuff, like some others that had visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty that very same day… we ferried around the Statue of Liberty (which was wildly tinier than I had always thought, but the silver screen adds inches and pounds to everything I guess), and headed to Ellis Island for a reception and welcome dinner at the historic site.  It was delicious, elegant, and fantastic to be in the museum when no one else was there.  It was somewhat odd to reconcile a fancy dress party at the end location of so many destitute world travelers looking for the American dream, while my wife and I summarily celebrate our own.  Lauren’s grandparents came through Ellis Island, so it truly was a special experience.  It was loud, and they could use some soft goods and tapestries, but before I could advise them on interior design, we had to head back to the hotel.

 

By the way, between Old King Cole Bar and the dinner, we ran to Soho to buy me some shoes, and did speed shopping where I got two pairs of Allbirds, Lauren got one pair, and I helped her dress shop rapidly and she got amazing gala options. It was apropos considering the Lagerfeld whet the palette and inspired us! =)

 

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Tuesday the 27th of June 2023

 

We got up, and headed to the Highline, a beautiful adaptive reuse project that took decades to reappropriate an old 2nd story railway for deliveries and create a public park and walking path. It’s a stunning achievement and accomplishment, and very in line with almost all of my work with historic renovation and rehabs, and seeing something historic become a resource for the community. It’s beautiful, and we ended at Hudson Yards and the “Vessel“, next to some fancy shopping (where I balked at the cost of a Louis Vuitton pashmina, but I think I know a gift coming down the pike for wifey). I’ve got to say, New York is the only time in my entire life I’ve ever had battery anxiety. Even the phones are doing too much! =) I had to buy a battery backup to charge my phone!

 

A special and weirdly delightful treat was that Tillamook was doing some marketing at the location of The Vessel, and Lauren saw one of her favorite celebrity chefs, Gaby Dalkin of “What’s Gaby Cooking” (love her spices)!! It was pretty funny, and we waited around to chat with her, but we had an appointment at The Shed, an art collective next to the Vessel. The Shed is hosting an exhibit called “Sonic Sphere“, which is a mix of The Audium and Pink Floyd Planetarium Laser shows, so to speak. A very 1970s aesthetic, it was a surreal light show set to music of The XX. I LOVED IT, Lauren liked it but expected a little more. That above link will show you a quick version of what we saw, in the NYT review.

 

We walked the full length of the Highline this time, from Hudson Yards to the West Village, where we headed through the adorable neighborhood to the Mary Lane, an elegant eatery where we met up with one of Lauren’s best friends ever, a fitness and yoga guru (I wonder if she wrote Ghostbuster’s Spirit Guide LOL) who is BLOWING UP. So we all celebrated our accomplishments in the moment, and just had a ribald and joy filled time catching up and being existential, talking life and relationships, and sharing a lot of laughs between a few glasses of wine.

Afterwards, we did the dumbest thing I think we ever have done… casually decided to try and get into the waitlist for Comedy Cellar and see a show. Sam Morril is one of our favorite comedians, and he had appeared (and was removed) from the lineup for the night, so we were pretty eager to see if he might show up.  The idea of going to Comedy Cellar and getting in without reservations is patently absurd.  We walked up to the bouncer, asked the procedure, became fast friends, and he even made some food recommendations.  I had feared that New Yorkers were gatekeepers of their foods like pizza and bagels, and I truly believed there was zero chance it was that tasty. Well, Bryan the bouncer had recommended the nearby “Joe’s Pizza“, by the fountain we sat at on Saturday when we were deciding what to do and where to go! I had no idea, but it was featured in what is considered one of the greatest superhero films of all time, Sam Raimi’s Spider-man 2. I should note, my entire earthly experience of New York prior to visiting were the tropes and moments from all the NYC movies you could imagine. So it was quite fun to square that deja vue. I had thought to go to Minetta’s again, as a creature of classic habit, but we walked to grab some slices, and this was SOME OF THE BEST PIZZA EVER! Unlike the Friday / Sat AM slices, this was easily the most delicious freaking stuff. SCORE! A notch on my New York belt was happily complete.

We walk back to the Comedy Cellar, and ask where to stand for the standby for the 9pm show. It’s about 7.40p and as we walk up Steve Fabricant (handles seatings, etc) is talking to Bryan at the door, looks at us on what is a NEVER empty sidewalk and says “did you want in”, we say “the 9pm?”, and he says “no, now, it just started and I have 2 seats”. Bryan laughs, and this obviously NEVER HAPPENS EVER NOT EVER.

 

SO WE GOT IN. (pic taken after set, when phones came out of the locked bag)

 

The process of getting in is as secret a handshake as it gets, so our confused selves walk down, put our phones in the pouch, are sat, and see our first set at the mythical MacDougal Street Comedy Cellar!!! The set was SO AMAZING. Just unreal. It’s 9pm, and we’re high on comedy as a religious experience. Those who like stand up will understand.  I don’t want to go. Lauren doesn’t want to go. So we go to the world famous “Olive Tree Cafe” upstairs, where the rear table is always reserved for comics, and hatch our plans to see the 11pm show. We’re almost close friends at this point, and Bryan the bouncer suggested the Olive Tree had the best wings in New York. BOLD CLAIM… not wrong. They were Buffalo, but had this hint of sweetness that was just wildly tasty.

 

 

We had a few drinks, I went out at 10p to get on the waitlist around the corner. We showed up at 11 for seating, AND WE GOT IN AGAIN. This never happens, again, and every friend that knows the spot, and every New Yorker we talked to about it was in disbelief. The gods did smile on us this very special day and night. Best pizza, best wings, best comedy, and watching legends walk in and out of that restaurant was a delight.  After the 2nd set, which stretched 2 hours with a headliner in Dave Attell (who I got to mention that I worked with him in 1995 at the Live 105.3 Alex Bennett Morning Show, which blew his mind!), at 2am we headed back to Barclay Street at our current residence at the Four Seasons. What a trip so far!! =)

 

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Wednesday the 28th of June 2023

 

We’re exhausted. Two more nights, and we’re not going to slow down in this city that rarely naps if never sleeps. Our feet are destroyed, as most days were around 20,000 steps (a new and weird data point that is somewhat great, but sort of unhealthily addictive to track), but we planned this to be a more calm day, with a lighter schedule.

It started with breakfast, and then what amounted to the best massage I’ve ever received, the whole world over. Truly wonderful 90 minutes of rejuvenating and wonderful healing that repaired my body from all the walking and carrying of bags, in terrible shoes. LOL Glad I got Allbirds, and that’s not an ad! They’re great. Well, I strapped them on again, midday, and we headed out for a quick one block walk to the site of ground zero, September 11th 2001. They’ve repaired it wholly and lovingly, and really made it a powerful public park and mall area, with food and vendors, as well as The Oculus transportation hub and mall area, a beautiful piece of architecture housing some department stores and restaurants.

 

The 9/11 Museum and Memorial, then tonight is the huge gala event and awards celebration. I felt very suspicious of a 9/11 museum as a destination or tourist attraction, and suspected it would be mildly exploitative. I am AMAZED at what they were able to accomplish, and how they presented the Trade Center towers in context of New York City, their history and importance, and the events of the day in a way that was not pornographic and inappropriate. It’s an amazing and loving note to the city, the people that perished, and the events of that terrible day. It’s an astonishingly well crafted experience, and it’s a can’t miss in my book.

 

After that incredibly moving experience, Lauren got primped and preened for the big event.  We got ready for a wonderful night of celebration, validation.  Really, it was getting the scope and breadth of how special an accomplishment it was for Lauren to win this award and trip after working so hard for the company the last 3 years.  It was an elegant, sophisticated affair, but after the open bars (at every event, the whole time), and serving Ruinart (no I am not joking) champagne, and pouring Silver Oak and other Napa standouts, the dinner celebration made way for an unreal dance party that had New York Hip Hop oozing from every pore.  We danced the night away, and they set up a “late night” snack center for everyone to soak up the liquid celebration that was undoubtedly settling in everyone’s tummies. What amounted to “post party” drunk food in the vein of street food, we piled up savory and sweet treats to wind down in the room, exhale in amazement, and wind down the last night of the Four Seasons event.

Every night we had some sort of amenity dropped in our room that would blow us away, whether amazing confections (Candy Apples for the Big Apple, yellow chocolate NYC cabs that looked like diecast cars, a Lego set of the major tourist spots in the city, and more!). It was over the top, and made me envious of working for an organization that doesn’t just talk “culture” but is steeped in it, and lives it. I’ve never seen a company that genuinely and earnestly celebrated their people more than this event, or the last few years of Lauren’s work and seeing how validating and wonderful it is to work for a company that has hospitality and culture down pat. I am so proud of Lauren.

 

The CEO of Four Seasons Worldwide

 

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Thursday the 29th of June 2023

 

Are we tired yet? Today is a day with Rockefeller Center, 30 Rock NBC Universal, and Top of the Rock!! It was pretty fun to see the hallways that have been littered with people that have entertained the USA and World over! Top of the Rock, for a vertigo guy, felt quite safe. It was AMAZING to see everything, but lo and behold the smoke was moving back in. It wasn’t a big issue, and as we were leaving the next morn, it didn’t really impact us, and almost felt like we were blessed with the broom of God, sweeping it away for the week we were there.  It was funny to bond with New Yorkers over the smoke, knowing we handle it a few times a year out in California, at this point.

 

 

Well, looking at things, we had a Blue Note show at 8pm back in Greenwich Village, a place I would live, a place where I would be a fixture at Minetta and the Comedy Cellar… hey, I wonder who is at the Comedy Cellar tonight?

 

 

SAM MORRILL *AND* DAN SODER?!?!?! WHAT IN THE HECK!!! So we call Blue Note, take a stab at an obvious lunacy in thinking we could waitlist for the 7.30p Comedy Cellar set, and move the concert tickets to the 2nd set at 10.30pm. Lauren is steely and committed to allowing me this energy sapping last night that would be iconic if we got both things accomplished, so we strapped our shoes on, got to the Comedy Cellar by 6pm, talked with Bryan and he said plainly “I GOT YOU BROTHER”. We’re best friends I guess? I can’t believe how amazing the experience was, as weird as it is inexplicable to figure out how the waitlist works. We were standing in the right spot, but it was decided to be the wrong one at this particular time, and we’re so lucky because the list filled, we weren’t on it, and Bryan told us to come back and stand in line for the waitlisted 7.30pm show.  We followed his directions, and voila… we’re in!

I want to detail that I am very patient, I am very kind, I am very funny, and I am also quite self-aware. LOL BUT, if you are not those things, this might not work out for you the way it worked for us. It’s pure and indescribable magic to watch not one, but TWO of your favorite living comedians live in New York City at the Louvre of comedy. That’s a bad analogy, but I am petering out just typing this, welling me with fertile emotions from one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life, just days ago.

We sat in the Olive Tree Cafe again, from about 9p – 10p when the Blue Note doors opened. Lauren had the wings with me, and yes… THEY ARE THAT GOOD! Do not miss ’em. =)

 

Then at the Blue Note, I saw one of my favorite jazz / groove / funk bands that is alive and touring (Soulive), and it was a wildly fantastic set by a drum kit that didn’t bust the ear ones. =) It was an exhausting day, from an exhausting trip, but it was pure groove. =) What a way to end this experience.

 

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Friday the 30th of June 2023

New York, I love you, but you’re not bringing me down. We even thought it somewhat affordable, but like the riff on the aforementioned linked LCD Soundsystem song, we did here from just about every native that NY was wearing them down with costs and difficulties. I saw none of this. Friendliest, most fun, most interesting, most worldly place I’ve ever been, and it’s in my own country! =)

I saw two homeless people my entire trip, and zero rats. For what it’s worth. See you next time.

Thanks for hanging in there as I wax memory lane for myself and Lauren. If you need any advice, I am a New Yorker now, so let the questions rip. LOL =)

Here is a lengthy photo album of the entire trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PRnzu6VQeJ7ZswW57