We've packed and left Brooklyn, but first I took a couple final trips to Manhattan to take in the best and worst musicals I've ever seen. The revival of Hair with its 60s anthems was a wild romp of complete crazy fun, while Next To Normal was occasionally so poor I was embarrassed. Both ended to standing ovations of wild, endless applause.
Tonight I shared a bit of applause myself, from a few tables in Antonio's Restaurant, located in a strip mall somewhere in New Jersey. I played music with a 92-yr-old, a man full of music and joy who drives to gigs, packs in his gear and plays there and other places regularly. We jammed along to his computer back up band, and he (Angelo) went table to table collecting requests (no one requested Frank Mills), pleasing every person in the restaurant. One patron hearing I was from Canada had a special request. He wanted us to play O Canada, which he simply adores hearing especially when sung at the game with the crowd joining in. It's the greatest anthem in the world, he said. Angelo found the backing tracks in his computer database and off we went, playing a groovy rendition together.
It's been a great trip, very inspiring and a tad distracting at the same time. I'll miss the thunder but not the heat, the music but not the C train that delivered me to it, the people but not the security guards, and the pizza slices but not the ice cream truck. I give New York a standing ovation of wild, endless applause. Oh, and fireworks.
Aw, nice tribute bub.
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