What an adventure! What a pain: 6AM flight on no sleep, buses, subways, steamy subway tunnels and finally a nice nap before I ventured out to embark on my mission – promoting my upcoming City Winery NY show. Read all about that in Part One. Part Two continues the adventure: The venue and the concert in the pouring rain … me with my hooded rain poncho and Swarovski encrusted flip flops
City Winery NY
I got to the venue, walked in and after being greeted warmly by the hostess and other staff, I was led through the bowels of the City Winery NY, through back halls and up and down stairs to a secret paved parking lot out back. Jim – the Marketing dude – kept fretting over the weather and its impact on attendance. We emerged through the back door to a sea of folks standing at the stage barrier with umbrellas in hand. I turned to Jim and asked, incredulously:
“This is a low turn-out?”
There were people everywhere! 900 hundred dedicated music lovers. It was exciting!
He led me through various gigantic puddles of dirty water and finally to a small covered area where I could set up. There was a table inhabited by kind, friendly young adults who were manning the tent for the Village Voice and City Winery. I pulled out my postcards and got busy in the pouring rain. I didn’t know what would happen. The great thing is that the crowd was mostly my age. The English Beat had their biggest hits in 1979 when I was just a Freshman at Northwestern. These were my peeps! The English Beat was terrific. As soon as that beat started, the energy charged vibe spiked and people started dancing in the rain. It was such a nostalgic moment, so comforting and familiar. It felt like an outdoor college party, even in the rain, even though we were standing in puddles of dirty water in a parking lot enclosed by buildings. It was so New York, so cool… You could see it in everyone’s eyes. We were all transported back to a happy time. Ska. The best! People were huddled under their umbrellas which was daunting at first, but soon I just started to pop in under their umbrellas and ask:
“Do you like the music of Nina Simone?”
The answer was always: “YES!” There was only a handful of people who didn’t know her music and soon I was making friends and some people would answer with a hand to their hearts, an intake of breath and a resounding: “I LOVE Nina Simone!” followed by song requests. This was most encouraging!
I asked where and he said: “Northwestern.” I screamed: “Me too” He removed his sunglasses and it turned out that he was a friend I hadn’t seen since the year he graduated in 1982! In the end, he grabbed a couple hundred fliers and started handing them out also!
Another NU friend (Patrick) joined me and he and the other NU grad started talking and realized they had many shared connections. It was awesome!
Patrick and I went inside where he treated me to a great dinner and we watched a terrific Cajun band: “BeauSoleil,” from New Orleans. It was a perfect night topped off by the appearance of my niece and her boyfriend who I met for the first time and liked very much. My niece, Her boyfriend and I had a couple drinks at the “Barrel Room” ( a separate bar in the venue) to finish up the night.
The venue itself is cavernous with a rustic decor that reminded me greatly of Sonoma or Napa – very appropriate for a winery. Great sound production, awesome food and the wine was terrific. I love the vibe there. I met the staff and we dug each other. Me likey!
I went back to my suite (thanks to a dear friend who runs the hotel) and crashed!!!
A successful night.
Update: had a little spike in ticket sales since that night!
Lynne Jordan performs:
A Musical Tribute to Nina Simone at City Winery NYC on Tuesday, July 2, 2013.
Show time is 8pm. Doors open at 6.
Music Only Admission $15
With five wine pairing Admission $30
City Winery NYC
155 Varick St., (in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood) NYC 10013
212-608-0555
