LIVE...from Amtrak train 164 (NYC to Boston)...it's me, AGAIN!

As one of my friends says, “Every now and then, it’s good to change your zip code.”
And, he’s right.

I was rather in a funk at home, and on a total impulse, which is probably one of my weaknesses not strengths, I decided to go to NYC to see one of my favorite performers, James Maddock.

I’m on the train home now; I left Penn Station around 1pm.
God, how I love my laptop (thanks for helping me pick it out, Jeff!) and my little blackberry cell phone when it pretends it's a modem! :-)

Tangent Penn Station Notes:

Funny, but we can put astronauts on the moon, but the people who run Penn Station can’t figure out a system to get 200 people on a train in some sort of orderly fashion.
It’s a total free-for-all, and it’s probably the MOST stressful thing in the scheme of the whole trip!

Also, did you know that the bathroom at Penn Station has a posted “Rules of Conduct”, one of which is “No Bathing”.
Brenda, remember at work when Facilities posted a sign like that in the bathroom?
We surmised that some person was probably washing her feet in the sink, which was really ridiculous considering there were showers 5 feet away.

Tangent Movie Note: Remember that scene from “Desperately Seeking Susan” when Madonna’s character dries her armpits using the bathroom hand dryer.
Hmmm, I wonder if that’s legal in the Penn Station woman’s room? I’ll have to try it next time and see if I get busted. :-)

Anyway, back to our story, last night, was, as usual, tons of fun.
I saw James perform at the Rockwood Music Hall, a great little venue, for two hours.

My brother-in-law first introduced me to a CD called “Songs from Stamford Hill” back in 2000 which was by a group called Wood.
This was James’ group.
Unfortunately, they have disbanded since…such a GREAT band!
I highly recommend you buy this CD or at least give it a listen on iTunes or MySpace.
Come on, you can buy it for .01 from Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Stamford-Hill-Wood/dp/B00000K4I3/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246818007&sr=8-3

Anyway, if I were stuck on a desert island (err, with electricity and a CD player or my iPod), and I could only listen to 10 CDs, this would be one of them.

Anyway, in 2006, I was wondering what had happened to Wood, and I came across James on MySpace.

http://www.myspace.com/jamesmaddockmusic

Here we are at the 11th Street Bar at 1am.
Hey, the evening doesn't begin in NYC ‘til at least midnight. :-)



"You Make Me Feel Bad" (Wood)



"Together"



Last night, he played with two other fabulous musicians…

Freddie Stevenson

http://www.myspace.com/freddiestevensonmusic

Oli Rockberger

http://www.myspace.com/olirockberger

I rolled into bed by 2:30am or so, which wasn’t bad considering the last time I was there I stayed out ‘til 4:30am.
Yeah, kind of crazy, but at least now I can stay that once in my life, I pretty much stayed up all night. :-)

It was so much fun to be in a different place and better yet to be surrounded by such talented and lovely people.
I shall have to do this more often, um, when I get a job!

We just passed through New Haven, and it's time for a snack.
Speaking of snacks, do you know what’s worse than being on the train next to someone with a loud iPod or having a loud phone conversation?
Sitting next to someone who has brought raw celery, carrots, and every other very audible crunchy veggie to eat for lunch!
Yes, she’s sitting next to me now, doing a crossword puzzle, and going “Crunch…crunch…crunch!”
“Oh, no, please! Not another carrot stick! Uncle!”
There should be a law against eating raw veggies on the train!
And, I SO bet you can’t eat raw veggies in the Penn Station woman’s room either.
Right under “No Bathing” it probably says “No Crunching”! :-)

Off to the snack car...I am not sure what I want to eat, but I think it will be EXTRA crunchy. :-)