Shilts at Houndstooth Pub recap 2 May 14, 2012

Previous Shilts recap: June 2011

Two nights ago, for the second Saturday in a row, I saw saxophonist Paul “Shilts” Weimar perform.  Last week, Shilts was part of keyboardist Jay Rowe’s tenth annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert.  This time, he played solo at the Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station.  It was a busy night in that area.  In addition to Shilts, there was the Bolder & Fresher Tour (Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller) show at the Town Hall six blocks north (and two east) of Houndstooth, and Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals was taking place at Madison Square Garden.  The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals alternated wins and losses in the first six games and the winner would face the New Jersey Devils in the conference final beginning two nights later.  Both floors of Houndstooth had TVs tuned to the NBC Sports Network where Rangers and Caps fans alike that could get into MSG watched.

Before we get to Shilts’ performance, I have a few pictures to share from my train ride in to Penn on the LIRR.

Forest Hills station:

BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway):

A view of Manhattan from Long Island City:

I thought one of those buildings was One World Trade Center, but that’s to the south, and I was in a north-facing seat.

Long Island City rail yard:

Not only was this a concert, but it was also a release party for Shilts’ upcoming album, All Grown Up.  Copies were available, but sold out fast, just as tickets for the show did.

I got a premium seating ticket back in March and ended up right next to the stage!

Shilts was joined by Abdul Zuhri on guitar:

Ken Stacks Richardson on keyboards:

Thomas Gooding on bass:

And Eric Brown on drums:

SET LIST

SET 1
1. See What Happens
2. Lambeth Strut
3. Good Evans
4. Seeing Things Clearly
5. Sugar
6. Look What’s Happened

SET 2
(NOTE: I left between sets, but saw the set list printout from my seat.  If I made any mistakes, let me know in the comment thread.)
7. All Grown Up
8. 2 Pesos For Bud
9. Soul Eyes
10. Eyes Down
11. Blues
12. Back On The Hudson

Neal Newman, audio engineer, assisted by his son Dale (not pictured):

Eric Brown’s “Sugar” drum solo:

I left between sets, but not before getting my copy of All Grown Up signed by Shilts and grabbing a picture with him:

Cheers to Shilts, Abdul, Ken, Thomas, and Eric for another great show.

I’ll conclude this recap on the topic of the Rangers.

Just as I approached 34th Street, I heard wild cheers coming from the top floor of Lucy’s Cantina Royale.  The Rangers had held on to beat the Capitals 2-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Devils.

Here are the happy Rangers fans leaving Madison Square Garden to head home:

Game 1 of the EC Finals is tonight.

5/25, 11:17 PM UPDATE: Unfortunately for Rangers fans, like myself, the Rangers lost to the Devils in six games.  They took a 2-1 series lead and then lost three straight.  The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.