Shilts at Houndsooth Pub recap; with guests! June 13, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Later Shilts recap: May 2012
Saturday evening, I made my second trip to Manhattan in four days. I saw Lisa Hilton down in Greenwich Village on Wednesday. On Saturday, the musician was Shilts at Houndstooth Pub in the Fashion District, a few blocks north of Penn Station.
Unlike Wednesday when my dad and I drove to the venue, I went by myself taking the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Penn Station. Not that it mattered to me, but alcohol was banned from trains that day because of the Belmont Stakes. It made sense. Why spoil the day of someone who came from out of town for the race? I was between Woodside and Penn Station while the race was in progress. Neither Shackleford nor Animal Kingdom won. Instead, Ruler on Ice was the surprise winner, as I learned through mobile web on my cell phone once inside Houndstooth Pub and watched on DVR when I got home.
Getting back to music, the last time I was at Houndstooth for Brian Simpson, there were strong winds and heavy rain. This time, there was a lighter wind and mist. The $19.99 umbrella I bought earlier in the day was worth it.
Bass player Kenny Harris opened up for Shilts with two songs. The latter song was a Bobby Caldwell cover, “What You Won’t Do For Love,” which he also played during Matt Marshak’s Houndstooth show in December.
Kenny was accompanied by his brother Rodney Harris on drums and the aforementioned Matt Marshak on guitar.
Then, it was time for Shilts.
Kenny Harris remained on bass:
Frank “Third” Richardson was on drums:
And Jay Rowe played the keyboards:
SET LIST
1. See What Happens
2. Look What’s Happened
3. Good Evans – Solo intro by Jay Rowe
4. Steve Cole: Just A Natural Thang – without Shilts
5. Sugar (Stanley Turrentine cover) – with Steve Cole
6. Seeing Things Clearly
7. Jam – with Matt Marshak
8. Staten Island Groove – with Matt Marshak
Jay led off “Good Evans” with an original piano solo:
He had another in the middle of the song:
After “Good Evans,” Shilts introduced a special guest:
Shilts yielded the stage to Steve who played “Just A Natural Thang”:
Shilts returned and Steve stuck around for “Sugar”:
Shilts brought out another special guest, Matt Marshak, seen earlier with Kenny, for the last two songs:
Third Richardson’s “Jam” drum solo:
The last song of the set was “Staten Island Groove”:
And that was it for the first set:
I’m sure the second set was just as great.
Before I left, I said hello to Shilts and we posed this picture:
I had a blast. I send my thanks to all involved: Shilts, Steve Cole, Kenny Harris, Rodney Harris, Third Richardson, Matt Marshak, Jay Rowe, Eulis Cathey, Kevin McCabe, Steve Butler, Kat Sarracco, Frank Sarracco (neither present, but there in spirit as Neko Productions was a sponsor), and Katherine Gilraine. K.G. has a post up about the entire night.
Lisa Hilton at Zinc Bar recap June 9, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Later recaps: January 2014, January 2015, January 2016, January 2018, January 2019
(If you’re friends with me on Facebook, I cross-posted pictures from this show in a photo album.)
Last night, my dad and I went to see pianist Lisa Hilton perform at Zinc Bar down in Greenwich Village. It was the first of two concerts I’m going to in four nights. I’ll be seeing Shilts at Houndstooth Pub on Saturday night. (6/15 UPDATE: Here’s how that show went.)
We left Wantagh at about 5:15. Thanks to delays for seven exits on the L.I.E. (Long Island Expwy., I-495) and volume on Park Ave./Union Square E./Broadway, we didn’t get to West 3rd Street until 6:30. We parked by Mercer Street, three blocks east of Zinc. We walked in the high heat and humidity past Zinc to Ben’s Pizzeria on the corner of MacDougal Street for a few slices of pizza. Eating was a challenge because we sat a table that was right next to a fan. (Ben’s was open-air with no air conditioning; hence the large fan set on high.) I had to weigh down my plates and napkins. The pizza made it worth it. After that, it was back to Zinc just before 7:00 as another band was finishing up.
Lisa was scheduled to play two sets, but she and her band seemed to combine the two into one long set. That set began at 7:20.
Lisa’s band was made up of JD Allen on the tenor saxophone:
Ameen Saleem on acoustic bass:
And Jaimeo Brown on drums:
The set lasted about an hour and 45 minutes with 15 songs played. Here’s the set list:
1. City Streets (without JD)
2. Underground*
3. Someday, Somehow, Soon*
4. Just A Little Past Midnight*
5. So This Is Love
6. Boston+Blues* (+ = and)
7. Come & Go*
8. Midnight in Manhattan
9. Meltdown
10. Seduction (Lisa solo)
11. Moon River (Henry Mancini cover) (Lisa/JD duet)
12. Blue Truth*
13. Early Morning Impressions
14. Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day cover) (without JD)
15. Jack & Jill*
*From Lisa’s latest album, “Underground.”
Lisa spoke to the audience between each song:
Lisa & JD during their “Moon River” duet:
Lisa rhythmically swayed her right arm at one point in “Jack & Jill” while playing with her left hand:
I spoke to Lisa afterward. We were both glad to finally meet each other in person after six years when first interviewed her at WCWP. (Those interview occurred in November 2005 and August 2006.) Then we posed for this picture:
Lisa asked me what my favorite song was. I told her it was hard to pick one favorite. So, I chose three: “City Streets,” “Underground,” and “Jack & Jill.”
It was certainly an interesting two hours at Zinc Bar. Thanks to Lisa and the band for a really good show.
Brian Simpson concert recap April 17, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Weather.add a comment
Later Brian Simpson recaps: April 2012, February 2015
Yesterday, my parents and I braved the strong easterly winds and heavy rain to see Brian Simpson‘s 8PM set at Houndstooth Pub, located in the Fashion District section of Manhattan. It was Brian’s first performance ever in New York City.
Matt Marshak was on guitar:
The last show I saw at Houndstooth was Matt’s in December.
Carl Carter on bass:
And Lionel Cordew on the drums:
SET LIST
1. It Could Happen (keytar/keyboard)
2. Here With You
3. The Blues – Elan Trotman, sax
4. Let’s Get Close (keytar)
BREAK
5. South Beach (keytar/keyboard) – Elan Trotman, sax
6. Can’t Tell You Why
7. Funkology (Matt Marshak tune)
8. Killer Joe (Quincy Jones cover) – Elan Trotman, sax
9. Brazilia
10. Saturday Cool/Mr. Magic (the latter is a Grover Washington, Jr. cover) (keytar/keyboard) – Elan Trotman, sax
Between “The Blues” and “Let’s Get Close,” Brian recounted his pop past, which included co-writing and performing on “The First Time” by Surface. That song is available on Surface’s 3 Deep and Best Of albums and on iTunes.
Elan Trotman played the saxophone on “The Blues,” “South Beach,” “Killer Joe,” and “Saturday Cool/Mr. Magic”:
At the end of the set, Brian thanked the band…
…Neal Newman, the audio engineer…
…and Steve Butler, who was right behind me, which is why Brian is pointing in my direction:
I briefly spoke to Brian during the break and we posed for this picture:
The 8:00 set was great! And I’m sure the same could be said for the one at 10:30.
Tampa Bay trip recap; panic attack April 9, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Travel, Weather.add a comment
NOTE: At the end of this post, I recount my panic attack suffered early in my flight back to Islip.
Two weekends ago, I was in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region for a brief vacation and family visit. It was my first trip to Florida in two-and-a-half years when I saw family in South Florida, specifically Palm Beach and Broward Counties. This post contains pictures of scenery and roadways from this trip, all but two of them from Sunday, March 27. The last two are from the following day.
The view from my room at Safety Harbor Resort and Spa:
Driving through Safety Harbor:
McMullen Booth Rd (CR 611) and Main St. (Sunset Point Rd. after the intersection):
The main entrance to Innisbrook (after the traffic light-less Belcher Rd. intersection):
Turning left at Klosterman Rd.:
Belcher Rd. and Glen Eagles Pkwy. (pic taken at the aforementioned light-less intersection):
Two random pictures inside Innisbrook:
Two more pictures from Safety Harbor:
The last two pictures were taken Monday, March 28, from my grandparents patio at Innisbrook, overlooking the Copperhead course’s 2nd hole fairway:
After nice weather the previous two days, we were inundated by rain and thunderstorms. Our flight home in the evening was delayed a half hour, but avoided major turbulence. Before coming to that conclusion in-flight, I developed a panic attack on fear of major turbulence for the first half-hour. Here’s the story as I typed it from my laptop (partially revised):
As I boarded at around 8PM, I began to feel anxious. The heat on the plane didn’t help. Drinking water didn’t help, either. As our plane taxied and waited to take off, I began to feel tightness in my chest. Again, the water didn’t help nor did deep breathing. When we took off, the tightness turned to numbness and quickly spread to my face, hands, and somewhat to my feet. I was paralyzed in those areas for about five minutes as I continued to breathe as deeply as I could. At one point, I uttered through my frozen face: “I feel so helpless.” A man sitting across the aisle from me was reassuring, though I don’t remember exactly what he said. Gradually, I regained feeling. Once that happened, I thanked the man for helping me through my harrowing experience. I thanked him again when we landed and he patted me on the back.
Thankfully, the turbulence worries were initially for nothing. There were some bumps here and there later on, but I didn’t have another attack.
It was nonetheless a good trip.
3/29/12 UPDATE: This turned out to be the last time my grandfather, Carmen Chimeri, in person. He passed away on December 9. The last time I spoke to him was on the phone on my 30th birthday. I took this last March 27 at Carrabba’s in Palm Harbor, for his 80th birthday (albeit three days late):
I’ll conclude this update with a picture of Carmen on Christmas morning in 1994:
Winter 2011 in pictures March 21, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
Yesterday at 7:21 PM Eastern, spring began. That marked an end of a winter that started off with a bang in late December, all of January, and early February, and petered out.
That stage of winter that will stand out the most. I documented the season’s first storm here. Here’s the rest:
Friday, January 7
Thick wet snowflakes:
Wednesday, January 12
10.43 inches of snow:
Icicles outside my bedroom window:
They got rather big by the next day. I used a putter I had in my closet to knock them down.
Friday, January 21
3.5 inches of snow
I didn’t take any pictures, but left this witty status update on Facebook after shoveling:
Another snowstorm, another 2 1/2 hours shoveling. T.G.I.F.; thank goodness I’m finished.
Thursday, January 27
A wintry mix the day before turned to sleet and freezing rain (with a few rumbles of thunder) before turning to wet snow. The results were an inch or two of ice and about 12 inches of snow.
It was a pain to shovel, but I refused to quit…
…at least with the driveway and sidewalk.
It took five weeks for this gigantic bank to melt away:
This one melted a little quicker:
Saturday, January 29
The sun made it slightly easier to chop and scoop the ice and built-in tire tracks:
I finally got around to the sides and back yard:
Ice buildup and fallen icicles by the front gutter:
February began with an ice storm, but saw little snowfall the rest of the month. The only snow this month, March, came this morning when it briefly mixed with rain. There was no accumulation.
Let spring begin!
3/24 UPDATE: Winter has made a small comeback. Yesterday, snow mixed with rain at times during the day and fell by itself at night (after a thunderstorm mix):
About an inch accumulated. The snow stuck to everything, but it only partially melted on hard surfaces as of this morning. So, I shoveled the rest:
By this afternoon, most of the snow had melted.
That should be the last of the snow until the end of the year.
Dave Koz and winter storms February 6, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Weather.2 comments
Four years ago next Monday, Valentine’s Day, I was supposed to see Dave Koz perform at the Best Buy Theater (then the Nokia Theater) in Times Square. Unfortunately, there was a winter storm that day. So, rather than risk taking the LIRR to Penn Station and walk through the snow and ice on the way to the theater, my parents and I stayed home. We figured the show would be canceled. I’m sure it wasn’t.
This Friday, Dave returns to that theater. Though only a few snow showers are in the forecast, the friend with whom I was going to Dave’s concert had plans come up that night. So, once again, I miss out on him. Maybe next time.
I highly recommend Dave’s current album, “Hello Tomorrow.” You can buy it here. I played a few cuts from the album on CJazzPlus, my recent Live365 station.
Here’s hoping less snow and ice are in the forecast for the rest of the winter.
2/14 UPDATE: I may not have gone to Dave’s concert, but Katherine Gilraine did.
Post-Christmas 2010 Blizzard December 31, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in News, Personal, Weather.add a comment
The last week of 2010 began with a blast for the East Coast. A powerful blizzard/Nor’easter socked us with howling winds and 1 to 3 feet of snow. Winds gusted as high as around 50 miles per hour, which left me worried that I would lose power like I did during the March Nor’easter. But somehow, it stayed on.
I couldn’t find a snowfall total for Wantagh. So, I averaged the totals for Bellmore to the west, 10 inches, and Seaford to the east, 15.5 inches. That gave me 12.75 inches.
Below are pictures from Sunday, the day the blizzard began, and the three days of shoveling that followed.
Sunday, December 26:
Watched the snow fall, listened to the wind (impossible to miss), hoped the power stayed on:
Monday, December 27:
Shoveled the driveway from curb to front porch (with help from my sister and mom), left side of house:
Tuesday, December 28:
Shoveled a path from the front yard to the back yard patio:
Wednesday, December 29:
Shoveled the sidewalk, path linking driveway center to sidewalk, opening for a car to be parked in the street:
Winter is only a week old and we’ve already had a major storm. What else does this season have in store? We’ll find out in the weeks ahead.
For the New York City perspective on this blizzard, read Katherine Gilraine’s blog.
Guitars & Saxes 2010 Smooth Cruise recap August 12, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
8/18 UPDATE: I’ve added more pictures of Arlington Jones, Braylon Lacy, and Eric Valentine.
Yesterday, I went to my second Smooth Cruise in a row; this time, for Guitars & Saxes 2010. As usual, I took the sunset cruise aboard the Spirit of New York. As with RnR, the last time I saw G&S before yesterday was in 2008 at IMAC.
The ship left Chelsea Piers’ Pier 61 at 6:37. The set began at 6:50.
A sold out crowd saw Peter White on guitar #1:
Jeff Golub on guitar #2:
Gerald Albright on the alto sax:
And Kirk Whalum on the tenor sax:
They were backed up by Arlington Jones on the keyboards:
Braylon Lacy on bass:
And Eric Valentine on drums:
SET LIST
1. Intro Medley: Promenade (PW)/Roundtrip (KW)/Dangerous Curves (JG)/To the Max (GA)
2. Bright (PW)
3. All I Do (KW)
4. Shuffleboard (JG)
5. My, My, My (GA)
6. Influences: Oh Happy Day/The Thrill Is Gone/Mercy, Mercy, Mercy/Day Tripper/In The Mood
7. Medley: No Two Ways About It/Cold Duck Time/Goin’ On (JG)
8. Georgia On My Mind (GA)
9. You Are Everything (KW)
10. Bueno Funk (PW)
11. When the Saints Go Marching In
Now for a photographic journey through the Guitars & Saxes sunset Smooth Cruise:
The next three pics were taken from a closed-circuit TV on the deck below the stage:
I hung out on the dance floor for the rest of the set, beginning in the middle of “Georgia On My Mind”:
Echoing notes at the end of “Georgia…”:
Kirk making his way through the audience:
The James Bond sunglasses bit during “Bueno Funk”:
A wild drum solo from Eric:
We leave you with pictures taken outside before the set began. First, a look at Chelsea Piers shortly after embarking:
Hoboken:
Lackawanna Park:
Jersey City:
And finally, Lower Manhattan:
Thank you for reading and viewing.
UPDATE: Hello to author Katherine Gilraine, who was among the sold out crowd last night. Check out her recap here.
RnR Smooth Cruise recap August 7, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
On Wednesday, I embarked on my third Smooth Cruise aboard the Spirit of New York. The cruise was their 6:30 PM sunset cruise. In 2008, I saw Spyro Gyra. In 2009, I caught the Rippingtons. This time, the group was RnR: Rick Braun and Richard Elliot. It was the first time I had seen them since June 2008 at IMAC.
RnR was made up of Rick Braun on trumpet…
…and flugelhorn:
Richard Elliot on tenor sax…
…and EWI (electronic wind instrument):
Dwight Sills on guitar:
Nathaniel “Nate” Phillips on bass:
Ricky Lawson on drums:
And Ron Reinhardt on the keyboards:
The ship left Chelsea Piers’ Pier 61 at around 6:45. The set began shortly thereafter. So, let’s take you through that set:
1. Q It Up
2. Down and Dirty
3. Tijuana Dance?
Rick switched to flugelhorn for this one:
I went outside for a few minutes to snap some pictures.
The Statue of Liberty:
Lower Manhattan:
Brooklyn:
Back inside…
4. Inner City Blues (Richard only)
Richard began on the EWI…
…before switching back to tenor sax:
Ron had a wild keyboard solo:
Rick dedicated the next song to his late mother and all the moms in the audience:
And that song was…
5. My Funny Valentine (Rick only)
Rick was on vocals…
…and muted trumpet:
6. When A Man Loves A Woman (Richard only)
While Richard played inside, I went back outside just as we rode under the Brooklyn Bridge…
…and came close to the Manhattan Bridge:
FDR Drive:
The ship then turned around, heading back for Chelsea Piers.
Back inside, I shot another pic of the FDR Drive from my table:
Back at the stage, Richard was playing his heart out:
For this, he got a standing ovation:
Rick returned to the stage for…
7. Green Tomatoes
He and Richard invited the audience to get on their feet and dance:
Those on the floor didn’t leave until the set was over.
8. Keep On Truckin’
Richard sang through his EWI:
Rick appeared mesmerized:
Richard switched back to the sax at the end:
9. Grazin’ In The Grass
“Everybody scream!”
The band left the stage for what felt like ten seconds and came back for an encore.
10 (Encore). Rock Steady/Move On Up
“Rock…Steady!”
The “Move On Up” half of the encore:
The final note:
Afterward, I went downstairs to re-meet and re-greet Rick and Richard:
The set was exhilarating. And after all that, Rick and Richard had a moonlight cruise set at 9:30. I have no doubt that it was just as exhilarating then as it was for the set I saw. Thanks to Rick, Richard, Dwight, Nate, Ricky, and Ron.
Two Smooth Cruises ahead August 4, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Travel, Weather.add a comment
For the next two Wednesdays, I will be aboard the Spirit of New York for the sunset (6:30 PM) Smooth Cruise. This will be my third year aboard. In 2008, I saw Spyro Gyra. In 2009, I caught the Rippingtons.
This week, I’ll be seeing RnR: Rick Braun and Richard Elliot. Next week, it’s Guitars and Saxes with Peter White, Jeff Golub, Gerald Albright, and Kirk Whalum.
Photo recaps will be posted within a week (at the latest) after each cruise.
MikeChimeri.com 
