Puttin' On The Ritz

More sophisticated by the second, etc.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Radio Free Tribeca, etc.

So last night I was sitting at work, getting ready to close up and go home. Kevin Shea telephones at 8:45pm to alert me that rather than rehearsing, we will be performing for Tianna Kennedy and her cohorts somewhere in Tribeca.

August 25, 2004 -- 40 Worth Street, Manhattan
I arrive to discover that while there will be all of several people in the room whilst we are playing, the reality is that we are playing the inaugural broadcast of the August Sound Coalition, who are streaming news about all the people trying to stick it to the man here in New York City whilst the Grand Old Party is in town. I know we're not all that politically motivated, but we do love to fuck shit up. Kevin turned up with the drum he used in the ocean; I turned up with a 40 and a 22. It was unfortunately the first informal Puttin' On The Ritz set, as neither of us had the opportunity to acquire suits or ties before the performance. Oh well, I suppose no one in radioland could see us anyway. I did my best to speak to all the listeners, despite that in all likelihood the only people listening were sitting in the room with us. We performed a new song, "Strangers In The Night", despite not really having practiced it. I think it went well, regardless. Tianna cut us off after five songs, but we decided we weren't done yet so we went into the other room and continued playing. The first song just for Tianna, but the second we actually stuck our heads out the window and played for the entire city. I was too busy making eyes at the skyscrapers to notice a few peoples' lights being turned on, most likely because I was screaming out the window with only a drum for accompaniment and they had previous to that been sleeping soundly. Alas. Tianna apologized for shutting us down, but then went on to say that they were planning to rebroadcast our performance when people were actually listening. Are we famous yet?

I have a call to arms for all you Puttin' On The Ritz fans out there. You see, my recollection of our performances is often a bit hazy due to the large amounts of alcohol I tend to consume at such events. Perhaps yours is a bit less hazy. If so (actually, it doesn't really matter one way or another, as long as you have at least a vague memory of the show), please feel free to post a comment about it, preferably under the entry that it pertains to. This is to further enhance the depth and sophistication of this blog, although I'm not actually sure how much being sophisticated is all that pertinent or even desired. Regardless, I hope to hear from you soon, you my dearest friends and acquaintances and perhaps even total strangers. Hugs and kisses, godspeed, whatever.

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