Staying Busy : Phase 5 - Cream

* Cream, Madison Square Garden 10/25/05*

Road trip. My return to the Headquarters of the Evil Roach Empire,
the city that chews you up and spits you out and then steps on you.
I spent lots of time there in the 80s when my then-girlfriend lived
out there. Drove out from Boston just about every week....the
folly of hormonal youth....

My brother insisted that we had to leave early in the morning. It
was going to take 5 1/2 hours to get there. He knows! He drives
it all the time. I said "4 hours"....but he insisted. "It's not like when
you used to go down there anymore". So I showed up at
his house at 6 a.m. - he wasn't ready. At 7 a.m., we hit the road.
We rolled into the city at 10:45....but what do *I* know??

We ended up moving the car a few times and using up a pile of
quarters to avoid a parking ticket, because the parking space
I had secured for the day (for only $12!!) wouldn't be available
until 1:30.

So, we did some shopping. Manny's and Sam Ash, so we could
look at $4000 guitars we can't afford right now. A CD store that
had a great selection of used blues discs, mysteriously priced
at $23 each. OK, at this point it's obvious we're just
window-shopping. I only had $10 cash in my pocket until
we found a cash machine anyway.

Finally, it was time to move the car to its rented home for the
next 10 hours. When that was taken care of, we met a
friend (go buy some of her CDs! - there, I did my part :-) )
for "lunch" (3 - 5 p.m.) at Vynl. The discs making up
the decor were decidedly plastic, though, I must point out!

Eventually, the concert happened. Before it started, I saw
someone I knew coming up the aisle and taking a seat two
rows in front of me. Honestly, I can't go anywhere. D'oh!
I either need to meet fewer people or have a worse memory!
Just kidding, of course....

Concert: yes, this was all about going to a concert. Eric Clapton
was fantastic. Ginger Baker was great. Jack Bruce was....well, he
was OK. But how can you expect a guy to sing the way he did almost
40 years ago? You can't. He did fluff a bunch of lyrics, though, which
I though was bad form considering what they were charging for tickets...
go back and listen to the record, for god's sake! Really!!

Still, I have to say: the magic these three players had was still there.
The "song" parts were the weakest bits. The jamming was incredible.
And that's pretty much what they were always about, anyway.

They played an amazing version of "Stormy Monday", which I imagine
will come out at some point. I hope it sounds as good as my memory.
You know how that can be.

The band played from 8:30 to 10:30 (maybe a couple minutes past). They
hardly said anything at all to the crowd. I didn't really care about that,
but it seems a bit weird, thinking back on it.

I didn't buy any t-shirts....or the $400 leather jacket...

[Talked to Last Girl On Earth throughout the day, but our
schedules just weren't going to work. So she acted as my
cell phone guardian angel for the trip, or something!! Maybe
NEXT time I'm in the city....did I really say that?]

OK, now to get out of town....

First a sandwich: I can't even remember what it was.
Then to the garage: Surprise! They REALLY are only
charging me $12 for the entire day...wooo hooo!
Then to the traffic jam: Construction on the Cross Bronx. Some things
never change.

Drove home in the rain and SNOW (damn it). Actual icy road
conditions in Connecticut.

My brother slept most of the way home. Note to all people who
"ride shotgun": You're supposed to help us drivers stay awake,
not remind us that we're dead tired!!!

Got back just in time to wake Mrs. L up for work. Oh, and
make out the damned mortgage check that I'd forgotten to mail.

Well...I can say..."I was there"...as if it matters.