So, there were a few pics that didn't develop. The most disappointing of which should be right here. My mouth was left gaping open as I saw the traffic 40 MILES outside of New York City. It was around 5:00 pm (I left Pittsburgh at 1 pm, after having pizza of all things for lunch), and I had never seen traffic like that before. I'd been to NYC twice previously, but never driven in. I flew both times. The insane spectacle of headlights was a solid bar of white light for 25 miles. Then there was a break for about 30 seconds before it resumed the rest of the way into the city. I did actually get a little lost going into the city. I was taking I-80 to I-280, and then it split back into I-80 and I-95. I chose the wrong one, and got off in Jersey. Yeah, I know, Jersey is really specific. I still don't know what city I exited in. I just turned around. I hit the George Washington bridge at 7:00 PM, and took Harlem River Drive/FDR to Houston. It was great going around the city instead of dealing with a ton of intersections, but I've never braked so hard so often in my life. I just got my brakepads replaced a few weeks ago, and they were struggling. At 7:30 PM (load-in time on the dot), I got to the club, but I couldn't find a parking spot until after 8:00 pm. Those of you who live in NYC understand this. Those of you in Oxford, it was about 10 times as hard as finding a parking spot in front of your favorite bar on a Friday night. From this close up, it's a bar, just like anywhere else in the world. From a distance, it's Manhattan. The inside of Lit had a very claustrohobic dungeon feel to it, when it was empty. Before this trip, that's how I felt in New York City in general. Very claustrophobic. This trip actually cured that. Driving into the city, walking in the East Village (which isn't as tall as downtown, or whatever it's referred to as), and the warmth of the crowd helped alleviate that feeling. NYC's still impressive, and I understand why some people can't live anywhere else, but it's no longer suffocating. If nothing else positive had happened, that alone would have made the trip worth it.

Speaking of the warmth of the crowd, and performing, there's me rocking the stage with Arbor Day.

While World Class was still on stage, someone came in and screamed "Chillin' at the Papa." World Class just shrugged and said "umm... ok... what?" I came up to the guy and said "that's not the first time someone has yelled for Chillin' at the Papa at one of my shows, but it is the first time someone's screamed it while someone else is on stage." I got him a little off guard. He "wasn't ready yet" as he put it. Well, when I took the stage, he was certainly ready. He knew almost every word to every song. While I was doing "Inventor" as part of "Playing a Little Basketball" (which can be heard in the NYC Medley - a quick word about the Medley, the recording didn't start until part of the way through "There Was A Man" so disappointingly there is no "Weightlifting Jam" or "You Gotta Want It" in there, sorry), he was nailing every line with me, and he was in the front row, so I could hear him doing it. He messed up a line, and almost threw me off. That's him in the second pic, urging on the crowd. Steve is his name. I refer to him in the freestyle I did on "Better Off Alive" by Arbor Day. They asked me right before their set if I would come on stage during their last song and freestyle while they played. Things like that make shows unique, so of course I did. The levels weren't perfect as not everything was coming through the soundboard, and that's where I got the recording from, but it's good enough that I think you should hear it. I also refer to Steve in the song that was inspired by the road trip, "Glimpse of A Dream." I have yet to record it, but I have written the lyrics, and can hear most of it in my head. As long as my computer allows me, it should be recorded before my next Oxford show, on Friday, February 18th, 2005.

I want to thank everyone who made this show possible. Beth, Chris, Arbor Day, Lit Lounge, Steve, and the rest of the fans who came. Thank you. It was a blast!

Total miles Day 3: 528

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