Half a degree or so of separation from WB: heads up, there might be a few freaks like me out there who still go for this stuff http://www.waynekrantz.com/?page_id=820 I grabbed my tickets to the Boston show for hopefully good seats. If you haven't heard Carlock up close, maybe you owe it to yourself.
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The 55 Bar - 55 Christopher St. , West Village. Next door to The Stonewall Inn (if you ?d, it's homework time. Now). Of course the entrance — and the room — is a couple of steps down from the sidewalk level…and getting back out is a bitch of a sobriety test.
[ Left: From the street]
It’s a pity it’s become a tourist-y spot, largely thanks to the sort of thing I wrote above, urging you to “take a look” if you can (and you can imagine what the “real people” think of this — the neighborhood peeps and regulars; a wonderfully eclectic group of old jazzbos and bikers and young musicians and behind-the-line spies like me), but just because a place has become tourist-y does’t mean you should deprive yourself of a visit. O, yeah; the music most nights is second to none but bring earplugs if you value your cochlea; the room is small.
[Right: Taken a few feet from the back wall, in front of the restroom alley: the less said about those, the better. You can see the street entrance at the other end of the room, bar is to the left. Keith (in his back corner) peeking out from the right. That narrow strip of people is the only "seating", with a few tables; about as many people are around the bar.]
What can I say…it’s got a special place in the hearts of many a NY music lover…and even though nostalgia ain’t what it used to be, I’m uncommonly stained by those ’80 years, when the 55 was ‘just’ a neighborhood dive, when the odds were in favor if getting mugged (New Years Eve was my lucky night), and drummers like my friend actually carried his kit on the subway; Two trips to get down the stairs. I'm telling you those guys hung stainless steel.;-}
My first foray into the 55 Bar was in the mid 80s, when a drummer friend of mine was playing there most nights. The perfect dive bar. And it was the first place I ever saw Carlock play, in that classic configuration of Carlock, Krantz, and Lefebvre. Imagine if you will the monster we all came to know on the SD stage coming out from the back left corner of a railroad car dive with low ceilings ... yeah, I was, um, impressed (actually he didn't play like the SD stage monster...he played entirely appropriately for the venue and the music). If you haven't been to the 55, you owe it to yourself to visit. The Regatta is also a great place, too. I think the last time I was there was with Walter to hear Danilo Perez in a trio config. Nice.
[Edit: what is Boston - Jan 30? Although I wish to hell it wasn't true I may still be here then. Matt, howzabout another foray north? Me or no me you've got that Motel 6 on the UES for a stopover...]
Just went to SD in Boston a few weeks back, Carlock was great, despicable D less so, voice is struggling but that's just a mention. Can't put into words how much WB was missed by me, I knew it, went anyway, suffered greatly.
Hey Matt, if you can make it, it doesn't get smaller or more intimate than a Trio at Reggata!
Carlock is a monster, for sure, but I'd love to hear him in a smaller group, more intimate setting. I've only caught him with SD before, so this seems like a great thing if the dates and my whereabouts manage to coincide.