CJ Intern's NYC Adventure Part 1: Does Anyone in This Town Have a Functioning Bass Amp?
by Jeremy Tsuei
One of the hit songs in Hamilton is, of course, "The Room Where It Happens". Three days in, and I think it's very apt to describe New York as very much "the city where it happens". I won't bore you with all the touristy details, but I do have a few updates on the music front...
Thursday: Kenny Garrett at the Blue Note
What a way to start! This one was unfortunately marred by tech difficulties at the beginning, with the bass amp not working when the band kicked off. Still, a powerful opening to the set, put together to promote Garrett's latest album, Sounds from the Ancestors. Despite knowing about the faulty gear, the bassist persisted with taking a solo during the opener, with the techies frantically going at it as he did so. Fortunately the sound was restored - to much applause from the audience. Although sound issues persisted - Kenny had some rapping/ spoken word sections which seemed to get drowned out when it reached the bar area - the overall sound was great, combining gospel, Afro-Cuban, and fusion influences. There was good use of texture with strong vocalists and percussion, and some very singable melodies. A special shoutout to the nice aunties whom I sat next to, who heard my thick Aussie "Good onya" as something like "Gouda Enya". We all learnt something from each other, and what a venue for it!
Friday part 1: Smalls Afternoon jam session hosted by Andrew Kushnir
It's always been a dream of mine to jam in New York City, and well, this was it, warts and all. Once again, a non-functioning bass amp, although the house bassist and I figured it was likely a bum cable. Luckily the house bass - fitted out with Spirocores and medium-high action - gave out plenty of acoustic sound. Shoutout to Tony, a guitarist who had just moved to NYC from Melbourne - and whom I had jammed with before, at the one Blondies jam session I've attended! Good luck for your audition man. This one you can watch online! I come on about halfway through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn_oDjotUcw&t=9327s
Friday part 2: Il Travatore at the Met Opera
This one came recommended to me by a drummer friend of mine, Paul. An amazing sound and a really jaw-dropping revolving set. During intermission, a fellow remarked that this one was a bit "sleepy", but (for this first-time Met Opera attendee, anyway) I found the pace to be very quick - we got to intermission before I knew it. Perhaps the quick nap I had in my seat before the concert opened helped with this. The singing was top-tier (what else would you expect), and the orchestra sounded fantastic. Sitting at the very back, however, the small scale of the actors contrasted with the intensity of the tragedy - it was like seeing microscopic minions with maximum melodrama. A fanfare in the middle of the first act was particularly impressive, featuring some powerful cast percussion. In Canberran pro-am and community theatre, we generally try to limit the cast's access to percussion as much as possible. But here the cast handled it with aplomb.
That's it so far! I'm about 10% through my trip, so I'm sure you'll be hearing more as I go along. For now - Jeremy the CJ Intern signing out...
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