NYC Days 44 & 45: In Which I Luxuriate in The Lincoln Center Out Of Doors

The main Lincoln Center Out Of Doors stage 

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Any questions?

No? Then let's get started.

If it's summer (and it is), it must be time for the annual Lincoln Center Out Of Doors festival, that wonderful three week program of free dance, film, spoken word, and music - lots of music. Last summer I attended numerous performances during the festival, and I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the gigs and the performers who featured in them. So it was with much anticipation that I looked at the program for this year's event.

The festival began last Wednesday with a concert hosted by NPR (National Public Radio) Music. Called Turning The Tables Live, the evening was "...a celebration of the pioneering women of the "classic album era" (approx. 1964-present). Some of today's brightest performers open the evening with a set of covers handpicked from NPR's newly unveiled 150 Greatest albums by Women list."

As it happened, the evening opened with Ricky Lee Jones performing in full her classic album, Pirates. Jones was followed by a great lineup of female talent which included Lizzo, Gaby Moreno, Alynda Segarra, TORRES, Nona Hendryx, and the great Ronnie Spector. To make an amazing night of music even better, the audience was treated to a surprise appearance by Roberta Flack, one of America's greatest contemporary singers.

The inimitable Dionne Warwick commands the stage.

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Due to other commitments (see previous posts), I missed the Thursday and Friday night events, but was back on Saturday night for An Evening With Rumer. The British born Rumer, as she is known professionally, has a repertoire of songs in the same vein as Dusty Springfield and Karen Carpenter, and apart from performing her own material, Rumer is a fine interpreter of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

The highlight of the night for me, and for the assembled mass of people waiting to see and hear her, was the special guest set of songs by another of America's great performers -- and surely the best interpreter of Bacharach and Hall David -- Dionne Warwick. At 76, it has to be said that Dionne Warwick's voice does not command the full power it once had, but that made no difference to the many hundreds of fans hanging on her every note, happy just to be in her glorious presence.

Dionne Warwick on stage.

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Which brings me to today, Sunday. This year Lincoln Center Out Of Doors was hosting the Double Dutch Summer Classic National Competition. On a hot, but thankfully almost humidity free day, dozens of children and adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 17 or 18 years, hammered the boards at the Josie Robertson Plaza with so much energy, enthusiasm and athleticism that I am positive it left them all completely drained and exhausted by the end of the afternoon.

Forget the endless 'Boot Camp' variations. If you want to push your body through a full aerobic series of exercises, I would argue that Double Dutch beats boot camp hands down. The one-minute routines the competitors put their bodies through provided the best example of High Intensity Training I have yet seen.

A typical routine included jump rope, squats, high kicks, back flips, push-ups, leg splits, and so many other complex maneuvers that I can only apologize for my lack of knowledge and vocabulary that fails to give the young competitors the full credit they deserve.

Video footage from one of the teams competing at the Double Dutch championship.

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Week Two of Lincoln Center Out Of Doors continues next Wednesday, August 2, 2017, with performances by Ibibio Sound Machine (in their U.S.debut) and Angelique Kidjo. Ibibio Sound Machine are described in the program as "an eight-piece band led by English-Nigerian singer Eno Williams." The band plays a "...mix of Afrobeat, club music, and funk." Angelique Kidjo, a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who was born in the African nation, Benin, reimagines Talking Heads' groundbreaking album Remain In Light. As a huge fan of Talking Heads and of that album in particular, I will definitely be there Wednesday night. Maybe I'll see you there!

Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.

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WEEK SIX EXPENSES*
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ONGOING WEEKLY EXPENSES
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Museum Memberships $19.15 ($25.15)
AT&T SIM card $16.25 ($25.38)
MTA Pass $30.25 ($39.92)
Accommodation $152.00 ($200.00)
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Total Ongoing: US$217.65 (AU$290.45)
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ADDITIONAL DAILY EXPENSES
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Sunday 23, July | Expenses $31.00 ($39.10)
Monday 24, July | Expenses $79.46 ($100.25)
Tuesday 25, July | Expenses $61.35 ($77.55)
Wednesday 26, July | Expenses $22.10 ($27.45)
Thursday 27, July | Expenses $27.25 ($46.30)
Friday 28, July | Expenses $62.80 ($78.55)
Saturday 29, July | Expenses $26.80 ($33.55)
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Total Daily: US$310.75 | AU$402.75
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Total Expenses Week 6: US$528.40 (AU$693.20)
*Figures in brackets are Australian dollar amounts

NYC Day 43: In Which Seaport and Singers Mix Together Harmoniously

Click on images to view full sized.

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I went to the South Street Seaport Museum intent on taking advantage of their Free Friday offer (from 3:00pm to 7:00pm), although I did give them a donation at the end of my visit.

South Street Seaport Museum's collections consist of over 26,500 objects documenting the rise of New York as a port city, and its role in the development of the economy and business of the United States through the social and architectural landscapes. The collection includes paintings; drawings, prints and photographs; manuscripts and ephemera; ship models; scrimshaw; navigational instruments and shipwright tools; and many historical objects related to trade from the Seaport itself, including those from the Fulton Fish Market, the coffee and tea industry, and letterpress printing and advertising industry, which supported the growth of New York as a financial powerhouse.{Source: Museum website}

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I started by going aboard the clipper ship, Wavertree. This is a magnificent ship by any standard you care to nominate. I was surprised by just how big the deck area was. It looked wide and vast, and for a ship that is more than a hundred years old, it is in wonderful condition. Mind you, the Wavertree has recently undergone a multimillion dollar overhaul, and it shows. The rigging is new, the decks are clean and well maintained, and everything looks ship shape and ready for sea.

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I was disappointed that visitors could not go below decks and look around, although that may change one day. Mind you, there may not be anything to see below decks apart from empty holds and storage areas. While you can't go deep below decks, you can enter the cabin area for the ship's captain. There is not a lot to see apart from small, empty cabin areas, which leave visitors to wonder; if the captain of the ship is confined to spaces as narrow and as confined as these, what sort of cramped accommodations did the crew have to contend with below decks?

I have no idea whether the museum intends to fit out the captain's cabin with rebuilt sleeping quarters and other fittings that give a better picture of life on board these types of ships, but I hope they do, if only because the already small rooms will become even more cramped and claustrophobic when fully restored.

Above: The Captain's quarters. 

Below: The ship's galley, or kitchen.

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From the Wavertree I spent some time examining several small exhibitions at the museum's main building. There is extensive information here about the refitting of the Wavertree, and an exhibition called Millions: Migrants and Millionaires Aboard The Great Liners, 1900-1914. This exhibition examines the contrasting conditions on board these mighty ships of the sea for two very different groups of travellers.

Either I missed the entrance to other parts of the museum, or the museum has reduced the size of its exhibition and display areas considerably, because there was a lot more of that 26,000 plus collection to see and discover at the South Street Seaport Museum when I visited the building back in 2010. I suspect the museum is still recovering from the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, when a storm surge of water that rose more than seven feet devastated low-lying areas of New York City including the seaport district.

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Apart from the Wavertree and the main building, the museum also has an extensive program of educational events including walking tours, dockside programs, sailing excursions on the Pioneer, an 1885 built sailing vessel, and the Lettie G. Howard, an 1893 built schooner, and other events.

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If You Go
South Street Seaport Museum
12 Fulton Street, New York City
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00am to 7:00pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Tix: Adults $12.00; Seniors & Students $8.00; Child (2-17) $6.00.

Above: The fully rigged Wavertree under sail, by the Australian artist Oswald Brett.

Below: One of several historical images showing damage to the Wavertree after it was dismasted while rounding Cape Horn in 1910.

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Free Music Fridays at The American Folk Art Museum
From the South Street Seaport Museum I went and had a late late lunch, or early early dinner - take your pick, after all it was 4:00pm - and then decided to head back to the American Folk Art Museum near Columbus Circle, where the museum's Free Music Friday was due to begin at 5:30pm. Performing this night were Kalyani Singh, Richard McGraw, and Rachelle Garniez.

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I got there a little late to find Kalyani Singh, a young 21 year old of South Asian heritage already performing. I was immediately captivated by her very distinctive voice and songs. The melodic structure of some of the songs reflected her Asian heritage, while her high soprano voice was clear and bright and reminded me of a young Joan Baez. I was also very pleased that her songs were not the types of works that are often full of youthful angst, and maudlin lyrics about failed love affairs. A topic that plagues far too many songs by young performers.

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Kalyani was followed by Richard McGraw whose catchy songs, quirky lyrics and unusual melodies soon has the audience trying to work out whether he was in fact working out his angst onstage and writing and performing songs as personal therapy. After all, one of his albums bears the title, How To Suffer. Or maybe he was just having us all on, because his songs were anything but maudlin. Richard was not afraid to teach the audience several refrains during his set and have us join in at the appropriate time, and he too, soon won the audience over with his easy stage manner by the time his 35 minute set was over.

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The final act for the evening was Rachelle Garniez. When she began singing I realized that I had seen her performing somewhere before, but it was only when she mentioned that she had been performing at the Bryant Park accordion festival just last week that I remembered. I had missed that performance, but I had seen her playing at the same festival during my visit to New York last year. If Richard McGraw's lyrics were quirky, then Rachelle's were wonderfully idiosyncratic. Accompanying herself on accordion, guitar, and keyboard (not all at the same time!), Garniez has a voice that darts high, low, and all the stages in between. Her songs constantly surprise, both lyrically and melodically, and are full of wry observations and sly digs at real or imaginary ex lovers.

The American Folk Art Museum says about these free sessions: Music featured at the Free Music Fridays series thematically reflects the spirit of the self-taught art on view at the museum. I have been meaning to catch these free Friday music nights for several weeks, but always seem to be elsewhere. However, now that I have seen the quality of the performers, I am determined to attend several more before my visit is over.

Although I stopped buying CDs on a regular basis some years ago, I just had to purchase one CD each from both Richard McGraw (How To Suffer), and Rachelle Garniez (Sad Dead Alive Happy). Kalyani Singh has yet to release an album, although she has recorded three songs which are available via her Bandcamp page (see link below).

If You Go
American Folk Art Museum
Address: 2 Lincoln Square, New York City.
Hours: Tues-Thurs & Sat., 11:30am-7:00pm; Friday 12:00-7:30pm; Sunday 12:00-6:00pm. Closed Monday. Free Music Friday: 5:30pm—7:30pm.
It's worth reminding readers that admission to the Folk Art Museum is always free.

More Information 
Kalyani Singh... 
Richard McGraw... 
Rachelle Garniez... 

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Friday 28, July | Expenses $62.80 ($78.55)

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NYC Day 42: In Which I Travel Back to New York in The 1970s

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The Film Forum (at 209 West Houston Street, New York), is one of the city's great independent movie theaters. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films and it has stayed true to that mission ever since. During July, the Film Forum programmed a wonderful series of films around the theme New York in the 1970s, and screened more than 40 now classic movies from that era. These included the obvious choices such as Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, along with great films like Midnight Cowboy, The Taking of Pelham 123, Manhattan, and many others. I had every intention of seeing a dozen or more of these films but in the end only got to one of the final double-bills on the program: Escape From New York, and The Warriors.

Deborah Van Valkenburg (Mercy), and Michael Beck (Swan), in The Warriors. 

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John Carpenter's Escape From New York (1981), was a starring vehicle for Kurt Russell, and also featured Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, and Donald Pleasence. I have seen the film numerous times on DVD, but it has been more years than I can remember since I saw it on a big screen. The Warriors on the other hand is a film I had never seen. It was directed by Walter Hill in 1979, and was a lot of fun if only because the film has not aged well.

Like that other great classic, Easy Rider, the film is let down by its very dated jargon and language that may have seemed hip and 'with it' in 1979, but just seems silly in 2017. Also the young, mostly male actors, emote like they are fresh out of acting school. It has to be said that the few female actors in the film did better in that regard than their male counterparts. Speaking of which, I was delighted to see one of my favorite female actors, Mercedes Ruehl in only her second film. Later in her career Mercedes won an Oscar for Best Actress In A Supporting Role, for her part in Terry Gilliam's 1991 movie, The Fisher King.

Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin in Escape From New York

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As for Escape From New York, this is a film that has aged much better. But first a brief synopsis: The year is 1991, and crime in America has become so rife that the island of Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison. Which has been completely walled off from the rest of the country. Air Force One, carrying the president (Donald Pleasence), has somehow been hijacked and is brought down on the island, but before the plane crashes, the president escapes in a special pod that lands inside the walls of the island prison. Kurt Russell (as Snake Plisskin) is sent in to rescue the president.

As Escape From New York began, I couldn't help but wonder what effect and emotions the early scenes might be evoking on an audience of mostly local New Yorkers. In these scenes, what passed as state-of-the-art computer graphics in 1981, depict Air Force One crashing into a high-rise building. Later, as he sets off to find the president, Kurt Russell has to land a glider on top of one of the twin towers, and the scene can't help but evoke memories of September 11, 2001, in spite of the primitive special effects used.

From the Film Forum I considered heading back to Columbus Circle and the Lincoln Center where the second evening of the current Lincoln Center Out Of Doors program was  getting underway. In the end I decided to walk over towards the Hudson River, and take in the views.

Above and below: Volleyball and playing fields at Pier 26.

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This structure, and three others like it, help extract exhaust fumes from the Lincoln Tunnel as it passes below the Hudson River linking Manhattan with New Jersey.

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Above & below: 'Grand Banks' floating restaurant and party boat.

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Late evening Lower Manhattan skyline. 

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Ex US Coast Guard vessel 227.

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Thursday 27, July | Expenses $27.25 ($46.30)

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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.