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"Sometimes the light is shinin on me, Sometimes I can barely see"
Remember in the movie Moby Dick when Starbuck seeing Ahab taken by the great whale exclaims, "After him men! Moby Dick is no devil. He's a whale. A monsterous whale, aye... but a whale, no more. And we're whaling men no less. We do not turn from whales..."
Madison Square Garden is a big whale, but it is just another in a series of these places that we visit every night. Still, everyone has a little more respect for this place, because it is smack dab in the middle of NYC. Midtown Manhattan. It rises like some leviathan on steroids. It is a whole city block. You walk into this place, and it is huge. There is something very special here.
Paul Simon and Edie Brickell showed up tonight. Great to see them. Also backstage was Bakithi Kumalo, Paul's bass player and also my bass player in Bembe Orisha. He played bass with Planet Drum and has played on many Paul Simon records, including Graceland. BK is a monster player from South Africa.
A high point tonight was Lovelight when Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes sat in. It steamed right along and showcased their dueling guitars. We close with a rockin Sugar Mag as the whole garden did its dance. This place is suspended on giant cables as it is on the 5th floor and up of the building. The whole arena has the ability to sway and roll. It feels like you are on a boat, on the flying bridge. I remember many years ago when we first played here and the movement started. We were holding on to the amps for fear that they would topple over. Now we keep the amplifier stacks low to the ground and are ready for this phenomena. This only happens when you are at groove depth, creating deep groove. Everybody is swaying in unison and it just sets the hall rockin back and forth. Big fun.
Now on to Cleveland. Huge storm coming in from the northwest. Cold rain and snow are our constant companions tonight on the 9 hour ride. The de-icers are working overtime as I ride shotgun into the night. Brandon, my driver, takes it slow and steady. These buses have giant windows, no obstructions, just glass, glass, glass. Big bug-eyed view. They just stroll right through this soup. The roads are white with fresh new snow, and it is a wonderland out there.
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