Madison Square Garden

Any show, no matter what artist, that you go to see at the Garden (who derived its name from its original location at Madison Square & 26th Street) is a sight to behold. I have had the pleasure of seeing The Dead, Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Bob Dylan, The Who, The White Stripes, U2, Dave Matthews Band, The String Cheese Incident, Billy Joel, Elton John, and dozens more, and each show is better than the last. So I would highly suggest seeing a show at the Garden if you ever have the chance, because it is awesome. And if not a show, a basketball game, hockey game, or anything else that might be happening there (there's always something), its worth it.

Quick Tips:

Please, get here early because the crowds can be overwhelming and unforgiving. If you are like me, you will be sitting in the upper deck (the tickets are cheaper) and enjoying the lighter side of society. These people are what make the shows. Also, there is no smoking, so keep what you have down, and out of sight otherwise the guards get nasty. Keep an eye on the website for going ons (www.thegarden.com/index.jsp).

Best Way To Get Around:

Penn Station is right downstairs so public transportation would be my only suggestion for shows here. Trains from Long Island, New Jersey, and beyond come into this transportation hub along with the A/C/E and 1/2/3 subway lines. And Times Square is right up the street, so any subway is accessible.

If you happen to find yourself going to one of the many concerts at the Garden and want to get an early drink on without paying the ridiculous fees inside, this is the place to go. Rose's Pizza on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) Level is perfect.

They offer great pizza and good prices and $1.25 hotdogs 24 hours a day. But the best part of this place is the drink specials; $2.45 for a 32oz Bud or Bud Light draught. Now that is a price that can't be beaten. In the back of the restaurant, there are dozens of tables and chairs so you can relax, enjoy that cheap beer, a great slice of pizza and catch anything from Law & Order to the Mets game on the TV.

Depending on what time you hit this place up, the crowd can be either very entertaining or somewhat sketchy. So try to get here in the early evening and not so much past the 3am mark. The ambiance changes abruptly from business alcoholic crowd to the unshowered, nose offending alcoholic crowd. It's a lateral move but still, not one you would want to partake in.

So whether you are waiting for a train or for your concert to start, this place is great for a quite bit to eat and cheap beer chaser. For $2.45 for a 32oz beer I mean, you can't go wrong.

I had the pleasure last night to see The White Stripes at the Garden for my first time and it was amazing. After spending some good pregame drinking time down in Penn Station, my buddy and I made our way up to the show. Our seats were one of the highest tiered seats in the entire stadium and located right to the side of the stage.

Once we were situated in our seats with our $7 beers (the one downside to big venue shows), the opening was just coming on. I believe that the five piece ensemble was going under the name of Dan Sartain and if you ever have the chance to go see this band, please DON’T. It was THE worst show I have ever seen. The singer reminded me of a terrible Jim Morrison who was even more drunk and the band sounded like someone turned on the distortion and never turned it off. Every song sounded the same and they didn’t seem to want to leave the stage.

But after the assault on our ears was over, we loaded up our next round of drinks and prepared for the White Stripes to make their entrance onto the stage. As if perfectly timed, once we were back from both the bathroom and the bar, the lights went down the duo emerged onto the stage. The stage itself was covered in red with the drum kit set off to the side and a walkway balcony behind everything. The duo, maybe brother and sister, maybe divorced couple, came onto the stage in nothing but Red clothes and torn right into it. Apparently, the White Stripes only dress in all red, all white or all black because they believe these are the most powerful colors in the universe.

Each song, more brilliantly performed than the last, was a true thrill for me since I have wanted to see the White Stripes for some time now. I have seen the Raconteurs (Jack White’s other band) a few times, but never the White Stripes. Each time I bought tickets, something happened where the show got cancelled; Jack White broke his finger, Meg White was sick, and I forget what the third instance was, but what luck, right?

When it came time for the encore, I assumed that they would play one, maybe two songs. I was way off; they played NINE songs for their encore, running the show well passed the midnight hour. Anyway, if you get the opportunity to see the White Stripes, please do because their style of hard blues punk rock is unsurpassed and extremely entertaining.

In October of 2001, not too long after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, U2 came into New York for their Elevation Tour. I am generally not a huge fan of U2 but when my friend told me they were playing, I figured, why not? But, we didn't have tickets and the show was sold out. However, there is a trick that most venue promoters don't advertise too much; last-minute cancellation tickets. About 20 minutes before every show, the box office opens up to the public to sell the tickets that were cancelled via Internet of phone requests from credit card companies. Unfortunately for us, when we got there, the line for this rather unknown phenomenon was two blocks long. I had two key advantages in my favor; my ability to snooze the right people and my two girl friends who were wearing next to nothing and extremely free spirits.

When we entered, we pretended that we had tickets, and then moved our way straight over to the security guards to start talking. After a little while of talking about nothing truly important, we were told that we could wait where we were. Within 2 seconds, we had started another line. When the doors were opened, we were allowed in and bought three tickets, front row behind the stage, for $40 each. The people who formed on the line behind us were told that they could enter and we scampered out into the show.

When we got to our seats, the excitement was and lights just were going out. The opening act, No Doubt, was going out on stage. After a fueled 45-minute set, No Doubt left the stage and U2 came out not 15 minutes later. With an eclectic set of rock and compassion (Bono bringing people up on stage and changing their lives forever with a kiss and hug) this was an amazing show. And we were 20 feet from it all. The best part of the show was when they were playing a song (I think it was ‘Where The Streets Have No Names’) that the light show started. This was unlike any light show that I have ever seen before. Instead of light designs, there were names pasted all over the walls of the Garden. The names were those that lost their lives the previous month in the Trade Center. The names roamed over the walls for three full songs as the emotional wave of the crowd broke over the like a wave on the compassionate beach of New York. 

This show alone made me a really appreciate U2 and I can’t wait to see them again. And the way in which we acquired the tickets made the experience all that much more memorable. It was just one of those amazing New York days.

A very popular pre concert hang out is the Tracks Raw Bar & Grill (www.tracksbargrill.com) on the LIRR Level of Penn Station. Open now for about two years or so, this railroad themed bar has just exploded as the happy hour hotspot.

The first, main attractions to this place is the 45 foot mahogany bar and the claustrophobic train car feeling, but these are complimented perfectly with a fresh raw bar and a decent grill menu selection. The only problem is that around 6pm, every seat in this place is occupied and finding drinkable standing place almost requires leaving the bar altogether. But the crowd is fun, energetic, and loud as hell, especially if there is a sports game on.

There is nothing more unique than seeing the typical business person shedding their water cooling facade for some truly entertaining conversations. Plus the salespeople of New York that frequent this place love to offer drinks to the people seating around them, so where you find free drinks and good company, you will find me.