Sound Bouncing Everywhere

Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal Performing Seventh Avenue

Last night's show, The Bottom Line Presents:  New York On My Mind, was moved from an outdoor show at Rockefeller Park to the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (it rained), which was unfortunate.  It's a glass enclosed atrium with ceilings reaching to the sky.  Sound bounced everywhere.  Mojo Mancini was the house band.  Their dark (what other kind should there be?) arrangement of Summer In The City somehow cut through the acoustically challenged room.  I loved it.

Performers included Bottom Line staples: Garland Jeffreys, Christine Lavin, Willie Nile and Loudon Wainwright III.  I only saw Rosanne Cash at the Bottom Line once (it was a wonderful songwriters in the round night with the very talented Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter).  She too was a part of the evening and fully played out the New York theme by performing her own Seventh Avenue with John Leventhal on guitar and brought the band out to sing The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy).

Pete Fornatale hosted and Vin Scelsa read Walt Whitman (inaudible in the atrium).  At any given time, there was at least one DJ from WNEW-FM at the Bottom Line.  

My friend Sean and I left after Rosanne.  We had been there for over an hour at that point and couldn't deal with the cacophony. The show was intimate and should have been in an intimate venue.  Unfortunately the rain can't be stopped in NYC.