I boarded the boat alone for the cruise. As we waited for the boat to set sail I struck up a conversation with this young couple hanging near the window by me. Both are former New Yorkers; she from Staten Island. They moved out to Colorado 4 yrs ago amd got married. They are in town for their first wedding anniversary. Jan and Mike. That's "paper" she told me so they figured that tickets fell under that category. Nice people. Then there's Jill, Jean and Tara. Jill is Tara's mother and Jean is Jill's sister. Tara - over there with the Heineken in her hand - is 20; errrrrr.... 21 her mom tells me. It was Tara that discovered Donna after seeing them at a concert in VT. She introduced her mom to them and now it's a family affair.
We are crusing down the river. Tara Nevins is belting out the lyrics to "Family Picture". The people sing along. The crowd in front of the band is really getting down. Sweat rolls off foreheads as everyone bounces along with the beat.
We cruise past the tip of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty slowly slides by. Magnificent; silouetted against the setting sun. People make their way to the windows cameras in hand. A fantastic sight.
As the boat circles past Battery Park and up the East River the band breaks into "Positive Friction". The dance floor is a rockin' and a swayin'. We reach the Brooklyn Bridge and we hang a U turn. There! Under the bridge... one of the Waterfalls! Interesting. Nothing like the real thing. I am not even sure if its a reasonable facsimile. But its still pretty cool.
As we start heading back up the Hudson I get a great window location. I gaze at the skyline. I stick my head out the window trying to suck in more of that sweet night air. Looking upstream I can see the green and red lights of the George Washington Bridge upstream in the distance.
The boat pulls slowly into the dock. Jeb says they are going to play one more then breaks into the first chords of "Conscious Evolution". The crowd is energized again. We all bounce with the beat. We sway. We sing the words. What a fabulous night.
And then..... It's over. I stroll down the stairs and over to the merchandise table. I hand the guy a twenty as I pick up a copy of the latest CD. He slides a five into my palm. Tara's here. And Jeb too. I work to remove the plastic from the CD and hand it to Tara while telling her that we'll all be back in a couple of months when they play the Blender. Tara signs and hands the CD to Jeb who adds his signature.
Nice. I slowly walk off the boat.
