Day 27: Norwalk, CT
Welcome
Yesterday we played at District Music Hall in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut.
We woke up in one of the scruffier parking lots we have woken in on this tour. It was as bleak a piece of asphalt as I have ever seen, save for the murals and paintings that were scattered around the place, the presence of which was justified by a sign that said Art Park. This was the beginning of a day enriched by the many public art works I saw around Norwalk, seemingly a city intent on forming an identity through strong artistic presence
I left the Art Park and set out to explore this new town, finding quiet streets of low-rise buildings with shop fronts and apartments, and the gentle curve of a waterway that seemed like the natural companion to the red brick constructions along its banks.
After walking for a time I arrived at the Art Space Café, a spot I had chosen from several minutes’ careful research on Google maps. It turned out to be a good decision as this eatery was housed inside a beautiful brick structure dating back to 1935, formally a house of worship for the First Church of Christ Scientist. The café is attached to the Norwalk Art Space, a community arts centre that now occupies the building and provides exhibition space in what was once the nave, a delightful gallery space that is airy and bathed in natural light. The crypt is now occupied by classrooms, places for art and music education, and the apse was now filled with tables, one of which I sat myself down at to enjoy an extremely peaceful meal.
I was treated to a Farmers Market Salad, a plate of local arugula, shaved fennel, berries, zucchini, soft egg, shaved pecorino, and a mint vinegarette. Alongside this I took a cup of coffee, black, no sugar, and steaming hot, the way I like it.
Back at the venue I was reunited with my team, a team of bandmates who were just getting stuck into the task of unloading the trailer. I grabbed a thing and carried it to the venue, joining the train of musicians and venue staff who were grimly hoisting loads or pulling wheeled cases along the hundred metre journey across the carpark. We soon found ourselves in an old theatre, thoroughly modernised, but still with the dressings of its early 20th century heritage. Formerly the Regent Theatre and built in 1914 this venue sports a large mezzanine for seated patrons, but downstairs it has been converted primarily to standing room with space for up to 1100 if you really jam them in.
As usual we blasted straight into setting up the stage, the only unusual task being the one carried out by Jonathan Pearce, that of moving our audio equipment out of the wheeled rack case and into the flight cases so we could transport it home to New Zealand. At some point I left the stage and returned to find that I had been brutally pranked with my regular sized microphone stand exchanged for a tiny one.
Jonathan was also hit by a similar act of tomfoolery when his microphone stand was converted into a giant one. The stage was spacious and felt good to play on once we began our process of noise testing, although the auditorium itself felt huge and reverberant and a washy mix of noise came back to bath us in sonic chaos. With the confidence that things would improve once the room was filled with the wonderfully absorbent mass of human bodies, we vacated the stage and left Princess Chelsea to begin their own process.
Jon and Liz headed out for a walk along the Norwalk River, and Tristan and I headed out for a run, also along the Norwalk River, exploring the riverside trail that was busy with families and couples who had somehow also cottoned on to the phenomenon that was known as golden hour. It was extraordinarily pretty in this seaside town, the calm waters patiently flowing out towards the Long Island Sound, the marinas with their rows of boats neatly moored, and grand bridges like the Norwalk River Rail Bridge (criminally underrated with only 2.7 Google stars) and the Yankee Doodle Bridge which carries the eight vehicle lanes of Interstate 95 (and one pedestrian lane) across this broad stretch of water.
The Norwalk River Rail Bridge (2.7 stars from 7 reviews)
The Yankee Doodle Bridge.
We tootled along this trail for a while and found it getting busier and busier. Eventually we discovered the culprit, the Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival which was occupying a prime piece of waterfront real estate, thousands of people enjoying the perfect weather and access to dangerous carnival rides.
Everyone reconvened back at the venue, and we spent our pre-show minutes enjoyed the comfort of the backstage facilities down in the theatre basement, a small labyrinth of rooms that have been very comfortably furnished with plush leather armchairs and couches, as well as kitchen facilities that include metal cutlery, porcelain plates, and glass drinking vessels – things that are seldom encountered in our modern plastic-loving lifestyles.
Showtime came about and Princess Chelsea and the Dream Warriors once again graced the stage. It must have been a particularly fiery performance because one of their instruments sustained a considerable blemish, although I’m sure with the right amount of wood glue and clamping it will live to fight another day.
The Beths enjoyed another excellent night on stage in this handsome old theatre. With the addition of hundreds of bodies, all the spooky reverberations were gone and things sounded clear and tight. We shared our Sunday evening with a lovely crowd of people, strong singers, great dancers, and some hecklers who couldn’t quite muster the annunciation to get their messages across.
Our final night on the bus was a quiet one as the members of Princess Chelsea had left to stay in their own accommodation in New York City, and we were stuck with our own overused jokes and banter. We lit the tropical-scented bus candle for the last time and enjoyed the familiar comforts of Blue Paradise’s dimly lit main cabin until our eyelids grew heavy and the confines of our bunks beckoned.