23/6/13 – Fly Fishing Rock Creek Montana

Peter and Miriam and the girls went for a ride to somewhere nice. Nate and I on the other hand packed the truck and set off for an exciting day fly fishing Rock Creek. Luckily for me the ‘bugs’ that the trout are feeding on don’t start hatching until the day warms up so none of this 0400 start time nonsense – I knew I was born to go fly fishing when we departed at 0830! First up we stopped off to buy the fishing license and met a guy who teaches fly fishing in NZ and said he met a guy there who looked good but didn’t catch anything… nah only joking Hans.

Actually a number of these guides work taking people flying fishing all around the world and Rock Creek Montana is currently rated one of the best fly fishing places in the world, so it was a busy season. Nate had given me a few pointers on technique and a sock in the driveway to practice my aim, but there is nothing better than doing it for real in the wilderness. Nate who is an experienced hunter has all of the gear so we set off with high expectations but nothing would prepare us for the events that were to unfold.

After turning off the I-90 highway at the site of the upcoming ‘Testicle Festival’, a ‘balls to the wall’ annual event where testicles have been celebrated Montana style for over 30 years with all the ‘prairie oysters’ (fried bull calf balls) you can eat, a rowdy and raunchy party crowd and a lot of ‘skin’ displayed by people of all shapes, sizes and levels of intoxication we travelled up the road that follows the creek for some 40 miles.

Eventually Nate selected a spot that was clear of bushes on the edge so that I wouldn’t catch my fly on the back cast and set me up with a fly that would be easy to keep afloat. I displayed an ‘adequate’ technique but there were no fish in this location! Well actually there were heaps of fish but I couldn’t tempt any of them to take my line. So we soon set off to another picturesque spot that had a suspension bridge and big boulders for the fish to hide under.

Still no fish but an interesting drop toilet that was obviously used only by ‘mountain men’! On the way to the next spot we identified the states from which people had come here to fish by their vehicle number plates. Folks were in from Washington, Georgia, Utah, California, Wyoming and Texas. Did you know only 1 million people live in Montana so the wildness is pristine and the wildlife is abundant … and so everyone else in America wants to come here to fish and hunt ... and ruin things!

 

So Nate and I moved away from the ‘crowds’ to a heavily wooded area that required some cross country trekking. After setting up we waded in to the cold water (the last of the snow melt) and set about the task at hand. Luckily I was dry and warm in my wetsuit waders, fishing boots, hunting vest and hat and was happy to cast away, albeit a little unsteadily on the slippery rocks, in the hope of the ultimate prize.

It was not long before I got an outcome, but it was definitely not the outcome I was expecting.

Not long after setting up and I was 20 yards upstream from Nate I heard a huge splash and spun around thinking that he had fallen in. He spun around expecting (more likely) that I had fallen in. What had actually happened is that a moose had literally jumped into the stream from the brush and was now standing midway between the two of us. All three of us froze. I began telling myself the SPRAY mantra (stand still, prepare, round up, act human and yield) but was ‘concerned’ after seeing Nat’s face.

He was looking to the bank. Could it be that the moose had been chased by a wolf or better still a bear? In my ignorance I was only terrified. Nate on the other hand, who knew that a cow with a calf at this time of year will rear up on her hind legs and cut a person to death with their front hooves, was calmly in a state of sheer panic.

Thoughts like – ‘Peter will have to book an extra bag for the flight home because that’s all that will be left of our guest’ crossed his mind or ‘will I run or dive under if the moose attacks me’. Neither was looking a successful option as we were weighed down in thigh deep water and moose are more adept in water than on land. Luckily for us, and I’m sure because of Nate’s calm conversation with the ‘beast’ letting her know that we were probably the first humans she had ever seen and ‘we come in peace’, she turned and wandered off to the other back to graze for a while before heading off downstream. Being conscious of the fact that no one would believe us, we then both clambered for our cameras and tied to catch a glimpse of what was by now a most confused but thankfully calm moose.

I got off a few good shots but Nate had ‘accidently’ caught yet another trout while the drama was unfolding and had to deal with the fish on the line before he could take a photo!

Being alive I thought was a good outcome and I was quite happy if this day didn’t get any better. But it did – I caught a fish! The trout varieties here are Cut Throat, Rainbow, Bull or Brown and as indicated by the two red stripes on the gills, I had caught a good size Cut Throat (the local species). Woo Hoo! I was now on the scoreboard. Wendy Sinden 1 - Hans Sauer 0.

After a few more casts (like 300 since my adrenalin was rushing), we decided to pull up rods and have some lunch. Who could eat at a time like this but Nate was in charge so I followed the pack leader. We were on our way to a lunch spot when Nate spotted a ‘hatching’. This is a spot where for maybe only ten minutes the swarm of ‘bugs’ land  and lay their eggs. Needless to say the fish enter into a ‘feeding frenzy’ and the fishing is good, very good. Without much need for explanation, Nate screeched to a halt, reversed up the truck and in one bound grabbed his rod and leapt into the water. There was none of this sit on the bank and check out the fly count and the patterns in the water for the fish. It was on! We were in a purple patch. Nate caught and released about twenty fish and I caught another one! It was now Wendy Sinden 2 – Hans Sauer 0.

Upon cessation of the egg laying the fishing died down a little and we decided to finally get some lunch. When I looked up I was immediately alarmed - had Nate seen another moose or was it a bear? No. He looked at his phone and saw the time and a missed call from Miriam. We were due to go to dinner with other guests at 7pm. Given it was a 2 hour trip to get back home and it was already 4.30pm we ‘pulled up sticks’ and set off home. As Mother Nature had been very good to us today, we hoped Miriam and Peter would be too. They didn’t honestly think we would be home on time did they??

Dinner with Autumn and Anthony was great. Autumn is the new Grade 1 teacher in town and Anthony is a Law Professor at the University of Montana. Peter was really keen to do a job swap and had a great time hearing all about the Law Program here. After tourism, students seeking a law degree is the next biggest income earner for the state of Montana! The local oysters were plump and delicious and since we had eaten elk all week we went down market and had a steak.

22/6/13 - Back to Missoula

Drove back to Missoula

Encountered a huge storm in Butte Valley

Further writing to be done here

21/6/13 – Yellowstone National Park (Day 5)

Hayden Valley Wildlife Watching and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

0600 breakfast

0645 check out of Grant village

0745 meet at the bus

0800 depart for the Grand Canyon area for 8 mile hike – saw deer, coyote, bull elks in full velvet (furry antlers), amazing coloured rocks and sand valley they believe was formed in two weeks after a glacial lake broke it dam wall. Two huge water falls with osprey nests 

1300 Picnic lunch

1700 return to MHS - Saw grazing elk cows and calves in the village

Further writing to be done here

20/6/13 – Yellowstone National Park (Day 4)

The Old Faithful Area

0700 breakfast at Grant dining Room – staff (students from all over the US and overseas) confined to the camp group because of bears feeding on the trout

0800 meet at bus and depart for backcountry interpretative hike 8 miles

Got out of the bus bitter wind and then it snowed on us – saw waterfalls and a veritable who’s who of geo-thermal activity including mud pits, hot springs and geysers including old faithful which blows every 89 mins give or take 10 mins!

Old Faithful Geyser Basin walk 3 miles

1700 Group dinner Grant Village dining room. The ‘log cabin’ has to be seen to be believed.

Further writing to be done here

19/6/13 – Yellowstone National Park (Day 3)

Northern Range Wildlife Watching and Yellowstone Lake Area

0630 meet at the bus

Breakfast on the bus

Northern Range wildlife watching interpretative hike 3 miles – saw bison up close and person, pronghorn, wolf, golden eagle and sensational scenery

Picnic lunch

Yellowstone Lake interpretative hike 5 miles

Check in Grant Village

Further writing to be done here

18/6/13 – Yellowstone National Park (Day 2)

Hiking and wildlife watching on Yellowstone's Northern Range

7am breakfast

8am meet at institute with pack

Travel to mammoth area/northern ranges interpretative hike 8 miles – saw black bear with two cubs, big horned sheep, piker and great flowers and trees

Lunch on trail

Return to camp

Afternoon visit to the hot springs – amazing geysers

Overnight at MHSH

Further writing to be done here

17/6/13 – Yellowstone National Park (Day 1)

Left Richmond family in Missoula and set off east to Yellowstone National Park

Arrived 4.30pm and took in the visitors centre and watched a movie about history of the park

Settled into our cabin C56 before attending the briefing at 7pm. Met Carolyn our guide and the other 9 people on the trip.

Spent the long evening watching prairie dogs pop in and out of the thousand tunnels they’d built in the grass quad.

Further writing to be done here – no wifi and minimal phone coverage

16/6/13 – USA Fathers’ Day with Bikes and Bacon

This morning we hiked the ‘M’ - a huge ‘M’ constructed by the University of Montana on the side of the mountain (Mount Sentinel, originally known as "Mount Woody” is a small mountain located to the east of the University of Montana in Missoula). At a height of 1,958 feet and an elevation of 5,158 feet, Mount Sentinel features the hillside letter "M", a large concrete structure 620 feet up its western face.

Apparently the students of the University of Montana used to put a big ‘M’ made of white washed rocks on the hillside every year at graduation, so eventually the town decided to put a permanent concrete one there instead. The path up to it is now a popular local walking activity – a bit like Perth’s Jacob’s ladder. 

After the walk (which featured spectacular views of the Missoula Valley) we called into one of the local restaurants so the guys could have complementary fathers’ day beers and a ‘Hangover Burger’ (it had no evidence of vegetable content – just bread, meat patty, eggs, cheese, ketchup, mustard and of course that great American staple - bacon).

It is here I would like to pause the story of the day and share with you a tribute to the ubiquity of motor bikes and bacon in US culture.

 

We have seen, and I have photographed, bacon chocolate, bacon chips, bacon stacks,

 

bacon bits on potatoes,

bacon tacos,

bacon baskets, maple bacon donuts

and today I have seen Missoula’s famous Bloody Mary Bar where there have bacon rasher swizzels! I kid you not folks, the citizens of the USA love their bacon and will eat it at every opportunity.

Now as you know I have been amassing a collection of photos of cool bikes that guys in NYC ride when they want to escape the city. But having been in Missoula for even a few days it was clearly evident that had only collecting the ‘baby bikes’ of the USA. Many men and women travelling through here have matching road bikes.

Nate tells me that some know how to ride them but the ‘yuppies’ and ‘dinks’ from Washington and California ride them for show and like most of us with our DVD don’t really know that much about how they work or really live life on the road. Easy tell – everything is clean and new and the woman has a worried look on her face!    

 

So back to the story, we finished the day with a short visit to sample the various beers at Montana’s Big Sky Brewing Company. This was followed by an afternoon nap, a walk in the park and family BBQ with friends where Nate put some elk steaks on the Barbie for us!

We sampled the other micro-brewery beers including Wheatfish, Moose’s Drool, Trout Slayer, Big Sky IPA, Bayern amber lager, Dopplebock lager, Dragon’s Breath, Scape Goat Pale Ale and my personal favourite Pig’s Ass!

It was great day for the Mountain Men, especially for Nate who opened all of the beers with his reef sandals – they have a bottle opener embedded in the sole. Brilliant design feature!

15/6/13 – Hello Missoula

With two young early risers keen to get going (Amelia and Rose not Peter and Wendy) we were all dressed and ready to depart the Richmond residence in Evans Street quite early this morning, so we set off for a short but very scenic walk through the nearby campus of Montana University, down to the banks of the Clark Fork river and along the bike path into town. Once there we had breakfast at the local produce markets.

Obligatory was the bacon, egg, cheddar cheese and maple syrup waffle and coffee and optional was everything else ranging from morels (wild mushrooms that look like fresh dates and that grow only for a short time after a fire), huckleberry jam, rhubarb slushies, woodfired pizzas, Bitterroot Bison products including meat, hides, soap and skulls, products from the Hindu-Hillbillies Rivulet Apiaries like honey lemonade and beauty products.

There was also homemade buffalo bites for dogs and kitties, popcorn cooked in huge butter cauldrons and, my personal favourite, Captain Hook’s Ice Creams (served by a one armed guy with a real hook at the end of his missing arm! It was quite a sight to see this guy serve an ice cream with the cone sitting nicely in the hook. Even better sight was the look on each kid’s face when they saw how their ice cream was being assembled!!

We then took a short walk to the arts and crafts market where there was an extensive range of mountain gear – scarves, gloves, hats, fishing and hunting wear, wood products and jewellery. Guess it is true what they say: ‘There are only two seasons here in Montana, Winter and July’! 

 

Next we took a carousel ride, saw players from the Montana Grizzlies (the football team) and walked past two guys surfing the rapids in the local river on surfboards. 

Finally we went to visit the Elk Foundation where we saw stuffed and mounted carcasses of a wide range of wilderness ‘critters’ like the Montana Elk who holds the Boone and Crockett Club (see details of this club below) record for antler size, a grizzly bear, a kodiak bear, a mountain lion, a skunk, a beaver, a big horned sheep, a golden eagle, a turkey, a porcupine, a pronghorn deer, a white tailed deer and a marmot.

The Boone and Crockett Club 1887-2012 

 It is the mission of the Boone and Crockett Club to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America. The oldest wildlife conservation organization in North America – founding in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell.

The initiator and champion of the first National Parks, including Yellowstone, Glacier, Denali, and Grand Canyon Initiator and champion of the first legislation for wildlife, including the Timberland Reserve Bill, Yellowstone Protection Act, Lacey Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Alaskan Game Laws

The Club was the champion of the earliest science-based wildlife management efforts and legislation, including the National Wildlife Refuge System Act, and the creation of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units and of the first legislations funding wildlife conservation, including the Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson), and the federal Duck Stamp Act

It pioneered and established the principles of responsible, ethical, and sustainable use hunting known as ‘Fair Chase’. 

It created the first big game scoring and data collection system to objectively measure and evaluate species and population health and habitat quality to improve state and federal wildlife polices and management.

The initiator and champion of all of the principle federal land management agencies, including the US First Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

It spawned and supported key wildlife conservation organizations, including the New York Zoological Society (1895), National Audubon Society (1905), Wildlife Management Institute (1911), National Wildlife Federation (1937), Ducks Unlimited (1937), and American Wildlife Conservation Partners (2000)

After spending some time walking through the Elk Foundation building we went for a short walk on the nature trail along the nearby creek and finally spotted some live animals, including a white tailed deer and an osprey. The night ended with a BBQ to farewell Nate’s and Miriam’s friend Kelsey who has been called up for her commission to the US Air Force. We wish her a safe tour of duty.

ps. the Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Redhawks 2-1 in the 6^th period of extra time in the first game of the Stanley Cup.

14/6/13 – Hello Montana

So with NYC ‘done’ it is now time to move on to other adventures that are awaiting our attention. This morning we were up at 6am and after a light breakfast Peter took our six bags, yes folks six 23 kgs bags, down the four long flights of stairs, while I helpfully supervised his every step!

Unfortunately the cab that we had booked to take us to the airport failed to arrive, so we hailed the closest cab and, to the great surprise of the driver, Peter managed to load all six bags, two carry-ons and two back packs into the cab. Luckily I am now so thin that I could fit in the glove box!

  

If we thought the plane from JFK to Salt Lake City was small, we were opened to a whole new world of ‘small’ when we boarded our plane to Missoula. It was a pretty tight and uncomfortable flight but finally, after 6 hours of flying we made it to Missoula International Airport where we were met by our friend Miriam Richmond and her two delightful girls, Amelia and Rose. The little girls got to carry the little bags and the adults got two big bags each. Luckily Miriam has a big van so we all piled in.

When we got home we met Nate (Miriam’s husband) and we immediately decided we liked this guy who had prepared a wonderful elk stir fry for our dinner – how could we not like a man who had gone to all the trouble of hunting down and shooting an 800lb elk for us with his cross bow, skinning and butchering it in the wild, bringing home the prime cuts for our dinner (which he cooked himself) and who then stashed the rest of the beast in a big freezer out in the garage just so that we could be certain of having plenty more red meat to eat during our stay?

We knew immediately that we were in a place with blue sky and green grass and that was far away from the highly processed fast foods and sugary drinks of NYC … and we loved it!

Hello Montana.

13/6/13 – Grand Annee 2004 Farewell

Again it was pouring with rain today. Is this really what summer is like in NYC? We got soaked again as we walked all the way down to the Asphalt Green gym for our workout but, at our final weigh in afterwards, we were pleased to discover that, over the course of our stay here, we have both lost 10kgs … so we celebrated like jockeys who’ve made the weight after a big race – me with the much heralded Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and a cinnamon donut and Peter with a chocolate shake from Shake Shack on 86^th Street. It was good to be able to celebrate but the food didn’t actually taste that good. Funny how our taste buds have evolved over the six months here. The real celebration and farewells to NYC were to have happened later that day in Central Park where we planned to have a last romantic picnic, but as it was raining so hard we decided to cuddle up in our little flat and have sushi and, thanks to Hans and Sue Sauer’s birthday gift to me earlier in the year, a splendid 2004 Bollinger La Grand Année. This is truly one of the greats of Champagne, a muscular wine with body, length, depth, and every other dimension. Sourcing nothing other than quality fruit, it consists of 76% Grand Crus and 24% Premier of Crus with a minimum aging of 5 years. Drinking it was a sheer delight and it left us with one final happy memory of our time here in ‘the City’. We have so many very happy memories of our time here. We were very lucky to share it with some great people. We can now put a big tick against this item on our bucket list.

Live in NYC …. done!

12/6/13 – Amateur Night Finals @ Apollo Theatre

Tonight was Amateur Night Finals at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Wikipedia says that the Apollo Theatre is a music hall and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was formerly the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated television variety show consisting of new talent. There are precisely 1506 seats in the Apollo Theatre.

 

The theatre is located at 253 W. 125th Street (also called ‘Martin Luther King Jr Ave’), the ‘Main Street’ of Harlem. As you probably all know, Harlem is one of the United States' most historically significant African-American neighbourhoods. 

Apollo Hall was founded in the mid-19th century by former Civil War General Edward Ferrero as a dance hall and ballroom. Upon the expiration of his lease in 1872, the building was converted to a theatre, which closed shortly before the turn of the 20th century.

In 1913 or 1914, a new building, designed by the architect George Keister, who also designed the First Baptist Church in the City of New York, opened at 253 West 125th Street. It was called 'Hurtig and Seamon's New (Burlesque) Theatre and practised a strict 'Whites Only' policy'. The theatre was operated by noted burlesque producers Jules Hurtig and Harry Seamon, who obtained a 30-year lease. It remained in operation until 1928, when Bill Minsky took over. The song "I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)" by Harry Sullivan and Harry Ruskin, written in 1929, became the theme song of the theatre.

Throughout the 1920’s the so called ‘Harlem Renaissance’ was occurring leading to a great migration of blacks from the southern U.S. states to Harlem. These newcomers brought Jazz to the City and, although they were not allowed to attend the theatre as patrons, they flourished as performers there. Unfortunately, as a result of the Great Depression, the theatre fell into disrepair and closed once more in 1932. In 1933, it was purchased by Frank Schulman (owner of Harlem's Lafayette and Lincoln theatre's).

After lavish renovations the theatre re-opened as the Apollo on 26 January 1934. Schulman's intention was to us the venue to exclusively showcase black entertainers and he hired Clarence Robinson as in-house producer. He also introduced "Audition Night" (that was later called 'Amateur Night'), held every Monday evening. On 14 February 1934, the first major star to appear at the Apollo was jazz singer and Broadway star Adelaide Hall in Clarence Robinson's production entitled 'Chocolate Soldiers' featuring Sam Wooding's Orchestra.

  

The show ran for a limited engagement and was highly praised by the press and helped establish the Apollo as Harlem's premier theatre. Soon after this a benefit show appeared at the theatre entitled "Jazz a la Carte", featuring Ralph Cooper, Benny Carter and his orchestra, and "16 Gorgeous Hot Steppers", with all proceeds donated to the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund. Schulman's motivation for featuring ‘negro’ talent and entertainment was not only because the neighbourhood had become ‘negro’ over a long period of gradual migration, but also because ‘coloured’ entertainers were cheaper to hire, and Schulman could offer quality shows for reasonable rates. For many years, the Apollo was the only theatre in New York City to hire ‘black’ people.

 

The Apollo grew to prominence during the pre-World War II years. In 1934, it introduced its regular Amateur Night shows hosted by Ralph Cooper. Billing itself as a place "where stars are born and legends are made," the Apollo became famous for launching the careers of artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Mariah Carey, The Isley Brothers, Lauryn Hill, Sarah Vaughan, Jazmine Sullivan, Ne-Yo, and Machine Gun Kelly.

The Apollo also featured the performances of old-time vaudeville favorites like Tim Moore, Stepin Fetchit, Moms Mabley, Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham, Clinton "Dusty" Fletcher, John "Spider Bruce" Mason, and Johnny Lee, as well as younger comics like Godfrey Cambridge. Vocalist Thelma Carpenter won the amateur night in 1938, returning several times later as a headliner and also for the 1993 NBC-TV special "Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame," an all-star tribute hosted by Bill Cosby.

 

Ella Fitzgerald made her ‘Amateur Night’ singing debut at 17 at the Apollo, on November 21, 1934. Ella had originally intended to go on stage and dance, but intimidated by the Edwards Sisters, a local dance duo, she opted to sing instead, in the style of Connee Boswell. She sang Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy" and "The Object of My Affection", a song recorded by the Boswell Sisters, and won the first prize of US$25.

 

Thirty years later, in 1964, Jimi Hendrix won the first place prize in the amateur musician contest at the Apollo. He also won $25. Then inflation began to kick in. Amateur Night marked its first tie on October 27, 2010, with guitarist Nathan Foley, 16, of Rockville, Maryland, and cellist and singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson, 25, a London, England, student at the Manhattan School of Music, sharing the $10,000 first prize.

One unique feature of the Apollo during Amateur Nights was (and still is) "the executioner," a man with a broom who would sweep performers off the stage if the highly vocal and opinionated audiences began to call for their removal.

In 1962, James Brown, who had first played the Apollo three years earlier with his group The Famous Flames, recorded his show at the theatre. The resulting album, Live at the Apollo, was a ground-breaking success, spending 66 weeks on the Billboard pop albums chart and peaking at #2. Brown went on to record three more albums and a television special (‘James Brown: Man to Man’) at the theatre, and helped popularize it as a venue for live recordings. Other performers who recorded albums at the Apollo include Clyde McPhatter, Marva Whitney, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Robert Palmer, and B.B. King.

The club fell into decline in the 1960s and 1970s, and was converted into a movie theatre in 1975. But it was revived in 1983, when Inner City Broadcasting, a firm owned by former Manhattan Borough President Percy E. Sutton, purchased the building. It obtained federal, state, and city landmark status, and was fully reopened in 1985. The Little Rascals, produced by former actor Jimmy Hawkins, performed at a fiftieth anniversary show at the Apollo that year. The musical duo Hall & Oates, along with former Temptations Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffin played the grand reopening in 1985, which was released on an album that year. In 1991, the Apollo was purchased by the State of New York.

 

On December 15, 2005, Dmarjai Dearion launched the first phase of its refurbishment, costing an estimated $65 million. The first phase included the facade and the new light-emitting diode (LED) marquee. Attendees and speakers at the launch event included former US president Bill Clinton, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons.

Since 2009 the theatre has been run by the non-profit Apollo Theatre Foundation Inc., and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually. The Jazz Foundation of America has celebrated its annual benefit concert, "A Great Night in Harlem", at the Apollo Theatre every year since 2001. In December 2010, Paul McCartney performed at the Apollo in a concert promoting and broadcast by Sirius XM Satellite Radio. During an appearance at the Apollo in January 2012, President Barack Obama sang the opening line of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" after which he said to Green, "Don't worry, Rev...I cannot sing like you...I just wanted to show my appreciation." Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the Apollo on March 9, 2012, in a private concert for Sirius XM.

 

The young talent on show the night Peter and I attended the theatre was amazing! It ranged from singers, to rappers, to drummers and performers. They came from as far away as Vietnam, Japan and South Korea. They were all cheered on and applauded at the end of their performances. The older performers however, were given the ‘usual treatment’ as the crowd here decides who stays and who gets swept off stage. The crowd tonight was ruthless but spot on the money when it came to deciding talent and no talent. As the sign outside the entrance clearly says, at Amateur Night you must either: ‘Be Good or Be Gone’.  

After the show we walked along 125^th to ‘Red Rooster’ the famous Harlem centre of ‘soul food’. It is renowned for its Southern Fried Chicken and its vast variety of waffles. Unfortunately it was now catering for the generally more affluent and ‘brave’ white folks and tourists so, as is usually the case with recognised tourist places, it failed to live up to its former reputation. The waiter was bored, the food was dry and the only chicken dish on the menu was like fried cardboard. Dining there was an interesting experience in a famous place but it lacked authentic quality. We went home disappointed.