Manhattan Monday Night
By Todd Dragland
Introduction
Every Monday night Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar, plays at the Iridium Club on Broadway and 51st Street in New York City. Les Paul was born June 9, 1915 and is still playing the guitar while entertaining in New York. You can check out the Iridium Club web site at http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/les.shtml and learn more about Les Paul.
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The Trip
It was a January Monday in Saratoga Springs and my son Adam and I had talked about going to see Les Paul and this was the day we decided to make the trip. Adam being a guitar enthusiast was up for the trip. We made our way down the Northway and Thruway to New Jersey and then crossed over the Hudson River into Manhattan at the Lincoln Tunnel. It was just a little over 2 hours and we were in Manhattan enjoying a great Japanese Sushi dinner before the 8 :00 p.m. show. We were staying on Broadway just across the street from the Iridium which is a block or two north of Times Square.
We crossed over to the Iridium Club and sat down to enjoy the show. Les Paul put on a great performance and was telling jokes with a lot of stories about his life as a guitar great!
As Les Paul says himself , "You just never know who will show up at the Iridium on Monday nights." Les Paul told a story of one time when Paul McCartney was in the crowd and came to meet Les. Many great musicians have visited to jam with Les. The club was packed and is every Monday night as people come to enjoy the tunes.
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Recommendation
If you are traveling to NYC soon and you are a music lover, stop at the Iridium on a Monday night a see the guitar legend Les Paul in person. After leaving the Iridium Club we took a cab over to Dangerfield's Club, a great comedy club on the east side at 61st Street. The photo at right is my son Adam Dragland, at Dangerfield's. |
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(Photos: January 13, 2003 by Todd Dragland)
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