Five weeks ago I was booked outside of Manhattan to play a private party this past Friday at a home in Montclair, NJ. The host wanted an interactive show in the style of Dueling Pianos, but with just one entertainer on his grand piano. We emailed back and forth several times over the past few weeks talking about the content of the show and what would work best with his guests. We nailed it down, the contract was signed and a deposit was paid. Then Hurricane (Frankenstorm?) Sandy came.
I was lucky that my place didn’t loose power or have any direct damage from the storm, although much of Manhattan was out of power. The worst of the storm happened on Monday night, and for the rest of the week the subways and the power grids in NYC were hobbled. The gas stations quickly ran out of gas. The Holland Tunnel still remains closed as of this writing, and inbound traffic through the Lincoln Tunnel has been limited to cars with 3 riders or more. On Wednesday, in preparation for Friday’s gig in New Jersey, I decided to rent a Zipcar right by the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel, as I was afraid that the Friday afternoon traffic out of the city would be much worse than it’s normal end of the week exodus. As I got ready to leave my place to get the car, I double checked the address of the garage only to find that my reservation had been cancelled because apparently most of the zipcars in Manhattan had been returned with no gas.
After a panicked call to Zipcar, they found me one of the last cars in Manhattan. I walked/ran 25 blocks because the taxis were all full. I was afraid it would take me hours to get through the tunnel, but strangely I was in NJ in about 10 minutes after picking up my car in midtown. The drive on Rt. 3 was uneventful, but once I got off the highway I was detoured no less than 5 times due to fallen trees and power lines. I passed several gas stations, some with no power, others with long lines of people waiting to fill their gas cans, and others with lines of ambulances and police cars waiting to fill up.
Finally I reached the clients home, 10 minutes before I was due to begin my show. A quick change into my gig clothes and I was behind the piano. The night went quickly as people were in the mood to party, as everyone there had had a rough week with Sandy and her aftermath. As the 40 partygoers gathered around my piano, swaying together and singing at the top of their voices, all of the stress of the week dissipated. I was reminded yet again of what a privilege it is to be an entertainer.
About the Author: Eddie Lawrence has been playing singalong piano in NYC and anywhere else where there’s a piano or a plug for a keyboard for 15 years. He is the owner of New York, NY Dueling Pianos, an interactive headline show with two crazy pianists, each trying to out do the other.
