New York Notes, vol. I

Some highlights from the past thirty hours in New York City:

• Charlie Sexton at the Mercury Lounge. Since emerging as a child prodigy in San Antonio in the 1980s, Sexton has been recording and touring for more than twenty years - not bad for a guy who's under thirty (I think). Recenylu, he finished a four-year gig with Bob Dylan's band (where he began playing cowboy chords in the corner and finished up starring on lead guitar) and produced a couple of dynamite albums (Lucinda Williams's "Essence" and "Volcano," Edie Brickell's tour-de-force). Sexton has an album out sometime around now ("The Wish") and is playing a handful of club shows to support it.
  
  The crowd was a quarter Sexton die-hards (who remember San Antonio's nightclubs better than he does), a quarter Dylan fans (of whose "hippie" vibe Sexton announced he's glad to be rid) and a quarter East Village hipsters. The last quarter was a kind of combination of two or more of the above.
  
  Sexton played for about 75 minutes (not too short considering tickets were $15). Despite some lousy feedback problems that popped up whenever he sat down at the piano, he put on a solid performance, thanks in part to a talented group behind him, including the excellent J.J. Johnson on drums and Carter Albrecht on keys. Two or three of his new songs, especially "Sunday Clothes," made me want to pick up the CD next time I see it.
  
  The Mercury Lounge is a tiny venue - a long room with a bar in the back, a stage in the front and room for no more than 299 people - so the current in the room was strong. You could tell that Sexton needed to concentrate hard on his singing, fighting successfully (most of the time) to stay on pitch; his guitar playing, however, didn't suffer (his piano was hard to hear and the occasional cittern sounded cool). I was reminded of Sexton nervously flicking his guitar cord every ten seconds while on stage with Bob - if only because, as he did while touring with Dylan, he had a new axe for every song.
  
  
• Berger's Delicatessen on 47th. What do you mean they close at eight? As the Extreme Asshole said to Harold in the best movie of last year, "Better luck tomorrow."
  
  
• Lombardi's Pizza on Spring St. - followed by chocolate hazelnut and cinnamon raisin rice pudding from Rice to Riches. The stuff legends are made of.
  
  
• The TKTS line - not as hot a deal as you would expect, though the decision to buy bottom-prived Avenue Q tickets should make for a decent Wednesday night. Thursday is an afternoon game at Yankee Stadium; huzzah.
  
  
• It's official - the Hit Factory is closed (and the Daily Show has moved).