Post-script: Video Report at Boston College

Here we're featured in a video report by The Gavel, Boston College's newspaper. Filmed at our very first gig of tour, as guests of The Bostonians. Ahh, nostalgic already... :)

The Bostonians Present The Oxford Gargoyles: A cappella Concert, The Gavel from bcgavel on Vimeo.

So long, Farewell

Sigh. And now we're all back in our respective homes, some of us enjoying the first rays of summer, some of us still battling jetlag, some of us feverishly revising for Trinity term exams...the Gargoyles have now completed East Coast Tour 2010. Here's a recap of our last week in NYC.

Through the week we did a few charity gigs/workshops- at the All Stars Performing Arts Charity, a children's hospital in the Bronx, and the Children's Aid Society in East Village. These made for some of the most enjoyable moments on tour, especially as we met some memorable people- including some very enthusiastic little dancers, a girl called Ariel (who we duly serenaded with "Kiss di Girl" from 'A Little Mermaid'), and a teenager who had written a very interesting rap.

We also performed with more a capella groups- one night we sang with the Red States and RUB at "Fat Baby", a bar in East Village. Here we also met the enterprising (and rather impressive) beat-boxer "Masai Electro".

Gargoyles @ Fat Baby

Halfway through the week we also travelled to New Jersey to spend a night at Princeton with the Princeton Tigertones. We swapped warmups, had dinner with them in a nice restaurant, and later in the evening did a fun and chilled out outdoor gig at Blair Arch. After this we got our taster of a typical Princeton party, which was held at one of the "eating clubs". (Massive. Slightly unreal). We stayed that night in the Tigertones room, a tres cool haven of amusing wall hangings, Tigertones vinyl records from the 50s, comfy couches stolen roadsigns, Jack Daniels bottles, photos with various celebrities, and of course a massive stuffed tiger that had a throne to itself.

A defining characteristic of the Gargoyle is it's healthy appetite, so we had to add a few more restaurants to our collection once we were in NYC. We did a couple of gigs at Keen's Steakhouse and enjoyed a couple of VERY luxurious meals. Another evening, after a set at the Williams Club (which is a club for Oxford and other alumni) we dashed over to sing at for our supper at the Crowne Plaza, which looks over on the futuristic sea of flashing billboards that is Times Square. Brilliant if slightly surreal experience to dine in black tie to the backdrop of a giant, grinning yellow M&M that did acrobatics off a cartoon Empire State Building.

Of course, we couldn't leave NYC without getting our full tourist experience. By day, the Gargoyles explored NYC, splitting up to trawl various corners of Manhattan. We soaked in some culture (think Museum of Modern Art/the Metropolitan Museum of Art/Guggenheim), soaked in some sunshine (picnic in Central Park), and relieved ourselves of lots of cash (Macy's, Filene's Basement, Union Square).

Chilling in Central Park

And then, April 11th- the time came to say adieu. Our very last night was perhaps our very best- although (or maybe because?) we weren't doing any singing ourselves. We went to "Groove", a bar/grill in East Village where we danced along to an amazing funk/soul/R&B band. AMAZING. Some of the Gargoyles even had songs especially dedicated to them. Flattering. ;)

Unfortunately had to make it back in time to do last minute packing and leave for the airport at an unholy hour of the morning...but all in all, a brilliant finale to an epic tour.

A big thank you to everyone who has hosted us, fed us, sung with us and generally given us a great time. Goodbye, America: till next year.

Taking a bite of the Big Apple

The Goyles have now been in NYC for four days. We've done a few gigs, soaked in some culture, tramped around Greenwich Village, gotten lost multiple times, done some busking, annoyed plenty of New Yorkers by bursting into song on the subway, lazed about in the park...generally had a great time because the weather has been AMAZING.

Gone are the days of rain and cold (our first morning in America we'd been greeted by a blizzard of snow)...at the moment it's unbelievably sunny in Noo Yawk.

Our first NYC gig was at Cafe Vivaldi with Six Play, an adult semi-pro a capella group. It was a small and quite cute cafe, and afterwards we got some dinner with some Six Play members, so that was fun. Last night we sang with The Uptown Vocals at Columbia University, very jazzy.

Gargoyles at Cafe Vivaldi

We've done a fair bit of sightseeing- we toured the Lincoln Center, which is pretty much the mecca for musicians (NYC Opera, Metropolitan Opera, etcetera are all here) and we got ridiculously cheap student tickets to see Madama Butterfly at the NYC Opera one night. We were fairly awe-inspired by the singers who had to fill a 4000-seater auditorium without mics. It was a beautiful opera. Managed to stay awake by chomping through a box of mixed nuts bought at intermission.

Gargoyles in the Lincoln Centre at Metropolitan Opera

Central Park has been another much frequented Gargoyle haunt, as has Times Square . Highlights at Times Square included an M&M World (featuring a giant M&M dummy at the entrance dressed as Elvis, complete with curled lip) and a woman in front of Ripley's Believe it Or Not who seemed to be swallowing a sword.

The King

Our accommodation has also been eclectic and interesting. We've stayed at a YMCA just a few steps away from Central Park and from the Lincoln Centre, a night at a hostel which had 12 beds squished into a hankerchief-sized room (they did say the Gargoyles get much closer as a group during tour...), a night at Columbia...and at one point, someone very kindly lent us his flat to stay in- a flat on 34th and Broadway, i.e. slap bang in the centre of town, between the Empire State Building and the world's largest Macy's and the Empire State Building. The Goyles lived the Manhattan life of luxury for a night. Felt like something out of Gossip Girl.

Tonight we're singing for our supper at a Steakhouse. More adventures to follow later in the week.

Ta for now,
xxx

Invasion of the Goyles Part 1

Aloha ladies and gentlemen, here's the first tour update from the Goyles on the East Coast. We have had a BRILLIANT first five nights. :) We've hopped about all over Boston and Hartford, dragging bags between an amusingly "sketchy" (translation: "dodgy") hostel in Everett near Boston, the YMCA in Greater Boston, Boston College, Harvard University, and the very interesting Mark Twain Hostel here at Hartford.

So far we've performed and partied with The Bostonians, On The Rocks, The Veritones and The Din and Tonics! Thanks to everyone for giving us such a great time, and for the brilliant (and sometimes hilarious) performances. We've discovered that doing gigs in American colleges is really fun, because in this country a-capella is a raging PHENOMENON rather than a slightly inexplicable quirk. At our very first gig in the US (at Boston College) - we got a standing ovation from the entire audience. Score. Admittedly this is at least partly because of general American appreciation for the English accent.

Busking with On the Rocks @ Copley Square

We've done some busking at various places in Boston- including Quincey Market and Copley Square. Our fan base is getting pretty eclectic, an enthusiastic hobo and some skaters have now joined the ranks. We've also been asked to sing Happy Birthday quite a few times now, initially this was fun but it gets a little irritating after a point.

On the 27th we sang at the restaurant Gargoyles on the Square in Cambridge, just outside of Boston. First, however, we were fed a heavenly three-course meal after which we were slightly worried that we'd have to burp our way through "A Stolen Moment of Scat", but we did manage to sing. Our audience was very appreciative and bought us lots of drinks, which we appreciated right back.

At Gargoyles on the Square post-gig and post-sumptuous meal

Yesterday and today we've been at Hartford, Connecticut, doing workshops at Hall High School with a lot of the music classes and also the a capella groups "Acafellas" and the amazing "Choraliers". We sang a few songs for the classes, heard them sing, and worked on some jazz improvisation exercises with the classes. There was a lot of talent to be heard :) It was pretty inspiring to see sixteen year olds scatting effortlessly...and they were all very enthusiastic about music, jazz, singing, and life in general it seemed...probably helps that they all spend an hour every day doing music - as scheduled lesson time rather than after classes. What a life. The Gargoyles are planning to send any future offspring to Hall High School, no matter how long the commute is from England.

Last night was another really fun night- we went for dinner at Black Eyed Sally's, a jazz club at Hartford. We listened to some quality jazz- the Harford Jazz society had organised for a few students of the music college and some professors to play, including the famous Nat Reeves. Unexpectedly, we were asked to sing a few songs later in the night (again, impressive that we managed this after eating Quite. A. Lot.). Turns out we've now been mentioned in The Hartford Courant, which is quite nice. :)

Singing at Black Eyed Sally's

We've had a great time so far, thanks to all the lovely people who have helped us out. Thank you to the Bostonians and the Veritones for giving us a place to crash, and to Jarek and Malgorzata at Hartford for the delicious home cooked meals (as you can probably tell, the way to a Gargoyle's heart is through its stomach) ...and last but not least to Grace and David at the Mark Twain Hostel for being one of the best audiences we've ever had for "My Baby Just Cares.."

Gargoyles pose with Grace & David

Off to The Big Apple tomorrow. Adieu for now.

xxx

The Gargoyles Cross The Pond

COUNT DOWN till our grand tour of the US East Coast begins...3 days left! We're hitting Boston, Hartford, Princeton and New York City. Watch this space for updates.