Pier 54

How the hell did I end up in San Diego? I was just on the 60!
I was so pumped about Pier 54 that I could barely eat, even though the food was pretty darn good.
Built along the edge of those zig-​zaggy man-​made lakes in the middle of Tempe, Pier 54 is tucked away from any traffic noise and the hustle and bustle of sprawling Phoenix life. It’s set up as a bar /​restaurant combination, with a bar in the middle and seating all around it. The bar has a couple of TV’s mounted (old school non-​flat screens!) so you can catch the Suns or the other teams that let Phoenicians down.
The food was good; I wouldn’t send an email back home about it but definitely didn’t detract from the experience. I had the Shamu which was a battered cod sandwich. It was pretty good and although the bun would have left a little to wish for, they toasted it which immediately adds some points — sneaky. The fries were seasoned and came out hot.
Add the fact that even though we showed up five minutes before their last call takes place at 9:30p, the staff was really friendly and helpful. They only had two beers on tap, but as previously mentioned one was the Kronenbourg 1664 which is one of my new favorites.
All in all, two sandwiches and a couple beers set us back about $ 25 bucks. Not bad considering the area and view. I’ll definitely be returning for both Happy Hour and dinner in the future.

David Blaine – Electrified: One Million Volts Always On.
What is David Blaine?
Is he an Illusionist? That’s what they seem to call him but he’s not making the Statue of Liberty disappear like David Copperfield.
Is he an Escape Artist? So far he has been put in situations that he can’t escape from. He’s no Harry Houdini.
I can’t figure him out. It seems like all of his attention «stunts» involve two factors: Doing something incredibly stupid and time.
Years ago he froze himself in a block of ice for a long length of time. Then he starved himself for a long length of time in England. A couple years ago at Lincoln Center he stayed in an underwater bubble for a couple of days with a breathing apparatus. He was supposed to hold his breath for 7 minutes after the ordeal. He failed that test but it didn’t matter because it still got him attention and a TV special.
This time around at Pier 54, he and a bunch of techno hipsters decided it would be a good idea to put him in a Faraday suit and shoot a million volts of electricity through him with Tesla coils and set it to music. Even Andrew W.K. made an appearance. It was supposed to be around 73 hours of uninterrupted electricity coursing through him at all times but that was not the case.
What we all witnessed was an extended «break.» Two hours, I was told by another person that had been there longer than me. In this time, I watched David Blaine being attended to by his helpers who were on a motorized lift.
David Blaine took a pee break. David Blaine took a smoke break. David Blaine took time to reflect on his career and all the attention he was getting thus far. After all this, they decided to turn on the machines to start frying him.
One Million Volts Always On? Blaine has managed to fool everyone. Oh, now I see. He’s the greatest Con Man of all time.

Free venue, outdoors, ocean breeze… can’t ask for more.
I was here this past weekend for the Blues & BBQ festival. They had a few different bands playing awesome blues music all day and several different vendors from all over NYC selling some of their delicious BBQ dishes. It was pretty awesome to have some delicious BBQ while listening to some awesome bands while being right on the ocean. Its definitely a place I will look forward to going back to for future events.

as free, outdoor music venues go, this one isn’t at the top of my list. prospect park, central park, the seaport and a few others out do pier 54. this is mostly because of the layout. the long and narrow shape isn’t conducive to giving the best view to lots and lots of people.
but when you put that aside, there are some very good things at pier 54. they’ve got a couple food stands, so if you hop over after work, you’re not starving through the entire set. (veggie options included.) and of course there’s beer, and twisted tea and what have you, if you’re jonesing for an alcoholic beverage. prices are reasonable. think it’s like $ 5 for 24oz. of the tea.
i will also say, the sound is great. it was loud and awesome when i went to see metronomy. the speakers were turned up, which is good because it would cover up the sound of the drunk girls screeching behind me.

Free concerts while watching the sunset. That sentence alone is 5 star worthy.
The line will be long to get in, so arrive before doors if you care about getting a good view of the stage. I arrived 20 minutes before doors and easily made my way to the 2^nd row.
The first act went on an hour late due to the line of people outside still trying to get in. The place fits about 4800 people, so you have a pretty good chance of getting in without capacity issues. Waiting did not bother me. The weather was beautiful and the sun was setting. You cannot really get angry or impatient with that.
During the final encore (by chance I am sure.), fireworks were set off across the river. Perfect ending to the night!
Quick facts:
DSLR cameras are allowed
Beers/​food served inside
Do not get discouraged by the line, it moves fast

you have to love Pier 54 at the South Street Seaport, the free concerts, the out door eateries, the history of the place, the bodies exhibit, i mean the only real disaster were the idiots that planned the Drake concert. Boats pulling into the Pier, the fresh water smell, the fresh sea food, plus its away from the pretentious gliterrati nyc that is midtown

Not
The best
Sound but the
Free concerts in
The summer always have a few great shows.

Jazz Rules! This festival here last year was so much fun. My only complaint was that it wasn’t clean enough. However, the food was good, the entertainment was great, and when it neared closing time the prices got DIRT CHEAP!
Keep an eye out for events here. It really makes you happy to be a New Yorker.

The pier itself is not really much to see, BUT they have events all summer long like free flicks, free dance lesson, and bands rockin it out, or jazz/​blues with BBQ lovin! So with that I say, it’s a nice place to be.
PLUS it’s right by the new HIGHLINE park entrance and it’s really cool up there!
Overall, it’s history meets new culture, so enjoy!

Once a Cunard ocean liner dock, Pier 54 has some serious history. Designed by architects Warren and Wetmore, creators of Grand Central Terminal, the pier was in use through the 1930’s. Built as a departure point and dock, this pier served as the drop off point for the survivors returning from the Titanic. Another historic ship, the Lusitania, left Pier 54 on towards the coast of Ireland where she was downed by German submarine torpedoes, bringing the US to the brink of WWI.
In the late 1990’s, Pier 54 became one of the main outdoor event spaces for Hudson River Park. Upon entry, look up and you’ll see the large rusted archway, the only remnant of Cunard identification after the building was torn down to create the long open event space.
The East Germans were in the house last night, specifially the smokin’ hot DJ Paul Van Dyk. PVD usually spins each summer at Central Park, but this year he was taking to the river. Pier 54 offers amazing river views and cool breezes off of the water. Add to it friends, cocktails, and 5 hours of dancing to fantasic digital with a happy DJ on the decks and you’ve got the receipe for summer funtime.
PVD was in his element, providing not just a concert but a light show and perfect sound system which gave a complete concert club experience. I do hope they recorded last nights session as PVD’s on the fly live remixes and mashups were insane memorable. I was wearing my Fit Flops and after 5 hours of gyrating, my gluteus maximus and quadriceps were feeling the burn. That may have just been dehydration from all the Sauvignon Blanc consumed during the lengthy afternoon into evening. Two Boots was the primary food vendor at the Pier, a big favorite of mine. Oh yummy two boots, your paella pizza is a star.
Did I mention the breeze off of the river? Nothing like dancing outdoors with the balmy salt tinged air to cool you. Especially when the scene is such a crush. Everyone from the back was pushing forward to get closer to the stage. We were dancing like wild things until so much ground was lost by the crowd moving forward, we decided to make use of our all access passes to go to the sidelines. It was the right time to move since the jet ski guy mugging it up for the crowd along the water kept rushing the wall, splashing river water all up in the crowd.
Two side entry spaces along the length of the pier gave access from the front to backstage. We hung out and danced there until we got hungry and went backstage to check out the catering tent. Met up with a friend working the show and bumped into vivacious Unilocaler, PJ G, whom I plied with gazpacho. Taking a break from dancing, we plopped ourselves on the old wooden park benches and watched the gorgeous sunset on the water, serenaded by house beats.
Enough with sitting, we moved out toward the back area for more drinks and to chat up with some locals, of whom we met none. Guys we spoke with were from Columbia, Italy, Greece, Ireland and one cutie, Pacha, from Philly by way of the Ukraine. I love how PVD’s following extends around the globe and people traveled to our little city of Gotham just to see his show. The United Nations of house music.
Dark had settled in and the two massive LED video screens along side the stage exploded with the 30-​Watt laser light show. DJ was jumping up and down, dropping sick beats, en fuego. We were ripping up the dancefloor like we were on vitamins. Big ups to MADE, the producers for powering the event with biodiesel green fuel.
Another bright light broke through the night and we looked up to see the Empire State Building ablaze with colors saluting the 2008 Olympic Games at Beijing. The West side that faced the river shone Red, Green and White for Bulgaria, South side of Blue, White and Blue for Greece and North side of Red, White and Red for Canada. Couldn’t see the East side but glad I craned my neck to try or I wouldn’t have caught the gorgeous full moon rising through the clouds. Tonight was a partial lunar eclipse, and the moon was so lovely. I hope you were outside last night and got a chance to see the moon, the Empire State Building and enjoy the party on the pier.