For Music Seekers, A Rare Destination: Lower Manhattan

 By Barry Owens


"Generally when I come to the city, it's not this far down," said Patrick Marshall, who on Oct. 17 found himself deep in Lower Manhattan on Broad Street, where after driving from Boston he had been standing since 3 a.m.

On Exchange Place, T. Paul Powell, center, does some work on his laptop while waiting in line for tickets at Wall Street Rising on Broad Street. Photo by Max W. Orenstein

Marshall like the thousands that eventually lined up behind him, had come for free tickets to Music Downtown, a concert series to be held Nov. 14-20 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

The free music festival, and the one-day ticket give-away, was organized by Wall Street Rising, 25 Broad St., in an effort to bring life, and much needed business, to Lower Manhattan streets. It was also a chance to introduce the cultural opportunities of the area to those who typically consider the "downtown" music scene to be well above Canal Street.

Marshall, making his first visit to the Financial District, said he was taken aback by the lack of overnight street life in a New York City neighborhood.

"Really quiet and a little weird," the 21-year-old said, gripping a jumbo size cup of coffee. "We had to wait three hours for Dunkin' Donuts to open. If Dunkin' Donuts is closed, you know it's dead."
The seven-day concert series features a line-up ranging from blues legend Buddy Guy to jazz singer Rickie Lee Jones, to singer/songwriter Aimee Mann. But the biggest draws of the day were alt-country superstars Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams. Tickets for Adam's performance, and both nights of Tweedy's, were gone within three hours.

"They're both great songwriters," said Katie Kirincic, 26, who arrived with her sister, Rose, at 7:30 a.m. in hopes of securing tickets to both shows.

The sisters, who live in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, said they could recall only visiting Lower Manhattan once before-and by mistake.

"The only time I've ever been down here is when we were looking for the Chinatown bus, and we were in the wrong place," said Rose, 24.

Rose explained the reasoning behind her rare visits to the neighborhood.

"It represents a corporate culture that I don't necessarily agree with," she said, pointing to the New York Stock Exchange building directly across the street.

"A lot of suits," Katie translated. "But the architecture is great."

Fiona Burrell, 34, works at the United Nations, lives in Midtown, and was delighted by the prospect of seeing Jeff Tweedy for free. She was also impressed that it was happening Downtown.
Rosie Kirincic, left, and her sister, Katie, pick uyp their tickets to see Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams. Photo: Max W. Orenstein
"I didn't even know there was a performance venue down here," she said. "They should really promote that more."

Around the corner on Wall Street, 50-year-old Owen (he would not reveal his last name) stood in line for Rickie Lee Jones tickets.

"I haven't seen her in 15 years," he said.

It had also been awhile since Owen, who lives on the Upper West Side, had been so far downtown.

"I do plan to go to Century 21 after this to do some shopping, though," he said.

"That's the idea," said Julie Menin, Wall Street Rising's founder, when told that at least one person in line had plans to spend money Downtown. She held out hope that there would be many others. "Have you seen the line?"

By 11 a.m., when the box office opened, organizers estimated there were 600 people in the line that snaked down Broad, Wall, William and Exchange Streets. By the end of the day, thousands had come for the tickets and all performances were sold out.

Near the back of the line on Exchange Street stood Chris Yaniak, a 33-year-old from New Jersey, wearing well-sculpted beard stubble and a double piercing in his nose.

"I've been down here, like, three times in my whole life," he said. "The World Trade Center site is like, what, two blocks from here? Crazy."