FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: Tom Scharpling on September 05, 2006, 03:23:15 AM
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Hey everyone.
The Best Show On WFMU was influenced by Dane Cook's TOURGASM in too many ways to mention. But one of the ways we were touched by the program was how Dane and his band of comics met up with the fans after each show. In the words of Robert Kelly, it is the responsibility of EVERY PERFORMER to 'meet every damn fan and shake every damn hand.'
I will be doing that after my program Tuesday September 5th. It WILL be in Jersey City, and it WILL be around 11:20 PM or so - after the show. It will end at around midnight - or until I have met every damn fan and shook every damn hand, whichever comes first.
It will be at the FLAMINGO DINER at 31 Montgomery in Jersey city! You can get there by taking the PATH train to Exchange Place - it's two blocks down Montgomery on the left side of the street.
I will be in the diner eating a sandwich. I ask that if you come by, YOU MUST ORDER FOOD! We are going to all be good customers of this fine dining establishment. We are meeting more as friends in a diner than as part of a gigantic promotional event (this means that the Flamingo is not sponsoring this at all - but I'm sure they'll be happy to get the business at 11:30 PM on a Tuesday night.)
As an added bonus, I will be passing out BUTTONS and STICKERS! I will also give out special LIMITED EDITION DVDs featuring A MOVIE MADE BY THE LEAST TALENTED MAN ON EARTH!
See you there. And no psychos please!
Tom.
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I will be joining Tom and eating a piece of cake, probably chocolate (since I regularly eat my dinner in the Flamingo before the show--I recommend keeping it simple: burgers, BLTs etc.). I don't know what the late night crowd is like, but I have witnessed spontaneous singing and once two old guys almost went at it (a guy who looked like a scrawny Karl Marx failed to respect another guy's code of silence). Also, the guy who talks to himself and occasionally sings Jimi Hendrix songs appears to have been permanently banned (I haven't seen him in months and the last time I saw him he was muttering forlornly in front of the place).
Warning: Avoid the bathroom at all costs. I've literally gagged from the toxic combination of odors in there.
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Also, the guy who talks to himself and occasionally sings Jimi Hendrix songs appears to have been permanently banned (I haven't seen him in months and the last time I saw him he was muttering forlornly in front of the place).
Fred??
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It's funny you mention that, Omar, because this guy's disappearance from the diner did occur around the same time as Fred's first call. Also, during Tom's escalator appearance we saw a suspicious-looking individual who we thought might be Fred. I'm beginning to think "Fred" is more a state of mind than an actual human being.
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I live right up the block from the Flamingo diner, and it doesn't really get weird in there until about 2am, when the bars let out. Over the years I have witnessed in the Flamingo: a drunk woman dancing on the counter, slipping, falling and getting unceremoniously tossed in the gutter, a bloody man stumble in after crashing his motorcycle right outside the door and Queen Latifah having pancakes. Since we lost Captain Al's Harbor Casino to condo's, the Flamingo is probably the last great old school eatery in dowtown JC.
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Grimlock and wife will be in attendence!
We will leave our comfortable Jersey City chateau to descend to the street-level of the peasants we ridicule from our velvet minarrate. (i.e, the 1st floor of the ugliest brownstone in JC.)
The Flamingo is fine, but the Harbor Casino was awesome. On one of our first dates, me and the wife witnessed about 20 old ladies start grinding to the Brittney Spears there.
It might be a good idea to order in advance, though, unless you all want to be eating your hamburglers for Wednesday breakfast. :o
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i really hope i can make it but this is bad week for me to try to come up with path ticket money. my wife and i are both out of work for a few weeks and we didn't save up for this. shortsighted, i know. irresponsible, yes. we'll see.
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I'm gonna attempt to go, but it's a pretty far drive for me, plus I have to work in the morning.
EDIT: Is this a one-time thing? Because as much as I want to go, I have other responsibilities in my life. If it's a one time thing (or at this point, planned as a one-time thing) I'll most likely be there. However if it's gonna happen again in a few weeks, I'll probably hold off until that one.
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I'm curious as to what DVD Tom handed out, claiming to be made by the least talented man on Earth.
Anyone willing to tell?
I would have gone to the Flamingo, but I live too far away.
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kevin smith or a DVD coaster made by the actual least most talented man on earth.
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Oh, right. I should have guessed that one.
Well, I'm glad it wasn't a Quentin Tarrentino, or one of the Face Peelers.
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Last night at the Flamingo Diner was a great time. It was a great chance for me to finally meet Tom, and also lots of fun to hang with the other FOTs in attendance. I look forward to doing this again if the opportunity arises.
The freebies were great (Thanks Tom!), the waitstaff was very amusing, and the environment a very appropriate one. I heard that the onion rings sucked, but my cheesesteak was tasty enough. The Flamingo has a fine selection of cocktails, including old favorites such as Rob Roy and Pink Lady. And FOTs are a great bunch. All in all, for me, it was well worth the trip to JC last night after the show.
Thanks again to Tom, and to all those in attendance.
Chris A
aka Fido
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Yes! Thank you to all who came out last night! It was awesome to see you all - it was a lot of fun.
We will do it again in a few weeks. Where should we do the next one?
Ideas?
Thanks again!
Tom.
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Muchos funno last evening. Grimlock and Grimlirita had a fun time chowing down on gravy fries and chatting with the assorted miscreants, and meeting the man himself, Tom! We left the diner in a haze, with fistfuls of buttons, stickers, and collectible memorabilia. Wow!
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Although I am loathe to change venues, based on the impeccable service and quality eats (for which Tom left a generous tip) there are a few other JC hotspots that might serve as an acceptable meeting place.
The hipster friendly LITM serves overpriced drinks in a post-modern bar environment, festooned with local art works and music that you may have heard on a college radio station once.
The frequently closed Hard Grove Cafe serves authentic Cuban food, fried in the native cooking grease of Cuba, vaseline. A similar cusine, in fry matter then, to the Flamingo.
Closer to my heart, the Burger King near the Holland Tunnel has a wide array of delectable fried treats. On the other side of the causeway, the Tunnel Dinner is like the Flamingo without the spunk, mirrors, wood panneling, or salmonella.
The Blimpies unfortunately closes too early. At 5 PM, methinks.
Soon it will be too cold, but congregating on the penisula near the Colgate Clock, with the local riff raff, is always good for a fun evening.
Another fun option, which might necessitate brown bags, would be to commandeer a "Light Rail" train as the meeting place. Like Jersey City's own Orient Express, the "Light Rail" rolls from the tip of Bayonne all the way to the cliffs of scenic Bergan County. This would not allow stragglers much leeway, though. And everybody had better validate their tickets!
:'( :'( :'( :'(
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I forgot to mention that I loved the environment of the Flamingo Diner. I'm not sure it could be easily repeated, but the scene was perfect -- darkened, eerily quiet streets of downtown Jersey City. No traffic. It had been raining earlier that evening, and the visibility was poor. A perfect film noir setting like few others I have ever seen. The streetlights cast a gloom over the streets. I felt like Humphrey Bogart, or at least Phillip Marlowe in one of his various cinematic incarnations. It seemed to me that I should have been smoking, even though I don't smoke. As I walked down Montgomery Street, wondering if I had the right address, the Flamingo Diner immediately hove into view.
Inside, the fluorescent lighting of diner was a harsh but welcome contrast to the streets outside. I spotted the FOT crowd at the back of the room and inquired of the waitress if I could still place an order, as it was about 11:30 at night. She graciously replied (with mock impatience), "You better hurry, we're about to close." Sarcasm...the Flamingo Diner was not about to close.
Again, a great meet-and-greet with Tom and many of his Friends. Dane Cook couldn't have pulled an event like this one off. It just wouldn't be something he'd be capable of.
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The Flamingo is amazing place, and I had a killer time. Thanks to Tom and Mike, it was great to meet you both in person, as well as the other best show cronies. The station tour was also a blast, although it does remove some of the mystery of the power of radio by adding a visual. The Iron Monkey would't be too bad of a place for a future meetup. It's right around the corner from the station, they have an amazing roof deck and amazingly bad music. Thanks again Tom!
mike
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That post show meet up sounds really great. Any photos?