Jersey Boys
Jul 16, 2022 | Albany, NY
We went to the neighboring town Troy for breakfast and it happened to be having one of the biggest vendor popups we had ever seen. There were no produce tents so I guess it wasn't a farmers' market, but there were food tents, provisions tents (like nut butters, soaps and olive oils), and distillery/brewery/cidery tents. A thing that we haven't seen before coming to Albany is that all the distilleries give out free samples at these sorts of events. Not sure if that's illegal in other states or if they just haven't thought to do it, but it's very popular here. We had seen on a sign in the Empire Plaza just a couple days ago that said that when comparing states for most distilleries, wineries and breweries, New York is in the top 5 in all of them. And that does seem to ring as true.
We ended up bailing on the breakfast spot we were going to eat at because they stopped having indoor seating and the line was long and awkward, so we ate at a quirky vegan place called Burrito Burrito instead. BB did all the things that seem to be very common with vegan places currently: a) have a finely tuned marketing image, b) the actual aesthetic and vibe of the restaurant is terrible and it's basically just a to-go kiosk. But at that point we were dedicated to eating so we were fine just taking the burritos outside and eating at the little amphitheater on the water.
In the evening we walked right down the street from our house to The Rep (The Capital Repertoire Theater) and saw their presentation of Jersey Boys. They did a good job with it. We didn't know anything about Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons going into it, but we did happen to know most of their songs.
Part of the popup. It wrapped around through multiple streets.
Part of the popup. It wrapped around through multiple streets.
This place called No Fun puts on lots of music events. Decided to capture it in case we felt like going one night. I imagine most of it is grungy punk stuff, but we'll see.
This place called No Fun puts on lots of music events. Decided to capture it in case we felt like going one night. I imagine most of it is grungy punk stuff, but we'll see.
Another event we saw posted. They sure love their Nipper around here.
Another event we saw posted. They sure love their Nipper around here.
"Franklin Alley" had a lot of art, some of which is actually made of metal like this one. If you look closely you'll see a bold at her elbow.
"Franklin Alley" had a lot of art, some of which is actually made of metal like this one. If you look closely you'll see a bold at her elbow.
This draw bridge is interestingly weird looking, in my opinion
This draw bridge is interestingly weird looking, in my opinion
This is a romantic representation of Uncle Sam, who I previously thought was completely made up. But Troy seems to be of the opinion that he was a real man who live here. The story goes that he was a meat packer who sent his product to the soldiers fighting in the war of 1812. His name was Sam Wilson, and (again, "as the story goes") the boxes of meat had "US" printed on them, and the soldiers started referring to it as "Uncle Sam".
This is a romantic representation of Uncle Sam, who I previously thought was completely made up. But Troy seems to be of the opinion that he was a real man who live here. The story goes that he was a meat packer who sent his product to the soldiers fighting in the war of 1812. His name was Sam Wilson, and (again, "as the story goes") the boxes of meat had "US" printed on them, and the soldiers started referring to it as "Uncle Sam".
I didn't know why this building had a WB on it because it seemed like Troy is too small to have Warner Bros. So I looked it up and it turns out that it's an office for WB video games. That seemed impressive so I looked into it more and it seems like they mostly just add online features to games that other studios develop. They probably also oversee the branding of the games in WB's name, since it was mostly a bunch of Batman and LotR games.
I didn't know why this building had a WB on it because it seemed like Troy is too small to have Warner Bros. So I looked it up and it turns out that it's an office for WB video games. That seemed impressive so I looked into it more and it seems like they mostly just add online features to games that other studios develop. They probably also oversee the branding of the games in WB's name, since it was mostly a bunch of Batman and LotR games.
Here's the theater. It's pretty much right outside our apartment.
Here's the theater. It's pretty much right outside our apartment.
