Going to New York and Boston... gear and non gear related questions:)

[donf]

Anyone form NY/NJ area who could tell me if it is difficult to get from midManhattan to PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, New Jersey...?
Thinking about going to the Cruefest there.
How far is it? And if some of you have been there... how is the arena, and what seat do you recommend? or is the lawn a good place to see the show?

You can take the NJ Transit Coast Line from NY Penn Station to either Aberdeen/Matawan or Middletown train station. From there, catch a cab for a 5-10 minutes ride. As for PNC Arts Center,....not bad. Lawn seats are ok, but not if you want to check out the guitarist's fingers....lol. Sound usually is pretty good. Advantage of the lawn seats is that they're much cheaper.
I saw Boston (band) up close in regular seating and it was terrific, then again it was Boston .

Hell, I have a house in Aberdeen. If I'm in the area, I'll shuttle you over there.

Here's a train link;

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesTo

[Vass]

I would just rent a car to go to PNC. Do it this way- Take the PATH out of the city, to Jersey City. Get off at Newport. Walk over a few blocks to Enterprise Rent a Car. Grab the car. Hit the NJ Turnpike (easy to get on, it's right near Enterprise), get off at exit 11, that's the Garden State Parkway. The Arts Center is on that road, at exit 117. Really easy.

There's a place next to Sam Ash, can't remember what it's called. More Gibson/Fenderish, but it is NOT related to Mannys & Sam Ash. Nice little place.

Here's a list I found of different places in the city to check out. Sadly, you probably will NOT find much in pawn shops in Manhattan..... too many people scouring them. You'd have better luck out in the middle of nowhere doing that, IMO.

http://www.raveny.com/music/manhattan/index.htm

If you have questions, PM me any time- I live in Jersey City and spend lots of time in Manhattan, can give you an idea of what's what.

Vass

[Slashaxl]

Thanks for the answers

Any idea what it would cost to take a cab all the way down?
Gotta get back again after the show to.. and cab is allways the easiest way, if its not way too expensive.

[Vass]

I would just get a blackline car. Forget the cabs, will cost a bundle. Just hire a car, or a limo. Would be totally worth it for 4 people.

I've used these guys before:

http://www.leroslimo.com/

Vass

[Newc]

Yeah but then you don't get a shot at Cash Cab

[MetalMedal II]

There are some pawn shops in Boston, but they're in areas of town I wouldn't recommend. Plus, their guitar selection was much to be desired. Any decent J/Cs they had were cleaned out by me long ago . Actually, the best bet is checking out Daddy's and Guitar Center for used stuff, both in decent areas of town.