Depeche Mode played an amazing gig last night – pulling out all the stops and including pretty much all my favourite DM tracks. This was even more astounding considering Dave Gahan had pulled out of the last gig due to laryngitis combined with artic temperatures and driving winds off the sea at Jones Beach. Brrr.
On the subject of Jones Beach – here are some helpful hints if you go:
- Allow 2 hours to travel: It’s a long way out. Allow a good 2 hours either way for travel – and the trains late at night only run every hour, so be on a bus by 10.45 if you want to get the 11.12. Best bet is to go right into Penn Station as from Jamaica late at night everything is running local and s l o o o w.
- Eat before you come: Jones Beach seems to operate a policy of price gouging that is outrageous, especially for the quality of food you get. We had fish and chips (fries) for $9.50 and the fish was uncooked, greasy and basically a lump of batter plus the fries were cold. We’re talking $4 for a coffee, $8 for a small cheese pizza, $5 for a hot dog, etc. To add insult to injury the lines are crazy.
- Bring many layers + a hat: Jones Beach can be cold, especially if you are in the mezzanine seats. You are near the sea and evening sea breezes can be bitter. Don’t worry if you forget though – Jones Beach sells thin blankets for ‘only’ $30. Guess it’s cheaper for them than than making warm seating…
- Bring binoculars: Essential for the mezzanine seats: our seat was about 80m high from the stage and about 200m back.