When I saw that Nicole Atkins & The Sea were doing a free outdoor concert at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY on the 17^th of June - I just had to go - right? I mean - come on! This was a Nicole Atkins show. And the Sea. She (and they) are amazing and I try never to miss any shows she does in New York, if at all possible.

So I called up my friend "Qtie" and we headed on down to this park just across the East River, in Long Island City, on a balmy Tuesday afternoon in June and got ready to, well - rock.

As I hate to be late for anything, and am terrified of getting stuck in "rush hour" traffic - we kinda arrived a little bit early. OK, but it was beautiful out and that gave us some time to explore what this park was all about.

The park is right on the water and these amazingly wonderful views of New York City.

The sculptures themselves are bizzare and fascinating. Definitely creative. That's a couch up on that ladder there.

Of course I wanted to make that my seat for the show (but Qtie talked me out of it).

As we were walking the grounds, I spotted the Sea's bassist Derek Layes just "chillin" in that tent there. Having met all the guys before, I popped on over for a quick hello. As it turned out, the whole band was there (you can see Nicole on the phone to the right of the tent there).

Inside the tent, Nicole wrapped up an interview she was doing as I chatted with the boys about all that has gone on with them over the last few weeks and months of touring. They really are a great group of cool, down-to-earth guys.

Picture hunter that I am, I had to take yet one more picture with Nicole.

Thanks again, Nicole!

Though drummer Dan Mintzer decided to do "crazy things" to make us all laugh.

And then tried to hit me over the head with one of those orange chairs (like a Pro Wrestler) - though Qtie wasn't quick enough to get photographic evidence of this.

Nicole was kind enough to pose for one more picture (with Qtie).

Having thoroughly worn out our welcome, we then hit the bricks (out in the neighborhood) in search of food and beverages, to restock our coolers.

Back at the park, we hung out, ate our neighborhood pizza, drank beverages (wine and red bulls respectively) and did what everyone does now when when waiting for bands to come on - send text messages.

Slowly the park began filling up and the opening act came on stage.

They were a band called Salt & Samovar, and though I had never heard of them before, they seemed to be very friendly with Nicole and her band. They had the unique arrangement of two female keyboardist in their lineup. And apparently one of them used to play with Freddie Mercury. I enjoyed their sound (and songs) on first hearing. Its was pleasant and somewhat interesting music. As you can see, the bassist plays lefthanded, like Paul McCartney. That always makes for a unique visual.

So now it was time for the headliner. Nicole and her band came out on "stage" (if you could really call it that). It was more like a box set up on the edge of the park, with all the necessary wiring and equipment set up throughout it. I have to say that during the soundcheck, Nicole and her band (and the soundman - who had a great soundboard console out right near where we were sitting) - were meticulous in getting everything just right. That kind of attention to detail is apprecaited, and it really pays off as the sound was excellent.

Nicole opened with the always crowd-pleasing "Carouselle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBOTLXSNaRU

Here's a short clip of the performance. I love the way the band punctuates the downbeat on the verses.

She then launched into the good-timey "Party's Over"

She then played "Bleeding Diamonds" from her previous record (which was very well received) and an always killer version of "The Way It Is"

Up next was one of my personal favorites, the very cool "Cool Enough"

Check out my clip of that performance here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyH8tcOXruw

Nicole introduced the band to everyone here, and amusingly told the audience (many of whom were locals, and most-likely seeing her for the first time) that her keyboardist was Sebastian Bach - lol! You could tell that Dan Chen got a kick out of that.

The day-to-night atmosphere was really lovely, and you can see the backdrop of New York City right from the side of the stage.

They then played "Kill The Headlights"

At this point Nicole told a funny story to the audience (as she is frequently known to do) - that being in that "box" of a stage felt like being in one of those hot dog kiosks at a little league baseball park. She said "except there are no hotdogs here" - then said "except these guys" - pointing to her band - ha, ha.

Moving effortlessly through the set, she played "War Torn" and then a gorgeous version of "Together We're Both Alone" - where the multi-talented guitarist dAve Hollinghurst plays the lap steel

See a clip of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Wt4sQyqj4

dAve also rocks the six-string wonder.

Nicole and the Sea rounded out the set with the ever-popular sing-along "Brooklyn's On Fire", the peppy "Love Surreal" , the always fun "Maybe Tonight" and of course no show would be complete without the one that started it all - "Neptune City"

Socrates Sculpture Park is certainly a unique and interesting place to see a concert.

The sculptures themselves are weird and wonderful.

As for Nicole Atkins & The Sea - they are the consummate professionals. I have never been disappointed with any show of theirs I've seen.

I look forward to reading about the conquests of the European festivals right now, and eagerly await their return to these shores.