Renaissance had returned to NYC once again and was performing in Rockefeller Park as part of the River To River Festival.  This free outdoor concert was going to pair them up with the legendary Steve Hackett (formerly of Genesis) and I could think of no two acts that would fit together so well.  Click the bands logo below to read the full article on the main PiercingMetal.com site.  We have tons of photos of both performers that we think you will enjoy very much.

I had not been to an outdoor Rock show in a couple of years and if memory serves me correctly, the last time was also for a River To River Event and this one was featuring the New York Dolls.  If you are interested, you can enjoy that article HERE.  That particular show was at the South Street Seaport.  Tonight I would be heading to the exact opposite side of Manhattan Island for the show and getting to enjoy Rockefeller Park for the very first time.

Welcome To Rockefeller Park

This is the signage that one sees on the inside of the pedestrian bridge that let’s you safely cross the street.  I opted to use this today since I wanted to see how it looked inside.  I am a little curious after all.

The Picturesque Rockefeller Park

This is a shot just off to the entrance of the park and when you go further down there is an area with lots of tables and benches that people can convene around.  Its also the location of many statues by sculptor Tom Otterness.  I did a narrative of his “Life Underground” exhibit over on http://piercingken.com – Please check it out if that kind of stuff interests you.

River To River Festival presents Renaissance & Steve Hackett

Here is a closeup of one of the banners that hung from the top of the decently sized stage.

The Stage Is Set

As you can see, the stage is pretty much a large gazebo kind of podium and they enhanced it with all of the great Rock Show periphery.  Lighting tresses, speaker cabinets and fence barricade to keep the audience at bay while the bands play on.  Behind the slightly visible gates was our eager Progressive Rock audience.

The Steve Hackett/Renaissance Support Structure

This serves as a small glimpse of the few hundred assembled for the show and also an image that presents to the world a setting sun over the buildings in Jersey City.  My friend felt this was rather artsy, so I will not argue with him.  Oh and one more thing that was rather amusing about this show.

PiercingKen in the Hot Seat

You might be asking why one of the chairs at the show has my name stuck on it, well, I was given the chance to enjoy press seats today and that meant sitting right in the front row.  To be sure no one snared these spaces from those doing their media thing, the press reps for the festival gave you a paper with your name to attach to the seat that you had selected from the available ones reserved.  I opted for dead center since it was open and would provide maximum musical appreciation for me.  I felt that the name tag for the chair was was highly amusing and something worthy of sharing with you all.  My friends got a kick out of it too.  Please, no autographs.  OK, maybe just a couple