Sisters’ Diary NYC Edition – Part 2: A Goth Show, Webster Hall, and an Accidental Knicks Watch Party

My sister lights up Hollywood venues for a living. I light up at the idea of a quiet coffee shop. We met in the middle at a 1886 NYC concert hall for a goth rock show, and somehow it worked.

Webster Hall selfie

After resting our broken bodies and refueling with plenty of caffeine, we ventured out for the night. Being out of my comfort zone was a theme of this trip, but our nighttime plans were really going to test those limits.

First, a little context on my sister. Barbara is a lighting designer in Hollywood, and she spends most of her working life in iconic venues at all hours of the night. She loves music that can inspire a great light show, and for her, dark wave gothic rock fits the bill perfectly. I, on the other hand, prefer acoustic folk. Give me a singer with a guitar on a stool in a coffee shop and I'm happy. We are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

So, a few months ago, when I got a text that said, "hey I found a show if you're down to dance to some goth music," I had reservations, to say the least. Not because I had anything against the crowd, but because I was worried about being the odd one out. Like some invisible beacon would alert everyone around me: "this one's a Swiftie, get her!" Barbara assured me I could just dress in black, stand in the corner, and no one would notice me. And the show was at the historic Webster Hall, which dates all the way back to 1886. I couldn't in good conscience let her miss out on a piece of music history just because I'm a bit of a wimp, so next thing I knew we were buying two tickets to see Twin Tribes.

But first, we needed to fill our stomachs with something more substantial than coffee and macarons. Eataly Flatiron seemed like the natural choice, especially since Barbara had never experienced the massive Italian marketplace and it was right on our way to the show. En route, we passed the bougiest Home Depot I've ever seen in my life. Barbara spends a fair amount of time in Home Depots for work, so naturally she had to stop for a touristy photo.

Bougie Home Depot

We had a reservation at Amalfi Rooftop by Birreria, drawn in by the idea of sipping sangria under a canopy of lemon trees in the middle of the city. The food was phenomenal, especially the focaccia with burrata and olives we split as an appetizer. After dinner we wandered the counters and alcoves of Eataly, each one tempting me toward a totally impractical purchase given that we were on our way to a concert. Instead, I introduced Barbara to the joy of the affogato, giving us the final boost of energy we'd need to get through the night.

Amalfi Rooftop by Birreria at Eataly

Walking to the venue, I got a real feel for my sister in her element. She was amazed at the foot traffic compared to Hollywood and thrilled to find that everyone on the sidewalk matched her brisk East Coast pace. She pointed out an old building she'd love to live in, which turned out to be part of Grace Church, which tells you everything about the kind of Gothic architecture that's her style.

We arrived at Webster Hall, and walking through the entrance, it was so cool to watch Barbara light up. Looking around, I immediately relaxed about fitting in. There were people from every walk of life, dressed in everything from avant-garde costumes to standard dark pants, dark top. Everyone united by their love of the performers that night. Barbara made a quick stop at the merch table for a t-shirt, and we headed into the main ballroom.

Webster Hall

We caught the tail end of the final opener's set, and the crowd was already feeling electric. We found plenty of room near the back with a clear view of the stage, and the AC kept me comfortable the entire night. Every fear I'd had about being crammed into a sweaty crush of fans turned out to be for nothing.

While Twin Tribes set up, we explored the historic venue. We made our way up to the wraparound balcony, which now serves as a sort of VIP area, but for most of the 1900s it was the perch for Webster Hall's legendary masquerade balls, the kind that earned the place the nickname "the Devil's Playhouse." Bohemians, artists, and a fair number of literary names (F. Scott Fitzgerald among them) used to pack the place during Prohibition, when the booze flowed freely no matter what the law said. Standing up there, it wasn't hard to imagine.

We settled into a comfortable spot downstairs, and before long Twin Tribes took the stage to a roar from the devoted crowd. I'd been so worried leading up to that night, for absolutely no reason. I had a genuinely wonderful time, lost in the music, and loved watching my sister get swept up in the light show with the eye of someone who actually understands how it’s done. The only reason we eventually cut our night short and started the walk back to the hotel was that the heat, the miles, and the sheer amount of the day had finally caught up with us. We knew if we didn't start the 30-plus-minute walk back then, we'd seriously regret it later.

We could have grabbed an Uber, but Barbara wanted to feel the energy of the city on foot. It turned out we were walking back during Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and our hotel was only a couple of blocks from Madison Square Garden, where a massive watch party had taken over the plaza outside. All along the walk, we passed clusters of mini-watch parties and cheering fans on fire escapes. As we got closer to the hotel, we could see the glow of the screens and hear the crowd roaring like the game was happening right there instead of hundreds of miles away. We wanted so badly to join in, but every part of our bodies was screaming for a bed. We knew we had another long day ahead, so we kept walking.

The Knicks won that game 105-104, a real nail-biter, and we could hear the explosion from the watch party from our hotel room. Watching the replays the next morning, we definitely felt some regret about not staying out. My sister is about as far from a sports fan as it gets, but even she admitted that by that point in the walk, she was invested.

We had a full day ahead of us, though, exploring some of the newly rebuilt parts of the city, which would end in the latest night I've had in longer than I can remember.

Stay tuned for parts 3 and 4.