Rush hour on 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

During Rush's 50th anniversary four-night residency at Madison Square Garden, fans can also pick up merchandise at a temporary pop-up shop at 20 E. Second St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the former Karma gallery space. 

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday. 

We stopped by this morning to check out the fans ... and found a line stretching back (and across) the Bowery...

Many already had tickets for one (or more) of the band's Garden shows but still wanted to stop by the pop-up to browse the merch and soak up the atmosphere. 

The crowd reflected Rush's broad appeal across generations. One mother-daughter pair complimented us for including "multigenerational female Rush fans" ...

Fans were eager to show off their purchases, which ranged from T-shirts, hats and books to baby onesies. A zip-up hoodie drew admiring looks — and some sticker shock — with a $100 price tag.

The mood throughout the day was upbeat, with plenty of conversations about favorite albums, past tours and plans for the weekend shows. 

The line may have stretched to the Bowery, but judging by the smiles — and the Rush T-shirts already being worn out the door — no one seemed to mind the wait.

In a Rush for merch?

During Rush's 50th anniversary four-night residency at the Garden, the band's merch is (randomly?) for sale at 20 E. Second St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue... in the former Karma gallery space.

Today through Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

And it's never too early in the day for this...

 

Fair warning: Where the pub crawlers will be today

Here's the information on today's rugby pub crawl through the neighborhood:

In conjunction with the Four Leaf Fifteens Rugby Tournament in New York City, the typical after-tournament social has been replaced with a 1000+ participant rugby pub crawl around Lower Manhattan.

The pub crawl begins at 2:30pm after the first teams are knocked out of the tournament at Randall's Island, with over a half dozen bars and restaurants participating. You won’t want to miss the free mechanical bull riding competition around 4:00pm.

The second stop will begin around 6pm and include five new bars with different drink specials, all located a few blocks north on Avenue A. As teams are eliminated from the tournament or their final ends, they will want to hurry down to lower Manhattan to join the other players, ensuring this will make history as the largest rugby pub crawl in US history.

The final stop of the pub crawl, starting around 8:30pm, will include around a dozen more bars and restaurants, all with new drink and food specials, on Avenue’s B and C. All three stops will be within walking distance of each other so there’s no need for cars or taxis.

Pub Crawl details (more to be added)

First Stop: 2:30pm-6:30pm

Location: New York’s Lower East Side

Participating Bars: Mason Dixon, Fat Baby, Bondi Road, Donnybrook’s, Lucky Jack’s

Participating Restaurants: Tuck Shop Aussie Meat Pies, Mason Dixon, Ray’s Pizza

Sample specials: $20 all you can drink for 2 hours; $3 beers, $3 well drinks; 10-20% off food



Second Stop: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Avenue A between Houston and 2nd Street

Participating Bars: Nice Guy Eddie’s, Library Bar, 2A, Double Down Saloon, Kelly’s

Participating Restaurants: Tuck Shop Aussie Meat Pies, Ray’s Pizza

Sample Specials: $2 PBRs, $2 beers; $3 beer and a shot; 2 for 1’s; 10-20% off food



Third Stop: 8:30pm – Midnight

Location: Avenue’s B and C between 2nd Street and 10th Street

Participating Bars: Croxley’s Ales, Mama’s Bar, Rehab, Poco (SB3), 7B, Duke’s, the Porch, Ten Eleven, East Village Tavern, the Royale

Participating Restaurants: Tuck Shop Aussie Meat Pies, Café Rakka, Zaitzeff Kobe Burgers, Bite Me Best

Sample Specials: $3 beers; $4 Jacks; $5 martinis and margaritas; 10-20% off food

Activities planned:

Bull Riding Competition

Tournament trophy presentations

Shoot the Boot bar

St. Baldrick’s head shaving

50/50 Raffle

We’ll have plenty of bracelets to hand out as well – you’ll need to make sure to wear them in order to get these amazing discounts. You'll need to be attending the Four Leaf 15s Rugby Tournament (free for spectators) to get a wrist band.

Uh-oh: PUB CRAWL ALERT: THREAT LEVEL REALLY RED

Lock your doors.

A thousand rugby players invade New York for the Four Leaf Rugby Tournament on Saturday on Randall's Island. Fifty rugby teams from around the country will compete from 8AM to 7PM while spectators eat free food and drink free beer. A free "Try Rugby" clinic will be offered for kids under 14. After the last game, you can join the 1,000+-participant rugby pub crawl through the East Village and Lower East Side.

Details here.

Stay tuned.