Our journey continues at 1:00 p.m. eastern standard time, Monday December 31st, in Midtown Manhattan

Today marks my first day back to New York City since relocating to Chicago in January to work alongside the rest of the Consequence of Sound staff. I lived in the city for six years and will always consider it my home. Chicago is incredible, beautiful, affordable, and I’d recommend anyone who currently lives in New York to move there immediately. But for a super duper Type A person like myself — whose paranoia is quelled only by the availability of a 24-hour Apple Store and 24-hour sports talk radio — New York City is really the only place for me.

I’m a big fan of Mayor Bloomberg despite being an avid soda drinker, but let’s be honest: no one New Yorker hustles harder and runs this city better than Shawn Carter. He’s the most powerful .03% owner in sports history, the sole reason the Nets are in Brooklyn, and his finger prints are all over the Barclays Center. There are critics for sure, but that arena is absolutely beautiful and instantly turned the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush into the most hip place in the entire city.

Jay-Z is an incredible mascot for not just the Nets, but the city as a whole. He’s the ultimate story of rags to riches, a one-time drug dealer who became the world’s most famous rapper, entrepreneur, husband, and father. He treats the city like he holds some elected position, there to prop us up when we’re down, champion us when we’re on top, and celebrate the greatest city on earth the way it deserves to be celebrated.

So when a pair of tickets to Jay-Z and Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve show at Barclays was made available five days prior, I jumped at the opportunity — even if it meant being subjected to a Greyhound bus ride from Atlantic City to New York City and lodging in a converted closet compliments of Airbnb. There was no better way to ring in 2013 than with a performance by the greatest citizen of the greatest city in the world inside a beautiful new arena.

1:00 p.m. - I’m standing as far away from the subway platform as possible.

1:05 p.m. – Subway’s here, and I’m still alive!

2:00 p.m. – I’m in the greatest city in the world with the greatest restaurants in the world, but old habits die hard so I opt for my favorite cheap salad.

3:00 p.m. – This one guy on the subway is moon walking for money. The Chicago homeless are so uncreative.

4:30 p.m. – In Prospect Heights, a neighborhood full of kids, I’m the douche bag who curses loud enough for all of them to hear.

5:00 p.m. – I’m having major luck with finding an affordable bar! Happy Hour on New Year’s Eve?

07:30 p.m. – We arrive to Barclays Center, where its 80-foot-long cantilevered awning probably cost more than some of the city’s skyscrapers.

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A few observations of Barclays:

– There’s no entrance to the Roc-a-wear store from inside the arena. Not one usher could explain why.

– The $12 turkey meatballs are to die for.

– The $14 glass of champagne — which may only be available for New Year’s — is not worth $14.

– The sound inside the venue is impeccable. It’s like a major musician was involved in its design.

– Also very cool: The four circular video screens hanging from four different quadrants of the roof each reflect HD video on both sides of the screen. Hopefully this is a feature installed in other future arenas, because it really does allow a crystal clear view to each audience member, regardless of their seat number.

My own personal opinion of Coldplay has always been that of a poor man’s U2, but they’re impressive live. Their Lollapalooza show featured plenty of lasers, which was all I really needed to justify seeing them over Muse. Their *co-headlining* set at Barclays came at the conclusion of a two-year world tour — and apparently marked their final show prior to a lengthy hiatus — so no wonder they sounded like a fine oiled machine who could probably play this show while in a state of comatose. But perhaps my girlfriend put it best when she leaned over midway through the show and said, “They’re good, but it all it seems so rehearsed.” There is definitely something artificial about their show. I’ve long poked fun at Chris Martin’s love for having a unique jacket for each of the band’s world tours, and this tour also saw ushers hand audience members big old Coldplay bracelets which lit up sporadically throughout the show, because in 2013 we can’t count on the audience to hold up a light or a cellphone for those moments of tranquil spontaneity common in the good old days. And I really hate when Chris Martin does that leap where he bends his back at a 30 degree angle, just because I know he’s doing it for a future concert poster or DVD cover. But, yeah, other than that, Coldplay was great.

It took Jay-Z’s army of roadies 35 minutes to break down U2′s stage and set up his and those were probably the worst 35 minutes of my entire 2012. I had great tickets, which meant I was in the section with all the same people you see in any reality show set in New York City starring twentysomethings who live in $32 million penthouses. They were drunk off $14 glasses of champagne and dancing along to DJ Cassidy, who was fine until he started mixing Daft Punk with Journey. One guy next to me was also refreshing his Wall Street app every two minutes, because apparently the stock markets are open at 11:44 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

Thank god Jay-Z came on when he did, right at 11:59, accompanied by Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, their beautiful kids, Alicia Keys fill-in Bridget Kelly, a live band dressed in tuxes, and bottles of solid gold champagne. He began with “Run This Town”, because what better way to flex your new arena and the spectacle you put together. “On to the Next One” followed and it really is one of my favorite songs to see performed live since it justifies dancing like a mime for four minutes.

Like Kanye’s set the night before, Jay-Z hasn’t really changed much since the last time I saw him as The Throne in 2011 or with Eminem in 2010. There was no preview of his forthcoming solo LP; instead, he dished out one greatest hit after another with the lone exceptions being short bites from his collaborations with Rick Ross (“3 Kings”) and Kanye West (“Clique”). The one-two-three-four punch of “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”, “Big Pimpin’”, “99 Problems” and “Bonnie & Clyde” was better than any form of caffeine I could have found so late at night. But I think mostly everyone sober enough to appreciate the show would agree that Jay’s live backing band really was the best part. These guys were as tight as Coldplay, dropping the sweet grooves of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” as if they play 200+ shows a year.

Jay-Z closed out his New Year’s Eve party in the way you’d expect: the crowning anthem (“Public Service Announcement”) and one last nod to the longtime diehards (“Song Cry”) before concluding with the city’s greatest song by someone not named Sinatra (“Empire State of Mind”). By now, this song plays at any given time somewhere in the Big Apple, but it never does tire, especially when you see the earnest look on Shawn’s face and remember his story and see all that he’s accomplished. He and I come from different worlds and strive for excellence in different fields, but god damn is the man an inspiration. Twenty years ago he was slinging dope across the street from where Barclays now stands. And then, when it’s all over, you walk out of his arena and onto the mean streets of New York and realize that in this vast, giant city of eight million large, there’s still room for someone bigger and better and greater than Jay-Z. And that’s his greatest gift of all.

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Five hours after walking out of Barclays, I depart the closet/guestroom, bargain with a lively car driver for $5 off my fare, and head to Penn Station for an early morning Amtrak ride back to Pennsylvania. It’s 6:30 am on New Year’s Day and everybody around me is passed out with a stench of dried booze and perspiration. I crack open a Diet Coke and briefly reminiscence about the last 48 hours. Surely they’re sleeping now, but some point today, even with a child on the way and it being a holiday, Kanye will hit to the lab and Jay will scheme his next great venture. I open up this computer and begin writing news stories. Success doesn’t come easy, and I have a lot more work to do.