I'm back home now, and not happy about it. My last hours in New York were uneventful. We woke up and packed and checked out of our room, storing our bags in a basement locker. My asthma was bothering me so after we ate one last breakfast at the City Diner I returned to the hostel basement and tried to relax in the air conditioning. I was scared to death my asthma would really flare up by the time I got on the bus and began the 17 hour journey home. Thankfully that didn't happen, and while not feeling great, I was able to rest peacefully on the way home.

I began missing New York just one block from the hostel when I saw two girls on a street corner with their cameras pointed at the New York skyline. I wasn't ready to leave. There was still so much to see.

The bus ride home was no better. It was a bit more quiet with exception of a baby screaming several times during the night. The Greyhound service was still horrible and our final driver was a nazi taskmaster who wouldn't let someone reboard the bus because he got in the wrong line. The passenger's baggage was still on the bus and the driver made him remove it and leave to wait for the next bus to come along.

On the way home I listened to many Nick Cave albums and a couple Sufjan Stevens albums. Stevens is great for helping you relax and fall asleep.

And so here I am. I'm home and I'm exhausted and tomorrow I start writing an article about my time with This Story in New York City.

I was going to post some pictures--I had some nice ones of Strawberry Fields and the things left there to honor Lennon--but I can't figure out how to post them. Oh well.

My perceptions of what New York would be like were very wrong. I dealt with few crowds, there was hardly any traffic, I saw few homeless people, most of the people I encountered were very friendly. I realize at any time of the day all of the above exists some place in the city. But I felt at home immediately. I always felt safe. And it was great to finally find someplace I felt I belonged.

Thanks for reading the past few days.


Comments (0)

Nick Cave.

I've just seen Nick Cave.

I've just seen Nick Cave 15 rows from the stage in Madison Square Garden.

So often I see my favorite performers and my expectations are too high. David Bowie. Nine Inch Nails. Tori Amos. U2. Good shows, but they couldn't match what I wanted.

Nick Cave did.

Even if it was Nick Cave as Grinderman, he still perched on the edge of the stage, hunch over the audience with his finger pointing like a tele-evangelist pumped full of the holy spirit. Then he stepped away and flailed and convulsed like he was possessed by the very demons he was previously expelling.

The music was loud. The vocals were vicious. The guitars were, well, grinding.

To be able to see my favorite musician during my last night in New York and have him completely blow me away is a perfect ending.

Nick Cave.

I was so overwhelmed when he walked onto the stage I probably seemed like a 13 year old girl at a Justin Timberlake concert.

I kind of wish I didn't just write that. But not enough to delete it.

I don't know who the opening act was but they were a rockabilly country act who brought out country music hall of famer Porter Wagoner and allowed him to perform most of his own material. The night had a great musical progression as Grinderman came out next and layered blues and punk onto the country and the White Stripes added rock and pieces of grunge and heavy metal. The Stripes impressed me for the first part of their set and then Jack and Meg became the neverending headache which turned into the neverending encore.

Some other things about the show: Nick Cave fell after "Get it On" and said "Now I can tell my children I fell on my ass in Madison Square Garden." Meg White also performed her first lead vocals in the Garden.

And Madison Square Garden is huge and amazing. The sound was wonderful. My seat was under Willis Reed and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe's retired jersey numbers.

What else happened today beside Nick Cave elation, you ask?

I got up at six and experienced a New York morning. I walked around Broadway and watched the traffic and people. I watched a bit of the Today Show being filmed, but got bored with it pretty fast.

We went to the Central Park Zoo today. It's a tiny zoo with about 8 exhibits feauring polar bears, seals, red pandas, an awesome bat flying free through the tropical rainforest section. It had a three foot wingspan. Some species of monkeys. it was interesting, just small.

I went to Rupert's Hello Deli, which is often featured on David Letterman. Rupert doesn't take credit cards, by the way. While we sat outside eating--well, Miranda ate, she had cash--a Letterman scout came and talked to us, seeing if we were interesting enough to be featured in a Letterman game at the Hello Deli. Neither of us stuck around to see if we were.

At around 4 I headed to to the Garden. I saw the Empire State Building and went into the Borders that is part of MSG. MSG is really interesting because it looks as if there is no way to shut it off from the outside world. There are no doors and it appears you could just walk into the lobby at anytime. Part of this is because the entrance to Penn Station is also inside this behemoth of an arena, but I would imagine there was some kind of gate that closes it up at night. An invicible force field maybe? Knick players patrolling the perimeter?

So this is the last update from New York. I will post one more once I get home Thursday. I'll try to post some pictures too.

You've been wonderful New York. See you in early October.

Yes, I'm already planning a return trip.
Comments (0)

It rained so we spent the day in the American Museum of Natural History. I have a short attention span when it comes to museums, but this one kept me interested most of the time. After about five hours the only thing keeping me going was I would see the squid and the whale from The Squid and the Whale. However, when I got to ocean exhibit, all that was there was the whale. In another room I found a squid. I think it might be the squid, but why wasn't it with the whale? I'll need to do some research on this. Maybe it was a literary construction by Noah Baumbach to drive a metaphor.

Was the AMNH the same museum Margot and Ritchie ran away to in the Royal Tenenbaums? I knew I should have watched that movie again before coming here.

We went back to Greenwich Village and I found Forbidden Planet, a geeks dream. I roamed around there for awhile looking at action figures and comic books before moving on to the Strand Bookstore. The Strand is a used bookstore that claims to have 18 miles of books inside it. I believe it. I was also overwhelmed and had no idea where to start looking.

The night ended back at the Yippie Museum. Miranda sat inside reading Harry Potter. I walked to the Bowery trying to figure out where CBGB's used to be. All I found was a series of boarded up storefronts with nothing to mark its former location. All that rock n roll history had been erased.

Apparently Moby lives near the Yippie Museum. We didn't try to find his house.

Tomorrow is our last full day. We plan to visit an art museum and see Ground Zero.

Tomorrow night is Nick Cave at Madison Square Garden. Oh, and this band called the White Stripes is playing too.

Comments (0)

Thursday July 19th and Friday July 20th

Greyhound Bus

Riding a bus, especially for twenty hours, is awkward. You suddenly become trapped in the lives of fifty people. You learn things about them without even talking to them. You know they like to blast Beyonce on their Discman and sing along as loud as they can. You learn they tell their children to shut the fuck up only later to tuck a blanket around them with all the love in the world. You also learn that driving a bus must be the most miserable existence and the drivers and bus station clerks seem to hate their lives.

I managed three house of sleep, all coming in the early morning. I watched countless towns pass by in the night while listening to Interpol, Joanna Newsom, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens and This Story on my MP3 player.

We arrived in Pittsburgh around three in the morning. I loved the architecture of the city. Some of the buildings were oppressive structures meant to be featured in sci-fi noir film. Mixed with the many rusting bridges, the city contains a hopelessness that is both troublesome and captivating.

Philadelphia came three hours later than it should have. We had to make an unscheduled transfer due to mechanical issues on our bus. Riding a bus is confusing. You don't always know where you are supposed to be waiting in a bus station. Sometimes destinations are listed, other times there are just numbers and letters and you hope you are standing in the right line. Greyhound employees aren't very helpful either. They usually don't know themselves what is going on, and it they do, they look at you like you are pathetic because you don't comprehend the system.

Finally, after another two hours, around 3:30 in the afternoon, we saw the New York skyline.

The Subway

New York City is underwhelming. I expected massive crowds and traffic in a constant state of gridlock. Instead I feel like I'm in some version of downtown Indianapolis that is just a touch busier and never ends. And has an amazing transportation system. And things worth taking the time to stop and look at.

Our first experience on the subway was extremely easy thanks to Miranda's navigation ability. The cars were packed, but not uncomfortable, though many times I felt like I would be thrown from one end of the train to the other while standing, holding onto the bars with all my strength.

Later on we rode the subway to Greenwich Village where we met This Story at the Yippie Museum. Again, no difficulties.

Around midnight, on our way back, we saw out first subway rats. They were kind of cute.


The Continental

Our hostel is on the upper west side, located on 95th street and West End. It's seven stories tall and we're up on the top floor. Checking in was a pain as I messed up filling out the travelers checks and they would not take them. I ended up having to take an additional 300 dollars out of my checking account and paying in cash, putting the checks away to refund when I return to Indianapolis.

The room itself is about 10 feet by 8 feet. Chipped paint and black marks decorate the white walls. There is a floor to ceiling cabinet on one side of the room and bunk beds on the other. A rickety dresser sits in one corner, the shelves collapsing on in on each other. On top is a large TV that doesn't work, picking up only a few stations despite being hooked up to cable. The stations it picks up fade in and out. An air conditioner is installed in the wall. It works, but emits a vicious growl every five minutes. The bathroom is down the hall. Thankfully everything works in there.

The free wireless internet is on the first floor and costs 10 dollars a day. In the basement is a computer lab with cheaper access — ten cents a minute. There is also a game room and a lounge.


Harry Potter

To close out our first day in New York we found a Barnes and Noble near the hostel. A line full of wizards and witches stretched from the entrance all the way around the block, beginning just feet from the entrance of the store. Every few seconds some one would step from the door, the book raised triumphantly in the air or clutched securely to their chest. Sometimes they would exit the bookstore with a joyous screech. Sometimes it was with the largest smile they've ever produced in their life.


Saturday, July 21st

Central Park

The second day was spent touring the city with This Story. Miranda and I ventured out in the morning to Central Park. I usually hate the outdoors, but I fell in love with the park. I was amazed at how quiet and peaceful it was. And how it never seemed to end. I was on a mission to find Strawberry Fields, but it was a mission I'll have to continue later. We found the small castle and the Shakespeare garden. Eventually we found an exit and ventured into the city.

Finally the New York I expected showed itself. I wanted to see 30 Rockefeller Center for the simple fact I love Tina Fey and her show 30 Rock. To get there we finally had to fight through New York crowds, but even those crowds fizzled out before long and we were back to walking at a leisurely pace. We didn't see anything amazing once we left Central Park, at least not until we met up with the band. But it was fun walking through the city, looking at the buildings and the street venders.

The Hostel

There is a reason this hostel only costs about 30 bucks a night. In the morning I went down to get a towel. With a thick Russian accent, the clerk responded, We do not have any clean towels.

You don’t have any clean towels? I asked.

She picked up a walkie-talkie and radioed someone, and a few seconds later there were clean towels.

When we returned around one that night, Miranda went to the lounge and I went to the room. I closed the door. When I tried to open the door, I was locked inside. I called Miranda and she came to the room, unlocking the door and freeing me. She went downstairs and returned with a security guard who tried to fix the door, locking himself in the room in the process. After Miranda freed us again, he suggested fixing the door so it wouldn't lock at all. We rejected that solution and soon a manager was in the room. After struggling with the door, he finally fixed the lock so we could get both in and out of the room.

With that resolved we finally went to bed and fell into deep sleeps.

Oh, by the way. Check out The Bones of Davy Jones. He performed at the Knitting Factory tonight and will be in Indianapolis and Muncie in August.

Sunday, July 22nd

On My Own

After driving each other nuts ever since we got into the city, Miranda and I split up to explore New York on our own and to save ourselves from killing each other.

I returned to Central Park, hunting for Strawberry Fields. I ended up walking the outskirts, finding 72nd street and the Dakota. I walked by the entrance where John Lennon was shot, and then moved across the street and took pictures. It was a very sad experience. When I was 15 all I listened to was the Beatles. Lennon was my favorite and I read everything I could about him. I was surprised what a depressing experience it was being there. I didn't expect it to be a jolly good time, but I also didn't expect being verge of tears after thinking about what happened there. And I felt bad for taking pictures, as if I trivialized Lennon's life and death.

From there I crossed back over to Central Park and easily found Strawberry Fields.

The rest of the day was spent walking the streets. I found the Ed Sullivan Theater and returned to 30 Rock, visiting the NBC Store. I wanted to buy all The Office merchandise but escaped without spending a penny. Today, anyway. I feel a Dwight Schrute bobblehead is in my future.

I stopped by the NBA Store and was disappointed in their small selection of WNBA merchandise. I also found about five blocks of 7th Avenue blocked off and filled with street vendors of all sorts.

It wasn't a particularly exciting day, but it was satisfactory.

I love this city.

Comments (0)

I never wanted to be a music writer. It all happened by accident.

Early last year I was invited by a friend to Big Car for the 2006 Indy Label Showcase. Being a bit of a recluse, I didn't want to go. But I felt obligated to attend.

It was my first time seeing local music. The first band performing was This Story, an 11 piece indie-folk group consisting of mostly teenaged musicians. They had just signed with Standard Recording Company and as soon as they took the stage — a stretch of wooden floor with a backdrop of overflowing shelves, a cluttered desk, and one solitary desk lamp acting as their spotlight — they burst into a swirling instrumental entitled "One Foot Off the Merry-Go-Around." They had guitars and a Wurlitzer, multiple horns, a banjolin, a violin, a xylophone, and many other instruments. I fell in love with their music immediately. They changed my life, putting on the path of music journalism and introducing me to a new aspect of music: the local scene.

Days later I bought a collection of music articles by Jim Derogatis entitled "Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s" and began to teach myself how to write about music. I felt the need to write about this band, and any others I saw afterwards. I began obsessively documenting Indiana music.

Being published in NUVO soon became my number one goal. My first attempt at writing for the paper was a review of a June 2006 This Story performance. That attempt failed.

Not deterred, I continued to attend shows and write about what I saw. Soon I discovered Arrah and the Ferns. And after them, Everthus the Deadbeats. Along with This Story, the three bands would form my holy trinity of local music.

It's been over a year now since I was introduced to the music scene. In that time I've achieved my goal of writing for NUVO. I've been able to meet and write about bands I loved like Margot and the Nuclear So and So's and Grampall Jookabox/ BIGBIGcar. NUVO has also allowed me to meet, write about, and become a fan of many bands I didn't know like Dorsey and Mandy Marie and the Cool Hand Lukes.

This Thursday night, though, things start to come full circle. I will board a bus and head to New York City where I will meet This Story, who will be two days into their second tour of the summer. The band will be performing two shows in the city: one at a place called the Yippie Museum and another at the Knitting Factory. I will be there documenting their adventures with my friend Miranda Murray, who will be taking pictures. You'll get to read all about it in August.

Miranda and I will remain in New York for a few days after the band leaves. I have a ticket to see my favorite musician, Nick Cave, open for the White Stripes with his side project, Grinderman, at Madison Square Garden. Outside of that, I have no idea what we will end up doing.

But whatever we do, you can read about it here.

Comments (0)