The home straight - part one

With memories of NYC specifics fading fast the accuracy of the below cannot be guaranteed...

Last time I posted Andy and I were about to head out to Mercury Lounge, with high hopes. Again we couldn't quite understand how the shows are meant to hang together. I don't remember any of the bands and I don't really care (what could beat the Shackletons?) So we went round looking for a bar called Whiskey Ward. Here's a testimony to NYC's friendliness: we went up to a bloke on the street, they kind of guy who you probably wouldn't talk to on a street in many places, and asked him. No, he said, but I'll find out. Pulls out his phone, googles the place, and directs us round the corner. Awesome.

Saturday we reprised our running escapades up Park Avenue, this time starting from further downtown, up round Grand Central and into the Park again. Many more New Yorkers out and it was just as cool a feeling to dominate the streets with feet and tyres, Andy and I both were absolutely stuffed by the end of it though. Luckily we got back to the hostel in Chelsea just in time to see NZ's very good run at the rowing. We're not overly patriotic people, but we were yelling at the tv screen as the Evers-Swindell's approached the line. Headed out to Brooklyn again that night and caught a wee bit of quite a nice (but in no ways dangerous or revolutionary) band that was playing at a cool venue in back of a record store. After that another authentic NYC experience: seeing a heap of cops blocking off Bedford Avenue with a helicopter circling overhead. We dived into the subway and headed to Cake Shop for redemption. The band was called Hidden Power, just a bunch of crazy kids from Queens who didn't care what the scene thought they were or should be, they were there to have fun. And they had floor toms out the front for us to hit while we danced, and we're their number one fans now. http://www.myspace.com/hiddenpowernyc

Sunday...last day. Oatmeal again for breakfast...so cheap and healthy. Then we went...I don't know where. Oh that's right to Roosevelt Island which sits in the East River. It used to be an asylum/quarantine but now people are flocking there to live. I can see why...the peace and quiet, only a few hundred metres from Manhattan, was palpable. Last night in NYC and we had to repent again musically...where else but Cake Shop? And another great band called Boat were playing the end of their set. Then there was a break so we talked to Boat from Seattle, and they were cool and we're number one fans now. (Pattern complete). Some of them are teachers and heading back to school soon so this was near the end of their tour. http://www.myspace.com/boatmusic

Monday was sad and happy...leaving NYC and the fine company of Andy, and also happy to leave the place well before I got sick of it. Got on the old subway out to Queen's then a bus rest of way to La Guardia to catch my flight to Portland, Oregon for Fulbright Orientation.