static and distance

Moments after reuniting in Istanbul

A digital converstaion between thompsoninflıght and Jerry Jackson. Held while sitting next to each other within The Bıg Apple Hostel on a cold soppy Istanbul Sunday. Subject: Our rollickıng rendevouz in Turkey…

Our tribute to the felines of Istanbul

New York City. It’s a helluva town.

Central Park

DO: Hurry Up, breathe through your mouth, get a decent street guide, tip

DON’T: Slow down, breathe through your nose, expect to be able to save money

RECOMMENDED: Manhattan City Inn, Chelsea for cramped but well located accomodation; The Zipper Club for a wild beer range(including Coopers Pale Ale!!) and top notch bartending; The Ear Inn for an ancient NYC pub and surly Irish/New Yorker bartender; Hells Kitchen Flea Market for nicknacks and vintage clothing; The Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall for great free music 7 nights a week; the Cake Shop on Ludlow St for cake and records upstairs and booze and bands in the cavernous downstairs; Exploring Central Parkand it’s wonderful zoo; Skylight Diner for good food, bad coffee and an authentic New York experience; Jim Hanley’s Universe for comics; Union Square for farmers markets and watching the age old battle between pigeon and squirrel; watching the US Open while drinking cheap smuggled in vodka @ Madison Square Park; The annual Brazil Festival on 6th Ave; Lit on 2nd Ave for late night sloppiness and decent music; pretty much all of the East Village for pretty much everything; Bleecker St Records and Gemneration Records for music; SoHo for shopping utopia; watching tough street basketball at the corner of W 4th and 6th Avenue; just getting your New York on in general.

AVOID: Public phone booths(urinals), Greenwich Village Diner, Jimmy’s BBQ on W 31st, Sway Club, going to Times Square more than once.

I figure this is that’s the best way to surmise my New York experience. It was a stinky and spectacular, exhausitng and exhilirating, opulent and offensive, hot and hotter, noisy, noisy, noisy, crowded, ctowded, crowded, and not for a millisecond boring. Not even on the subway. My favourite moments were had around the happening East Village, particularly on Ludlow Street were there’s a string of great little bars. My favourites were the multifunctuional Cake Shop and the Living Room where I saw some cool bands and the people were nice and casual, not infected with the dibillitating wave of pretensious hipsterdom that plagues much of the cities youth. I was fortunate enough to get put onto these places by an Australian bartender at the excelllent Zipper Club on W 37th St. Met him on the first night and ducked in now and again for a Coopers and a kindly word of advice. Very handy to have a knowlegeable local and absolutely vital to have a comprehensive city guide book. Met some real nice people from all over the globe at the hostel and sucked down many a bad can of Bud up on the excellent rooftop there.

Anyways I wasn’t going to elaborate too much, was I? Not enough hours in the day let alone time on this crappy hostel computer. So from the city that never sleeps to the city that closes up at 2am. I am now in Boston and it’s going OK. Boston Common is a beautiful park and the Charles River is nice to chill by, it’s still very hot. Wondered around yesterday and was struck by the lack of homelessness and racial diversity in comparison to LA, SF and NYC. In the city there were more Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts than black or hispanic folk.  It’s an interesting time to be in America with the election bearing down on the nation. I haven’t met a republican yet but not everyone is convinced by Mr Obama either. It’s a good converstaion starter at a bar, everyone has got an opinion which is encouraging. No sign of apathy. Had a good yarn on the subject with a chap at a great “dive bar” (Americanism) called Bukowskis last night then kicked on around a few inferior sporty type bars. All so…American. I’m right in college territory-everthing is white picket fence and everyone is very preppy. My outsider feeling was quite strong on the first day when I walked out of my hostel and straight into a torrent of Red Sox fans streaming out of nearby Fenway Park. Whoops.  Boston seems to be one of those big cities you live in if you don’t want to feel like you’re living in a big city. A total contrast to NYC.  Looking forward to My Morning Jacket and Ryan Adams this weekend and have been invited to college BBQ on Sunday. Will it be a “kegger”? We will see. A little worrying is the forecast for rain and heavy wind tomorrow night as I understand the venue for the gig is semi-outdoors. Hopefully she’ll be right *crosses fingers, toes*  

It’s off to London on Monday and seeing an old friend named Partial then to Leeds and another old mate named Bondy, will be good to see these blokes in new surrounds. So onwards I plow, trusting all is well with friends and family back home and with a little pang of sadness chest as I recount my time in New York…missing her already.

Up on the hostel roof, Chelsea

alrightalrightalright

One week almost down though it feels like much, much longer. I’m on my last day in San Francisco and getting my act together before flying out to New York at 8am tomorrow. The last 6 days have been a heady blur. From almost missing my initial flight out of Sydney to a hot seedy couple of days in LA to some incredible music over the last 3 days in magnificent Golden Gate Park to hunkering down on clam chowder and watching sea lions wrestle on the piers..it’s been a gas, man.

The flight was OK. Exhausting and uncomfortable sure, but pretty much as expected. I spent a night in Venice Beach on arrival. Cool place but a night was adequate I felt. Sauntered up and down the strip mostly, taking in the sights and smells, avoiding persisent scammers and beggars. Spent some time watching street basketball which was strikingly similar to White Men Can’t Jump…the trash talk, the arguments over fouls, the colourful characters. Met some guys in a bar playing pool who invited me over for beers that night. Dive of an apartment with about 5 guys squashed into two bedrooms and a tiny lounge room. Graffiti all over the walls and contraband everywhere. The whole block was one big party-Latino families mixing with surfers with frat boys with whatever you class the guys I was with as. They informed me across the road was The Dudes apartment, from The Big Lebowski, and their aprtment was in the background of a scene in the film. We hit a bar and shot pool and talked nonsense and I felt very at home, except no one understood a word I was saying(“You English?” the most common question). Had a stroll around the canals of Venice the next day, slept in a park and got rather burnt, ate a horrible enormous burrito and it was time to go to San Francisco. LA was cool but I can see where Michael Douglas was coming from in Falling Down.

G-Dawg met me at the airport and we jumped on a train to down town SF. We emerged onto Market street and I liked it at first sight. Not love, but a lotta like. Market St and the surrounds were bustling with shoppers, tourists, street performers and the homeless. The homeless situation I’ve witnessed here so far is utterly shocking, to put it conservatively. Made it to my hostel which is smack bang in the reddest of red light districts I have encountered. Lewd and bawdy and dangerous, the Broadway district of North Beach seeps into the Italian district, China Town and eventually the ultra touristy wharf area. I’ve enjoyed walking around and exploring, more so during the day then at night. There a couple of great bars around, the best I found being the Saloon just around the corner. Had a brace of big nights there-the joint is San Francisco’s oldest bar at 200 years young and puts on serious live blue shows 7 nights a week. Set up at the bar, order a locally brewed Anchor Steam beer and just take in the authentic unmistakeable history of it all and cracking music. The most memorable moment there was watching an octogerian couple all dolled and liquored up dancing with earnest unrestrained joy to Time Is On My Side. Made me feel kinda stupid about complaining about gettin’ old. Checked out the Haight district too which is probably my fave area, sorta similar to Fitzroy/Collingwood back home. Lotsa history, lotsa cool shops, bars and cafes as well as the ginormous Amoeba Record store where a dude could spend a years salary in a blink. Everyone here wants a piece of you, wheter it’s hey buddy gotta dime or elaborate scams. Saw a square American twenty-something fleeced of $100 on a bus by three guys playing the cup game. Dude was devasted. They didn’t use any force, just tricked him into handing it over then vanished. Geez I wouldn’t hand over $100 to anyone, let alone griftters on a bus. Guess they know how to spot the green ones…

The 3 day Outside Lands Music Festival within Golden Gate Park was fantastic but, of course, left me spent. The park is a beautiful sprawling lush area and the festival spread across a sizeable region of it. The highlights were many, though it’s hard to beat Radiohead. On the first night they played a mindblowing set enhanced by a dazzling mulitmedia/lighting show that left no doubt as to their stance as the best damn live band in the world. There were a couple of major technical stuff ups but the band powered on through a near two hour set of their greatest songs. The rest of the weekend was enjoyable-M.Ward, Drive-By Truckers, Bon Iver, Primus and Broken Social Scene all playing kickarse sets. The fog rolled in late on the Fri and Sat to cool things down but on the Sunday, the sun hung around(suitably) right up till darkness. The final band was a little group called Wilco who played a lovely show before the majority of the 50 0000 odd punters into the dusk. Songs like California Stars and Remember the Mountain Bed were tender, unforgettable moments amongst the fog (or was it pot smoke?) filtered sunshine and picturesque greenery that I’ll never forget. Wotta band, wotta day……..

Feel like I’ve got a good impression of this town. Would I live here? Hard to say. I would like to visit again and squeeze a little more outta my stay. It’s certainly an aesthetically pleasing place with a helluva lotta soul. Looking forward to New York though. On my third day my camera died and I’ve had some issues uploading snaps from my new camera but hopefully I’ll get some shots up soon. Rest assured I have been amongst it like a pig in mud and the slide shows upon my return will be long, tedious and possibly a little incriminating. Only to G-Dawg, of course.

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Apologies for crappy grammar/spelling…time is not on my side right now