25 May 2008
Phillyharmonics
30/05/08 13:59
Still, Philly is something quite different from New York. Spread out over a vast area, it is comprised of hoods and districts with their very own and very local feel to them. Spruce Hill where Greg lives borders on a large African and a somewhat smaller Muslim community. It used to be a rough part of town, but since college kids and artists started moving in, everything has changed. The big old run-down town houses with their cozy porches and tiny gardens are now home to a vibrant mixture of musicians and writers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Greg lives together with five of his friends, and so far everybody we have met seems to be involved with music in one way or another.
Last night we went to hear Greg play with an assorted group of Balkan and jazz musicians in a dive bar across the street. Located in a tiny room above an Ethiopian restaurant, it almost felt like gatecrashing a private apartment. Hesitant at first, we ordered a local beer, and snug into a corner at the far end of the room - that is, some fifteen feet from the doorway. A toy tarantula the size of a ceiling fan hung suspended just above our heads, and we had the somewhat awkward feeling of being the only ones who did not know everybody else in the room. Luckily, it only lasted till the bartender - who also happens to be the manager, renting the place from the restaurant downstairs for 50 bucks a night - found out that we were staying with Greg. In the uncorking of a bottle we went from being strangers to being locals.
Tonight one of Greg's housemates is playing a gig at the bar with his bluegrass band. Apparently the bar manager supplies the vocals, so it is expected to be a big night. And with a bit of luck, we will be sufficiently hung over tomorrow to really start digging into the notorious Philly Cheese Steaks. More on that soon.
|
Jacob went off-broadway and
heard 
Kristian was sitting at 6th
Avenue and tried to 
The Sunny side of the city
25/05/08 22:21
What a day, what a
night and bloody hell - what a week. New York just
doesn’t stop, it never slows down or stands still.
The taxis on Broadway bears resemblance to the almost
hypnotic movement of a lit cigarette in the dark
night, except there is no darkness and there is no
night.
The hymn of this temple is speed. It is the impressive blink that puts you somewhere else in the time of a heartbeat, and how we enjoy this seduction. It is as if every light on Times Square lights the world just for us, and constantly invites us to dance - but when we accept the invitation is already extended to the person next to us.
But alas, the sun always rises in New York - and were we expecting cold, we have been let down in every sense of the word. The temperature has been around 70 degrees, and the hospitality equally enjoyable. We’ve stayed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey city and have been shown the best of times and places wherever we have been.
On a warm thursday afternoon it all came together tho. In all its hectic splendor we were given one of those small, everyday epiphanies that just warms you to the point where you just can’t stop smiling and giggle. You find yourself reduced to a giggling jackass just looking around for someone to hug. Luckily no one got within range, or thing just might have gotten a wee bit awkward.
We had been traveling with the subway, and although it truly gets you from one point to another - and very effectively, it can also be a somewhat gloomy feeling to go underground and feel the cold that not even modern technology can hold at bay. And just as we were succumbing to the catatonic state of mind that one so easily gives in to underground - we come out of the tunnel and are illuminated by the soothing rays of the sun. For 5 minutes we just stare out of the window as we are transported deeper into Queens, and become more and more invigorated.
And just in case we hadn’t gotten it the first time around, New York gave us the final push towards the above mentioned state of smiling:
The hymn of this temple is speed. It is the impressive blink that puts you somewhere else in the time of a heartbeat, and how we enjoy this seduction. It is as if every light on Times Square lights the world just for us, and constantly invites us to dance - but when we accept the invitation is already extended to the person next to us.
But alas, the sun always rises in New York - and were we expecting cold, we have been let down in every sense of the word. The temperature has been around 70 degrees, and the hospitality equally enjoyable. We’ve stayed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey city and have been shown the best of times and places wherever we have been.
On a warm thursday afternoon it all came together tho. In all its hectic splendor we were given one of those small, everyday epiphanies that just warms you to the point where you just can’t stop smiling and giggle. You find yourself reduced to a giggling jackass just looking around for someone to hug. Luckily no one got within range, or thing just might have gotten a wee bit awkward.
We had been traveling with the subway, and although it truly gets you from one point to another - and very effectively, it can also be a somewhat gloomy feeling to go underground and feel the cold that not even modern technology can hold at bay. And just as we were succumbing to the catatonic state of mind that one so easily gives in to underground - we come out of the tunnel and are illuminated by the soothing rays of the sun. For 5 minutes we just stare out of the window as we are transported deeper into Queens, and become more and more invigorated.
And just in case we hadn’t gotten it the first time around, New York gave us the final push towards the above mentioned state of smiling:
I mean - this really isn’t fair, is it?