So back to our story…

The next morning we woke up a little late. Ezra had to deal with some work issues, so I got ready in the meantime. We had to split our stay between two rooms at the guest house, so after moving our stuff to our new room (whose fake tiger-skin rugs continued the dead animal theme), we set out in search of nourishment. We ended up back at ’snice, where I enjoyed some of the best ever oatmeal with dried fruit and a glass of yummy chai. Then we set off for the Museum of Modern Art.

Even for a Wednesday, it was quite busy. There were tour groups, students, other tourists, etc. The slate floor in the lobby looks about the same as the floor from the old building, but most other elements of the building feel new. It’s much more open, and much bigger. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the new building, but I do. I feel like I should mention the guy whose job it is to herd people through the coat check. He is firm, yet pretty friendly. He smiled while yelling at all us stupid cattle. Very efficient.

We saw so many things at the museum–it’s hard to know where to begin. They were showing some of Andy Warhol’s screen tests–3 screens side by side–in one room, along with a few other good little films. I watched a bit and saw Gerard Malanga (who basically just looks into the camera and licks his lips a few times), Dennis Hopper (who starts out just looking into the camera but ends up all over the place–he is the original ADHD patient), and several others. The drawing, printmaking, and photography exhibits were all excellent, and Ezra and I were both really pleased to discover that we like some recently acquired pieces by new artists. All is not lost in the realm of contemporary art! Huzzah! A few names that stand out in my mind are Jeff Wall, Charles LeDray (don’t think I like all of this stuff, but this is what we saw at MOMA, and it’s impressive), Josiah McElheny, and Philip-Lorca DiCorcia. And we discovered (or rediscovered) some other artists like Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Tina Modotti, Robert Frank (we saw a bunch of his works before–Ezra thinks maybe at the Art Institute in Chicago, and I love Elevator - Miami Beach), and El Lissitzky. Everytime I visit the Museum of Modern Art, I feel like I rediscover Paul Klee. It’s like his work is genius in that setting. And we saw many other good works by Calder, Warhol, Mackintosh, Miro, Cindy Sherman, Lautrec, Redon, Richter, and many many others. Ez and I were both filled to the brim with art, and we pooped out before going through the top floor. Didn’t even make it to the gift shop this time. The museum is bigger now!

So we were wiped out and filled up with art, and needing to refuel. We hit an Au Bon (unexciting, but we were too pooped to hunt down something more interesting) on 6th Avenue for a drink and snack and then slowly wandered back to our room. After resting for a bit and spiffing ourselves up, we headed out to an early dinner before the show. We were hoping for a Thai place, but it looked sketchy, so we ended up going for another Italian spot. I opted not to overdo it with the pre-show drinks this time…

Back at Radio City, we almost immediately felt that the crowd was different for the second show. It seemed older or something… maybe a little more clued in. Ezra easily managed to get his camera through the door, and we took a handful of pictures of the place and the show.

Blonde Redhead sounded a bit better on the 2nd, though they still only played four songs. It seemed like there were actually more people at the show on the 2nd who might have come out to see them, or who at least know and like them. Unfortunately for me, right before Interpol hit the stage, a big round guy planted himself in the aisle seat next to me, and a tall skinny kid took the seat in front of me. So I was surrounded, which was a bit of a disappointment, I have to say. I tried to get over it, though. The show was good–much much better than the first night. The setlist felt a lot more energetic, the band seemed more on top of things, the crowd responded better, the light show seemed bigger, the sound even seemed better. They played several live favorites, including “Length of Love,” “Say Hello to the Angels,” “Take You on a Cruise,” and of course the usual suspects like “Evil,” “NYC,” and “Obstacle 1.” I was glad they played “Hands Away” again. It’s also really good live. At one point someone actually skateboarded across the stage. Ezra says he saw this, but I missed it (probably because my view was so obscured the whole time… grrrrr). I’ve heard it was actually Blasco, the guy who plays keyboards at their live shows. I did see a kid run across the stage, press a CD into Paul’s hand, and get chased off the other side and thrown back into the crowd by security. Crazy. When did the stage jumping thing start at Interpol shows?

So I’m looking forward to seeing them this coming Wednesday in Boston. My seats at the Orpheum look decent, and I feel like the Radio City shows, as good as they were (esp. the second night), were sort of like teasers. Maybe it was being in New York, or the bigger venue, or a combination of lots of factors, but I kept fighting off the feeling that the first two times I saw them were just a little more fun because they were more intimate. But I hate to complain.

After the show we headed back to our room. We thought about getting a coffee, but nothing good presented itself and it was quite cold.

On Thursday morning we had breakfast at a cute diner called the Bus Stop Cafe. The food was OK–not great–and the service was insanely fast. I barely had time to figure out what I wanted before it was in front of me. I do not exaggerate. On the walk to the diner we passed a setup for a movie shoot on the corner. There were no signs of any stars that I could see, but there were a bunch of photographers with crazy massive lenses, and we overheard one guy say something like, “I’m not chasing after Lucy Liu.” Hm…

Our plan was to walk over to 6th Ave. and check out a board game store, but we couldn’t find it. I did have fun wandering through an art supply store near The New School. Then we got on the subway to find B&H, which was recommended to me as the place to go for camera equipment. Mainly, I wanted to see what they could tell me about the new smaller Canon Digital Rebel that’s coming out (not much). It was cool just to go there, though. It’s massive–covers a large corner of a city block. They sell all kinds of electronics. Apparently, it’s Jewish owned and largely Jewish operated. The store is closed Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays, and I’d say about 80 percent of the staff were wearing yarmulkes. The place is set up almost like a Service Merchandise or something. You tell a sales person what you want, after looking at the display samples, and they send an order back into the stockroom. Your items are placed in a bin which travels on a conveyor overhead through the store and up to the pick-up area in the front. After you pay, you can pick up your purchase. Ez found a new case for his camera and we set off again.

Suddenly we realized our trip was drawing to a close. What to do in our last few hours there? We did a lot of walking in the cold, again looking for the elusive non-Starbucks coffee shop and again having no luck. We ended up at Gotham Book Mart. They’ve just moved to a wood-filled location on 46th Street, just a block or two over from their old location. There were people treating the wood upstairs, so a scent of some semi-toxic wood cleaner/polish filled the place. I have just purchased so many books, so I forced myself to hold back, but Ezra found a few that look very good. The same woman was working the desk this time as the last time we visited New York in September 2003.

…And then it was a rush to grab lunch, get back to the guest house to grab our bags, and then get up to the bus station. We got there just in time, and here we are… back in Boston!

I think the visit energized me overall. I like to be somewhat busy. I really like being around art and creativity. There are still things about the pace in New York that I don’t like, but part of it might be the fact that I am always rushing when I’m there because I never know when I’ll be back. Hopefully, we can get down there again when the weather gets a little warmer, so we can walk around more. Of course, then everyone else will be thinking the same thing and the streets will be packed. Alas.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 4th, 2005 at 10:40 pm and is filed under Blather, art, dining, music, photography, the written word, wide world of vacation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.