(author's note: these events took place a few weeks ago, I am getting around to posting it all now)
Day Two
after waking up really late, and explaining my presence as the random-new-guy-in-the-room, I ventured downstairs to figure out what to do. at the front entrance of the hostel, i entered in conversation with some members of the roadtrip, and asked them to tag along on their street-art/graffiti tour. it was Mike, Jamie, Jesse and Jennica (sorry if i spelled any names wrong!), and myself. the tour was really well-designed--while i'm sure it doesn't cover all of the keystone graffiti locations (as if such a thing could be defined since it changes always), it really exposed us to some very interesting buildings, corners, street-signage, etc. Mike was especially knowledgeable about the artists and techniques currently popular in nyc and beyond, and i learned alot from him and the other folks as we went. we walked clear across manhattan, from canal st at the red-line subway stop, all the way over to bowery and then up all the way to the gray line. we stopped to eat at a really cool hot dog place called Crif Dogs, where they had PBR cans and some really intriguing hot dog choices. from there, we took the subway as close as possible to the edge of the island, where The Armory Show (an art show) was taking place.
went in to the armory show, and had the real 'art' experience. the pieces, the galleries, etc. are as always a mixture between prescience and pretentiousness. i am inspired to create art, on a number of levels. one thing i think would make a good art project would be to take photographs of people who visit these 20-dollar-admission art shows and then look with some sort of disapproval upon you (well if you look like me, that is, not like someone who 'belongs' in their world). i think it would make for good art--to capture these people, their interactions, their looks (at me), and their unintendedly ironic posturing and general activity within the mise-en-scene of the art works surrounding them (as well as some of the reactions to the art itself, although i realize as funny as that can be i wouldn't want to cheapen the depth of any piece in this way). anyway, i'm lugging my massive backpack around, and my neck is really hurting. i stop for a few minutes to write these thoughts, and rest my shoulders. i return to the galleries.
then came the party in Brooklyn, the cornerstone of the trip. after spending the day doing a graffiti tour and visiting the armory show, i returned to the hostel with the group i was with. i returned to the room to relax, and talked some with two of the girls who were staying there, whom i had met briefly that morning, as 'the random guy in their room'. after taking a shower, and trying to fix the problem with my keycard not working, i went down to the other room where everyone was hanging out and pre-party drinking. i got to meet a bunch more people and had an enjoyable time in conversation. i was drinking some banana rum and getting a bit tipsy when, in an attempt to grab some doritos, i inadvertently turned my cup over and spilled it all onto my pants-leg. doh! i went to the bathroom to attempt to dry it off, feeling very embarassed, but realizing that this was quite silly and that these people weren't going to think i was some complete loser because of it. i had a moment of overcoming my fear of embarrassment, which in retrospect was an important moment for me. from there, i returned to the room where i was staying in order to drop off my backpack, where i met a few other 'roommates' who wanted to come along to the party. as a result, i went downstairs with them, and after about 20 minutes of confusion, we set off in a group of about 20 to brooklyn for the party.
being that people were already tipsy, the subway ride was quite a lot of fun. there was antics, laughs, interesting conversations and people to meet. one thing that i have noticed alot thorughout this trip, which i feel is a testament to the friendliness of canadian people: many of the people on this trip will engage with strangers in a friendly conversation with no scruples, whether on a subway, on the street, in a pizza shop, or at a bar. this is something that doesn't happen so much in CT where I'm from, but i must say i appreciate it alot.
we found our way to the bar with no troubles, but as we approached we began to realize there would be an issue with people not having IDs. this was a real downer since we had all come together, and the point of the party was generally to bring everyone together. a few bands had come down from toronto (some that morning) in order ot play at the show, so on the whole this was a disappointing development. as a result, the group split, with those under 21 (and a few over) traveling to another place. staying with the over-21 group at the party, i had some really awesome conversations with a few people, and checked out the bands. the first band didn't really work for me, however this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it caused me to move away from the stage where i could hear people talk a little better, which led to some of the awesome convesation i've referred to. the next band was very cool--there were two guys, playing pre-programmed beats and grooves, and over them adding a wide variety of parts, from hand drums, to vocals, to drumkit drums. their 'stage presence' was awesome, although i dont know if it can be called stage presence when the spend the majority of the time not on stage--in the audience, standing on the bar, etc. the lead vocalist was getting in peoples faces, screaming out the lyrics, and generally wildin out. the style mixed electronic dance music with hip-hop with soulful, and at times very emotional (screaming) vocals. on the whole they were very enjoyable. during this time i was hanging out with Anika and Nalini (again, really sorry if i misspell names!), two friends from toronto who were also staying in the same room as me. after this second band, a DJ started playing some dance tracks. this got people going, and i had a great time dancing with the group. as the night progressed (pretty much as soon as we left the hotel), i found myself helping to keep things in order; make sure everyone is together, coordinate plans with other sub-groups, etc. as it got a little later, we decided to leave, together with another sub-group from the hostel. we had some problems taking the proper subways back to our hostel, part of which I feel responsible for, and these difficulties made everyone a bit frustrated. eventually, we did make our way back (thanks to a helpful fellow subway traveller), and i ended up staying up for another hour or so (it was 4 a.m. when we got back to the hostel) talking with Ashley from the trip, before turning in for the night.
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