I went to go see Neon Indian play at the Rickshaw Stop on Thursday night. It was the first time they’ve performed in San Francisco. Alan Palomo said it was the first time he’s been back to the city since he was 12. They were accompanied by The Love x Nowhere and Night Jewel. Great night of music.
by Flairs
WOW. This video starts off pretty cutesy but it just might be the most vile and disgusting video I’ve seen in a LONG time. With that being said, it’s still very cool looking.
A short video I shot of PK-14, an underground band from Beijing, performing at Santos Party House in NYC.
I’ve talked about picking up and just going somewhere spontaneously for awhile now; just picking a random weekend and traveling somewhere. A month or so ago, I was afforded the opportunity to do so. Granted buying a cheap plane ticket a month prior to actually going isn’t really a what I had in mind when I thought of spontaneous, the act of buying the ticket itself was. I decided to go to New York City. I had not been to since senior year of high school; about four years ago.
My trip was just for the weekend so my goals weren’t many. I wanted to do some shopping, try some good restaurants, hopefully catch a band playing, take some photographs, NOT do touristy shit, and try my best to take in as many sights and sounds as I could.
Arrival:
I flew into JFK at about 11PM. My grandma’s sister (great-aunt? I just consider her my aunt) picked me up. The weather was unbelievably cold. I was seriously kicking myself for choosing fashion over function (I debated for about 5 minutes, while packing, whether to take my leather jacket or my North Face Denali fleece.) Anyway, we headed to my aunt’s apartment in Flushing, Queens. It is kind of a strange when you feel so at home even when you’re physically so far away from it. My aunt bought me Korean take-out because she knew I wouldn’t be eating on the plane, got a room ready for me with water bottles by the night stand, and even bought me instant noodle bowls for my return flight. <3
Day 1:
I’m obsessed with the Travel Channel, particularly Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. In the New York City episode, he stops by this particular deli for their pastrami sandwich. Ever since I saw that episode, I vowed to go try the pastrami on rye the next time I was in New York. Having made that vow, I made the hour-long subway ride to the L.E.S. to visit the famous Katz’s Delicatessen. I had extraordinarily high expectations for this sandwich. Reasons why? 1. I’ve never in my life waited over 30 minutes for a sandwich 2. I’ve never paid $15 for a sandwich 3. It was on the Travel Channel! When I finally got down to eating the sandwich, it was basically as advertised. The juiciest, melt-in-your-mouth pastrami with some amazing mustard spread on rye bread that did not moisten.
From Katz’s, I walked to SoHo where I stayed entirely too long and spent entirely too much. I spent almost two hours just inside UNIQLO. I also dropped by APC, BAPE, Blue In Green, Topshop, Nom de Guerre, Supreme, and a few others. In a perfect world, my entire wardrobe would consist of only APC.
The night of my arrival, I couldn’t immediately sleep due to the difference in time zones. To pass the time, I watched YouTube videos. I looked up videos for my favorite underground Chinese band, Carsick Cars. To my surprise, I found a video shot two days earlier at a show they did in New York. I hopped on their Myspace and found out they were playing one more NYC show later that day. “YES!” All this time, I really believed I would have to travel to Beijing to catch these guys. What are the odds of them playing a show in New York on that very day?
After my travels through SoHo, I decided to head over to Santos Party House which is right by Chinatown. I was a bit early and I actually saw two of the members of Carsick Cars smoking cigarettes (Zhong Nan Hai’s?) outside the venue. Eventually, I get in the venue and the show starts. Four acts were playing that night: Xiao He, Antimagic, PK-14, and Carsick Cars. Every band but Antimagic are from Beijing’s underground music scene. The first thing I noticed about Xiao He was his hat. It was like a cross between a beanie and the hat Robin Hood wears. I guess it’s fitting that his music also sounds like a cross of different things. In one song, he had the sounds of waves crashing, a ship’s horn blowing, the gentle chirping of birds in a forest, the distorted strumming of his acoustic guitar, and Mongolian throat singing. I didn’t care very much for Antimagic. The guy in the band dropped/broke his drumsticks at least 5 times. PK-14 was after them and, from what I’m told, are the inspiration to many of the up and coming indie Chinese bands. Their songs were really good and they put on a hell of a performance. This was also the point in the night when this one Asian guy next to me took it upon himself to start a mosh pit. He somewhat succeeded and for the rest of the night there was a small circle of 5 or 6 guys pushing and shoving the shit out of one another to the dismay and amusement of the rest of us. Finally, Carsick Cars played and they were amazing. They played only 4 songs or so because Basement Jaxx was about to come on and everyone had to get the fuck out but at least they played Zhong Nan Hai. I added two of the members of the band on facebook today. I hope they friend me <3.
At the show, I met a new friend, Joanne. She’s a Singaporean girl from Beijing and attends the School of Visual Arts. Cool. We walked from Chinatown all the way to the East Village. Holy shit that was far. Met up with her friend and went to grab a late bite at Momofuku Noodle Bar. Another place I’ve heard nothing but good things about. Since I was only in town for the weekend, I didn’t feel guilty ordering two pork buns and a bowl of ramen at 11pm; weight watching be damned. The buns were ridiculously good and they were somehow able to make “the perfect egg” in the ramen. It was soft but the inside didn’t leak out when punctured. They work magic in that kitchen I tell you.
Being in New York City, the city that supposedly never sleeps, I thought there would be plenty to do after hours. This isn’t necessarily true. Sure the bars, clubs, restaurants, dessert bars may be open up to a certain late hour but there’s only so much food one can eat and many places you can’t get in when you’re under 21. Why did the Basement Jaxx show have to be 21+???
Day 2:
Woke up at 2PM and by the time I stepped foot onto the street, it was 4PM and the sun was coming down.
I had another Japanese ramen shop, Ippudo, on my list of restaurants to try but I was so sick of noodles. I decided to get some Chinese boiled dumplings in Chinatown. The place I went to was a hole in the wall. It was literally a kitchen in the back, two grimy counters along the short wall, and maybe 6 shaky stools. Everything on the menu there was under $3. I spent $4 on dinner. The smallest single amount I had spent on anything up till that point. We need something like this in San Francisco ASAP.
After Chinatown, I made a stop at ChikaLicious Dessert Club for a cupcake. Best cupcake I’ve ever had in my life. I tried the Triple Chocolate and it was a chocolate cupcake with a light chocolate creme on top and a thicker chocolate filling. Also picked up some of their chocolate chip cookies.
I’ve been wanting to see New York, I Love You and what better place to see it then in New York City right? Met up with Joanne and saw it in a theater in Chelsea. I really liked it and it was trippy because they shot a lot of the locations in Manhattan that I had walked by. My favorite stories were the one directed by Natalie Portman about the little girl and the father, the one with the old couple, the one starring the kid from Charlie Bartlett and the wheelchair method actress, and the Orlando Bloom and Nicole Richie one. Good overall movie.
After the movie, we headed to a diner and had breakfast at midnight. Talked for a few hours and then I caught the subway back to Queens. I haven’t slept since and I’m writing this down at JFK while awaiting my flight back to San Francisco.
This past weekend was a gift and a curse.
It was a gift because I had some of the most fun with some really awesome people. It was exactly what I needed after these past few months of the same tired routine.
It was a curse because, like all good things, it had to end and I was genuinely depressed for a day or so. I’m still sad but it’s okay now.
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