When my spouse and I found out Scottish legends the BMX Bandits were scheduled to play at the 2007 NYC Popfest, we quickly booked some decent lodging and grabbed a red eye to JKF. For their first visit to our shores in a decade, the band played a poorly-attended weeknight show in Brooklyn and an afternoon acoustic pickup gig in the basement of a cafe on the Lower East Side. Then they scrambled back home on a red eye of their own in order to immediately drive four hours to the next gig. As if this weren’t excitement enough, one of their members was arrested and spent 20 hours in a Manhattan holding cell. Luckily, he managed to free himself in time for the show (which was great, by the way). In a nutshell, it was a textbook example of why I retired from touring.
Since our entertainment was taken care of, all we had to do was map out a short list of vegan restaurants in the city. These were our anchor destinations, around which we planned our urban hiking adventures. Unfortunately, we left our Trimble-compatible mobile phone at home, so Geocaching was out. But naturally, we brought along our camera. For as terribly hayseed-like as it may seem, there’s nothing I like better when I’m in the city than a good long gawk at all the tenements. There’s something about a code-straddling subsistence-level multi-family dwelling that starts something fluttering in my breast. I don’t even mind if it’s just a crumbling old boarded up office building, as long as its got that hungry look of potential flammability about it.
Of course, to truly capture these mighty beasts in their own habitat, I’d have to live among them. But one look at the state of my complexion after a mere three days on the street tells me this option is out of the question. The slow buildup of toxins would surely kill me. So you’ll have to forgive my piddling and rather scatter shot approach. Still, I think the cumulative effect of the photos is stirring enough. I’ll leave the detailed documentation to those better equipped for more extended efforts.
I was 12 in 1976 and went to New York. I was fortunate enough to have a cousin who worked for the NYC Public housing and he took me to an apartment building that was the site of a quadruple murder. We also went to Spanish Harlem at 3 a.m. to see what was going on. He wanted me to see an insiders view of the city. It was a lively scene and there was tons of code straddling dwellings. I too love a good tenement. The ones you shot are quite lovely in their own ways. Prettier than the Destruction for Christmas buildings, which were already condemed I believe…
wow that group’s music is cool — where can I buy their cds?
You can get “At The Hop” from an Amazon reseller for like 3 bucks. The Creation anthology “Serious Drugs” is an import, but worth it. Nowadays, it seems their new output is only getting released in Japan, but the new one, “Bee Stings” is so new we don’t even have a copy yet.
Hey there, you should reconsider touring with the band. Just think of all the great pics you could get for your site!
By the way, how was the chem-trail scene in NYC? Did you catch the fest in our Arizona sky yesterday! wow. My husband took some shots of the moon last night with trails crisscrossing across it. I’m not sure what they’re all about, but it aint natural.
We like the Bandits also and checked out their MySpace. Good music.
After having sacrificed an entire weekend to travel, I’m so behind here at home that I haven’t had the time to look up into the sky!
The Tenement Year. I’m too claustrophobic.
I was Listening to the random hod pog Mp3 downloaded stuff form the last 7 years, which doesn’t happen often, it means more that way. It is like looking through a family photo album. The randomizer popped up a Klowns song and Going Thing song. I do not remember exactly which songs, but I thank you for wonderful tunes.