Encore!

It’s almost 2 AM and I can’t sleep, despite being exhausted. Today (technically yesterday, Tuesday, but whatever) was one of the better days so far, and the bar is set pretty high.

Tom went back to work today, so I resumed my touristy adventures. There was some debate as to what exactly I’d do to occupy my time until this evening when I had the Explosions concert. I’d just about settled on the Museum of Modern Art when a cursory check of their website revealed that they’re closed on Tuesdays. Bummer. My next option, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was also vetoed, on account of me wanting roll my visit to the Met in with a visit to the Cloisters, and for that, I’d need a full day.

I checked outside and the sky was serenely clear. A visit to the Empire State Building was on the cards then, considering my first attempt was stymied by the recalcitrant weather. On the way to the subway at Astor Place I grabbed a most delicious Nutella and fruit crepe. There’s a lot to be said about the street vendors in New York – some of the best food I’ve had came from some dude’s cart - with the possible exception of that one chicken gyro. Anything called a ‘gyro’ was always going to be suspect though.

Anyway, I hopped off the train at Times Square and walked the mile or so to the Empire State Building, doing some shopping along the way. The stores around that area are very tourist orientated, but I found some pretty nice stuff anyway. I meandered my way around the area, until I eventually found myself at the entrance to New York’s most loved building – the Empire State herself.

The lines are seemingly endless. You queue in one line to get to the next queue. You stand in lines, only to be let through to the next area, where you stand in yet another line. Eventually, we reached the 80th floor, where as expected, more queues, this time for the elevator to take you up the final six floors. Thankfully, a staircase presented itself as a happy alternative, and I scuttled up the stairs eager to finally check out the view.

The first thing you notice as you enter the foyer of the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building is that when you look out the windows, you see clear blue sky. It came as a shock – it’s been a while since I saw an open expanse of sky. It’s something that quickly ingrains itself into your subconscious here – the skyline dominated by buildings. From up here though, before you exit the lobby onto the observation deck, it’s surreal to look out and see nothing but sky.

Once you’re out on the deck, battling the throngs of people for a decent spot, the sheer enormity of the city smacks you in the face. When I looked south for the first time out over the financial district, to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, it damn near took my breath away. Manhattan, New York and the greater Tri-State area is truly amazing. It’s just urban sprawl every way you look.

Looking South. That's the financial district off in the distance, Flatiron building middle at the intersection.

Looking North over Midtown. Central Park in the distance.

I opted to take along an audio tour device, and I’m glad for it. In the absence of a New Yorker to point out what to look at, the audio tour is pretty good option. There were a lot of sights I was looking out for, and that I subsequently found, but there were tons of buildings and districts that I would have missed otherwise. It occurred to me that I could stay here for six months and I still wouldn’t see everything. There’s too much to do and to see.

There were many amazing views from the top, and I would heartily recommend that anyone who comes to New York makes the trip up the Empire State. You have to battle throngs of tourists to do so, but it is every bit worth the endless waiting. One of the highlights was watching a reconstruction crew applying some touchups to the plaster of the building’s exterior just below the observation deck. What an insane job, working 85 stories up in the air!

This dude has enormous balls and a distinct lack of fear of heights.

Having spent about half an hour queuing to get back down (yeah, that sucked) I made my way back home with about an hour to chill before I had to head uptown for the concert.

While the subway is mostly a pretty smooth experience, I’ve developed a hatred for the 6 trains that run along the green line uptown to the park. For some reason, every unpleasant subway experience I’ve had so far has been on the 6. I’ve been on a 6 that smelt like a hyena peed on a hobo, I’ve had one that leaked water all over my arm (miffness), I’ve missed a 6 train and subsequently waited for like 20 minutes for the next one because a Hispanic dude in front of me was topping up his MetroCard with quarters, and I’ve encountered more panhandlers and other annoyances on the 6 than other other train. To make matters worse, the train is almost always insanely full – on the way back from the park on Sunday I felt like a sardine, that’s how cramped it was for the first half of the trip.

I exited the subway to a torrential downpour. The clear skies that afternoon had given way to what seemed to be a minor hurricane. It was pissing down, and like an idiot I was in shorts, t-shirt and no umbrella. It didn’t help that the line at the concert was about half a mile long (no kidding, it was all the way to the 65th street exit, four city blocks). So I sat there in the pouring rain. Fortunately, New Yorkers are a fairly friendly lot and I’d struck up a conversation with the group in front of me, who were similarly ill-equipped and equally soaked by the time we got inside.

In the queue of death.

Once inside, I loaded up on merch (you owe me McLeod) and grabbed a particularly prime spot right near the stage. Unfortunately, the first opening act was a particularly horrible solo performance by some dude that was all but booed off the stage. The second act, the Constantines, was pretty rad however.

By the time Explosions came on the rain had given way to clear skies. It was around 8 PM and the sun was just starting to set, making for a truly magnificent setting to a truly awesome band. They opened with Yasmin the Light which blew my mind. Sadly, around halfway through their set my poor feet couldn’t take it anymore (four hours of standing up) and I had to relinquish my spot and headed for the seats at the back. They rocked a lot of their older stuff, but worked in Your Hand in Mine (amazing) and some more recent stuff, before ending with The Only Moment We Were Alone, which sent shivers down my spine.

EXPLOSIONS!

The walk back home was pretty great too. I detoured along Madison Avenue at some point, marveling at the opulence of the displays in the shopfronts. D&G, DKNY, Cartier, all in attendance in the small stretch of road I walked down.

I got back home around 11 PM, and even then, most of the stores in St Marks were open for business. There were people out and about having dinner, people buying stuff at shops, people on their way wherever on their skateboards and rollerskates. It truly is an amazing city.