After a long hibernation, New York City looks like it's finally coming back to life. Or maybe it's just the weather.
In any case, if New York City is my living room, it was a great host this weekend.
Friday night was the Death Cab for Cutie/Franz Ferdinand concert at Hammerstein. I wasn't a huge fan of Hammerstein
before Friday night, but for some reason, it showed me it could be a pretty awesome place to see a show. I thought
going in that Death Cab would be a tough act in a live setting and they proved me right. I'm a huge Death Cab fan, but
they just don't have performance chops that accurately capture their sound and songwriting abilities. It's too bad too,
because when they really clicked, like on their set closing "Transatlanticism", they were pretty good. For the most
part though, they were pretty boring.
Franz Ferdinand on the other hand, is a GREAT live band. Their lead singer took control of the crowd from the first
note and didn't let go until the final song was sung. Franz Ferdinand also played an incredible version of "Take Me
Out" which is tough because it's their most popular song and they must play it at every concert. They really, really
rocked, so much so that Eugene was pumping his fist by the end. And if you know Eugene, that means Franz Ferdinand was
rocking. Or it could mean that we were very drunk. Either way.
Saturday brought an 80-degree day which meant I was going to do the Union Sq./Wash. Sq. combo. Union Sq. is what I
consider the "center" of NYC -- you see everyone and their mother there. Washington Sq. is a great place to chill out,
listen to some music, see some street performers, and relax.
Anyway, I took some pictures.
This guy was pissed because, and I quote, "It's hard living in the mortal realm of New York City after
4800 years on earth". I'm with you, bro.

We came across a couple of dudes doing the old turn-some-buckets-over-and-play-them trick. Then some
kids got involved:

The little guy was getting down on his harmonica too.

Then all hell broke loose.

This guy smelled kind of bad.

These guys actually had a big crowd standing around them. That's not the point of this picture though. While we were
watching this group, a guy stepped in front of me with a camera. Was he taking the same shots as me? No sir. He was
TAKING PICTURES OF WOMEN'S FEET. I'm not joking; I saw the pictures with my own eyes. Only in New York...

Even dumpling man was having a great time...next to Dumpling Man is a new art gallery with works by James De La Vega. Check it out, it's really cool stuff.

Later it was time for some drinks on Shap's roof and a trip to Naked Lunch. Both Eugene and Shap threw up at the
bar. Not in the bathroom either. Gene puked right into the bottle of beer he was drinking from and Shap let out a
little stream directly underneath the bar. After Shap's episdoe, he got kicked out so we left. Yes, we're 26 years
old.
Oh Jager, you are evil.

Sunday was a lazy day. Thanks New York for a great weekend!