Well New York City really has it all. Oh yeah, oh yeah...

In the last 24 hours, I was on ESPN, saw one of the great dictators of our time, and bribed a bouncer to see the buzziest band in the indiesphere. I share...

One of the other bussers called me Thursday night to ask if he could trade his Saturday shift for my Friday shift. I said sure, and decided to head up to NYC Friday. I've been wanting to see Negativland's stuff, and there was this CMJ thing going on, so I thought maybe I'd see some music and hang out with Dave and Vinny. I got to Times Square around 2 and just wandered around a bit. I stopped by the ESPN Zone, where they were doing a live taping of the World Series of Pool. I slid into the audience for the dramatic deciding match. Very exciting.

I kept wandering around, and thought maybe it would be fun to check out the Museum of TV and Radio. On the way, I saw a big crowd and a well-armed security detail outside CNN, so I got a cup of coffee and joined the gawking. A couple minutes later, Pervez Musharraf stepped out of the building and into one of the cars.

The Museum didn't have much going on, so I went to the Negativland exhibit, and stayed there for a very long time. It was this awesome audio/visual mash-up, featuring notes found in the trash, scraps of all sorts, and videos. And Pepsi. I'm having a hard time describing exactly what I saw, but I'd highly recommend checking it out. My favorite parts of the video were The Little Mermaid yelling about money owed and the radio call-in show.

I accidentally wound up at the WTC site, and from there worked my way up Broadway. Did some shopping, spent all last week's tips, and around 8:30 I thought maybe I could find some CMJ event. I found this Robbers on High Street/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Ambulance Ltd. down on the Lower East side, and headed down.

There was a big line at the door so I went up to the bouncer and asked if I needed a ticket or something. He wasn't answering my question clear enough for my liking, so I kept asking, and he grew increasingly frustrated until this dude behind me asked what the problem was. I said, "Is there any way I can get in there without my name on the list or a ticket?" Now, at the time this didn't really occur to me, but if I wanted to bribe someone, that's the way I'd phrase my proposal. The guy (who I guess was another bouncer or something) was much more savvy than I and said, "Well, maybe if you give me a little extra, like say $20, I could let you in the back. Meet me around the corner in 2 minutes."

I was convinced I was about to get either pummelled or at least swindled, but I went anyway, and the dude showed up, and I gave him $20. He went inside and I went back out to the line, and a couple minutes later he comes out the back door and motions for me to go in.

Having breached the gates of indie heaven, I went to the bar to celebrate with a Brooklyn Lager. I didn't have enough cash, and I needed to spend at least $20 to use my credit card, so I started a tab. Forced drinking is always and everywhere good, so I was pretty psyched about my prospects for the night. Dr. Dog was playing when I walked in. Then Country Egg Bandit, a family group with a twang. Robbers on High Street stole the show (no they didn't, but I wanted to say that). CYHSY had us clapping our hands and saying 'yes!'. I haven't gotten on the CYHSY bandwagon, but I have a few of their songs that I like. Five Lagers deep into the show, I really enjoyed their set. (Aside: when I left the house yesterday morning, I cued up "Is This Love?" for the car ride to the bus station. Such foreshadowing.) Ambulance Ltd. also rocked. It wound up being one of the best concerts I've been to in a while. A bribe well-spent.

After the show, it occured to me that I hadn't really eaten anything but a cookie, 2 coffees, and 6 beers since I scarfed down a couple cheeseburgers on the bus. 14 hours is a long time to go without food, so I went into a convenience store and bought the best tuna salada sandwich ever with the last of my cash. I met Vinny up near his apartment, and we drank a couple beers on his roof looking out over the East River. Crashed on his couch a little after 4. Up at 10 to catch the bus. And now, off to work til late. I'll sleep when I'm dead.