Lowlakes: CMJ Tour Diary Part One

We just arrived at our apartment at 5 West 21st street in Manhattan. It's just what we imagined a classic New York City apartment to be like: A fire escape runs up the the face of the building, there are too many stairs (particularly when burdened with instruments to carry) and it's impressively compact.

We've adopted a fellow Melbourne CMJ performer too - Jess from Teeth and Tongue. She's yet to pick up the keys for her accommodation in Brooklyn, so has joined us here temporarily. In so doing she's also joined the growing line for the shower. Which, as Tom discovered on arrival, has no hot water!

But we're stoked to be here in the Big Apple. Surrounded by spots we've seen in movies loads of times - in this way this place is strangely familiar.

It's pretty crazy that a city can feel so familiar, yet none of us have been here before. Of course we've seen parts of the surrounds in movies, and have witnessed countless references to NYC life in popular culture. So much so, that staying on the lower easy side draws instant reference to Sex and the City. Even though that means very little to any of us in relation to the greater layout of NYC... Such a Samantha thing to say.

There's been a small dilemma with our gear too...

Jack was last to come through customs in LA and was the only one approached by an official and his trusty Beagle. The dog quickly singled him out from a line of hundreds of bleary-eyed travelers. After being promptly escorted to an empty processing station crawling with a dozen security staffers, our shrink-wrapped instrument cases were thoroughly dismantled, swiped, swabbed, scanned, tapped, and prodded. Jack was quick to inform them that the cases were not his, and actually belonged to Tom (who'd already cleared customs), but this didn't seem to help. Thankfully he was eventually given the all clear and only just made it to our connecting flight to NYC. The instruments, however, met a different fate, and apparently will be delivered to us at our apartment tomorrow morning (fingers crossed)...

Anyway, we're about to head out to find something nice and American to eat...