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(so you don't have to.)

LaSuprema and I took a trip to Yankeeland last fall to study the
architecture. They're got all kinds of weird stuff up in
Manhattan and I swear that Jen knew them all. I couldn't walk
half a block without her stopping to tell me about some
building or another. Yep, sure did learn a lot about architecture.
We saw some bands and shit because the college radio
convention was going on at the same time. The first night we
were in town, there was a fantastic bill with the Super Furry
Animals and Those Bastard Souls at the Bowery Ballroom, a
place that is one of the most aesthetically appealing venues I've
ever been in. Except for when the toilets overflow and flood the
bottom bar/lounge area. Which didn't happen on this night,
thank goodness. The Souls were lovely as usual - of course, I
am a sucker for Dave Shouse's songs, but everyone knows the
real selling point of this band is the lovely violinist, Joan. The
poise and grace of their songs was so perfectly suited to an
elaborate wooded room, making for my absolute favorite show of
theirs ever. (Which I would, however, still be tempted to trade
for a Grifters show circa 1993.)

Anyways, that was nice and mellow. Then everyone's favorite
Welsh band played, probably after some other stuff I've
forgotten because I didn't watch it. The Super Furry Animals
are hopefully headed for GW's sports section soon as they
acquired their own football team back in their homeland, which
just adds to their charm in so many ways, although I wonder if
they interfere a lot with team operations. Musically they
charmed me as well, having released one of the five or six
records I actually listened to in the past year. I even enjoyed the
extended techno-y outro to the show - for a few minutes it
seemed like they were going to go from being a noisy, melodic
rock band into ravers.

The rest of the night was even more enjoyable, for reasons too
esoteric and subtle to bother you with. We couldn't believe our
good fortune at having such a good time on our first night in
town. And we shouldn't have, either, 'cause the next morning
we woke up and Hurricane Floyd was a-pounding the East River
dangerously close to our windows. Rudy G. was on television
playing meteorologist - honestly, he is on television or radio