hollow sidewalks: Back In Crack

The NY Times had a big feature about Tompkins Square the Sunday before last year's Cracktoberfest. Oddly enough, there was no mention of Halloween. It was like the Sunday Times Election Extravaganza, even though the Sunday before Cracktoberfest was Halloween--that Tuesday being election day. Cracktoberfest 2004 was on 11/6. Anyway, "Bohemia With A Softer Edge" was the title of the feature and the case study was a guy who emigrated from Orchard Street and bought a $960,000 pad--the best thing about it is the "verdant, vibrant park right outside his living room window." Marveled the happy homeowner: "It's like having a huge front yard!"

I didn't think the he'd be too thrilled with a buncha people who would never be able to afford a $960,000 pad, let alone even see $960,000 in their lifetime, having a concert in "his" backyard. I guess it's a good thing that the Times warned him that despite all the gentrification--sorry, the Times called it a "transformation"--"Tompkins Square hasn't totally sacrificed its colorful, counterculture past....gray-bearded hippies sit side by side with Puerto Rican guitar players, anarchists wearing eyeliner, grumpy old chess players, and clapping Hare Krishnas."

Oh, Lord, Cumbaya.

I went to Cracktoberfest for the first time last year and given the way the city had been reacting to large groups of freedom hating anarchists gathered together marching or riding bikes, it was nice to see everybody getting along. As the show wore on I was getting cold and my back was killing me, plus I had to eat and go home and get down to Tribeca for Captured! By Robots, so I left in the middle of Leftover Crack.

Turns out I missed a riot. The Times had this for a headline: Clash At East Village Rock Concert. Dammit, I miss a riot and the Clash. I miss everything. I even missed the "rock concert" while watching all these punk bands.

I don't know what the hell happened to these pix. Was at the Knit for the Groovie Ghoulies/El Vez late show the night before and was tired Sunday, so I might've had the flash on by accident 'cause it's just a reflex for me to put the flash on. Or I forgot to switch it off. On my camera there's a "flash off" setting; simply not activating the flash isn't enough. How much you wanna bet I do the same thing this year? But here's some of the X-Possibles pix from ABC No Rio I'd mentioned earlier, plus from the rest of the day/night: