Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > July > 26 > Entry
Social pilgrims in our midst: Sean Massey & Joshua B. Ludzki do Austin
Last week, Sean Massey and Joshua B. Ludzki, two friends from Upstate New York, visited Austin. Since I was absent during their first days here, I asked Christopher Carbone, associate editor of L Style G Style, to introduce them to Austin social life.
The result was a full week of activity during what is usually considered a dead time of year. The traveling companions — Ludzki, a radio personality and community leader, and Massey, a university professor, city council member and business owner in Binghamton, N.Y. — shared some social observations harvested at the Oasis, Hike & Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake, Hotel San Jose, Alamo Drafthouse, Max’s Wine Dive, Vespaio, Azul Tequila, M Two, 24 Diner, Oilcan Harry’s, Halcyon, Taco Shack, Guero’s, Rusty Spurs, Rain, Madame Mam’s, Elysium and Barbarella.
JOSHUA: What struck me about Austin in the dead of summer was how walkable it still is. We’ve gone to the hike and bike trail almost every day since we’ve gotten here. It’s been packed with people. And friendly people. People that hot and sticky and tired and well-exercised shouldn’t be that friendly. It occurred to me that Sean and I actually took up quite a bit of room strolling along on the trail; Being from the Northeast, I kept expecting some bitter biker to swing his head around and shoot us a dirty look, but people seemed to generally just get along—the bikers swerving around the runners, the runners weaving through the walkers, and so forth. And with all the shade, it’s actually been a pretty comfortable series of walks.”
SEAN: “I often use Austin as an exemplar for creative class cities. Binghamton has many of the potential strengths that Austin does (high tech industry, large creative class, growing arts scene, a university, and is located at the convergence of two rivers amid lush green hills). And yet, Binghamton still hasn’t realized its full potential.”
JOSHUA: “One of the first things I noticed … was the degree to which local businesses really seem to tend to the aesthetics. And I’m not talking about high-end restaurants and cute little independent coffeeshops. I’m talking about lots of businesses you wouldn’t expect—the liquor shop on the corner or the laundry mat down the block.The graphic design geek in me really appreciated the amount of time spent giving even the less glamorous buildings a look. It’s definitely a distinguishing factor from everywhere I’ve lived in the northeast, and helps you appreciate independent business even more.”
SEAN: “Our new gang of friends made us feel completely welcome and an immediate part of their scene. Conversations were easy and varied. The men were all attractive, smart and successful.”
JOSHUA: “The people here have been incredibly warm. Almost everyone I met and chatted with asked me how long I’d be in town and said we should grab a drink later in the week. Not long after hooking up with a new group of people, we were invited to brunch at Max’s Wine Dive. What I thought would be a small group of 5 or 6 turned into a party of 22, many of whom were strangers to each other. … And, of course, I had 10 new Facebook friends by the end of the meal; everybody pulled out their smartphones to make sure we were digitally linked forevermore. I shouldn’t underplay the degree to which that’s helped us stay linked to our new Austin friends.”
JOSHUA: “I suppose what I’ve loved most about my time here is discovering all the unique little twists that Austin residents apply to things I already know and love; the urban brunch I’ve experience in New York and San Francisco had an endless fried chicken and waffle option on the menu here in Austin. A night out at the Alamo Drafthouse was like some mad combination of dinner theater and the cinema. And there’s art absolutely everywhere—from the smallest breakfast diner to the nicest restaurant.”
SEAN: “One of our observations was that in many other cities a group of this sort would be much more hesitant to allow two outsiders to break in without some amount of vetting first. Perhaps it was Michael’s or Christopher’s referral, or perhaps it was just Austin charm. Brunch ended with a promise to meet up again later in the day.”
JOSHUA: One of the things that marked our visit was how many social connectors we met. More than half the people we were introduced to were described by their friends as “knowing everybody in town”. I don’t think it had to do with the group we stumbled into, or the generosity of the people describing their friends, so much as the fact that Austinites in general seem so willing to make social connections.”
JOSHUA: For my birthday, we decided to eat at Vespaio on South Congress. The atmosphere was fantastic; hip, understated, comfortable. And everything on the menu appealed. But the thing that immediately drew me in was perhaps the very simplest thing offered. In my experience, every quality restaurant offers one fairly vanilla option for non-foodies. Well I have a long and enduring love affair with very simply prepared pasta—so the pasta with pesto seemed like ideal birthday comfort food. I nibbled at my dinnermates tuna tatare and crab bisque. But I devoured my meal—which, simple as it was, turned out to be delicious.”
SEAN: “Rain has all the basics, a bar in the front as you walk in with TVs and a big video screen, another bar in the middle of the space with a dance floor, and then a spacious partially covered patio (very busy, even on a Sunday) with plenty of seating and another small bar.”
JOSHUA: Being new to town, we were perfectly willing to introduce ourselves to just about anybody. A youngish and fun-looking free spirit standing next to be was holding a tote back from San Francisco’s well-loved record store Amoeba Music. A bit tipsy, I exclaimed that I loved Amoeba music—that I’d lived in San Francisco 10 years ago, missed it incredibly, and spent most of my time there with electronica scenesters who were constantly shopping for vinyl. A grin spread across her face, she unloaded her belongings from the tote, and she absolutely insisted that I take it home with me. I will never forget the birthday present I received from that kind stranger”
SEAN: “We got to the neighborhood a bit early and had the good fortune to walk by Guero’s Oak Garden and hear the band Johnny Gimble and Texas Swing. We both remarked on how easy it was to just walk up to music in Austin. We enjoyed a frozen margarita and the band’s fun mix of jazz and country.”
JOSHUA: “I was somewhat sensitive to the fact that I was visiting Austin and might be getting a rosy impression of the city, so I paid close attention to any negative comments I heard as well. And there were truly only two. One new friend who accompanied us to Oasis whined a bit that the city was too hot—duh. And another commented that the public transportation system isn’t what it should be. I did end up riding the bus once and found it to be a positive experience; well air-conditioned, thank God, and with a very friendly driver.”
SEAN: “Tuesday night was “Tuezgayz” at Barbarella. This Red River bar was a big change from West Fourth Street with its dive-bar-hipster-meets-video-dance-club atmosphere. I’m pretty sure most of the kids (including Joshua, who I’m ironically referring to here as a “kid” because his birthday is on Friday) had no idea who Barbarella actually was — even with this big poster on the wall.”
JOSHUA: Being a big tech geek, I also took a moment to check out the computers and smart phones in the room. If that experience was anything to judge by, Austin in definitely an Apple city. I literally couldn’t see one person in the room that WASN’T on an IPhone. It was like part of the uniform.”
SEAN: “Attended the Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival’s Bloom fundraiser (at Action Figure Studios). … Performance artists danced in one room, and people wandered through the collection of paintings, photographs and sculptures donated for the silent auction in the other. Those attending were quite diverse in age and scene: Hipsters, middle-aged parents, circuit boys, artists, etc. all there to support the organization and have fun.”
JOSHUA: “The bottom line for me is that just about any major city you visit in the United States will have great restaurants, great music, great clubs, great art… but there’s definitely something pretty great—and pretty unique—about the people in Austin.”
SEAN: “We ended the trip a bit like we started, a dancing marathon at Rain with our new best friends. Our epic adventure came to a close with a dramatic send off rendition of a dance remix of the ‘Glee version’ of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.’ It was fabulous!”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: City, Nightlife
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.