SPEED DATE
CREEM takes a bite out of the Aussie hardcore outfit on the eve of their first East Coast tour.
In movies like Taxi Driver and Bringing Out the Dead, Scorsese makes it all look so majestic: The shine of the wet blacktop and sidewalk acts like a mirror, creating a double of every neon sign and stoplight along the stretch of a Manhattan street. In reality the city is not that sexy, and in places like the buzzing Koreatown, the truth is a lot fouler: The city’s not slick with water, in fact the sheen comes from a mix of trash juice and about 1,000 more unnamed discarded liquids.
CREEM is standing in just such an urban cocktail on 32nd Street, sandwiched between towering garbage bags and other groups waiting to be seated at a restaurant, when we finally meet up with Australia’s Speed for dinner at a Korean BBQ spot. This will be the last activity of the day for the band, who landed at seven this morning after 20-plus hours on a plane, so while I can tell they’re hyped to get some meats-over-flame, I can also sense that their energy is dissipating and that our window of full attention is rapidly closing.
