Welding Poetry

New Orleans is a magical city. Everything you've heard about it is true. There's voodoo, public nudity and too much water. There's also art, and lots of it. When we went a few weeks ago, there was a late-night festival with all the city's galleries open, free booze flowing and people of all ages in the street, absorbing it all. It reminded me of the Liverpool Biennial - or at least, how it could be around Jamaica Street if the weather was clement.

Sculptor David Buckingham trawls Southern California gathering scrap metal. He uses bits of old buses, oil drums, tractors and cars for his work - which is big, bright and laugh-out-loud funny.

We saw his work at Jonathan Ferrera's gallery. Emboldened by gallons of free wine, we got chatting to him and told him how much we liked his work. I love it when artists talk to strangers - even when it's their opening night - and David talked to us so enthusiastically and openly, introducing us to all his friends. His work is based in typography (I think he worked in advertising before becoming a sculptor) it's brash and immediate and references pop culture. He has a series based on lines from films, song lyrics and Americana. I think it's saved from being obvious and cliched by its 'found' element. David doesn't repaint the metal, so everything has a patina which tells the story of its previous life. I'd happily have taken it all home for my walls. (Aside from the gun stuff, but hey - this is America).

Fly Flea

I am almost reluctant to share the location of my favourite NYC Flea Market - but as most of you delicious readers are in the Uk, I guess my secret will be safe.

The Meeker Avenue Flea Market nestles under the deeply dirty and rumbling Brooklyn Queens Expressway. It's two floors of heaven for those of us without much cash but with a love of things from the olden days. The ground floor is a little hit-and-miss (videos without cases, hairbrushes clogged up with hair, that kind of vibe) plus it smells of cat wee. Your best bet is to cover your nose/mouth with a scarf and head up the stairs, past the litter tray to the top. This place is crammed with mostly mid-century furniture and household items.

If you lust after 1950s chrome or early 1960s modernism, then this is the place to pick up chairs, tables, Tvs, lamps and toys. Plus, they have some cool old school (I mean stuff that used to be in the classroom) ephemera - like chalk boards and desks with lids that flip up. Now, I don't know what I would do with one of those, but I'd like it anyway. And did I mention the prices? This place is CHEAP.

Floating in Space

Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space pretty much sound-tracked my final year at University. From the moment Kate Radley's dead-pan and dreamy announcement kicks off the album, I am soaring amongst the comets.. and so it was when we went to see Jason Pierce (and some people who might or might not be official members of Spiritualized) play the whole record from start to finish. Live. At the Radio City Music Hall.

A splurge on the most expensive tickets was the best credit card purchase I've ever made. We were so close to the stage, and the gospel choir, and the Spaceman himself. The sound was phenomenal. It felt like we had climbed inside the record. It's a heart-break album, but it's also a survival record - with Come Together's galvanizing power, and the indestructible swell of I Think I'm in Love.

I cried at least three times and had goose bumps throughout. Sometimes I wish I had the power to slow time right down. Then I could have enjoyed every note a little more.