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It’s been awhile since I chronicled my adventures in the Big Apple so these span a rather large period of time.
A couple of weeks ago I saw Scott Mathews and his band play at the Glasslands Gallery. I hadn’t been to the venue before and I fell in love with the pure whimsy of the place; it feels like a fort out of Peter Pan’s Neverland. B’s friend Eugene, who I’ve mentioned in his role as DJ Eugene Tambourine, is part of the band; he and another band member opened as their side project- The Readers. It was their first show as The Readers and while they’re clearly not confident yet you can tell that they have talent. Scott Mathews on the other hand is the consummate performer- no lack of confidence there. He backs it up with interesting lyrics and a lot of raw emotion. They’re on tour in Europe at the moment but I would recommend checking them out upon their return.
Scott Matthews at Glasslands
Later that week I attended a very different sort of musical performance; I saw the St. Matthew Passion at BAM. S and I had stage seats, which was a really unique experience. I was close enough to touch the violinist in front of me and there was the somewhat disconcerting feeling that the whole audience was watching me; I was afraid to fidget throughout the 3 hour performance. This was the Jonathan Miller (Director) version – semi-staged, in the round, two choruses, two orchestras – sung in English (translation by Robert Shaw) (for more info on the St. Matthew Passion click here). The vocalists were incredible and I think the director’s choice to have them wear street clothing really added to my ability to connect with the piece. I couldn’t take pictures once the performance began but here’s a shot from the stage as people were taking their seats:
BAM Harvey Theater before the start of St. Matthew Passion
Last week I saw Brit Boras and the Cavalry play at Spike Hill. All four of them are incredibly talented musicians. I expect their performance will feel a bit tighter when they’ve played together more but you can already see that they have a huge quantity of potential. Brit has a very big voice for such a petite girl; it takes you by surprise. Liam Veuve is wonderful on the cello and both Alex Beckmann and Jay Goodmann bring talent to the table. They’ll be playing again May 24th at Mercury Lounge and I would definitely urge you to check them out.
Brit Boras and the Cavalry
This past Saturday my grandmother and I saw our first ballet of the spring season- Concerto Barocco (Bach/Balanchine), Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux (Tschaikovsky/Balanchine), La Valse (Ravel/Balanchine) and Symphony in Three Movements (Stravinsky/Balanchine). I vastly enjoyed all four though the Pas de Deux was definitely my favorite; I just adore how pairs of dancers move together.
Later that day I met up with JBM & Co. at the Bell House to watch the Kentucky Derby in style. It was hellishly crowded but many of the ladies were properly decked out in enormous hats, which made them amusing enough to tolerate the lack of breathing room. There wasn’t anything quite as fabulous as Audrey Hepburn’s hat in My Fair Lady, but hey, they don’t make hats like they used to…
Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady
I’m looking forward to attending another event there sometime soon.
On Monday I went to Solas for the St. Mark’s Bookshop reading I mentioned in my first post this week. Andrei Codrescu was vastly amusing and while I’m not sure I’ll read his book I certainly hope to see him read/perform on another occasion.
Please check out my roster of events for the week and my recent additions and stay tuned for my weekend post!
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On Monday I went over to Beauty Bar to dance to Eugene Tambourine and Brian Blackout’s fantastic grooves. They spun funky dance music and the floor really got going around 10:30; I dragged myself home at a reasonable hour but I certainly could have danced all night.
Beauty Bar
This is a recurring Monday night dance party so be sure to keep it in mind when you need to jumpstart your week!
On Thursday, after Tina’s class, I swung by Flatbush Farm to check out the Basque Cider Festival I mentioned earlier. It was being held in the Bar(n), which is an awesome space I haven’t spent time in since last summer. The food was all very interesting but the Sarasola Cider was definitely my favorite part.
Friday night my friend CL and I went to the Langhorne Slim concert at The Bell House. CL is friends with Sam Lowry, who was the first act of the evening, so we were there early and had time to check out the space before it was full of people. The folks from Union Hall really did a fantastic job with The Bell House; the stage is great and there’s an enormous amount of room for the crowd. I love the high ceilings and the random chandeliers. The front room has a similar vibe to Union Hall- all comfy couches and soft lighting. Sam Lowry writes some really beautiful lyrics and I’m excited to integrate his music into my playlists. The show really picked up steam when the next act, The Woes, hit the stage. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many instruments used in a rock concert. The musicians seemed to switch instruments for every song, keeping the audience guessing what might appear next. They played everything from a slide guitar to a tuba to an accordion, and their music blended jazz and blues and country into something unique and catchy. I loved Osei Essed’s voice and the spectacle of the whole thing was marvelous.
Will Orzo playing the accordion
The Brass
By the time Langhorne Slim came on the room felt full of electricity. He fed off the energy of the crowd and put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen. He was all over the stage, interacting with the crowd, messing around on the guitar and just having a blast. At the end of their set the band brought people from the crowd onstage to dance and the scene was fantastic. I like his recorded music but it doesn’t capture the pure energy of his live performance; if you get a chance to see him don’t hesitate to go.
Saturday morning my grandmother and I met at the Whitney and ate brunch at Sarabeth’s before checking out some of their special exhibits. Jenny Holzer’s exhibit was interesting, though all the LEDs gave us both headaches. Her work is deeply political and I would only recommend it if you’re interested on that basis.
Jenny Holzer 'Green Purple Cross'
I think we both preferred the familiar pieces from the permanent collection. Perhaps this will sound a bit conservative but I really love Hopper. I love the images he chose to capture and the feeling evoked by the way he presents them. The Whitney has some truly beautiful Hopper paintings and if you’re at all interested in his work I would recommend checking them out.
Edward Hopper 'Second Story Sunlight'
Saturday night I continued the theme of art for the day and checked out some of the events at the Brooklyn Museum. First Saturdays are always awesome, if a bit haphazard. The dance party in the Beaux-Arts Court was definitely my favorite part this month; I loved the mix of people- families with little kids, students, couples, everyone dancing and having a great time. The Brooklyn Museum sits on the edge of a few neighborhoods so I feel like the make-up of its visitors is more ethnically and culturally diverse than that of a lot of the major NY museums; it’s a great place for people watching in general and they often have really stellar exhibits.
Sunday morning K and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to wander around DUMBO. We had brunch at Five Front. They were understaffed and we had to wait around for ages but they were quite apologetic and gave us free drinks and a gift certificate and the food, when it finally came, was excellent. I’m looking forward to going back once it’s really warm and eating in their lovely outdoor space.
DUMBO
Post-brunching we walked down the street to the winter location of the Brooklyn Flea. I’ve been meaning to get over there for some time and while we didn’t buy much (K got a t-shirt) we had an excellent time browsing.
Brooklyn Flea
Sunday night F and I had dinner at Buttermilk Channel, which is a fairly new restaurant on the border between Carrol Gardens and Redhook. The space is lovely and the food, a sort of NY version of Southern Comfort, is excellent. Order the buttermilk fried chicken but ask for whipped potatoes instead of cole slaw; you will be absolutely satisfied.
Buttermilk Channel
I hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as I did; I will be posting this week’s events just as soon as I can pull them together!
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I’m back in NYC and super excited about this week’s events! I will relate my adventures in Boston in a later post but these announcements must come first.
Tonight start your week off with some funky dance music at Beauty Bar:
Eugene and returning guest DJ Brian Blackout braid the tunes and work out the kinks (not the band) for the dancefloor. However, The Kinks might be heard as DJs Go-Karff & Sandman present the “Lovedolls Superstar” rock extravaganza in the front room. Beloved bartenders Hillery & Sam take care of the bar with $5 Olive Vodka drinks and $3 Buds all night. No Cover.
Also tonight you can hear the real deal on Dylan when the world’s preeminent Dylan biographer, Clinton Heylin, spins his tales at Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers. His new book, Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1963, is due out in April.
National Poetry Month is about to begin; you can get a head start tonight at McNally Jackson Books, where the all-star lineup includes a couple of Pulitzer winners and several National Book Critics Circle honorees- Sharon Olds, Philip Schultz, Mark Strand, C.K. Williams and Robert Pinsky.
On Tuesday take advantage of the (somewhat) warmer weather and make the trek out to 3rd Ward for their newest monthly event- THE…
On its debut night, 3rd Ward’s Return of the Wizard is calling out Mario Kart fanatics for a battle to the death on Nintendo 64. We’ll pit you and your friends against each other in high stakes video game competition projected onto 10×10 ft. screens. Relive your glory days – minus the grape soda and nagging parents – plus ice cold beers, cash prizes, live beats from DJ Tanner and the month long title of 3rd Ward’s Video Game King or Queen. At 3rd Ward, it’s co-ed style — girls, it’s time to get the boys back for all their years of not letting you play!
You may remember my stories about the Dorkbots and their absurd antics; on Wednesday you can see them for yourself at Location One. What could be more appropriate for April Fool’s Day than people doing strange things with electricity?
On Thursday the St. Mark’s Bookshop Reading Series at Solas presents Poems for the Millenium: Volume Three:
The previous two volumes of this acclaimed anthology set forth a globally decentered revision of twentieth-century poetry from the perspective of its many avant-gardes. Now editors Jerome Rothenberg and Jeffrey C. Robinson bring a radically new interpretation to the poetry of the Ninteenth century, viewing the work of the romantic and post-romantic poets as an international, collective, often utopian enterprise that became the foundation of experimental modernism. The range of volume three and its skewing of the traditional canon illuminate the process by which romantics and post- romantics challenged nineteenth-century orthodoxies and propelled poetry to the experiments of a later modernism and avant-gardism. Jerome Rothenberg is an internationally known poet and Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts and Literature at the University of California, San Diego. Jeffrey C. Robinson is Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Also on Thursday Black Taxi (whose benefit concert for Studio 42 I posted some time ago) will be playing at the Annex. Here is the video from their single “Wanted Man”:
Stay tuned for more events and of course the details of my Boston adventures.
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I am limiting this post to Mon-Wed as I haven’t yet pulled together a sufficient selection of events for Thurs (please forgive me; I’m still a bit exhausted from the last week).
Tonight there are several fantastic events to consider. If you’ve never celebrated Purim properly this is the year to embrace your inner Jew. The 92Y Tribeca is having a Purim party worth converting for (or at least worth practicing your kvetching):
Battlestar Megilactica. Frost/Haman. Hebrew School Musical. Join The Shushan Channel for its seventh hit year. Featuring all-new pop-culture Purim takes by writers from The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Simpsons, Frasier and more, this year’s extravaganza will be headlined by The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac, John Oliver and New York’s most-Purimtastic comic talent. Warm up for the show by entering our costume contest and you could win free tickets to 92YTribeca events. Get your grogger on and stuff yourself with Chef Russell’s gourmet hamantaschen. This is one party you won’t want to miss.
Now that sounds much more exciting than Lent.
If your inner art enthusiast is stronger than your inner Jew check out MOMA Monday Nights:
One Monday a month, MoMA stays open until 8:45 p.m. Drop in after hours on March 9 for an art hunt, exhibitions, films, entertainment, cash bar, and a bite to eat at Cafe 2—plus the first 600 ticket buyers after 5:30 p.m. will receive free admission on their next visit. On our Museum-wide art hunt (starts at 7:00 p.m.), rediscover the collection and compete for prizes including a private guided tour at MoMA, benefit party tickets, and exhibition catalogues.
Be sure not to miss the special exhibition Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective (through May 11). A highlight is Kippenberger’s sculptural installation The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s “Amerika” (1994). Reimagining a scene toward the end of Kafka’s unfinished 1927 novel, it fills the Museum’s Marron Atrium with a vast, absurdist employment agency, in which the ritual of the job interview becomes a spectator sport.
Entry to Modern Mondays, the Museum’s weekly series of screenings with contemporary filmmakers that showcases innovation in film, is included in the cost of admission. On March 9, the Modern Mondays event will be An Evening with Jan Sikl and Ivan Passer, a film screening and conversation with two noted Czech directors, at 7:00 p.m. in the Roy and Niuta Titus 2 Theater.
Also tonight; Sarah Barron will be reading from her first book- People Are Unappealing at The Half King :
Unappealing people are everywhere. And they, like herpes, never ever go away. PEOPLE ARE UNAPPEALING, Sara Barron’s wickedly funny debut, spares no one—not even the author herself. Born the child of a hypochondriac mother and an effeminate father, Barron never stood a chance of being normal. At age eleven she started writing porn. At twelve she gets mistaken for a post-op trannie. By seventeen she’s appeared on the Jerry Springer Show.
On Tuesday you can demonstrate what you learned in your High School English Class at Union Hall. Mother Tongue: Spelling and Grammar for Grown-Ups is sure to become more and more absurd as the night (and the drinking) continues.
Also on Tuesday, SW has forwarded me a truly unique event- a performance of Balinese Shadow Puppetry and Masked Dance at Hunter College.
Balinese Shadow Puppetry and Masked Dance
If that’s not your thing later in the evening George Gee and the Jump, Jivin Wailers will be performing at SWING46 Jazz & Supper Club.
On Wednesday get down to a very different beat at Hugs, where my friends Excess Energy will be spinning; celebrate the gorgeous weather with some warm-blooded selections by guest DJ Eugene Tambourine (Solid) and resident DJ Brian Blackout.
Excess Energy at Hugs
Finally, some advance notice: Jeffrey Tastes has pulled together a great list of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations taking place in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned for more events this week!
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To view this post at its new location click HERE!
Here are a few additions to my previous post:
On Tuesday the lovely ladies of Medicine Woman will be playing at Spike Hill. Their unique version of rhythm and blues is augmented by a talented friend of mine from NYU who plays a mean fiddle.
Medicine Woman
They will also be playing at the aforementioned benefit for Clearwater on Thursday.
On Wednesday my friend B (aka DJ Brian Blackout) will be spinning at Hugs with Eugene Tambourine. It’s going to be fantastic and Hugs has an awesome dance floor so please make your way out to Williamsburg and rock out this Wednesday (trust me it will make the week go by faster).
Finally, I’d like to add an ongoing event that my friend Anindita tells me is well worth checking out- The Hank Willis Thomas exhibit showing until March 14th at the Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea.
Much of the work focuses on the use of African American male body in advertisements. I am interested in the connection between this body type and the cotton and slave trade industries that brought this country so much wealth.
Hank Willis Thomas- Branded Head
Be sure to check that out before it closes and stay tuned for more of this week’s events!
The Big Red Apple 