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There are so many amazing events happening this weekend that my google calendar looks like a piece of psychedelic art! Sadly you can never do everything but here are my suggestions!

First off, don’t forget to check my previous post for great events taking place tonight!

Tomorrow night you’re going to have to make some tough choices; there are eight events I feel compelled to post.

First, Gemini and Scorpio are hosting a Nouvelle Époque Cabaret-Salon at The Players Club:

The legendary Players, boasting such luminary members as Mark Twain, Eugene O’Neill and Ernest Hemingway, is a members-only social club founded by the famed 19th century Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth. The Players’ landmarked home is a magnificent Victorian mansion with a wrought-iron balcony overlooking Gramercy Park.

JC Hopkins’ Biggish Band plays rollicking hard bop swing all night featuring guest vocalists tap-dancing sensation DeWitt Fleming Jr, velvet-voiced Jolie Holland, and Tony-nominated downtown icon Justin Bond, in addition to JC’s resident front-woman Queen Esther. The always-surprising Julie Atlas Muz (Miss Exotic World 2006), the jaw-droppingly stylish MsTickle, and hilariously naughty Trixie Little & Evil Hate Monkey perform feats of burlesque to live accompaniment by the band all night. In band breaks, 1920s tap sensation The Minsky Sisters amuse and titillate you.

The dress code calls for top hats and opera gloves… All this and I get to play dress-up? Sign me (and Cinderella) up!

For a slightly more actively artistic salon experience pick up a ticket to the exclusive Draw-a-Thon event happening in Michael Alan’s private studio. The drawing will actually be taking place on the roof of the studio in Williamsburg; the models will be posing as animals against the backdrop of the sun setting over Manhattan- sounds inspiring!

There are five great concerts Friday night, ranging from highbrow to hipster. The first, the Philharmonic Concert in Central Park, I’ve already mentioned. The Metropolitan Opera is performing their final outdoor recital in Crotona Park in the Bronx. This one should be much less crowded than the Summerstage shows so if you’re up for the trek I’m sure it will be worthwhile.

For a more contemporary outdoor concert experience check out Robert Cray and The Sweet Divines at the Prospect Park Bandshell. Check out these ladies:

If you want to stay indoors you can head over to Mercury Lounge to rock out with The Spinto Band. I wrote about them some time ago; I’ve had some of their songs in my subway playlists since then and I’ve definitely become quite fond of them.

spinto band

You also have another chance to see Black Taxi! I saw them perform at Pianos a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to post a full review of their amazing performance- I promise I’ll get that to you soon but for now let me just say I am certain their show at Le Poisson Rouge will be a blast!

Last but not least, I am very excited to announce that there will be a GIANT GAME OF CAPTURE THE FLAG taking place Friday night. Newmindspace has organized this carefully structured game in Williamsburg- play nice!

capture the flag

On Saturday pull yourself together (I know, Friday is going to be intense but you can do it!) and get out to Coney Island for the annual Siren Music Festival! This year performers include Monotonix, Micachu & The Shapes and Spank Rock (to name but a few). After the shows there’s a hot afterparty at The Music Hall of Williamsburg (where there will be even more shows!). Check out the awesome drawing that adorns the press releases:

siren music festival

If you missed out on François Truffaut’s New Wave masterpiece The 400 Blows last week you have another chance to see it on Saturday, this time as part of the ongoing French New Wave Essentials series at the Museum of Arts and Design.

On Sunday Dare Dukes is playing at the Rockwood Music Hall. Listening to him croon lovely urban folk songs should be an excellent way to wind down the weekend.

There are two exciting outdoor film screenings to consider attending Monday evening. Harold and Maude is showing in Bryant Park:

Teenager Bud Cort and sexagenarian Ruth Gordon both like to go to funerals of people they don’t know, and meet to embark on one of cinema’s great relationships. Audacious and heartbreaking, Hal Ashby’s superb black comedy also features a perfect soundtrack by Cat Stevens.

And downtown, on The Elevated Acre, you can see West Side Story.

Natalie Wood as Maria in West Side Story

Natalie Wood as Maria in West Side Story

Enjoy and stay tuned for additions!

NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net

To view this post at its new location click HERE!

One of our clients was arrested this morning so you’ll have to forgive me for posting a bit late (oh the exciting world of law).

Tonight you can learn all about black holes! Professor Janna Levin will give an hour-long lecture entitled:  Songs from Space: Black Holes and the Big Bang in Audio on Columbia’s campus in Lerner Hall:

Black holes may be heard but not seen. Black hole motions play out a song on space itself, causing space to ring like a drum. Since our ears are unable to catch their songs, the gravitational waves pass through us unnoticed. Monumental experiments on Earth and planned for space aim to record the sounds of space for the first time, turning on the soundtrack to the Universe.

Tomorrow at the 1889 Gallery you can contribute to the art community in Northern Brooklyn and see some interesting new works:

North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition (NbPac) proudly presents RE/PAINT RE/BUILD, a benefit for the India Street Mural Project. This project is the kickoff project for the North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition (NbPac). The NbPac is a new initiative whose goal is to work with local artists, community members, arts organizations and businesses in order to increase the presence of public art in North Brooklyn. By doing so, NbPac hopes to beautify, revitalize, and energize the Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick neighborhoods through public art. The event will occur in the atmosphere created by Gallery 1889’s ongoing RE/BUILD exhibition, which features design objects made from reclaimed materials. The benefit will feature local food and drink, music, live screenprinting, haircuts, and a silent auction. All proceeds will go to benefit the India Street Mural Project and NbPac. The event is co-produced by Susie Watkins.

Also on Wednesday, you can get a free chicken dinner and see Jack/Skippy McFadden (aka DJ French Toast) spin some hot dance tunes at The Bell House. Jack/Skippy McFadden is the booker for both Union Hall and The Bell House and the co-owner of the latter; as you know from the vast number of events at The Bell House that I’ve posted in the past, he has great taste! I’m sure he’ll get you over hump day smoothly.

Thursday is the big party night this week, with a plethora of amazing events to chose from.

If it’s not raining (one can only hope), you should join Gemini & Scorpio on a private rooftop (RSVP to find out where), where they’ll be screening two episodes of Firefly- the prematurely cancelled sci-fi TV series w/a cult following. Here are the opening credits:

Also contingent on the weather gods, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe will be shown outdoors as part of BAMcinemaFEST, which I wrote about last week.

ALSO at the whim of the weather gods, New York City Opera will perform The Magic Flute at Rockefeller Park River Terrace and Warren Street. The one-hour production will be sung in English, featuring outstanding soloists from the NYC Opera. This is one of three operas showing outside this week; I’ll be telling you about Friday and Saturday’s performances in my weekend post.

If it rains it’s not too late to sign up for the Exceptional Wealth Building Opportunities Event taking place at the Russian Tea Room. Settle down in a dark corner and share investment advice with other wily young players.

If you’re more interested in investing in your love life you’ll want to experience The Best of Craigslist: A Night of Monologues & Missed Connections at the 92Y Tribeca!

Don’t miss this satirical look at the cult-like culture surrounding the website that provides “local classifieds and forums for communities worldwide”.  Philip Galinsky (The Manhattan Monologue Slam), Adrianne Frost (The Daily Show, Best Week Ever) and Ben Hersey (Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien) have adapted some of the most outrageous Craigslist ads into comedic monologues. The results are classifiably hilarious. Who knows, maybe your “missed connection” will be at the show!

Last but certainly not least, I will be watching Top Gun get the Raspberry Brothers’ treatment at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas. It should be a great show, what with Top Gun being one of the most ridiculous films of the 80s! Come out and get your giggle on!

top gun

Have a good week and stay tuned for additions!

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To view this post at its new location click HERE!

The next week leading up to the LSAT is going to be a bit hectic (read: traumatic) for me so I’m going to unload a whole bunch of upcoming events on you- brace for impact!

First, some additions for this weekend. Tonight is the first night of the Raspberry Brothers’ new show at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas! This month they will be making fun of the original Terminator! I have actually seen their Terminator routine at Union Hall and I can guarantee that you will have an excellent time!

terminators-having-sex

On Saturday the NYC Lab School presents TASTES: from the meatpacking district to chelsea. TASTES is…

an exciting new culinary festival that will benefit arts and enrichment programs for public school children at the NYC Lab School on 333 West 17th Street. Patrons will sample a broad array of specialty dishes from fine restaurants in The Meatpacking District and Chelsea.

Also on Saturday head to Union Square to experience the Silent Rave! The idea is that everyone gathers at a given place and time (the south end of Union Sq. at 6:30pm) and begins simultaneously dancing to whatever music is playing on their individual iPods/MP3 players. It’s something you have to experience to understand but believe me, it’s amazing! Check out this picture from a Silent Rave I attended last summer:

silent rave union sq 2008

An exhibit worth swooning over will be opening at the Open House Gallery this weekend; to celebrate 60 years of damsels in distress Harlequin is putting on a show of their cover art. Here is a prime example:

harlequin

Starting this weekend and continuing every weekend through Labor Day you can party all day on top of the Gansevoort Hotel. The Get Up Get Down party will involve brunch by the pool, lounging around, and dancing once the sun goes down; you may not be in St. Tropez but you will feel almost as chic.

rooftop

On Monday at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Félix Lajkó will perform with violist Antal Brasnyo as part of the River to River Festival:

Hungarian violinist Félix Lajkó fuses folk, jazz, Gypsy, and Jewish klezmer music to create a unique and energetic musical style. Known for his charismatic performances, Lajkó has collaborated with everyone from Japanese Butoh dancer Min Tanaka to the French rock band Noir Désir. Here he will perform with violist Antal Brasnyo as part of Extremely Hungary, a yearlong festival celebrating Hungarian arts and culture in New York and D.C. (extremelyhungary.org).

Monday is also the start of Sake Week! More than 100 restaurants will be offering menu pairings, cocktails and other “sakecentric” events.

Wednesday is the premier of the Ninth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival:

The Media That Matters Film Festival, one of the world’s first and largest online film festivals, kicks off its ninth year with an offline world premiere tonight. This year’s festival showcases twelve jury-selected shorts tackling a broad range of social issues, including climate change, urban planning, and immigration, with humor, humanity, and honesty.

On Thursday, in celebration of Internet Week, Thrillist is hosting a crazy bash at M2 Ultra Lounge. There will be free booze, trapeze artists, a dj battle and visuals by ValuJet Visuals (aka my talented friend W).

Thursday is also opening night for two great shows. First, the Gallery Players present The 12th Annual Black Box New Play Festival, which begins with ‘Father Mike,’ “a nostalgic comedy that takes place in 1955 in the home of a proud Catholic family.”

poster

Also on Thursday the Hudson Warehouse starts their summer season with Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

On Friday you can finish off Internet Week properly at the Webutante Ball! This classy coming out event is happening on the roof of the Empire Hotel; there will be free vodka cocktails from 6-7 and a ceremonial crowning of a Webutante King and Queen!

webutante ball flier

Next Friday and Saturday you can see the results of the New York 48 Hour Film Project:

The 48 Hour Film Project’s mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. Through its festival/competition, the Project encourages filmmakers and would-be filmmakers to get out there and make movies. The tight deadline of 48 hours puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers—emphasizing creativity and teamwork skills. While the time limit places an unusual restriction on the filmmakers, it is also liberating by putting an emphasis on “doing” instead of “talking.”

Click here to see some of the films from previous years and from other locations around the world!

Next Saturday Gemini and Scorpio will be screening Serenity on a private rooftop:

A rooftop screening of Joss Whedon’s (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse) space-western “Serenity,” to benefit Equality Now, an international women’s rights advocacy group and Whedon’s favorite charity. Also featuring “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” Whedon’s musical-romp internet series created during the WGA writer’s strike. The screening is a prelude to a bigger CSTS shindig on June 28 hosted by The Browncoats of NYC, and to a series of semi-private rooftop “Firefly” screenings starting June 11, info on which will be available via the G&S mailing list. Look for The Browncoats at the event offering June 28 CSTS tickets and merch.

On Sunday my favorite fitness guru will be performing along with her dance company- Skin, at Symphony Space. Tina Thompson is a force of nature, as you may recall from my past ravings, and you won’t want to miss this performance!

skin dance

Finally, next weekend is also the start of two exciting theater festivals! The first is the Antidepressant Festival at the Brick Theater:

This summer’s fiesta is meant as a diversion at a time of plummeting stocks and rising unemployment. Nineteen productions are planned, including “Exit, Pursued by Bears,” about the fictional vice president of a Chicago sanitation union who leads a double life as Tickle Bear, the center of an anonymous online furry sex community; and “Schaden, Freude and You: A 3 Clown Seminar,” which provides the audience with a chance to laugh at others as a means of fighting depression. In this case the “others” are clowns, so they’re used to it. For more extroverted types, the Brick is including “Suspicious Package: Rx,” a sequel to last year’s “Suspicious Package,” an interactive theater piece that put audience members, each wearing a Zune media player, into the middle of a film-noir-type mystery. This year a trip to the future is in store.

The second is the Muslim Voices Festival, which will involve events at various locations:

The Asia Society, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the New York University Center for Dialogues will present a festival and conference that explore and celebrate the arts of the Muslim world. Offerings encompass visual arts, crafts, documentary film, standup comedy and theater, including “Richard III: An Arab Tragedy,” a contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare’s play that examines the Arab world’s relationship with the West, from Sulayman Al-Bassam, a Kuwaiti director. The production, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, will be presented at the BAM Harvey Theater.

Enjoy and stay tuned; I will try to post additional events as my schedule allows! Oh, and wish me luck!

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To view this post at its new location click HERE!

Tomorrow, in addition to the events I’ve already mentioned, you can check out the dance party Libation at the Sullivan Room:

Tea Party Music and Manchildblack invite you to the mecca of global soul culture, Libation! Tonight, the bi-monthly dance party that Time Out NY hails as a “full-on throwdown” features DJ Ian Friday on the decks all night long. Come and check out why Libation has made Thursday the new Friday!

Libation

Friday night I already know of three events worth considering (more are likely to present themselves). First, you have a second chance to party in a Russian bathhouse if you missed the last one. Gemini and Scorpio will be making a different kind of heat at the Russian banya in Kensington.

The opening reception for Queenz Arrive, an exhibit of work by the matriarchs of graffiti art, is sure to be more exiting than your average gallery opening.

flyer_queensarrive

If you want to dance without stripping down to your bikini, check out the dance party Midnight Creep at the Bell House:

Brooklyn DJs RUT ROH and SOUL KOREA come to Brooklyn to present MIDNIGHT CREEP, the party that effortlessly weaves together hiphop, disco, new wave, funk, pop, house, and more for maximum dancefloor pandemonium!

On Saturday the Draw-a-Thon hits the TEATRO IATI THEATRE for a night filled with erotic poses, bound females, masturbation poses, lil girls, nudes on bikes, snugglers and other visually stimulating spectacles to bring out the artist in you!

If you want your erotic spectacle without the charcoal and drawing pad check out Little Banana Burlesque at the Bowery Poetry Club:

Miss Coney Island Pinup 2008 Kristen Lee presents Little Banana Burlesque…..sex, bananas & rock n’roll! Hosted by Rose Wood. Starring burlesque performers Atta Girl, Coco LaPearl, Della Dare, It’s a Little Stormy, Philly Caramel, Poppy T and Rosey LaRouge. Special variety act erotic singing sensation Charlie Demos. Raffle! Prizes! Bazooms! Bananas!

Finally, on Saturday 92Y Tribeca hosts FUSION 2009 Film Competition Finalists Showcase; the festival celebrates the work of women filmmakers at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Be the first to discover these talented directors and screenwriters!

Stay tuned for additions!

NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net

To view this post at its new location click HERE!

If you haven’t made plans yet for tonight here are two events worth considering…

NYC’s 8th Annual Juggling Festival hits Pratt this weekend; check out the show spectacular tonight or head over there tomorrow for juggling workshops and games!

Juggling Festival

You may remember me telling you about Gypsy-Bhangra-Balkan bacchanalia at the Banya Russian Steambaths, well, the crazy party people who brought you that party (and will soon be bringing it to you again), are hosting  ‘Luminous Flux: Yuri’s Night‘ tonight at Galapagos. Gemini and Scorpio take bacchanalia quite seriously and this is sure to be a characteristically riotous event:

Gemini and Scorpio and Leo Kuelbs present a full weekend of eye-popping video art on the theme of flight, as explored through selected works, installations, live multimedia performances, and VJ sets. Luminous flux is the measure of perceived power of light. Over the course of this event, over 30 artists harness this power to present their unique interpretations of the theme, with works ranging from abstract to whimsical to challenging to dazzling. Kuelbs showcases video work in a unique 4-channel environment, a living gallery devoted to one artist at a time on four screens, all in one two-hour looped reel that will be shown on all three nights. G&S concoct their usual mix of live performance, circus, spectacle and dance party, this time revolving heavily around innovative video work.

Tomorrow is the first important social event of the spring season- the annual Gotham Girls Roller Derby Derbytaunt Ball. Head to Public Assembly dressed as your ‘best future perfect self’ to welcome the rookies in style!

derbytaunt09

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I’ll be sure to tell you all about my recent adventures and this week’s events shortly!

NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net

To view this post at its new location click HERE!

As usual at this point of the week I am doing very little but think about all of the exciting upcoming events. I will probably add to this list but I am simply too excited to keep them to myself any longer.

First off you should check out my earlier post for tonight’s events and those that are ongoing. The St. Mark’s Bookshop Reading Seriestakes place tonight at Solas and I also wrote about the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema and the Short Film Festival.

Tonight at Joe’s Pub Eleni Mandell will be playing her characteristic blend of jazz, blues and folk; The New Yorker says

Mandell was weaned on artists like Tom Waits and X, and her dark and sexy songs have been compared to those of everyone from Chan Marshall to Patsy Cline. She has a sometimes smoky, sometimes wistful delivery, and, more often than not, her songs take on love from some new perspective.

Armory Arts Week begins today:

With one admission ticket, visitors to The Armory Show on March 4 – 8 will now have access not only to the newest trends in the art world in our celebrated International Fair of New Art on Pier 94, but also to the masterpieces that heralded these developments in The Armory Show – Modern on Pier 92.

www.TheArmoryShow.com

The Armory Show is only part of the fun, check out Volta and Art Fair Now for even more snobbishness and deep hidden meaning. If you’d rather take your art in small, concentrated doses head downtown tonight for Soho Night– an evening of extended exhibition viewing and special programs by the not-for-profit visual arts institutions in SoHo. Don’t miss “Kick My Heart’s Ass: Short Films About Love” curated by Davy Rothbart. Check the website for more artsy fun this weekend.

Far and away one of the absurd events happening this weekend- Gypsy-Bhangra-Balkan bacchanalia at the Banya Russian Steambaths.

Banya Russian Steam Baths

Banya Russian Steambaths

The event is being hosted by party mavens Gemini & Scorpio:

Break out your bikini or swim trunks, and join 100 artsy, funky (and nearly naked) New Yorkers for a steamy dance night at a real Russian Banya. Things will get sweaty on the dance floor with DJ Joro Boro curating an array of EthnoMesh DJs throwing down brass freakout, slum funk carioca, bangin bhangra, percussion insurgency, and cumbia from south of the wall: an uninhibited globalized party fed back into music without borders.

Flier for Russian Baths Dance Party

Flier for Russian Baths Dance Party

Get your tickets now before they sell out!

For those of you who are Anti-Armory check out the equal and opposite show- the Eyebeam Mixer. There will be crazy installations and too-cool-for-the-Armory DJs.

Also on Friday educate your tastebuds at a FREE whiskey tasting! You can sample local whiskey from New York distiller Tuthilltown Spirits at Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit.

Saturday night B is going to Le Poisson Rouge to see Glass Candy perform their weird 60’s performance art / disco.

Glass Candy

Glass Candy

Also on Saturday, Draw-a-Thon will be happening at ‘One Taste’ on Grand St. between Mott and Mulberry.

A striped down version of our production, the focus will be drawing long and short poses of love, hugs, emotion, joy, and embraces, followed at 11pm the interview of the nude, questions and answers on what makes us tick.

Also on Saturday, go back to Joe’s Pub for ‘Beat it Burlesque,’

an all-star cast for a night of striptease, live music and comedy dedicated to the Jackson family’s titanic range of pop hits, from the Jackson 5 to Michael to Janet, maybe even Jermaine—and their 40 years of pop culture craziness.

Beat it Burlesque

Beat it Burlesque

This Sunday if you happen to know how to knit or crochet (I am not nearly that skilled but I admire those who are) and you’re interested in increasing your good karma, check this out:

Knitters or Crocheters needed for a Mother’s Day donation drive.  Sue Rock Originals Everyone, Inc., will be bringing your beautiful hand crafted items to  a domestic violence residence in the New York area. We have yarn and knitting needles available for your use from 11a-4p on March 8. Sue Rock Originals Everyone, Inc. is the first textile nonprofit committed to supporting the lives of survivors of domestic violence. We partner volunteers with the raw materials to create clothing and accessories for survivors of domestic violence living in transitional housing. For five years we have donated over 2,000 items to women living in residences held by Safe Horizon, Center Against Domestic Violence, and Sanctuary for Families. Contact Sue Rock at 347 365 8747.

Also on Sunday I am tremendously pleased to announce that my favorite comedy act, The Raspberry Brothers, will be performing at Pianos. They will be applying their tremendous wit to ‘Snakes on a Plane.’ I cannot imagine a movie so uniquely suited to their brand of mockery. Go and enjoy!

Raspberry Brothers

Stay tuned for additions!

Past Shenanigans

May 2024
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