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Happy Monday everyone! I actually woke up at 5:45 and went to my 7am yoga class today so I’m already feeling hugely accomplished, plus since I’m funemployed I got to nap all morning afterwards! Hurray! I hope you are off to an equally good start this week! I wrote about a couple of events for tonight in an earlier post, so be sure to check that out.
This is the last week to check out Hiding Behind Comets, a play by Brian Dykstra that the NYTimes calls “a dark, gritty story with its full measure of sex, violence, profanity and general nastiness.” Check it out at the Spoon Theater!
David Tully, Rebecca Challis and Kiran Malhotra in Hiding Behind Comets
Tomorrow night celebrate Good Beer Month at the Local Grill-Off to benefit Slow Food! The event will be taking place at Water Taxi Beach, so you can check out the skyline while enjoying excellent food and beer! Get your tickets here.
In celebration of Good Beer Month, watch contestants show off their grilling skills using locally sourced ingredients in the Local Grill-Off to benefit Slow Food ($35). After sampling the entries, try locally sourced feasts from some the city’s top ‘cue joints (including Fette Sau, Rub BBQ and the soon-to-open Fatty Cue) and beers from Six Point Brewery.
Also on Tuesday you can embrace your inner geek at the launch party for a new weekly movie night at Teneleven– Classic Kung Fu Movie Night!
On Wednesday those of you who are amongst the funemployed can further your education with a walking tour of the East Village focusing on the grittier side of its history:
This exciting walking tour covers everything from the Golden Age of the American gangster at the turn of the century to prohibition-era gang wars to the bohemian arts and drug culture of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Some of the most influential and colorful criminals and characters in American history have called the East Village home — organized mobsters, social-political organizations, radical activists, religious cults, and everything in-between.
Trace the steps of everyone from Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, The Hells Angels, GG Allin, and many many more. Riots, squatter evictions, cannibals, street gangs, kidnappings, shoot outs, assassinations, grave-robbers, hangings, bombings; we cover it all…
For a look at more recent history you can join the hipsters in McCarren Park for a screening of 24-hour Party People, a comedy documenting Manchester’s golden age of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. Check out the trailer:
On Thursday celebrate the great Jazz music written for piano at the 92Y Tribeca. Performers include pianists Mulgrew Miller, Eric Scott Reed, Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap.
If it’s dancing you want head out to Hugs for another addition of Excess Energy‘s much lauded Love Machine party! DJs Brian Blackout and Fucci will be spinning the tunes while you connect with that hot stranger in the crowd through interactive messaging! The UK Magazine Grazia Daily will be there checking out the action; go show them what Wburg is all about!
If you want to add some art to your week head over to the Soho20 Gallery in Chelsea for the opening of their new exhibit Boxing Gloves and Bustiers! The exhibit explores different concepts of female identity through video art. Here’s a still from one of the pieces:
Under My Skin by Valerie Garlick
Have an excellent week and stay tuned for additions!
NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net
To view this post at its new location click HERE!
This is my last week of traditional employment so I’ve been a tad busy tying up loose ends; next week you can expect to see more timely posts.
Tonight there are a couple of awesome events to consider if you haven’t made plans for the evening. At Santos Party House you can experience truly multidisciplinary art. Narcissister, a burlesque performer/artist will be running the show, which will also include music from Andrew W.K. and some crazy artwork by the NYTimes-lauded video artist Kalup Linzy. Be prepared to be dazzled.
Also tonight, for a more pampering experience you can head up to Yonkers where the owners of 66Main are hosting an open house extraordinaire– complete with free massages, cocktails, deluxe hand-rolled cigar sampling and free accessories. You may not actually be able to afford the apartments but you can certainly enjoy the shwag.
Tomorrow there will be a fantastic opening party at The City Reliquary; Indigenous includes works from Dixie Appel, Laila Caron, Ming Lin, Victor Kerlow, Anny Oberlink, Anna Pelavin, Maggie Prendergast, Betty Roytburd, Samantha Silverman, Alex Tatarsky, and more.
This exhibition seeks to commemorate the many places that have come and gone, all of which have contributed to a colorful New York City upbringing. This multimedia installation will include works on paper, film, literature, and assorted ephemera, providing a unique perspective which will complement the already vast collection currently housed in the Reliquary. By recognizing places which have played a formative role, through image and memory, Indigenous – A Group Show hopes to inspire visitors to remember those things which have made their New York experience worthwhile. Visitors are invited to record their stories and add to a growing archive of memories.
Also on Wednesday you can try to out-dance the burlesque dancers at The Bowery Electric; the Burlesque Dance Party is an all out participatory burlesque extravaganza:
Featuring the bombastic talents of Amber Ray and Boo Boo Darlin with gorgeous go-go and hosted by the Ladies of the Shack, Miss RunAround Sue and Legs Malone. DJ Jess is on the decks spinning those toe tappin’ beats made all the more fluid by our fabulous FREE SHOTS throughout the night courtesy of North 44 Vodka. Pop Pistol’s on the door – takin your hearts and your cash. The go-go contest and makeout minute are only two more reasons to hustle on down – and bring your friends, your lovers – and everyone in between!
On Thursday Swedish artist Anders Holst will be playing “selections from his recent release, Romantika, his previous EP, Five, as well as smooth and jazzy interpretations of some classic romantic tunes” at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency. Pick up your tickets here.
Have a good week and stay tuned for additions and tales of my recent shenanigans!
NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net
To view this post at its new location click HERE!
Last week A and I went to see Lorenzo Pisoni perform his childhood in his one man show ‘Humor Abuse.’ The theater is tiny and Pisoni draws his audience into the story (sometimes literally) while keeping them on their toes (beware of those sandbags!). One of my favorite lines went something like…
‘So it was me and a lifesize model of me and several helium balloons in the steamer trunk and it was summer and it was hot and sometimes the balloons would break, and it was very loud. This started when I was three. I HATE balloons.’
The tricks and acrobatics were exciting but it was the story that really drew the piece together and made it feel worth watching. I only wish clowning was always that engaging!
Friday night I saw Emanuel and the Fear play at Crash Mansion (I mentioned the show to you in my weekend post). The number of instruments on stage is a bit overwhelming but all of the sounds are used to great effect, including the voices of the two vocalists- Emanuel Ayvas and Liz Hanley.
Emanuel Ayvas and Liz Hanley
Liz Hanley, Tom Swafford and Brian Sanders
Saturday was beautiful and I hope everyone spent as much time out in the sunshine as possible; I certainly did! I had a picnic in Prospect Park with a group of friends and then we all wandered over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to experience the cherry trees in bloom. They will be blooming for several weeks and you can keep track of their progress and plan your visit accordingly through the website.
Cherry Tree blooming in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Saturday evening G and I attended one of the Jazz at Lincoln Center events. Of course first we wandered around failing to find the theater and then failing to find the box office but eventually we made it to our seats. This event showcased some pieces by Wynton Marsalis, who was also performing, and some stories by Langston Hughes. I will admit the whole thing was a bit too edgy for me. There was a whole series devoted to various animals and generally speaking no matter how interesting it is to make a saxophone sound like a monkey I still do not think it’s worth buying tickets to hear the result. However, some of the jazz was more traditional and certainly the technical skill of the musicians was more than adequately demonstrated. There was also tap dancing, which was marvelous to watch, even from the balcony. P.S. If you attend any events at the Rose Theater you should call the box office and ask for the seats behind the stage; they’re cheaper and you’ll be right on top of the action (I intend to do this next time).
We grabbed a bit of a hurried dinner at Cafeteria (classic Chelsea restaurant- music loud enough for a club, men with too much product in their hair, modernist furniture and slightly pretentious everything, however pretty yummy for all that) before heading over to the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas to see The Raspberry Brothers in action! Jerm says I was one of the first to begin promoting their show but luckily others have now caught on; check out his interview with Andrew Singer in The Apiary. The Apiary is also recommending the improv comedy festival at The Creek LIC this weekend, which also includes an act from one of the Raspberry Brothers (amazing how comedy comes together).
The Raspberry Brothers
On Sunday G and I experienced a somewhat different form of comedy at the Barrymore Theater, where we saw an all-star cast perform ‘Exit the King.’ The whole cast is fantastic but I felt like Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon were really incredible. The script was witty and occasionally just a tad profound without feeling dark. For example;
He acts as if no one has ever died before!
No one alive HAS ever died!
The final scene is rather hypnotic and was not necessarily the best way to draw the story to a close. I adored the absurd capes and crowns and had to fight the urge to go and find a very long piece of fabric immediately (I played dress up a lot as a child).
Sunday night I had dinner in a bubble. Yes, a giant plastic bubble, the Raumlabor’s Spacebuster to be precise. This art installation by German artists focuses on the idea of using vacant space. The bubble will be traveling to various locales around the city this week and you should try to attend one of the events. It is definitely an amazing experience to dance to tunes spun by Jonathan Toubin inside a bubble in the courtyard of the Old American Can Factory... so I expect the other events will be at least as enjoyable.
The Spacebuster behind the Old American Can Factory
Inside the Spacebuster after dark
Add that to your plans this week! Also be sure to look at my earlier post for other events to consider and stay tuned for additions!
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To view this post at its new location click HERE!
I for one had a spectacular weekend and I hope you did as well! I’ll be posting tales of my exploits later today after I upload pictures from my camera. For the moment, let us turn to the exciting week ahead!
Tonight at the American Museum of Natural History the author of “Death From the Skies! These Are the Ways the World Will End,” Phil Plait, will be lecturing on cosmic catastrophes that could befall us and what we can do to protect ourselves.
Also tonight you can experience underground cabaret at the Night Hotel:
Lee Chappell, the man behind the wildest nights at the Roxy and the Palladium, returns to New York nightlife with underground cabaret ~ Foreign Affairs ~ after an elective decade in the shadows. Co-hosted every Monday evening by Isengart, darling of the German cabaret scene, and Lady Rizo, famed comedienne and chanteuse, FOREIGN AFFAIRS features an ever-changing array of the city’s best new and vintage performers, musicians, and drag spectaculars.
Isengart and Lady Rizo
On Tuesday you have a chance to check out The Woes– the band I raved about recently. They’ll be playing a multitude of instruments at Union Hall. Enjoy the tunes, play some boccie ball and browse the absurd collection of books decorating the area.
Wednesday is the first day of the Tribeca Film Festival; if you don’t have tickets to any of the films, or if you prefer things that are free, go over to the SoHo Apple Store where Spike Lee will be discussing Passing Strange, which brings the hit Broadway rock musical to the screen, and Kobe Doin’ Work, his documentary about Kobe Bryant. Both films screen at Tribeca.
On Thursday you can experience the first Sci-Fi Puppet Storytelling Hour presented by Sick Little Productions at the Under St. Mark’s Theater:
The Outer Puppets is the premier episode of a sci-fi puppet storytelling hour set in the future of low budget public theater. Three stories are told in one bizarre night of live Puppet Theater with live music. Our first story, Official Probe, explores the cavernous gap between what officials want us to know, what the truth is, and what the hell the Machine actually does. The second piece, The Pet Light Bulb, offers a glimpse of what happens when bioluminescents attack. The final tale, Digi-Lounger, propels us into the distant future when humans no longer have contact with anything except a giant digital butt plug. See what happens when an escaped experimental joins the party. The show is hosted (and rudely commented on) by two junk robots from the outer rim (of Brooklyn). Live music composed and performed by Dan Sullivan and Naa Koshie Mills of the Disclaimers. Featuring Ann Gillespie, Michael Gravison, Jason Griffith, Jonathan Harford, Richard Hinojosa, Lindsay MacNaughton and Danielle Thorburn. Directed by Jason Griffith and Richard Hinojosa. Written by Richard Hinojosa.
Also on Thursday Discovery will be playing at Union Pool in Williamsburg. I heard them play at the Cameo Art Gallery on New Years Eve and K and I absolutely fell in love with the singer- Kathleen Cholewka. She has great stage presence and really energizes the crowd.
Discovery Live @ Cameo Art Gallery
A couple of early weekend announcements…
Saturday is the start of the roller derby season! Go to Hunter College Sportsplex for the Championship Rematch- Queens of Pain vs. Bronx Gridlock!
Also on Saturday the Wit’s End Jazz Age party is back at Antik! Their last event, which I posted for your consideration, was a big success and what with Baby Soda playing hot jazz tunes and Akemi Kinukawa of Sandra Cameron Dance Center offering a FREE group lindy lesson I imagine this one will be even better!
Have a great week and stay tuned for additions!
NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net
To view this post at its new location click HERE!
I am very sorry for disappearing from the face of the earth this week. I have been so absurdly, unreasonably ill that I have begun to quote the bitchy girl from ‘Devil Wears Prada’ – “I feel like death warmed up” – whenever anyone asks me. Yesterday my friend T was coming into town so I stayed home from work in the hope that 10 more hours of sleep might fix something in time for me to take her out on the town. It didn’t really but I drugged myself up with decongestants and ibuprofen and took her out to Duane Park for dinner and burlesque (it was my responsibility as a hostess).
Duane Park
Duane Park has free burlesque shows on Friday nights. This is not the sort of burlesque I usually see; I tend towards the variety show/cabaret sort of acts, performances that are closer to comedy than dance. The two lovely ladies who took off their clothes in the stunning arena of Duane Park did so tastefully and with grace and and controlled sensuality. There was nothing vulgar or funny about it. Now the group I was with were probably much more inclined towards seeing beautiful women carefully remove their clothing than I was; it certainly seemed as though they were enjoying themselves. Actually I felt the star of the performance was really Brian Newman– the excellent trumpet player and singer who single-handedly created the speakeasy mood.
One of my companions was taking pictures during the show and I promise to post any particularly lovely shots of the dancers or of Brian Newman when he sends them to me!
This evening I had a prior commitment and therefore pushed myself out of my apartment once again… to attend a special preview wine tasting event being hosted by Brooklyn Based at the Red Hook Winery.
Red Hook Winery
Now to start with I should thank the fabulous people at Brooklyn Based who added a third tasting so that those of us on the wait list could check out this fantastic new winery. To get to said winery I took advantage of the newest form of transportation to hit the big city- The Ikea Water Taxi. I believe from now on I am going to recommend this to tourists as the best free way to see the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan from the water. It is awesome. Hurray Ikea! Even Hopstop will now include the Ikea shuttle buses in its directions! I just hope the Ikea people don’t start charging (I promise to buy something next time I move!).
The space (see above) is beautiful; there are old tin ceilings and everything feels just slightly magical. Certain old buildings are like that; they have good bones. The tasting itself was quite fun; the on-site winemaker, Christopher Nicolson, told us all about the process from choosing the grapes (sometimes sorting by hand) to mixing different batches for interesting blends (E and I both loved one that was mostly merlot but just a bit of several other varieties). There were lots of “10 point words” but while I didn’t follow it all I did find it fascinating and I’m very much looking forward to seeing these bottles in stores.
I will be posting a few events for tomorrow and then a larger post for this week. Please forgive me for my negligence with this weekend’s events; I will try not to get sick again this season!
NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net
To view this post at its new location click HERE!
Just discovered a few more events to add to tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) roster:
Wit’s End Premier Party is the first of what will be a monthly event at Antik; this celebration of all things Jazz Age is sure to be a great addition to the vintage scene. Wear your best party attire and sip fancy cocktails in between dancing the Charleston and the Jitterbug. Grandpa Musselman & His Syncopators will play live jazz and Shien Lee from Dances of Vice will sing.
Jazz Age
Leading up to the actual celebration of Purim, the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre will perform its “The Historye of Queen Esther, of King Ahasverus & of the Haughty Haman”until March 7 at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater of the West Side Y.
In this production of Queen Ester, downtown meets folk tradition. High and low, live performers and puppets of disparate sizes are blended for a startling comical and touching effect. The cast of puppets includes marionettes designed and constructed by Prague master carver Jakub Krejci, two marionettes composed from household and carpentry tools by Michelle Beshaw and Emily Wilson, and giant paper mache puppets made by CAMT’s Associate Director Theresa Linnihan.
The Historye of Queen Esther, of King Ahasverus & of the Haughty Haman
Haman puppet by Vaclav Krcal.
Have a great weekend!
NOTE: The Big Red Apple is now TheBigRedApple.net
To view this post at its new location click HERE!
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you’re as excited as I am that it’s 55 degrees this afternoon! Enjoy it because I hear the weekend is going to be wet and cold.
Tonight check out New York Rockmarket’s recommended show– Blitzen Trapper, Plants and Animals, and Alela Diane at Bowery Ballroom.
Blitzen Trapper
If you’re in the mood for more old-school hi-jinks this evening the City Reliquary Museum and Civic Organization is having a ‘Modern-Day Depression Era Benefit‘ complete with Depression-era movies (ie. The Marx Bros), a DIY fingerless gloves station, landlords to throw pies at (?!) and of course Harlem Jazz.
Throw a pie in the landlord's face!
Saturday afternoon check out the pop-up market ‘Funky Child‘ at Alphabeta. There will be music and artwork spanning the range from awesome to really really weird. Enjoy the madness!
Funky Child Poster
Saturday evening if you’ve never spent an evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art you should go this weekend. There’s something magical about being in the Great Hall after the sun has set, with music being played on the balcony and the tourists mostly gone. For an added bonus Saturday evening check out the free Gallery Talk on the Egyptian version of the good life:
The Good Life in Ancient Egypt
Egyptian art, a testament to the good (proper) life lived by the tomb owner, depicts his or her desire for a good (pleasurable) life after death. Discover how diverse representations of good lives evolved with the changing mindset of Egyptians.
Marissa Schlesinger
Free with Museum admission
7:00 p.m., Gallery Talk Stanchion, Great Hall
Saturday night enjoy the nu-jazz sound of the lovely young musician Monet for free at BAM.
Deep soul and nu-jazz take flight on flute in the breezy sound of multi-instrumentalist Monet, performing tracks from her critically-acclaimed debut album Essence and her upcoming release Awakening.
Monet
Sunday is the last day to register for next week’s ‘Swamp Cabbage Wild Game Tasting Fundraiser,’ which you really won’t want to miss. ‘Swamp Cabbage, a Dark and Sweaty Documentary’ directed by Hayley Downs and Julie Kahn gives us a unique look at Florida Cracker culture. It involves coleslaw wrestling, among other things. You have to see it, just go.
Swamp Cabbage Fundraiser Poster
But to get back to this Sunday… If you haven’t been to the KGB Bar for their Sunday Night Fiction series this is a good night to go; Daphne Uviller and Eric Kraft will be reading from their respective novels while you sip on Russian beer.
Have a great weekend everyone and be sure to let me know if you have events to add or events for next week that I should post!
The Big Red Apple 