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This studying thing is killing me; missing events is against my nature. This seems like a negative sign in terms of law school. Why isn’t going to burlesque shows and art exhibits a job? Sigh… Well, for those of you with free time there are some great events this week.
Tonight at the Japan Society you can learn the subtleties of sake:
Koji-making is the heart of the sake brewing process. Koji is steamed rice onto which a special mold has been grown with great precision and skill that converts starches to sugars, which in turn are fermented to yield alcohol. Making good koji requires precise regulation of temperature and moisture, and nothing has a greater impact on the final flavors and aromas of sake. Like much of sake brewing, koji-making is more art than science. Sake expert John Gauntner discusses the art and science of making koji, what it is, the myriad ways it can be accomplished, and how tiny changes to koji can result in major differences in sake flavor. Followed by a sake tasting.
If you want a bit more madness in your Tuesday head over to Galapagos for the ISSUE Project Room’s Sixth Anniversary Party. There will be shows by a range of performers including Elysian Fields, (“They carry a torch for nature, sex, love, the cycle of death and rebirth, and the sounds of folk and jazz ballads, new wave and classical music, seamlessly interwoven into a style that is at once languorously romantic and tough.”), Ray Sweeten and Brock Monroe.
Elysian Fields
Tomorrow you have a chance to check out one of the bands I’ve raved about recently– The Woes. As I said before, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many instruments used in a rock concert… their music blends jazz and blues and country into something unique and catchy.” Check them out at the Bell House.
Also tomorrow the Mixer Series is back at Cakeshop! This week there will be readings by Bret Anthony Johnston, Tracy K. Smith, Alex Mindt and music from Young Lions.
On Thursday there are two absurd and marvelous parties to consider. First, at Monkey Town, Twi the Humble Feather will be performing their [ahem] extremely original music, with L Magazine calls “part Gregorian chant, part Christmas carol and part Panda Bear’s Person Pitch unplugged.” They will be accompanied by the psychedelic visuals ofNobuko Hori.
Was your High School prom a disaster? Don’t worry, on Thursday you have a chance to be the cool kid you couldn’t be at 17- The Music Hall of Williamsburg is hosting ‘The Prom You Were Promised.’:
The night will feature rare DJ sets by VAMPIRE WEEKEND, PAT MAHONEY (of LCD Soundsystem), and HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR, and will be hosted by one of our favorite comedians (and 826NYC advisory board member!) LEO ALLEN. So fire up the limo, dust off that tux (or not), break out the hairspray, and get ready to dance!
It’s currently listed as sold out but some tickets may be available at the door, or you can always look for someone who needs a hot date.
Prom Dress (I almost wish mine had actually been this bad)
Have a lovely 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 had such an amazing night last night… I’m looking forward to telling you all about it but first- this weekend is going to be a blast!
Tonight if you’ve never been to Monkey Town this is an excellent night to go; Black Acid is playing live followed by psychedelic head music from DJ Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas) and visuals by Lazy Eye and The Stones IT.
Also tonight New York Underbelly invites you to party at Crash Mansion:
We start with some post punk stylings, each unique in its own way. Esque and Tyburn Saints kick it off, with the House of Leaves powering in as well. Then we change directions with Delexilio, who take the late night crowd on a funky dance trip…
RSVP for free admission before 11 and open bar between 9 and 10!
I’d like to recommend two great events for art enthusiasts this weekend. The first is the Brklyn Designs show in DUMBO. The New York Times has come through with an excellent map of the designers participating in the gallery and home tours, parties, tips on green living and other awesome events.
The second artsy extravaganza I want to direct your attention to is the fifth installment of the Scion Installation Art Tour: Installation 5: Self Portraits.
This year each artist was asked to create his or her literal, or non-literal interpretation of the theme ‘Self-Portraits’. Video art will be included for the first time in the tour’s five-year history, alongside painting and photography.
Head over to the Showroom NYC to see the introspective creations of these talented artists.
Saturday afternoon head over to Pier 1 to participate in FlyNY 2009; live out your Mary Poppins dreams by creating and flying your very own kite.
Also on Saturday you can see The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus perform Buckaroo Bindlestiff’s Wild West Jamboree at the Brooklyn Public Library. You may remember that the last time I mentioned them they were playing at Dixon Place; check out that post for a video of them in action!
Have you ever wondered what the plural of Elvis might be? Wonder no longer! It’s Elvi, and you can be one of them on the Elvis Bar Crawl Saturday night. Join the kings at Thunder Jacksons or check the website for locations they’ll be hitting later on.
Sunday is Mother’s Day so be sure to give her a call or if she’s in the area I’d recommend making her brunch at home as all the restaurants are going to be a bit crazy. It’s also going to be a fairly decent day weather-wise so you might consider going to one of the parks or botanical gardens in the area.
Have a lovely weekend 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 was possibly one of the most awesome weekends ever. On Friday night I went out to Monkey Town for ‘Forest Dinner,’ which was truly incredible. The meal was accompanied by some of the organizer’s favorite videos of all time. Here’s the breakdown:
Forest Dinner Prix Fixe Menu
- Fennel braised rabbit
- honey & ancho grilled quail
- venison ravioli
- espresso rubbed elk loin
- grilled wild boar chop [I skipped this one]
- black forest cake
Forest Dinner Music Video Program
- Dan Deacon- Drinking Out of Cups
- Cool Kids- Black Mags
- Bat For Lashes- What’s a Girl to Do
- Kanye West- Flashing Lights
- Lasse Gjertsen- A Self-Portrait
- Mr. Rogers- Lifetime Achievement Acceptance
- Justice- Stress
- MGMT- Time to Pretend
- Kelis- Bossy
- Thunderheist- Jerk It
- Warrior Queen- Almighty Father
- Lasse Gjertsen- Amateur
- Daft Punk- Da Funk
- Wu Tang Clan- Triumph
- Aphex Twin- Rubber Johnny
- Vitalic- Poney Part I
- Tame Impala- Half Full Glass of Wine
- UNKLE- Rabbit In Your Headlights
- Sonic Youth- Death Valley 69
- Madvillian- All Caps
- My Bloody Valentine- To Here Knows When
- Prodigy- Smack My Bitch Up
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Y Control
- Fleet Foxes- He Doesn’t Know Why
- Liam Lynch- The Museum Rap
I really like the set-up they have in their backroom. I attended a screening of Honey Bunny V2 there during Porn Week; check out this picture:
HoneyBunnyV2
Having the screens surrounding you gives the room a sort of virtual-reality atmosphere and the low couches along the walls make for excellent people-watching. Their food is usually very good but the cocktails are kind of hit-or-miss. I had one on Friday that tasted sort of like onion-infused vinegar. I think when bartenders decide to add things like onions to drinks they need to really test them out before adding them to a menu.
I followed that up with drinks at the Huckleberry Bar. I have to say I really prefer Huckleberry on weeknights; Friday night it was so packed and noisy that you couldn’t really enjoy their fantastic cocktails. I particularly like the Article 57. It’s a grown-up version of hard lemonade; rather than just citrus the drink is also infused with ginger. The waitress took forever but then gave us free drinks, which was very sweet of her and definitely made up for the wait. The DJ was totally intolerable but then I guess I’m just not a fan of going deaf from the music. It’s not really a place where people dance so I feel as though that level of volume is uncalled for.
Saturday afternoon I took my first flying trapeze lesson at the New York Trapeze School. It was definitely one of my more thrilling experiences to date and I would recommend it to anyone who does not have a crippling fear of heights. The staff were really friendly and encouraging and even in your first lesson you get the thrill of hanging by your knees, doing a back-flip-release and attempting a catch (I failed; I’m just not that athletic). This is a picture of the tent:
New York City Trapeze School
Saturday night I saw ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at BAM:
The Cherry Orchard at BAM
Ethan Hawke was pretty amazing. You could also really see Tom Stoppard’s hand in the whole thing; his style is very recognizable. I saw a production of his play ‘Rock and Roll’ in Boston and though this was obviously a Chekhov play you could see the similarities between the two. Chekhov is pretty depressing but then again, it seems to me that Russian literature is almost always depressing. Perhaps it’s all the cold.
It has been far too cold in NYC lately. I mean when I step out of the subway and the wind almost knocks me over it takes away from my general enjoyment of going out. I feel as though I haven’t had an outfit that was right for the occasion and the weather for months. I’m tired of wearing boots for goodness sakes. How long must this go on? In a city where you walk all over the place winter is just so much more stressful than in places where you hop in and out of cars. I recently took a cab for 10 blocks. I felt ashamed afterwards but I mean really, I was wearing stockings for crying out loud. Stockings!
I had a late dinner after the show at Bacchus, which is a really great French Bistro in that area. It’s tiny and not too fancy but the food is consistently good and the waitresses are friendly and French (not a likely combo). I’ll admit to being a huge francophile. French accents make me want to be scorned and condescended to. After Bacchus I was out with friends at Union Hall until they closed for the night, which was earlier than it should have been. Union Hall feels like the Park Slope version of the Cheers bar. Of course everyone doesn’t actually know your name, but you do feel comforted the moment you get in the door. How could you not feel comforted by fireplaces and leather couches and hipsters playing boccie ball? They also have some fun events, including the Raspberry Brothers, who I saw do commentary on The Terminator and found hysterical.
I slept too late Sunday to go to the Chinatown New Years Parade, which was a bummer because I really enjoyed it last year. I did however head into the city in the late afternoon for dim sum at Red Egg. I’m not a big fan of Chinese food; I don’t eat pork and I don’t like soy sauce so a lot of it doesn’t work for me. The textures are also somewhat problematic. I have textural food issues. I can’t eat mushy things. There are few exceptions to this and it includes many things that other people appear to like (ie yogurt). I like to chew my food. The experience of dim sum is fun though and since I was with friends who are crazy about dim sum I was able to enjoy the vicarious excitement as well.
The Big Red Apple 