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!