Tag Archives: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Sept. 17-20 Additions and RECAP

First, I’d like to recap the last couple of posts (scroll down or click HERE and HERE to read them in full). There’s some questionable theater ongoing in The Big Apple: Juliette Binoche is trying her hand at dancing; one man is playing 3 Irish Widows (plus 20-some other characters); Daniel Craig thinks he’s a real actor now; Philip Seymour Hoffman IS a real actor; Medea has a whole new look; and you can now take a poetic bus tour of the Bronx. Plus next week is the start of Fall For Dance and there are still a few tickets left! Also upcoming: Williamsburg Fashion Weekend is THIS weekend (Sept. 18 + 19); Le Fooding D’Amour will bring real French cuisine to the city NEXT weekend (Sept. 25 + 26); and The DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival will be dressing up DUMBO NEXT weekend (Sept. 25-27). Plus there’s still time to “see” a concert while in a MAZE AND discover wtf psychogeography means. There’s also still time to drink awesome beer AND rock out with gypsies! ALSO be sure to check out one of the comedy shows that are part of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival happening THIS weekend (Sept. 17-20). Feeling overwhelmed yet? Good, now it’s time for ADDITIONS!

Tonight (Sept. 17) is the 2nd Annual Park Slope Restaurant Tour! Last year’s tour was my first date with G so this marks our 1 year anniversary. Head out to 7th Ave. with someone who might be special and see if stellar samples can be good luck for you too!

Starting tonight and running through Oct. 3 M.E.A.N.Y. Fest (Musicians & Emerging Artists New York) will be showcasing up and coming bands at various venues throughout the city. G and I will be seeing Black Taxi play next Saturday (Sept. 26) and we’d love to see you there!

Tonight is the opening reception for the Recession Art Sale. The exhibition itself will open Monday and run through next Sunday (Sept. 21-27). Here’s a piece by Thaddeus Radell, an artist whose work will be on sale:

Thaddeus Radell

Thaddeus Radell

Tomorrow night (Sept. 18) you can sample an array of Indian street food all in one place, the Indian Culinary Center:

Your hands and feet won’t be the only things pretty enough to eat at the Indian Culinary Center‘s (131 West 23rd Street) evening of Henna and Street Foods of India this Friday from 6-10 p.m. In addition to body art applied by an onsite specialist, the evening will feature such savory bites as Bhel Puri (spicy snack mix), Aloo Tikki (potato croquettes), and Kati Rolls (Indian wraps).

On Saturday (Sept. 19) find someone willing to give up their spot on a team and you could be part of a Craft Beer Scavenger Hunt run by the lovely folks of Metro Metro!

As part of NY Craft Beer Week, we are having a daylong, multi-borough discovery of beer, bars, and neighborhoods. Teams of four will pore over the city in the pursuit of delicious knowledge while embracing the healthy spirit of competition. To cap the day off, hunters will enjoy a private afterparty hosted at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg.

If you missed out on the last pig roast I mentioned you have another chance to see a whole pig being roasted this Sunday (Sept. 20) at Il Buco!

The sixth annual Sagra del Maiale, an outdoor pig and apple festival commemorating the Autumnal Equinox, will take place outside il Buco between 1-8 p.m. The guest of honor will be a 200-pound heritage breed Crossabaw Pig, slow roasted in an “infiernillo” (“little hell”) by Chef Ignacio Mattos.

Il Buco Pig Roast 2007

Il Buco Pig Roast 2007

If you can’t make it out to taste what Park Slope has to offer then you may want to sample the West Village Sunday (Sept. 20); Taste the West Village lets you try a number of top shelf restaurants for a small fee (from $10 depending on the number of tastes).

Finally, get your tickets now to The Big Lebowski Festival, happening next week (Sept. 22-24) in The Big Apple!

LF_TourFlyer_NYC

That’s all for now! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest updates and once again, shan’a tova for those of you celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend!

Sept. 9-12 Fashion, beer, the Dutch and more!

Once again we have a super stuffed weekend coming up, not to mention the days before and after! I’ll admit as one of the funemployed I fail to recall what day of the week it is most of the time…

Tonight, as I’ve told you already, I’ll be at Comix to see the Raspberry Bros do their thing to The Breakfast Club (plus participate in the John Hughes sing-a-long). If you’d like to join buy your tiks in advance using the code RASP and they’re just $5 ($15 at the door)!

Tomorrow is ‘Fashion’s Night Out‘- an advertising ploy by Vogue and the rest of the fashion industry to get you to shop before they all go broke (the blurb in the Sept. issue of Vogue says “don’t you miss shopping?”). There are innumerable sales and events involved; my pick is champagne fueled lingerie shopping at Kiki de Montparnasse (starts at 8pm).

Four hundred years ago a Dutch ship called the Half Moon, guided by Henry Hudson, reached the shores of Manhattan. This week the Dutch are celebrating that historic landing and all that’s followed it with a slew of exciting events! I’ll admit I’m at a loss to choose between the explorations of Dutch culture, the environmental lectures, the sports and the historical events. However, the big three are The Flying Dutchman Sailing Race, the NiEuW Amersterdam Restaurant Week and the New Amsterdam Market. The Restaurant Week runs from Sept. 5 to the 20th; participating restaurants are offering prix fixe menus for $24- the amount Hudson paid for Manhattan (now THAT’s inflation!). I recommend Bachas, Bar Tabac and Resto! The New Amsterdam Market is your standard farmers market but with the additon of various workshops and events (for example ‘drink with Henry Hudson’). Embrace your inner Dutchman!

New Amsterdam Market

New Amsterdam Market

If your favorite part about the Dutch is their beer you’ll be glad to know it’s also NY Craft Beer Week from Sept. 11 to the 20th! This year’s NY Craft Beer Week includes 83 different venues featuring 162 unique beers throughout the five boroughs. There are also all sorts of events such as beer “strolls,” “walks” and “crawls” (I find the distinction in naming quite intriguing…). Get out and take your knowledge and appreciation of this fine form of alcohol to a whole new level!

Backtracking a bit… tomorrow you can learn some secrets of Jewish cooking just in time to impress your mother-in-law (or any Jewish mothers in your acquaintance) on Rosh Hashanah! Joan Nathan will be sharing her tricks at the Tenement Museum!

If you can’t pay tribute to John Hughes tonight you have another chance Thursday night- Cattle Call Tribute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This event is highly participatory so you should only go if you want to be part of the show! Audience members will reenact their favorite scenes from the film with some dubious direction; do you have what it takes to be Ferris? Here’s a clip to remind you of the size of the shoes you’re trying to fill…

This weekend previews for A Steady Rain begin at The Schoenfeld Theatre. This is Daniel Craig’s Broadway debut and the general feeling seems to be that he is likely to be terrible, but hey, you never know, especially with Hugh Jackman around. Here’s a panel from an excellent cartoon in New York Magazine that perfectly sums of the problem:

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Friday night Flux Factory is throwing the dance party to end all dance parties; there will be DJs, bands, installation art, weird performers and much much more, ALL ON A BOAT.

fluxonaboat-webflyer

Starting this Sunday Philip Seymour Hoffman is back on stage in The Public Theater’s production of Othello. He’ll be playing alongside John Ortiz in what is certain to be one of the most memorable productions of this challenging play. Get your tickets now before the critics start raving in earnest.

From Sept. 22 to Oct. 3rd New York City Center will host some of the most creative and talented dancers from around the world. Not only that but the tickets to these marvelous performances, all part of the annual Fall For Dance Festival, are just $10 each! The catch? Well, the catch is that this Sunday you’d better get up early and join me on line to get your tickets as soon as they go on sale!

Post-ticket buying head out to The Bell House for the Brooklyn Cheese Experiment:

Competitive cookoff gurus Theo Peck and Nick Suarez, present to you the Brooklyn Cheese Experiment, a cheese cookoff and homebrew-off of epic proportion. Amateur chefs will whip up their favorite cheese-based dishes ranging from sweet to savory, while local homebrewers pit their home made brews against each other in Brooklyn’s premier culinary competition. The audience will vote for their favorites along with a judging panel of highly touted cheese and beer aficionados. Prizes and cash will ceremoniously be given away to those who strive for cookoff glory. Do you have what it takes to compete?

Sunday is also the most anticipated literary event of the year- The Brooklyn Book Festival! Last year I came unprepared and failed to make strategic choices when waiting on line for tickets to readings. This year if I’m able to make it out there post-FFD ticket line (so unfair that these are the same day!) I’ll follow Brooklyn Based Cheat Sheet!

If you miss the other “premier screenings” of No Impact Man check it out at the Anjelika Tuesday night with the added bonus that Kate1, who collaborated on the book, will be speaking about local/sustainable food before the screening!

Also on Tuesday, anyone who hates Jane Austen and/or loves Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, should be at Idlewild Books for the release of Ben Winters’ newest mockery- Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. There will be co-readings by co-author Ben Winters and The Good Thief author Hannah Tinti. Here’s a clip of a staged scene:

Now if that doesn’t make you feel gleeful I don’t know what will! Remember to RSVP for the reading!

Have an excellent weekend and stay tuned for additions! Also be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest news!

May 27-31 What to do?

If your Memorial Day weekend was a fraction as awesome as mine was I expect you are still much too glowy to sit still at work, in which case you’ll be pleased to hear that there are a number of excellent events coming up that will fit your mood!

Tonight I will be at Joe’s Pub enjoying the vocal styling of Naomi Shelton; she is celebrating the release of her album ‘What Have You Done, My Brother?’ This clip should pique your interest:

For a more active evening, my friend DJ Fucci will be partying at the Modular event- Downtown Downturn:

As you may already know, we at Loudcrowd have been sponsoring Modularrecords’ scintillating Downtown Downturn event, a merging of superior DJs from our partnership with labels such as Fools Gold’s Nick Catchdubs and DFA’s Marcos Cabral (of Runaway) and Nomi (of Hercules and Love Affair). Modular, as I’m sure you’re aware, is responsible for putting out records by the beloved Cut Copy, Ladyhawke, and Soulwax, to name a few. On Wednesday May 27th —that’s tonight— we are excited to crown off our sponsorship by celebrating Loudcrowd’s presence New York, featuring LC residents Fucci and our newest edition, the talented Dirty Jean.  Joining us on the decks is Rok One of the beat-poppin’ super crew The Bangers; Rok One has played all over the US and Europe alongside the likes of Grandmaster Flash, A-Trak, Afrika Bambaataa, Diplo, and MSTRKRFT.

ALSO tonight, Michael Muhammad Knight, author of “The Taqwacores,” which has been called “‘The Catcher in the Rye’ for young Muslims,” will be participating in a Literary Death Match at Pianos. I may not understand the concept of such a competition but I have read “The Taqwacores” and I can tell you that it would be hard for anything short of “The Catcher in the Rye” to truly compete. If you go be sure to report back!

The Marathon Festival of One-Act Plays is in full swing at the Ensemble Studio Theater; Series A is currently showing and Series B will begin next week. I interned with EST a few summers ago and I remember the Marathon being a highlight, especially as Philip Seymour Hoffman attended one of the performances. This year the titles alone inspire curiosity, (‘Face Cream’?). Go and see for yourself!

On Thursday you can celebrate America’s favorite food- pizza, at 3rd Ward:

The Greatness of Pizza is not unknown to Man. The drama of sinking one’s teeth into gooey, melted cheese and a deliciously crisp crust is familiar to all. But pizza is not “just a pie”, it’s a way of life! Join us for a night of eating, drinking, dough tossing and Pizza! The Movie. Stand by as The U.S. Pizza Team heads to the The World Pizza Championship in Italy, revel at dough tossing acrobatics and gasp at pizza sabotage! Filmmaker Michael Dorian captures the laughs, the cries and the scandals that surround this provocative source of pleasure and nourishment.

Thursday is also opening night for New York Classical Theater’s summer season. King Lear will begin at Central Park West and West 103rd Street; scene changes involve the cast and audience wandering to another are of the park, so don’t get too settled!

The Tragedy of Macbeth Central Park 2001 Season

The Tragedy of Macbeth Central Park 2001 Season

Starting on Thursday and running through the weekend, see aerial acrobatics on a whole new level- Suspended Cirque at Galapagos!

suspended cirque

Are you a literary snob? A book worm? A fan of libraries? Perhaps you simply look hot in glasses? Well, on Friday there’s a dance party for you! The Desk Set is hosting the Dance Dance Library Revolution at Enids!

deskset

Also on Friday, if you like your films ultra short and as chancey as possible you must check out Art By Chance- The Ultra Short Film Festival at Angels and Kings:

The Art by Chance Film Screening/Launch Party in New York will give you a chance to see all the films in the inaugural festival as well as be part of a very unique experience. To keep with the “by chance,” we are inviting musicians to create impromptu soundtracks live to all the films. 31 films, four different music sets, one party for all. Performances by Dave Fischoff, DJ Chad North, Dalis Elvis, and Anthology Strings and Friends.

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the time, but either Saturday or Sunday afternoon, (give the Coney Island people a call if you’re interested), there will be an epic showdown between former Wall St. Moguls and their currently unemployed former employees- The Great Coney Island Tug-of-War:

The event, hosted by Coney Island, is an attempt to move beyond the festering animosity created by the economic collapse. The Great Coney Island Tug-of-War is a wide-ranging dispute resolution mechanism that will feature multiple different match-ups, including firefighters and police officers, vegans and carnivores, green-minded cyclists and unapologetic motorists, and Cyclone fans and Wonder Wheel fans. The 1,000-foot tug-of-war rope also will be offered as a platform to any two groups with an intractable disagreement.

On Sunday show the hipsters what you’ve got at The Gutter, where the admission gets you those hot bowling shoes, a chance to win big and a burger into the bargain!