Tag Archives: Pianos

Halloween Listings

I’m skipping ahead a bit this week and just laying out some of your options for the holiday, and what options there are!

For some family fun during the day, learn all about the ghosts of The Tenement Museum; costumed storytellers will be stationed throughout the museum and there will be cider, donuts and caramel apples!

Don’t forget the biggest annual Halloween event- the Halloween Parade! I always try to make it down there and I’ve also marched in the parade on several occasions. Here’s a pic of last year’s madness:

Halloween Parade 2008

The Annual Smack Fetish Ball will be full of people who wear latex far more often than once a year. Don’t be scared, they’re about as normal as the average New Yorker.

smack

Dances of Vice is throwing an Edward Gorey-themed bash, featuring

the murder ballads of special musical guests THE SCARRING PARTY, sensational crime scenes performed by resident rapscallions COMPANY XIV, fashions by that ruffled ruffian PUREVILE!, CORNELIUS performing on the theremin, and the musical pandemonium of Ben Ickies’ 24-piece chamber rock orchestra, THIS AMBITIOUS ORCHESTRA. Specialty cocktail menu presented by your charming bartender CHRX! Artists FYODOR PAVLOV and LAWRENCE GULLO will be offering hand-drawn Gorey portraits to our dwindling guests, photographer STEVEN ROSEN will be offering specialty antiquated portraits, and PUREVILE! and COR-LEONIS will be vending handmade jewelry, candles and accoutrements!

G and I may have to make a stop at “The Greatest Halloween Party Ever” since free pierogies are involved. Check out the trailer for more reasons to attend:

If you’re looking for a swinging Halloween, check out the battle of the bands at Grand Harmony Palace. George Gee and Jump Jivin’ Wailers will try to out-swing Lt. Jim and the Blue Saracens; be there or be square baby!

For a different sort of dancing, a bit later in the night, check out the Mile High dance party at Pianos– evil style!

evil mile high

For the hipsters who want to stay close to home (read: Williamsburg) there’s really only one party worth considering- The Last Masquerade:

Three vast spaces in the dark heart of Brooklyn have been re-imagined for this all-night adventure. Over three dozen artists and performers will infuse these forgotten structures with a pre-apocalyptic fairy-tale built on music, mischief and a heavy dose of the unexpected. First is “The Chapel”, a 114 year old brick and iron fortress with 26ft ceilings draped with art and intrigue; then “The Sanctuary”, with five areas of performance, lounges and dance floors spread across three floors; and finally “The Ever After” a beautifully warm loft and open air terrace with music and performance continuing past dawn.

For those of you willing to head a little deeper into Brooklyn, I invite you to join me at Gemini & Scorpio‘s Masquerade Macabre. I’ve been helping Miss Scorpio with some of the set-up and I can assure you this party is going to be phenomenal.

G&S Halloween

I’m going to stop there for fear of overwhelming you but The Village Voice has more comprehensive listings if none of those parties strike your fancy. Happy Halloween! Follow me on twitter for the party play by play!

Art Show w/Open Bar, Dance Parties, etc.

If neither of the crazy dance parties I posted appeal to you and you’re not excited by naked girls reading banned books, I have one more exciting event to throw at you for tonight; Webster Hall is hosting a much artier event than their standard fare- “The Art Of Fashion,” Photography & Illustration Exhibition & Designer Runway Show. Enjoy the open bar while checking out sketches by Cojo, created as part of his Sketch365 Project.

Sketch365 Project

Saturday night the party is starting early at Arlene’s Grocery where Detox Retox, fresh from a string of exciting concerts including a piece of the action at Warped Tour, are playing at 8pm sharp.

Detox Retox

After the show the band is likely to mosey over to Pianos for the Mile High Dance Party; you should follow their lead and dance the night away with the backdrop of Valujet Visuals fabulous images. Here are a couple shots of the action last week:

DJ Samuel Walker aka Hotline

VJ Valujet Visuals

Furthermore, if you’ve been following me on Twitter, or checking the sidebar for my tweets, you already know that this weekend you can fill your apartment with Vintage Posters and that on Sunday Orchard Street will be an orchard! Have a great weekend and stay tuned for additions!

Trapeze Artists, Hobbits and much more!

I’ve already mentioned that you can judge the new Met for yourself this weekend, and be part of history at the 10 year anniversary party of NonsenseNYC; and of course you can peek behind closed doors at all sorts of venues during Open House New York. In addition to all that madness there are many more events to consider.

This weekend you have two opportunities to see The Lord of the Rings as you’ve never seen it before:

Howard Shore’s Original Academy Award®-winning score performed live to the epic motion picture by the 21st Century Orchestra, The Collegiate Chorale and Brooklyn Youth Chorus conducted by Ludwig Wicki.

Can you imagine that incredible score performed live while the movie is screened on an enormous screen? If not buy your tickets now and experience it in person.

Lord of the Rings at Radio City Music Hall

For those of you who read my review of The Golden Pasties and have been lusting for burlesque ever since, the show to go to this weekend is Killer Queen Burlesque at Joe’s Pub.

Burlesque stars Anita Cookie and Clams Casino and emcee Neil O’Fortune, the minds behind The Costello Show: A Burlesque Tribute to the Other Elvis, KISS THIS: Burlesque Rock City and more, return to the Joe’s Pub stage with Killer Queen Burlesque! A burlesque tribute to the music of Queen, Killer Queen Burlesque made it’s debut in early 2008 and has been their most-requested show ever since. Now it returns with an all new, all-star cast: a night of funny, campy, sexy performances combining striptease with live music and comedy, all unified by Queen’s unstoppable lineup of beloved hits.

I’ve already mentioned the crazy vertical 3-ring circus happening at The Trapeze School of New York this weekend; here’s a trailer to give you a taste:

At the Brooklyn Skillshare this weekend you can learn such useful skills as butter making and how to infuse your own vodka. There is also a free lunch involved; I can only imagine the water-cooler talk potential (so, what did you do this weekend? I learned to make butter!).

The Mile High Dance Party is back for a second week at Pianos; I had a blast last week and I would highly recommend swinging by after other goings on Saturday night. Check out their awesome flyer for this week:

mile high

Get into the Halloween spirit early this October with a trip to Greenwood Cemetery, for extra spookiness check out Angels and Accordions– a very ummm… unique site specific work you have to see to believe.

Finally, quick heads up for next week, in celebration of the release of Where the Wild Things Are, there are a range of events happening in the city; it’s billed as Wild Things Week and it’s going to be (ahem) wild!

That’s all for the moment; have a great weekend and be sure to follow The Big Red Apple on Twitter for the latest news!

Film Festivals, Ecofest, Atlantic Antic, NYMF, etc.

There is nothing, I mean nothing, more questionable than questionable musical theater. The New York Musical Theater Festival showcases new and still-in-development musicals; some will go on to be Broadway sensations (Avenue Q got its start at NYMF), others will be so terrible that they will become immortalized. In my mind the art of choosing which show to see is in finding the show that will be just bad enough to be good. My pick for this year is The Last Smoker in America– a musical about smoking. With lyrics like “the glowing tips of all those cigarettes looked like fireflies” this could be the best/worst musical I’ve ever seen. For help in picking your poison check out this article.

lastsmoker

After listening to this analysis of the New York Film Festival I have decided that I am simply not miserable enough to attend any of the films being shown this year. I am hoping to have more luck at the other two film festivals happening this weekend. The Coney Island Film Festival involves “a stunning array of high and low-brow fare, as diverse as the neighborhood it represents. Subjects range from the profound to the profane, showcasing the independent spirit and irreverent nature of the one and only Coney Island.” I am particularly drawn to the short films, such as “Mollye Asher’s Slim and Lena a modern film noir set in the grit and glamour of the neo-burlesque scene,” which I think will fit in very well with The New York Burlesque Festival (also happening this weekend). The Red Hook Film Festival is also focused on our fine city; the festival brings us 2 days of shorts filmed in NYC.

On Sunday you can help save the world, or at least learn about the people who are saving the world, at Ecofest! This massive event includes everything from a fashion show presenting sustainable clothing to live concerts and demonstrations of environmentally friendly cars.

If you’re more interested in fried dough than hemp you may want to spend your Sunday at Atlantic Antic- my favorite annual street festival. Last year K and I enjoyed lots of live music, tried on hats made by local artisans, and checked out the antique buses that the Transit Museum rolled out for show and tell!

Bus @ Atlantic Antic '08

Don’t forget to look at my last post for information on other great events happening this weekend, like NY Pickle Day, the Lamb Takedown and the Mile High Dance Party at Pianos! Plus, as always, you can follow me on Twitter for the latest updates!

Performance and Food and Food Performance

There are quite a range of performances taking place in the Big Apple this weekend. The aforementioned Burlesque Festival is one excellent example (I have my tickets to the Golden Pasties; do you have yours?) and Prelude is sure to be full of surprises as well.

Tomorrow night at The Knitting Factory Girl in a Coma will be putting on their usual high energy performance! Are they hot or what?

Girl in a Coma

Saturday night at Pianos you can join the Mile High club, well, sort of, you can check out the awesome VJ stylings by Valujet Visuals and dance the night away at the best new dance party in town.

mile high

It might not be exactly a performance act but NY Pickle Day is certain be entertaining (and delicious). Check out this video of last year’s festivities:

Wow. Now I’m hungry. Speaking of hungry, Bar Celona will be opening in Wburg this weekend; Daily Candy says

Former glue factory turned noir tapas lounge dishes braised oxtail, herb- and goat cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers, and crispy codfish bombas with orange garlic marmalade. Gazpacho- and paella-flavored artisanal cocktails from madmen mixologists The Tippling Bros. are worth the trek.

Of course if you’re REALLY hungry you simply must head out to the Lamb Takedown, brought to you by the creators of the Chili Takedown and certain to, umm… take you down.

lambtakedown

Sunday night if you feel up to a splurge get tickets to the best tasting event of the fall- The Manhattan Cocktail Classic Preview Gala at New York Public Library’s Astor Hall:

Some of the world’s greatest bartenders will be mixing New York’s most iconic hometown drinks, with jazz greats Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks providing the soundtrack for the appropriate activities (fancy attire and dancing–in addition to lots of drinking–will be encouraged).

One advance notice: I’m also excited about the first-ever Vertical Three Ring Circus at the Trapeze School of New York. You may recall my foray into the aerial arts last spring took place at TSNY. This performance will feature “the aerial performances of Suspended Cirque and Una Mimnaugh, the flying trapeze team from TSNY, and unicycle, juggling and trampoline acts.”

Stay tuned for additions and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or keep track of the tweets in the sidebar for all the latest news (if you’ve been following you’ll know all about the Ultimate Pole Dancing Championships…)!