It’s great to be back in the city and I’m super excited about all the events coming up! PopRally tonight is sold out but if you can figure out a way to get in it’s sure to be worth the effort! This is the premiere of “SCRYING, a non-narrative performance ballet conceived and directed by New York-based artist Jen DeNike and choreographed by Melissa Barak.” There will also be a live performance of “tribal/electronic/ambient anthems” by Soft Circle.
Also tonight you can learn the gritty details of the work of undercover cops in the tenements of the LES at the start of the twentieth century. This lecture, at the Tenement Museum, will be full of stories of prostitutes, immigrants, anarchists and other questionable characters.
LES Tenements around 1900
If you’ve never heard of Alaina Hammond, now is the time to discover the work of this talented writer; the series “Here We Go Again: More Plays by Alaina Hammond” is playing at Manhattan Theater Source several nights this week. It’s not terribly questionable theater but the tickets are cheap enough ($15) that even if you find it questionable it’s not an unreasonable expense.
It’s been some time since I’ve gotten a shot of burlesque and I may get my fix on Wednesday at Skits ‘n’ Tits:
Outrageous monthly variety show presents NYC’s best burlesque beauties, comedians, sketch, variety acts, and music. Produced by and starring Diane O’Debra (formerly of the O’Debra Twins), Steph Sabelli (absurd characters, improvisational comedian), and Jessica Delfino (award winning dirty folk rocker publicly denounced by the US Catholic League). Starring celebrity guests, amazing giveaways, drink specials and more, including a super secret surprise celeb comedian. A wild, dirty little show.
On Saturday you can sing-along with the Muppets when they Take Manhattan at 92Y Tribeca. Check out the trailer and be prepared to join in with your favorite fuzzy friends.
There are lots of other awesome things coming up so stay tuned for more updates!
I hope everyone had an excellent Columbus Day weekend! G and I went apple picking in NH and the leaves were simply glorious; the apple pie I made was even more so! I almost stole the leftovers and brought them home with me but I figured I’m going home to the best city on earth, I should at least let him have pie. There are lots of awesome things happening in The Big Apple this week!
On a wet day like today the best thing is hot soup with good company but perhaps an even better way to warm up is hot soup dumplings with other dumpling aficionados! Tonight is the October Dumpling Crawl:
This after-work exploration lets you have your dumplings and eat them, too! Join us for an autumnal stroll through Chinatown to learn more about the history of the dumpling as we visit 5 or 6 shops in a ten-block radius. You’ll meet fellow dumpling aficionados while you sup on xiao long bao (soup dumplings), crescent-shaped jiaozi, pan-fried potstickers, and other specialties for $2 or less.
If you have some connections you might be able to weasel your way into the New York Premier of Where the Wild Things Are tonight; if not check out some of the other events that are part of Wild Things Week.
If that’s not wild enough for you there’s some truly absurd questionable theater to consider; My Life in a Nutshell- Hanne Tierney involves “Barely clothed life-size marionettes made of burlap manipulated through a counterweight system of approximately 80 strings in a witty narrative of ménages a trois.” Enough said.
On Thursday Comedy Below Canal at 92Y Tribeca is being hosted by Wyatt Cenac; the show will bring together excellent comedians and musicians (John Oliver, Che Grand) for fabulous fusion entertainment.
If you’ve been following me on Twitter, or checking my tweets in the sidebar, you already know that Prelude starts tonight and that the New York Film Festival is ongoing! More about those in a moment, first, a few more events worth your consideration…
Tonight one of my favorite fellow bloggers has helped to organize a benefit concert at Glasslands. The organization receiving the benefit is called Young Invincibles; they’re an “organization that was created in order to raise awareness about health care reform amongst young people.” Best of all The Woes, who I’ve raved to you about in the past, are one of the acts! If all the hoopla about healthcare reform has made you itch to make a difference but activism is not quite your forte this is the perfect way to spend your evening! Go out and rock out to great music for a cause!
Also tonight Dare Dukes will be crooning his sexy urban folk songs at Banjo Jims; he’s been on tour so get out and welcome him back in style!
Starting tomorrow the 7th Annual New York Burlesque Festival will be making the Big Apple too hot to handle! My favorite performer, Gigi La Femme, will be hitting the stage and if all the shows aren’t enough the festival will wrap up with the award show to end all award shows- The Golden Pasties!
For some short and sweet erotica (in this case it’s ok to be fast) head to Happy Endings for the shorts installment of the In the Flesh Erotica Reading Series.
To return to Prelude… Let me just say that all of the programs are questionable in exactly the right way- ambitious and sincere but possibly over-the-top. I am particularly drawn to ‘Arts in Conversation: Digital,’ which is taking place on Thursday:
From prestidigitation to wall-sized projections, from sleight-of-hand to mediated environments, artists have used the digital arts – in both senses of the word – to amaze audiences, heighten and transform our perception. Whether the illusion is created by video, computer, or by hand the notion of “the digital” remains central to many artists’ presentational aesthetics. Join us in a conversation on the uses of the digital in building imaginative space and informing performance practice.
On Sunday you can plan ahead and buy your perfect and unique holiday gifts at the Astoria Autumn Fest!
Stay tuned for news of even more upcoming events including a rooftop screening of Firefly, the Lamb Takedown (competitive eating just keeps on expanding), some amazing aerial moves at my favorite Trapeze School and short films with a live score!
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or keep track of the tweets in the sidebar for all the latest news!
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
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
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!
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!
I have a couple of additions to make to my last post and I also want to give you a heads up on some events coming up NEXT weekend!
Tonight if you’re up for the Fashion’s Night Out extravaganza you may want to add your first sighting of Anna Wintour into the bargain; the empress of the fashion world will be… da da da… at a mall in Queens! That is something worth seeing darlings!
Tomorrow night A and I are continuing our tradition of seeing deeply questionable theater by checking out a new production, which to its credit sold out its first run, titled Three Irish Widows. Why is it questionable? Mainly because it’s a one man show with 25 characters. If you’re not up for the experience you can just look forward to our review.
There’s more questionable theater on the way next week when Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan bring their unique dance piece, In-I, to BAM (Sept. 15-26). Take a look at this clip:
I find Juliette Binoche breathtaking and I’m excited to see how she works in a new medium.
“You Are Here [aka The Maze]” was conceived and created by TROUBLE, the Bushwick artist duo and married couple Sam Hillmer, 31, and Laura Paris, 41. Death by Audio, normally just two rooms with some in-between areas and a long hallway, is now a Maze complete with tall walls, confusing turns, and dead ends. The experience will be unconventional in every sense. The stage will be part of the maze, leaving it up to the performers to figure out how they can work in the space. There are many bands and artists up for the challenge, including Dan Friel (Sept. 10), A Place to Bury Strangers and Sian Alice Group (Sept. 11), Ty Segall (Sept. 18), Calvin Johnson (Sept. 14), Screaming Females(Sept. 26), The Coathangers (Sept. 29) and Zs (Oct. 2). Most of the acts performing are experimental in nature, which may or may not help them as they improvise in the altered space.
Next week (Sept. 17-20) Conflux, an annual New York festival for contemporary psychogeography, is taking over our fine city to help us re-explore and redefine our urban environment:
Conflux is the annual New York festival for contemporary psychogeography, the investigation of everyday urban life through emerging artistic, technological and social practice. At Conflux, visual and sound artists, writers, urban adventurers and the public gather for four days to explore their urban environment. From architects to skateboarders, Conflux participants have an enthusiasm for the city that’s contagious. Over the course of the long weekend the sidewalks are literally transformed into a mobile laboratory for creative action. With tools ranging from traditional paper maps to high-tech mobile devices, artists present walking tours, public installations and interactive performance, as well as bike and subway expeditions, workshops, a lecture series, a film program and live music performances at night.
On the opposite end of the entertainment spectrum, the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival will also be rocking the city next weekend. With Mirman in control it’s hard to know what’s in store, but it’s likely to be playful, irreverent and ever so slightly weird.
Those are my advance listings! Now keep scrolling down to hear all about what’s happening this weekend, including more New Amsterdam events, Craft Beer Week, theater both questionable and otherwise, a dance party on a boat and Jane Austen’s newest masterpiece Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters! Plus follow me on twitter to hear the latest from The Big Red Apple!
