Date: Wednesday, July 1st - Sunday, August 3rd Time: Weekday 10:00am - 7:00pm, Weekends 11:00am - 7:00pm Location: The powerHouse Books (37 Main Street, Dumbo) Cost: Free
"powerHouse Books presents an exhibition featuring photographs from Mike Blabac’s first book, Blabac Photo: The Art of Skateboarding Photography, which documents 20 years of skateboarding history as witnessed through Blabac’s lens. Blabac’s limited-edition sneaker, the Blabac Azure Mid, will also be on display to compliment the project and pay homage to Mike’s decade of service as DC Shoes’ exclusive skate photographer. This exhibition will feature the work of skateboarding’s most respected photographers, editors, and icons... This 'who’s who' of skateboarding provided previously unrecorded intimate details and inside stories about the iconic images featured throughout the book." Additional info here.
Date: Wednesday, July 1st - Sunday, August 3rd Time: 12:30pm - 1:30pm Location: The Bryant Park Reading Room (42nd Street btwn the back of the NYPL & 6th Ave by burgundy and white umbrellas) Cost: Free
Word for Word continues at Bryant Park this week and carries on through August. Today's subject is "Heavy Rotation: Twenty Writers on the Albums That Changed Their Lives by Peter Terzian with contributors: Joshua Ferris, Clifford Chase, Stacey D'Erasmo, Asali Solomon and John Jeremiah Sullivan, who will also perform music from the book with his band Fayaway. In this extraordinary anthology, twenty of our most acclaimed contemporary writers pay homage to the record albums that inspired them. Pearl Jam and The Smiths are but a few of the motivating bands in this unforgettable celebration of the unique and essential relationship between life and music."
Date: Wednesday, July 1st Time: 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:30pm Location: Chashama Performance Window (266 West 37th St.) Cost: Free
"Scalp Lock is a live, mixed-modality performance including contemporary dance, traditional Native American concepts, puppetry, and structured improvisation. Shown for the first time at chashama, SCALP LOCK explores lines of social, spiritual, ethnic, and environmental connection through the metaphor of the Native American braid. Choreographer Donna Laila Ahmadi performs as the soloist, adorned with a round decorative porcupine and deer hair roach or headpiece and four 20-foot long braids, manipulated by 2-3 dancers...Scalp Lock was generated from experience, remembrance, storytelling and inspired by the life and teachings of Tarin Chaplin."
Date: Wednesday, July 1st Time: 6:00pm- 10:00pm Location: Muse Games Offices (213 West 35th, #806) Cost: Free
Social Sauce has finally launched their new gaming site, MuseGames.com (with some pretty cool 3D browser games FYI), and are inviting gaming fanatics in the NYC area to come out to their biweekly Game Night at the Muse offices complete with consoles, board games, network games, and of course, Muse Games – with a mini-tournament for movie tix at the end of each night. Plus, there's some some free soda/beer and pizza for everyone.
Date: Wednesday, July 1st Time: 6:30pm Location: Chelsea Mind Games (75th 9th Ave, in the main mall area near the waterfall) Cost: Free
Its another edition of Chelsea Mind Games, everyone's favorite shipping market variety show! Hosted by Jennifer Dziura, tonight's edition features a vocabulary tournament including synonyms round, "use these three words in a sentence," and other challenges. Hosted by comedian Jen Dziura and librarian Jonathan Lill. Open to all. Come early for the warm-up or arrive by 7:15 for the main event. Only 20 can compete and the winner gets $40 cash.
Date: Wednesday, July 1st Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Dutch Kills Gallery (37-24 24th St. Suite 402, LIC) Cost: Free
"Join Dutch Kills Gallery for their inaugural monthly video jam open to all who show up with their own projector." Honestly that's all we know. But a bunch of people, with a bunch of projectors, sounds like it could be fun.
Date: Wednesday, July 1st Time: 10:00pm Location: Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, bet. Bleecker & Houston) Cost: Free
Theatre of Fools is a live music showcase on the first Wednesday of each month. he show is hosted by the incredible BPC Artist in Residence and only two-time Mr. Lower East Side, Moonshine Shorey, who will be at the bar giving out free raffle prizes and serving up drink specials all night long. "It’s a night of non-stop fun featuring live music from Chelsea Lynn LaBate, Danielles Sounds. The Fools and host Sean T. Hanratty
Date: Thursday, July 2nd Time: 6:00pm Location: Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern (714 West 11th Ave) Cost: Free with RSVP Open Bar: Sweat Tea Vodka drinks
In honor of their second birthday Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern offers you free Sweat Tea Vodka drinks as well as deals on food and drink throughout the night. Be sure to RSVP!
"McCaig-Welles Gallery is pleased to present Little Creatures, a group exhibition curated by Megan Hays. Selecting works from among the artists represented by the gallery and from among her peers, the curator sought out emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of media to participate in her curatorial debut. Inspired by the Talking Heads' song 'Creatures of Love', the works chosen for the exhibition are imbued with an adult sense of wonder: dealing particularly with themes of love, sex, responsibility and consequence.While facing a present in which many of us have seen our paychecks dwindle and in some cases stop altogether, our lives march on with the volatility of our relationships remaining intact. In spite of all the practical contingencies of our daily lives, the responsibility implicit in the joys of childbirth and in the grief of death remains unaltered. little creatures seeks to show the artists' vision of the emotional landscape in an endeavor that is invariably topical."
Date: Thursday, July 2nd Time: 7:00pm (6:00pm gates) Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (9th St. and Prospect Park West, Park Slope) Cost: Free ($3 suggested)
The Latin Grammy-winning Puerto Rican pop star Obie Bermúdez, whom The Houston Chronicle calls “a talent on par with Juanes or Alejandro Sanz,” headlines this triple bill, joined by Yerba Buena singer Cucu Diamantes, whose music is a unique mix of “salsa, funk, cumbia, hip-hop, pop-punk, mariachi, tango, disco and flamenco…just for starters” (The New York Times). Opening the show will be the activist hip-hop outfit Rebel Diaz, whose frontwoman is the mesmerizing rhymer Lah Tere.
Date: Thursday, July 2nd Time: 7:30pm Location: JLA Studios (63 Pearl St. btwn Water and Front, Dumbo) Cost: Free
"Gelf's Varsity Letters sports reading series returns on Thursday, July 2, at 7:30 p.m, with a night dedicated to baseball. At this free monthly event in DUMBO, Brooklyn, hosted by Gelf and Jan Larsen Art, Scott Price, Selena Roberts, and members of the New York Daily News sports investigative team will read from and talk about their work, and take questions. Price has the wrenching tale of the life and death of a minor-leaguer. Roberts will speak about her controversial biography of Alex Rodriguez. And the Daily News team will discuss its exposé of Roger Clemens and steroids in baseball."
Date: Thursday, July 2nd Time: 9:00pm Location: Karma (51 First Avenue btwn 3rd & 4th Sts., downstairs) Cost: Free
Come down to Karma on Thursday for a one-time only, all-night mock prom-slash-dance party! Join your pals from 'Don't Touch Me There' and dance to the greatest hits of the '80s (and early 90s) ane relive the most awkward moments of your teenage years! Enjoy lots of cheap drink specials, makeout with fellow drunk people, and Party all the time!
Date: Friday, July 3rd Time: 3:00pm - 10:00pm Location: Art Land Bar (609 Grand St.) Cost: Free
"Back by extreme popular demand. On Friday, July 3, 2009 Beats & BBQ returns for some early Independence Day cheer to offer you the same sweet combo of Soulful Dance Music, BBQ and you! In the neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. July 3, is a observance holiday which means no work! The Lineup will be: Jose G (Pre Party Radio), Ali Coleman (Voice of Voices NYC), Siren (Save the Robots), Ruby Red (Ruby Time), Jedi 9 (Artland NYC), Chris Miller (Artland NYC), Dawn Anesta (Soul Fire). Featuring the grilling expertise by Kiss the Cook."
Date: Fridays throughout the Summer Time: 9:30pm Location: Coney Island (the Boardwalk btwn West 10th & West 12th Street) Cost: Free
Continuing a 100-year-old tradition, Coney Island will again host free fireworks shows every Friday night at 9:30 pm this summer through Labor Day. And what's better than fireworks? Seeing them from 150 feet up, on top of the NYC landmark Wonder Wheel.
Date: Friday, July 3rd Time: 10:00pm Location: Webster Hall (125 East 11th St bet 3rd and 4th Ave) Cost:$1 before midnight with RSVP
Adam Freeland has been a breakbeat pioneer for the past decade. With his Marine Breaks label, he has launched and supported careers from the Bassbin Twins to Evil Nine (as well as his own). Recently, he's turned his attention towards live music ventures with is Freeland project but tonight he gets behind the decks for a DJ set along with Peter Hood of New Order. See my note on Webster Hall below. 19+
Date: Friday, July 3rd Time: 10:00pm - 4:00am Location: APT (419 W 13th st) Cost: Free
Turntable Lab's disco-funk masters, Snack and C'Mish, take their EVR radio show into the club for Off the Record, and evening showcasing their favorite new music and upcoming DJ talent. Tonight they welcome David Azzoni (aka TKAT) - resident at Brooklyn’s Black Betty with Monk One - dropping his favorite vinyl selections. Expect a hot batch of soul, funk, latin, disco, and house hits to keep you dancing all night long. 21+
Date: Friday, July 4th Time: Event begins 10:00am, Contest begins 12:00pm Location: Nathan’s Famous (1310 Surf Avenue at Stillwell Ave.) Cost: Free
The world’s greatest eaters will compete at the historic Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island today. Japanese eating phenom Takeru Kobayashi will attempt to regain his title against two time reigning champ, America's Joey Chestnut. At 10am the pre-game kicks of with performances, 11am is the introduction of eaters and then at 12pm the contest begins.
Date: Friday, July 4th Time: 2:00pm - 2:00am Location: littlefield (622 Degraw St. between 3rd and 4th Ave, Gowanus) Cost: Free
Get ready for a day of wild fun and discoveries in the Gowanus as littlefield declares independence from the 4th of July boredom. Expect prizes, bbq, djs, free booze and a super festive good time at this combo scavenger hunt and party. Hunt starts at 2pm and party lasts all night. Click here to get on the hunt list.
Date: Friday, July 4th Time: 4:00pm - 10:00pm Location: East River from 42nd St to the Statue of Liberty Cost: Free
Cousin Cole and Benny B celebrate America today with their Thighs High BBQ. Think tasty BBQ in the Huckleberry back yard (not free), some free Jim Beam starting at 4 and, of course, beats from the boys. 21+
Date: Saturday, July 4th Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm Location: Open Source Gallery (251 17th St., P'Slope) Cost: Free
"In a collaborative effort with New York City public school children, Kylin O'Brien is painting giant monsters around the city. This summer, in conjunction with a solo show at the Open Source Gallery (reception: July 4th) and thanks to a Regrant from the Brooklyn Arts Council in association with the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, more monsters will crawl out from under the beds of city kids and onto the streets of Brooklyn." Celebrate local children's art with food, crafts, music, fun, and free drinks. More info on the Monster Project here.
Date: Friday, July 4th Time: 9:00pm (usually) Location: East River from 42nd St to the Statue of Liberty Cost: Free
It's long standing FreeNYC tradition to spend July 4th surrounded in beer cans and BBQ down at the Jersey shore. This year however we're keeping the boozing local in order to get a glimpse of the infamous Macy's Independence Day fireworks. This year's stripped down show sets off on the Hudson River - much to our Brooklyn lovin' dismay - between 24th to 57th Streets. Click here for official details and viewing locations.
Date: Saturday, July 4th Time: 10:00pm - 4:00am Location: Public Assembly (70 N 6th, W'burg) Cost: Free
"Brooklyn Underground Sounds United! 4 DJ's sharing the decks to bring the rhythms to you! After the fireworks, the real show... DJ's DRM (Bastard Jazz), Nappy G (TurntablesOnTheHudson/Bagpak), Concerned (SoulSearching) and Shepdog (NiceUp!/U.K.) Spinning Breaks, Beats, Afro, Latin, Hiphop, Mashups, Electro. Reggae, Classics and more... good ol'-fashioned party music!"
Date: Late Saturday night - Sunday, July 5th Time: 12:04am - 7:00pm Location: 255 Mckibbin Street Cost: Free
This is an outdoor community event for all ages that begins late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning) and features performances from all of the following: Ninjasonik, Airborn Audio(ninjatune), Maluca(mad decent), Os Crunc Tesla Vampirekiller Arc (ekler'o'shock/tigerbeat6), Follower feat. Bunny Rabbit, No Surrender, dj Empress, Fisheye,dj Duane, The Baddys, Shock Cinema, Rosetta Stoned, dj Jedi, Rig1, Le Le, Omega Moon, dj Gravy, Anton Glamb, Bridget Barkan, K-Swift, Tigga Calore, Ryan Sawyer, Leif, Zack Shadetek (Warp), Spazecrafte, Mindbender, Kiryl Olos, Philistine, Moto, Cobra Attack, Zone 3, Monica Sharp, Lodeck, dj Teenwolf, Devang Shah, NARA, Plasticity feat. Windy Hill Mill, Ver6, Oddfellow, Swiss Knights, Forest City Band, Mr. Baby, Mr. Andersonic, Graffiti Monsters, First City and DJ Otomi.
Date: Late Saturday night - Sunday, July 5th Time: 12:04am - 7:00pm Location: 255 Mckibbin Street Cost: Free
This is an outdoor community event for all ages that begins late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning) and features performances from all of the following: Ninjasonik, Airborn Audio(ninjatune), Maluca(mad decent), Os Crunc Tesla Vampirekiller Arc (ekler'o'shock/tigerbeat6), Follower feat. Bunny Rabbit, No Surrender, dj Empress, Fisheye,dj Duane, The Baddys, Shock Cinema, Rosetta Stoned, dj Jedi, Rig1, Le Le, Omega Moon, dj Gravy, Anton Glamb, Bridget Barkan, K-Swift, Tigga Calore, Ryan Sawyer, Leif, Zack Shadetek (Warp), Spazecrafte, Mindbender, Kiryl Olos, Philistine, Moto, Cobra Attack, Zone 3, Monica Sharp, Lodeck, dj Teenwolf, Devang Shah, NARA, Plasticity feat. Windy Hill Mill, Ver6, Oddfellow, Swiss Knights, Forest City Band, Mr. Baby, Mr. Andersonic, Graffiti Monsters, First City and DJ Otomi.
Date: Sunday, July 5th Time: 2:00pm Location: Washington Square Park Cost: Free
NYLaughs brings comedy to the streets all summer long with their Laughter in the Park series. Tonight they welcome Hannibal Buress and and a series of other comedians to Washington Square Park. Bio Below. All Ages
ool, confident and intelligent, comedian HANNIBAL BURESS has earned both the honor of performing at the Montreal "Just For Laughs" Festival and the well-earned respect of his peers, who regard him as one of the brightest young talents to emerge from the city of Chicago. A natural storyteller who can captivate a room with his words alone, Hannibal generates huge laughs with the laidback, quirky observations that have become his trademark style.
Hannibal's stories have led to appearances on "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham." Several major publications have taken note of Hannibal's ascent as Time Out Magazine named him the 2007 "Funniest Person in Chicago" and New York Magazine listed him as one of their top ten "Comics to Watch."
In addition to performing at clubs and colleges around the country, Hannibal is one of the featured subjects in director Victor Varnado's documentary about unconventional black comedians, "The Awkward Kings of Comedy." His as-yet-untitled debut CD, recently recorded at The Lakeshore Theater in Chicago, will be released by Grammy Award-winning Stand Up! Records. Visit: www.hannibalburess.com for more info.
Born to singer Aminata Diakité, Oumou Sangare is a Malian musician known as "The Songbird of Wassoulou.” She writes and composes her songs to bring about social awareness, especially concerning the place of women within society. Since 1990, she has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world: the Melbourne Opera, Roskilde festival, Festival d'Essaouira and Opéra de la Monnaie of Brussels. Her 1989 album Moussoulou was an unprecedented West African hit and she has toured with artists such as Baaba Maal, Femi Kuti, and Boukman Eksperyans. Seya (Joy) is Sangare’s first album in six years and for her appearance at Central Park SummerStage she will be performing new songs joined by some very special guests.
Les Nubians is a Grammy-nominated “Afropean” R&B duo comprised of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart. The group has captivated audiences for a decade with their inventive and distinctive sound that embodies the timeless vibrations of Miriam Makeba, Ella Fitzgerald, Doudou N'diaye Rose, Fela Kuti, Edith Piaf, The Fugees, and Soul II Soul. Les Nubians is known for their jazzy nuances, hard hitting drum 'n' bass lines, harmonious melodies, and conscientious proclamations.
Born to Nigerian parents in Paris, France, Asa moved to Nigeria when she was just two years old. Immersed in the cultural and religious quagmire of her homeland, Asa became inspired by Afrobeat musicians like Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Lauryn Hill, Femi Kuti, and Angélique Kidjo at an early age. With a blossoming music career, Asa has created a unique sound that falls somewhere between pop, soul, and R&B, anchored by lyrics and melodies inspired by her African musical heritage.
Date: Monday, July 6th Time: 7:00pm Location: Barbes (376 9th St., Park Slope) Cost: Free
The Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series continues this evening with a new short and feature film. The short, The Lost World is "the life, demolition and reconstruction of the Kopaszi dam between 1998 and 2007. A mostly black & white 35mm documentary shot over ten years in a forgotten landscape in the center of Budapest. People living in houseboats and wooden houses, struggling against flood, snow and investors who want them to evict. The second part of The Dike of Transience. And the feature is Seaview. "An hour north of Dublin beside the sea is a bizarre looking collection of grey cement buildings with brightly painted doors, and rusting fairground rides. This is Mosney - Ireland’s Coney Island... A visit to Mosney today presents a radically different picture, but still a picture of escape...is now a camp of another kind, a holding center for asylum seekers from all corners of the globe. Here new residents wait years for the results of their asylum claims. Over three years, the filmmakers lived in Mosney, gaining the trust of the residents. Intensely close conversations reveal their individual stories, from the epic to the everyday."
Date: Monday, July 6th Time: Films begin at Dusk (about 8ish) Location: Bryant Park (40th and 42nd Sts & Fifth and Sixth Aves) Cost: Free
Bring your picnic baskets and pull up some lawn for an evening under the stars with the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. Every Monday throughout the summer HBO dusts off some classic movies and plays them on a big screen in Bryant Park. Tonight, get a peak at Dog Day Afternoon. "Al Pacino plays Sonny who needs money to pay for his boyfriend’s sex-change operation and decides to rob a bank to get it. Things go wrong and he’s soon bogged down in a long, drawn-out hostage situation. Sidney Lumet directed this gritty, darkly humorous drama set in Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year."
Date: Monday, July 6th - Wednesday, July 8th Time: 9:00pm Location: Washington Street between Spring Street and Canal Street, SoHo, Cost: Free; 40 person capacity
"Dario D'Ambrosi, an Italian auteur of theater and film, has created an original genre of live performance to be called 'The Drive-In Stage' sm and will inaugurate it July 6, 7 and 8 with the world premiere of his hour-long thriller, 'Night Lights.' Pathological Theater Conmpany, Inc. will present this site-specific performance for three performances only on the block between Washington Street between Spring Street and Canal Street in SoHo. The performance will be free for an audience that will be limited to 40 spectators each night. They will view the live action from within parked cars, listening with headsets. Theatergoers can drive their own cars (parking is free on the set!) or sit in passenger sedans to be provided by a sponsor."
The good folks who bring you the weekly Rock n Roll High party kick off a new Monday weekly event tonight celebrating rock, punk, glam and hair metal. Personality Crisis features Michael T and Twig the wonder kid DJing all night while Go-Go dancers dance it up on dance boxes. Plus, there's and open vodka bar from 1-1:30 and drink specials throughout the night. 21+
In addition to the open vodka bar, there will be a $2 well (rum, vodka, whiskey) bar from 11pm-midnight and a $5 PBR tallboy with a shot of whiskey special all night.
Date: Tuesday, July 7th Time: 6:30pm Location: Roosevelt Island Branch of the New York Public Library (524 Main Street) Cost: Free
"More than 12 million of our grandparents and relatives gained entry to freedom and the opportunity to seek their fortune when they reached Ellis Island. Learn the fascinating history of the gateway to America, in a presentation by Judith McAlpin, President of Save Ellis Island, Inc. The restored Ferry Terminal Building is only part of the island's architecture. There were extensive hospital facilities, with two general hospitals housing doctors' offices, operating rooms, fluoroscopy (predecessor to x-rays) rooms, contagious disease wards and other operational areas, and other buildings." Just a note, even though this is about Ellis Island, this talk will be held on Roosevelt Island.
Date: Tuesday, July 7th Time: 6:30pm Location: Tenement Museum Shop (108 Orchard Street) Cost: Free with RSVP
"It is December 1873 and a brother and sister are found dead at in New York’s most notorious, criminal-infested neighborhood. Can you help bring the killer to justice? Historic characters – a landlord, a shop owner, a streetwalker – bring you into the Tenement Museum and around the neighborhood to solve a murder based on the real-life Ryan Case. Carlo D’Amore is an actor, educator, and playwright with over twenty years experience in the theater."
Date: Tuesday, July 7th Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Location: Nola Studios (250 W 54th St.) Cost: Free
"Free dance classes first Tuesdays and Thursdays of every month. In recession times you don’t need to be spend to have a quick intro to salsa and Afro Cuban dances... Salsa class focuses on Cuban styles casino rueda and son, with exercises of footwork, turns and rhythm. The Afro Cuban dance class includes orishas dance, rumba, arara and congo dances, an amazing workout without the work. Salsa classes start at 7 and Afro Cuban at 8 in every location."
Date: Tuesday, July 7th Time: 7:00pm Location: Spike Hill (184 Bedford Avenue, W'burg) Cost: Free
"The wildly popular Brooklyn literary & musical series, Stained Glass Confessional, is thrilled to announce that they're back with a new hostess - Glennis Mcmurray (I Eat Pandas, The New Electric Company & Conan O'Brien.) After losing their home at Stain Bar, SGC is relocating to Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg at Spike Hill... Curator Janice Brabaw has pulled together a showcase featuring the best of the best in New York City performer poets and musicians... The show is also the release party for the second volume of STAIN, an anthology of Stained Glass Confessional Alums. There will be an open mic where featured authors will be reading their submissions to the book." Full details after the jump.
The wildly popular Brooklyn literary & musical series, STAINED GLASS CONFESSIONAL, is thrilled to announce that they're back with a new hostess - GLENNIS MCMURRAY (I Eat Pandas, The New Electric Company & Conan O'Brien.)
After losing their home at Stain Bar, SGC is relocating to Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg at SPIKE HILL (184 Bedford Ave, L Train to Bedford.) Curator JANICE BRABAW has pulled together a showcase featuring the best of the best in New York City performer poets and musicians. The 7.7.09 line up will feature:
Poets REINA M. MIRANDA, JANICE BRABAW, PUMA PERL & TARA BETTS as well as musicians MIKE MARCELLINO & BILL BAKER!
The show is also the release party for the second volume of STAIN, an anthology of Stained Glass Confessional Alums. There will be an open mic where featured authors will be reading their submissions to the book.
Some artists who have contributed to the anthology include: CAROLINE BERGER, LUIS BERNARD, TARA BETTS, JANICE BRABAW, JEN BUSH, DELANA R.A. DAMERON, STEPHANIE DARROW, TIM FREEMAN, THOMAS FULCARO, DAVID LAWTON, MIKE MARCELLINO, REINA MIRANDA, PUMA PERL, AMEILIA TERRY, JESSICA REED, ANGEL THOMPSON GEORGES, AMI UZI, LORI WILLIAMS & BORIS ZILBERMAN.
Date: Tuesday, July 7th Time: 9:00pm Location: World Financial Center - Winter Garden (220 Vesey Street) Cost: Free
Summer moves right along with more free outdoor performances this time as part of River to River at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. "Scanner composes multi-layered sonic pieces that traverse the experimental terrain between sound and form. Mountains create hypnotic soundscapes by blending electronic noise and acoustic instruments."
Date: Wednesday, July 6th Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Location: Fontana's (105 Eldridge St.) Cost: Free Open Bar: Palm Ale, 6-8
NFT (Not For Tourists) is throwing a bash tonight in honor of their new iphone app. There's two hours of free Palm beer, lots of free guidebooks, and assorted other drink specials. 21+
Date: Wednesday, July 8th TIme: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Location: The Tank (354 West 45th St.) Cost: Free
"Reading and Laughing Liberally invite you to... A Joint Event on Drugs in America
with the author of This is Your Country on Drugs [...] Join author Ryan Grim as he hits the stage for a discussion of the highlights of his new book, This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret of Getting High in America, which the Philadelphia City Paper described as 'a wide-ranging, fascinating romp through the history of America's insatiable appetite for all manner of drugs, from opium to crystal meth, all the way up to the possibly soon-to-be-illegal hallucinogen Salvia divinorum.' Grim will be joined by two Laughing Liberally regulars, Harry Terjanian and Costaki Economopoulos. The comedians will pipe in on the grass-roots trends of drugs in our country."
Date: Wednesday, July 8th TIme: 6:30pm - 7:30pm Location: American Folk Art Museum (2 Lincoln Square) Cost: Free
Need an after-work activity? How about a free Jazz show? The concert features Yvette Glover, Benny Powell, Michael Max Fleming and Bill Wurtzel and accompanies the exhibit Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition Contemporary African American Quilts which runs until October 11th.
Date: Wednesday, July 8th TIme: 7:00pm Location: Whiskey River (575 2nd Ave.) Cost: Free
"You've seen all the news reports...heard all the jokes...and paid your last respects...but
Don't stop til you get enough! Now it's time to celebrate King of Pop-style! This Wednesday, we present our Tribute to MJ!! Get out your white gloves and moon-walking shoes and come to the bar dressed as MJ! Whether you look like Billy Jean, Wacko Jacko, or a Smooth Criminal you'll get a free beer, and the person with the best costume will win a $100 bar tab! Those of you who have some balls behind that crotch grab, can participate in a Thriller dance-off or choreograph a special tribute RockBand performance!"
Date: Wednesday, July 8th TIme: 7:30pm Location: Parkside Lounge (317 E. Houston St.) Cost: Free
"NYC comedians Brendan McLaughlin and David Smithyman are sick of playing slick, overpriced shows at Midtown comedy clubs. So sick, in fact, that they've teamed up to produce a show that’s completely the opposite. With a lineup made up of funny, clever people who won’t berate the audience and rip on minorities, it's bound to be a good, healthy, hilarious time for everyone. This month's stellar lineup includes: Christian Finnegan (Chappelle's Show, VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central), Jena Friedman, Kyle Supley, Harrison Greenbaum, Brooke Van Poppelen. Check out werenicepeople.com for more info!"
Date: Wednesday, July 8th Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
On top of getting to watch movies overlooking Hudson River on beautiful summer nights, the other thing I like about River Flicks is that every year they pick a central theme for their screenings. This year's they "know what you did last summer" and screen films released in 2008. Tonight's film is Robert Downey Jr.'s mega blockbuster Iron Man.
Date: Wednesdays Time: 10:00pm Location: The Skinny (174 Orchard St.) Cost: Free Open Bar: Vodka 11 - 11:30pm, 2 - 2:30am
Tired of the same old DJ sets? Then check out Rock n' Roll High. Decorated like a high school prom gone wild,
Rock n Roll High is a new, weekly, rock based dance party featuring DJ's Michael T (Rated x / Motherfu¢#&er) and Ilan spinning everything from Chuck Berry to the Ramones (oldies). The Party has 4 new Go-Go girls adding a fun energy to the mix, and Mr. Photog from Going.com is taking pictures of it all. 21+
Date: Thursday, July 9th Time: 6:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Rabbit Hole Studio (33 Washington Street, Dumbo) Cost: Free
"Umuzi is a photo club for primary and secondary school learners in Soweto and other developing communities around Johannesburg, South Africa. Please join us to view the arresting images of Johannesburg township life, taken by children in the program... Admission is free. High quality prints will be on sale with all proceeds going towards funding projects at the children’s schools, which sorely need basic infrastructure. We are also holding a used camera donation drive, and ask you to bring along any old digital cameras you no longer use. Blue Point Brewing Company will be sponsoring the event. Snacks will be served."
Date: Thursday, July 9th Time: 7:30pm Location: WORD Brooklyn (126 Franklin Street, BK) Cost: Free
A reading tonight at Word in Brooklyn features "Douglas Martin, the author of the newly-published Once You Go Back from Seven Stories, writes in his new book about the children of a transplanted working-class family dealing with violence, their own budding sexuality, and the strain of a home breaking apart." Also reading is "Lee Stringer, author of Grand Central Winter and Like Shaking Hands with God (with Kurt Vonnegut), writes in his memoir Sleepaway School about the longing for family, his own experiences growing up in the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls home for at-risk kids, and the challenges of growing up within an extremely non-traditional institutional home."
Date: Thursday, July 9th Time: 9:00pm - 10:00pm Location: Mercury Bar (493 3rd Ave., btwn 33rd & 34th St.) Cost: Free with RSVP
Who doesn't love free beer? Mercury Bar is well aware of this fact as they offer up free Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, PBR Drfts and well drinks from 9:00pm to 10:00pm. Be sure to RSVP!
Date: Fridays Time: 4:00pm - 8:00pm Location: Museum of Modern Art (11 W 53rd St.) Cost: Free
The MoMA kicks its doors open for free every Friday night compliments of the good folks at Target. This is a great chance to see some of the city's best art on the cheap and a nice way to wind down the work week. No tickets are available in advance for this one, just show up. For a list of the current exhibitions, click here.
Date: Fridays Time: 5:00pm - late Location: Concrete (320 W 37th St btw 8th and 9th Aves) Cost: Free
I've been spending a lot of time in midtown lately (which to me means anything above 14th St, really)... a part of the city that is typically devoid of (1) cheap lunches and (2) tolerable happy hour spots. Well, I'll let you in on a secret. end your work week with my favorite midtown happy hour at Robert Cangelosi's tapas lounge, Concrete. Sip on $3 beers and $5 martinis (til 8) and then DJ Ian Urgo spins hip hop, soul, and after-work classics to ease you into the weekend. Food is available but don't let the laid back vibe fool you, a dance party can erupt at any time! 21+
Date: Friday July 10th - Sunday July 12th Time: 6pm-10pm, 1pm-10pm, 11am-6pm Location: Solar 1 (Stuyvesant Cove Park, 2420 FDR Drive & East River) Cost: Free
NYC's first green energy, arts and education center, Solar One, kicks off their annual 3-day, sustainability festival today. Continuing all weekend, CitySol gives NYC residents and visitors the opportunity to experience a zero-waste, carbon-free event where all materials are recycled or reused and all electronic equipment is powered by the photovoltaic panels on the Solar 1 roof. Festival-goers can dance, listen to bands, drink beer, play games and learn about strategies and technologies that are already available to help make the transition to a more sustainable world. Check below for the weekend's line-up that includes live music, spoken word, and educational workshops. All Ages.
FRIDAY JULY 10 at 6 PM: Citysol Party for a Solar-Powered NY
6:30 PM— “Mr. Lower East Side” Moonshine Shorey- Beautiful human being and spoken word god brings his band Jen & the Moon to the party.
7:00 PM — The Alien Comic- Legendary downtown one-man recycling circus.
8:00 PM — DJs from Home Base Collective- Dance dance dance.
PLUS Solar Racecar Design Competition. Join the I Heart PV campaign and get a drink on us!
SATURDAY JULY 11 at 12 PM: Live Music Day Co-Curated by Digiwaxx
12:45 PM — Lower East Side alterna-duo Schwervon!
1:45 PM — Electronica dreamscapers Love Like Deloreans
2:45 PM — Hip-hop/soul artiste Outasight
3:45 PM — Repeat offender/harmonium virtuoso Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers
4:45 PM — Brooklyn punk brothers So So Glos
5:15 PM — The Fabulous Ihsan
5:30PM— Turntable prodigy DJ Spinna
6:00PM— Hip-hop activists Dead Prez
6:30 PM— Underground hero Saigon
6:45PM— Fashion, dance and rap triple threat O’Neal McKnight
7:15 PM — Experimental sextet Hi Red Center
8:15 PM — Teen instrumental sensation Fiasco
SUNDAY JULY 12 at 11AM : Kids of All Ages Day
11:30 PM — Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
12:30 PM — Just Food- Learn the ancient art of fruit canning!
1:30 PM — Solar One- Check out the Solar One bike blender project, buy a bike-blended smoothie and learn about bike mechanics!
2:30 PM — The Madagascar Institute- Make your own generator; you have the power!
3:30 PM — Band of Bicycles- Bicycle-powered spin art for kids of all ages.
4:30 PM — Wide Open Eco-Pet Fashion Show- Dress up your pet in an eco-extravagant costume to die for! Use found, reclaimed, reused and recycled materials to show off your creativity and your pet’s fabulousness! Win a Big Blue Ribbon! Hosted by performance elf Reverend Jen!
Date: Friday, July 10th Time: 6:30pm Gates, 7:30pm Show Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th St., P'Slope) Cost: Free ($3 Suggested Donation)
Celebrate Brooklyn continues tonight at the Prospect Park Bandshell. A featured performance as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC), this double bill brings together two great South American acts. The Venezuelan party band Los Amigos Invisibles and the Colombian national heroes Aterciopelados.
Date: Fridays Time: 7:00pm Location: Whitney Museum (945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street) Cost: pay-what-you-wish
"Fun, bold and unpredictable, Whitney Live showcases an eclectic variety of cutting-edge performers." Tonight features Titus Andronicus, a Glen Rock, New Jersey,punk-infused Replacements-esque pop band with screaming vocals, layered guitars, and songs about suburban malaise.
Date: Friday, July 10th Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
The folks over at Hudson River Park keep calling this RiverFlicks for Kids, but we're really into a bunch of these movies, so either the films are also for grown ups, or we just like kid stuff. Tonight's kid flick is the classic The Wizard of Oz. "Follow Dorothy as she meets new friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion as they travel down the Yellow Brick Road in search of the great and powerful OZ!"
Date: Saturday, July 11th Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm Location: Tip Top Shoe Building, 155 West 72nd Street, 4th Floor Cost: Free admission
The Music Memorabilia Show show is back with "Jazz Concert Posters of Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and many more. Rock and roll rarities feature LPs and 45rpm records of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jim Morrison, The Beach Boys, The Who, The Rolling Stones, et al. Rhythm and blues classics... Country legends… Big bands" and more.
Date: Saturday, July 11th Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm Location: At Cuyler Gore Park (Corner of Greene Ave and Fulton St., Fort Green) Cost: Free
"The 4th Annual Gender Equality Festival is here! New this year, the festival is moving to Cuyler Gore Park in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. Join us for an exciting day of education, resource sharing, arts and recreation as we celebrate women’s advocacy, resilience and leadership! The festival will feature live music, dance, spoken word, and theater by established and emerging artists. We will also feature a Youth Forum to highlight young activists working for equality and health across the city! Visit our resource fair, with 30 community and youth organizations providing health services, testing, and education – proving the fight for women’s rights is alive and fierce!" Participants after the jump.
Participating Organizations:
Afrikumba Utibe' Drummers, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Bailey's Café, Bed Stuy's Project Re-Generation, Inc., Brooklyn Public Library, CAMBA, Child Development Support Corporation, Children of Promise, NYC, Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment, Disabilities Network of New York City, The Door, Gay Mens Health Crisis, Harlem United, SESA Program, Community AIDS Center, Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT Program), International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC), NARAL Pro-Choice New York, New York Civil Liberties Union, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, RightRides for Women's Safety, Stay Right in association with Collaborative Movements, The Hip-Hop Association
Date: Saturday, July 11th Time: All Day Location: Various Cost: Free
Every year on July 11th (7/11 get it?) 7-Eleven celebrates their birthday by giving away Free Slurpees!!! And today on their 82nd birthday they will give away 7.11 ounce slurpees at over 6,000 locations. Find a store here.
Date: Saturday, July 11th Time: 1:00pm - 7:00pm Location: SUCRE Jazz and Coffee Lounge (520 Dekalb, Bed Stuy) Cost: Free
This afternoon check out jazz trumpeter Scotty Barnhart who just released his debut album called 'Say It Plain' featuring Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Clark Terry, Rodney Jordan, Jamie Davis and others. BBQ, special rum punch and listening party for Scotty Barnhart's album mixed and blended by two jazz enthused dj's- DJ Domewrecka and DJ Lovolution.
Calle 13, fronted by Puerto Rican half-brothers Residente and Visitante, has revolutionized reggaeton and urban music. Since they first emerged, they've been pushing the envelope with witty, ironic, and controversial lyrics, and experimenting with different rhythms like cumbia and Balkan music. En vivo, Calle 13 is as energetic and eclectic as their music, performing with a full band that's guaranteed to get the park perreando. All Ages.
Singer-songwriter Bebe wowed fans in her native Spain and across Latin America with her debut album Pafuera Telarañas back in 2005, but soon disappeared from the scene, claiming that she didn't plan on making more music for a while. But now she's back, and sounding better than ever! Be among the first to check out her new material...
Date: Saturday, July 11th Time: 4:00pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th Street) Cost: Free
"Brooklyn’s legendary alternative rockers They Might Be Giants are, of course, also now recognized among the foremost creators of cool kids’ albums. Billboard calls them 'the ultimate fan- and now family-friendly rock act.' TMBG’s most recent disc, Here Come the 123s, won them the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Children's Album. They return to the Bandshell to headline this year’s annual Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert, which will also feature readings of Keats’ classic stories by WFUV’s Claudia Marshall. The event will also include a special appearance by Livable Streets Education’s big purple friend, ZoZo."
Date: Saturdays through August Time: 4:30pm Location: Prospect Park (5th Street off Prospect Park West, next to Litchfield Villa) Cost: Free
Life on a Desert Island, an interactive guide to surviving the wilderness and respecting the environment based on Daniel Defoe’s 1719 classic story of Robison Crusoe, will be performed as a one-man outdoor spectacle play Saturdays throught the Summer. Premiering this weekend, the show will continue performances throughout the summer and is free and open to the general public. No tickets or reservations will be needed. Audiences are welcome to bring blankets and folding chairs. More below.
Robinson Crusoe, an English adventurer, finds himself the only survivor of a shipwreck on an island off the coast of Trinidad. Crusoe must find a way to survive on the island and overcome his fear of solitude. "Life on a Desert Island" is more than just the story of the adventures of a bearded man stranded on an island; it is also a spectacle about civilization. In his adventure in the wilderness, he follows the path from gatherer of plants, to hunter, to farmer and to craftsman. You will see skills that Crusoe conquers: how to identify edible plants, how make a shelter, a bow and arrow, a net, a trap, how to plant crops, and how to make a boat. The play is truly an adventure that addresses the eternal questions: how does one overcome silence, loneliness, fear, and how does one become a persevering and responsible person? "Life on a Desert Island" is a guide about surviving the wilderness and unity with the environment. The play is a timely reminder of how perilous life can be and how resourceful we can become in the face of adversity.
“Life on a Desert Island” has been adapted from Defoe’s popular novel by the playwright Ugljesa Sajtinac, one of the most acclaimed playwrights of the young generation of Serbian artists. In this production the role of Robinson Crusoe will be played by both Samuel Kirk and Jason Vance as they rotate the role of the adventurer in the multiple performances around the city.
J-POP looks at a new Japanese aesthetic of playful invention from the material and imagined realities of everyday life. Yuko Oda’s work explores a hybrid and supernatural world of insects and nature through both her drawing and 3D animation works. Hiroki Otsuka’s manga styled paintings depict a fantasy of Hans Bellmer-esque girls in rapturous forms. Mariko Suzuki’s intricate ink and acrylic drawings depict a Ukiyo-e like landscape of an imaginary dystopia. Yuko Suzuki’s wood cutouts depict a world through a child’s perspectives and a narrative of innocence and resistance to conform.
Date: Sunday, July 12th Time: 12:00pm - 5:00 am Location: Gansevoort St. btw. 9th Ave and Washington St.) Cost: Free
The heart of the revitalized Meatpacking District will erupt with a unique celebration perfectly suited to mark the opening of New York City’s newest and most innovative green space – the High Line – during the Target High Line Street Festival this afternoon. This free festival will feature internationally acclaimed artists, inflatable sculptures, cowboys, story-tellers and performances byThe Hungry Marching Band, Zon Del Barrio, and Michael Aranella and his Dreamland Orchestra bands (some on a roof-top stage). An exciting array of hands-on activities including a special Target “Hi from the High Line!” photo experience, along with the World’s Largest Lemonade Stand and a special Youth Green Market showcasing the healthiest and tastiest foods, along with corn roasting and cider making workshops from local providers add even more fun to the day’s activities. Internationally-acclaimed balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth will be on hand working on a large public balloon sculpture of flowers and giant insects, and Peter Brown, author of the Curious Garden, will do a reading from his children's book inspired by the High Line. All Ages.
Date: Sunday, July 12th Time: 12:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Littlefield (622 Degraw Street btwn 3rd and 4th Aves, BK) Cost: Free
"Hot Pot Brooklyn presents 7 Sundays, a multiform art and performance benefit series at Littlefield in Gowanus, Brooklyn. For seven Sundays beginning July 12 through August 23, the series will host a diverse mix of art, music and performance. Live musical talent includes Erin & Her Cello, The Woes, DJ Frenetik and sitar-stylist Dawoud. 7 Sundays will also feature local DJs, fashion shows, photography, short films, Nintendo Wii battles, an 'Art-Of'" timed competition for new media artists, and performance art ranging from dirty balloon sculptures and Capoeira to stand-up comedy by Scout Durwood of Mighty Little Productions." More details after the jump.
"Each event is free and all received donations go towards building Hot Pot—a cubicle-free, communal work + play creation space for independents and freelancers in the downtown Brooklyn area. 7 Sundays is family- and small dog-friendly, and Hot Pot will provide free BBQ and yummy eats at each event with occasional guest chefs including Josie Smith-Malave of Top Chef fame. This weekend, on July 12th, 7 Sundays kicks off with DJ Carpetbagger (Fanny Pack), Wii battles and the Found Art Auction.
To learn more about Hot Pot, visit http://www.hotpotbrooklyn.com or contact its founder, Tan Nguyen at tandannguyen@gmail.com. Visit Littlefield at http://www.littlefieldnyc.com, or better yet, check out the space at 622 DeGraw Street, Brooklyn."
Date: Sunday, July 12th Time: 1pm - 1am Location: Hotel Rivington Penthouse (107 Rivington St.) Cost: Free with RSVP
Plant music brings their big name jocks to this Sunday afternoon penthouse jam. Catch sets by Stretch Armstrong, Eli Escobar, Dominique and Kap10kurk while you rub elbows with some fancy folks. (PS. The penthouse has some sweet views of the city... may be a nice hangover cure but expect pricey drinks.) 21+
Date: Sunday, July 12th Time: 2:00pm Location: Washington Square Park Cost: Free
The Columbia Summer Winds is a New York City community wind band that strives to play the finest literature available, from orchestra transcriptions to classic Sousa marches; from Broadway show tunes to the most current movie soundtracks. The organization was founded in 2002 as a summer accompaniment to the Columbia University Wind Ensemble and is under the direction of Andy Pease. More information can be found at www.columbiasummerwinds.org. The 2009 season will include performances of music by composers such as George Gershwin, Percy Grainger, Richard Rogers, John Philip Sousa, and many others. Concerts are outdoors and weather permitting."
Lance Robertson, AKA DJ Lance Rock, is a Los Angeles-based musician, DJ, and actor also known for his role on the award-winning Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba!. Originally from St. Louis, Robertson was the vocalist for a local electronic band throughout the 1990’s. Later Robertson relocated and formed the indie rock band The Raymakers. While working on building their name, Robertson met Scottie Schultz of the Orange County indie pop band Majestic, and they eventually played a couple of shows together. Years later, when Schultz was co-creating the show Yo Gabba Gabba!, he asked Lance to serve as host, which he graciously accepted. This summer, DJ Lance Rock will bring his kid-friendly DJ sets to Central Park SummerStage and will be joined by fellow Yo Gabba Gabba! character Brobee.
Check out The Fresh Beat Band consisting of four best friends -- Marina, Kiki, Twist, and Shout -- who attend music school together and love to sing and dance. The foursome will star in an upcoming Nickelodeon TV series that teaches preschoolers about music appreciation and how to express their feelings through movement and song. Packed with hip, catchy songs, dynamic choreography, and clever storylines, the band will get the whole family singing and dancing.
Iza Trapani is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, with over twenty books to her credit. Her popular series of nursery rhyme extensions, including The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and I’m a little Teapot are widely used in schools and libraries across the U.S. and abroad. Her latest book, Rufus and Friends-Rhyme Time introduces a new series with a friendly pack of rhyming canines.
The puppeteers from the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, a program of City Parks Foundation, will be performing a special adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, adding modern twist to the classic fairytale. For this performance of the popular fable, Beautiful Princess Aurora and friends come to life in the setting of Central Park.
Date: Monday, July 13th Time: 7:30pm Location: AMC Lincoln Square (1998 Broadway @ 68th St.) Cost: Free with RSVP
Summer Scoops Live with The Wall Street Journal presents an advance screening of the 2009 Sundance favorite (500) Days of Summer, followed by a chat with director Marc Webb (in his feature-length directorial debut) and star Zooey Deschanel (“Elf,” “Yes Man”). Wall Street Journal Culture reporters John Jurgensen and Jamin Brophy-Warren will moderate. RSVP is a must, be sure to include name, bday and phone. Seating is limited, so early arrival is recommended.
Date: Monday, July 13th Time: 7:30pm Location: Pets’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St., Brooklyn) Cost: Free
Open City Dialogue (OCD) is a bi-monthly lecture series curated by Greenpoint resident James Hook, and unraveling on alternating Mondays in the backroom of Pete’s. Short (35-40 minute) lectures are woven together from the common thread of people’s obsessions, with guests coming from all over Greater New York. "Join David 'Get Your War On' Rees for a one-of-a-kind tutorial in how to win at games of chance. Mr. Rees will teach you how to win the lottery and how to win local neighborhood numbers games by picking the right numbers. He will explain which numbers pay out the best, which come up most often in lotteries, which numbers to avoid, etc. He will also tell people the 'must-know' nicknames that bookies use for various numbers... 'David Thomas Rees is a freelance wine consultant and budding fashion-industry insider. He used to make a cartoon called 'Get Your War On,' that combined bland clip art with outrageous 'trash talk' to incongruous effect, while baffling or disgusting some readers. He is currently looking for friends and business contacts . His motto is "Make that money, drink that wine."
Date: Monday, July 13th Time: Films begin at Dusk (about 8ish) Location: Bryant Park (40th and 42nd Sts & Fifth and Sixth Aves) Cost: Free
Bring your picnic baskets and pull up some lawn for an evening under the stars with the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. Every Monday throughout the summer HBO dusts off some classic movies and plays them on a big screen in Bryant Park. Tonight, check out the film How Green Was My Valley. "Winner of the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars (over 'Citizen Kane', this beautiful film is about a close-knit family in a Welsh mining village. John Ford directed the story, told through the eyes of a young Roddy McDowell, striking an incredible balance between moral seriousness and elegy.)
Date: Monday, July 13th Time: 8:00pm - 4:00am Location: Rockstar Bar (349 Kent St, bet S. 4th and S. 5th Sts) Cost: Free
"This just in: the most decrepit and run-down (and therefore awesome) place in Williamsburg, Rockstar Bar, is having another bike raffle. For just $1 you can get your hands on a French track bike. $2 Pints (16 oz) of PBR till midnight, air hockey, pool, "Titty Touch," a TV, an outdoor patio and free BBQ." [via MyOpenBar]
Date: Tuesday, July 14th Time: 7:00pm Location: Queensbridge Park, Queens (map) Cost: Free
Sugarhill Gang exploded onto the scene in 1979 with the multi-platinum mega-hit "Rapper's Delight" and is widely credited for popularizing hip hop. The infectious tune ranks number 248 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Tonight's CityParks Concerts performance also celebrates the Gang's 30th anniversary.
Date: Tuesday, July 14th Time: 8:00pm Location: Bell House (149 7th St bet 2nd and 3rd Aves, Gowanus) Cost: Free
Brooklyn's Secret Science Club is back with more mind-blowing lectures, ever-evolving cocktails, and fossil-friendly sounds. The Secret Science Club is a lecture and performance series that addresses all manner of scientific inquiry. Astronomers, physicists, marine biologists, neurobiologists, zoologists, mathematicians and more. Each night features a spirited investigation of science through lecture, experimentation, screenings, music, and readings followed by an often heated Q & A. Info on tonight's lecture, Evolution Revolution with Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, below.
The Secret Science Club presents Evolution Revolution: Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson—the discoverer of Lucy—lectures on Human Origins
As a species, Homo sapiens is a mere 250,000 years old (give or take). Where did humans come from? How did we evolve? And what were our ancestors like? One fossil find revolutionized the world's thinking about early human origins: In 1974 paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discovered the bones of Lucy—a 3.2-million-year-old early hominid—in the Afar region of Ethiopia. With about 40 percent of her skeleton intact, Lucy represented a new species, Australopithecus afarensis.
The founding director of the Institute for Human Origins, professor of paleoanthropology at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and author of the just-published Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins, Dr. Johanson joins the Secret Science Club to discuss his historic find and the latest discoveries in human evolution:
--What kinds of hominid species existed prior to humans?
--When did hominids begin to walk? To develop big brains?
--Have fossil hunters located the common ancestor of humans and chimps?
--Why is Homo sapiens the only hominid species that survives?
Before & After
--Groove to bone-jangling tunes and video
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A
--Try our cocktail of the night, the “I Love Lucy!”
Date: Tuesday, July 14th Time: 9:00pm Location: World Financial Center, Winter Garden Theatre (map) Cost: Free
Anthony Gonzalez, M83's chief stargazer, performs a special one-off ambient performance tonight. New York-based artist Janet Biggs begins the night with a screening of her short film, Vanishing Point.
Date: July 13, 15, 17 Time: 12:30pm (7:00pm on the 8th and 15th) Location: One Chase Manhattan Plaza Cost: Free
"Lower Manhattan Cultural Council continues their site-specific performance series, Sitelines, in July with Untitled Corner by Jonah Bokaer and Judith Sanchez Ruiz with Daniel Arsham. Celebrating its sixth anniversary, Sitelines 09 brings to life a highly energized program of provocative dance, set to inspiring imagery and unexpected surroundings. Performed at One Chase Manhattan Plaza, Untitled Corner is a collaboration examining memory loss, pattern recognition, and perceptual faculties as they apply to the human body in public space. Untitled Corner employs site-responsive architecture, objects, lighting, and other media to create the illusion of an expanded space. Original sound score by Alexis Georgopoulos/ARP.
Date: Wednesday, July 15th Time: 7:00pm Location: Crotona Park (Fulton Ave & 173rd St, Bronx) (map) Cost: Free
George Lamond and Judy Torres are both freestyling staples, mixing electronic, disco, hip hop and Latin to form their bumping sounds. Gaining popularity as a backup singer, Lamond went solo with his first album "Bad of the Heart," which had a number of underground hits like "Look Into My Eyes." As for Torres, while her 80s contemporaries have dwindled, the Bronx native has continued to evolve as a singer. Known as the Queen of Freestyle, she hosts a weekly show on WKTU called the Free For All Show that will get your adrenaline pumping.
Date: Wednesday, July 15th Time: 7:30pm Location: Ochi's Lounge Basement (353 W. 14th St. at 9th Ave) Cost: Free
"Leslie Goshko hosts popular comics as they reveal freakish tales about themselves. Tonight's hilarious storytellers include Sean Donnelly (Little Seany Boy Show), Myka Fox (Comical Radio), Rob Gorden (Spike TV, Onion News Network), and Michelle Leona (Dr. Michelle Party Show). Plus LIVE accordion music and a free wine giveaway!"
Date: Wednesday, July 15th Time: 8:00pm Location: Prospect Park, Long Meadow Cost: Free
The New York Philharmonic continue their week-long string of outdoor concerts tonight in Prospect Park. This year's program will include Mozart's Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and - of course - fireworks afterwards.
Date: Wednesday, July 15th Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
On top of getting to watch movies overlooking Hudson River on beautiful summer nights, the other thing I like about River Flicks is that every year they pick a central theme for their screenings. This year's they "know what you did last summer" and screen films released in 2008. Tonight's film is Woody Allen's latest Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Date: Thursday, July 16th Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Location: powerHouse Books (37 Main St.) Cost: Free
"Join us at The powerHouse Arena for the book launch of THREE and the world-premiere screening of the multimedia piece, THREE, followed by a panel discussion and Q & A with Ed Kashi, Daryl Lang (Photo District News), and Sean Corcoran (Museum of the City of New York), and a book signing... THREE, a book of triptychs by acclaimed photographer Ed Kashi, plays on the visual appetite of a hectic world. These triptychs span eras and continents, challenging our notions of perspective and the individual image. Contained in a format dating back to Christian art in the Middle Ages, Kashi's images examine current issues of social and political significance, bringing together the joy, sorrow, destruction, and reconstruction of a world in flux. These triptychs compel us to see the relationships between extreme ends of the human experience and to appreciate the strange beauty inherent in that experience."
Honky Tonk piano, face paint and rough vocals propel Man Man to the forefront of any performance. The band started to gain popularity after opening for Modest Mouse in 2007, and some of their songs were featured in an episode of the TV show Weeds. Labeled experimental rock, the band plays a host of instruments, including the clavinet, sousaphone, flute, euphonium, xylophone, marimba, noise makers and pots and pans. It's not a performance you are likely to forget.
Sultry soul crooner Chico DeBarge will make a return to music with the forthcoming release, Addiction. Earning his musical chops as a member of the famed Motown group, Switch and DeBarge, the singer broke out on his own in 1986 with the release of his debut solo album.
Date: Thursday, July 16th Time: 7:30pm - 10:30pm Location: 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Ave, W'burg) Cost: Free with RSVP
"3rd Ward, Etsy.com, Make Magazine, and
createdigitalmusic.com present Handmade Music Night. Open to all, this part-party, part-mixer, part-Science Fair, and part-performance is an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds. Featuring circuit-bent toys, custom software and patches, interactive digital & visual instruments, custom electronics, electricity-powered noisemakers, DIY robots and new acoustic instruments. Tonight's line-up below.
Sequence everything: CRUDBOX / STEVEN LITT
The CrudBox is an original hardware step sequencer in a briefcase, which plugs into and sequences everything from cassette decks to power tools and turns them into musical patterns.
Looping hardware: LOOOP-R / RUI PEREIRA
Looop-R is a musical, visual, hardware, software instrument.
Shake the beats: EGGBEATER / TED HAYES
This wireless, egg-shaped controller lets you mash loops, control filters, and play music using live gestures.
Ableton hacking: AKAI APC40, HACKED / MICHAEL HATSIS
Live laptop fans, take note: the commercially-available Akai APC40 Ableton Live controller warped to make new musical performances possible.
Date: Thursday, July 16th Time: 7:30pm Location: Solas Bar (232 E. 9th Street) Cost: Free
Reverend Jen is the author of Live Nude Elf: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen. For the past decade, she has been a staple of the Lower East Side’s art scene as a performer, painter, playwright, columnist, underground movie star, and sex columnist for nerve.com. Punk artist and icon Zak Smith made a name for himself by visually interpreting Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and drawing pictures of girls in the "naked girl business." His artistic pedigree and acute observation landed him in high-profile shows from the Whitney to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Tonight Reverend Jen and Zak Smith will read from their works at as part of the St. Marks Bookshop Reading Series at Solas Bar.
Date: Thursday, July 16th Time: 8:00pm Location: Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby Street) Cost: Free
"Since opening its doors in 1998, Housing Works’ Bookstore Cafe has been an unparalleled hotspot for New York’s literary community, hosting countless readings, panels [...] Every dollar from every customer goes to support Housing Works’ mission to end homelessness and AIDS." Tonight they invite you to check out "Live From Down Home" featuring Jones Street Station, Scary Mansion, and Kristen Andreassen.
Date: Thursdays Time: 9:00pm Location: Mama's Bar (34 Avenue B btw 2nd and 3rd Sts) Cost: Free
It's a night of bad-a$$ punk rock as DJ "King Ninja" Brent holds down this LES weekly. Tonight features a special live set by ex-Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele at this cozy annex to Mama's Food Shop. 21+
Date: Friday, July 17th Time: 7:00pm; 8:00pm Location: Deity (368 Atlantic Ave); Ceol (191 Smith St.) Cost: Free
Tonight check out the first annual BoCoCa Arts Festival! "Starting at 7pm at beautiful, cool Deity Bar and Lounge, "One Night, The Rain" a play performed by Les Manouches with Jerome Simeon and Aktina Stathaki, will take you through the last days of Maria, a youthful whore form Barcelona [...] Next, you can experience the dance of GoGo Vertigoat, performing "The Slick Feeling of Aches and Cavities, a seductive encounter with sex and food, produced by Lindsey Drury. After that, get into a Burlesque show with Impulse Initiatives's Down and Dirty Debutante Ball [...] Then, be sure to hang around till 9pm for the amazing music of BR and the Timebomb-- hip-hop meets R&B, rock, reggae, funk, soul, jazz, classical-- total music fun! Or, if Irish Pub is more your style, come to Ceol Irish Pub at 8pm, and see theater, music and comedy! Opening is the world premier of Sergei Burbank's new play, 'The Third Seat' [...] Then, My Cousin, The Emperor (formerly the Populists Band) features singer-songwriter Jason Reischel and his alt-country meets alt-pop musical ensemble. End the night at Ceol with Plastic Only-- and improv comedy salad where you can participate!" Festival continues through 26th.
Date: Friday, July 17th Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
The folks over at Hudson River Park keep calling this RiverFlicks for Kids, but we're really into a bunch of these movies, so either the films are also for grown ups, or we just like kid stuff. Tonight's kid flick is the animated martial arts movie Kung Fu Panda. "Join the adventure as Po the Panda (Jack Black) trains with the Furious Five to be the Kung-Fu hero he is destined to become!"
Date: Friday, July 17th Time: 8:00pm Location: Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street) Cost: Free with
Looking for a good, cheap, Friday night musical excursion? The End of the Weak at The Highline Ballroom should do the trick. Dujeous, T-Weaponz, Jess Jamez, Figueroa, Iron Solomon and Vanguard Angel all perform plus special guest DJ Scram Jones. Free if you RSVP or $5 at the door.
Date: Friday, July 17th Time: 8:30pm (doors at 7:30 Location: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86 (46th St and 12th Ave) Cost: Free
Bring your lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets to a free, public screening of the Top Gun this evening to kick off the Intrepid's Summer-long, monthly film series. There has never been a movie or a phenomenon like JAWS, the terrifying motion picture from the horrific best seller and one of the most popular films of all time. Directed by Steven Spielberg and acclaimed by critics worldwide, JAWS continues to shock moviegoers with its riveting tale of three men who become allied in a life-and-death hunt to destroy a killer embodying nearly three tons of instant white death.
Date: Saturday, July 18th Time: 11:15pm - 12:45pm Location: Cap 21 Studio (18 W 18th Street 6th Floor, Studio 5) Cost: Free
Nothing like a little exercise to start your day off right! Take a free yoga class this morning. There is no price tag, but any donations will be given to E.P.I.C. the Movement to help them drill two water wells in Tanzania.
Date: Saturday, July 18th Time: 1:00pm - 9:00pm Location: 231 Kent Ave #1 Cost: Free
Join local artist Jsun Laliberte for her Benefit Garden party today to raise funds
for fer upcoming 2 month solo motorcycle journey around North America,
documenting with video, photo, and sketches to create her next body of work
about the ideas of "path." The venue is one of those trashy unassuming
facades that opens up to a spectacular [residential] garden setting. There will be silent-auctioning 10 largedrawings and 2 paintings to raise funds. They'll also be pouring prosecco and Jsun's Mojito-for-the-masses (a local favorite)! Even if you're not into
the art or the art scene, it'll be a great day of beautiful people, music,and fun.
Date: Saturday, July 18th Time: 10:00pm Location: Two Boots Park Slope (514 2nd Street off 7th Ave, Park Slope) Cost: Free
Is the fourth wave upon us yet? NYC ska legend King Django headlines a live show with his sextet (that means a horns section folks) tonight at Park Slope's favorite Cajun pizza joint.
Date: Sundays through August 30th Time: gates at 2pm Location: Kent St btw. N 8th and N 9th Sts on the East River, W'burg) Cost: Free
With the McCarren Pool under renovations, the Williamsburg Pool Parties move to the waterfront this summer with seven weeks of free shows. In edition to the free music there will be "DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ’s, bands, burgers the works!" for you to enjoy. Afterparties at Public Assembly. This week features Dirty Projectors (amazing), Magnolia Electric Co., and Crystal Antlers. Full line-up below. All ages!
Sunday, July 19 — Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co., Crystal Antlers*
Sunday, July 26 — And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Black Lips, Health, Grupo Fantasmo*
Sunday, Aug 02 — Round Robin show w/ Deerhunter, No Age and Dan Deacon*
Sunday, Aug 09 — Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), Fiery Furnaces, Dark Meat, The Netherlands*
Sunday, Aug 16 — Del tha Funky Homosapien, Gravytrain!!!, DD/MM/YYYY, Kenan Bell*
Sunday, Aug 23 — Girl Talk, Max Tundra, Wiz Khalifa*
Sunday, Aug 30 — Beach House & Grizzly Bear*
* A free Pool Party: Gates open at 2pm for all shows. For eight consecutive Sundays in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (July 12th — August 30th), party-goers will be regaled with on-site dodgeball, three-on-three basketball, and, oh yeah, rip-roarin' live performances on the main stage.
Conscious reggae invades Summerstage this afternoon with two world renownd performers and a local favorite! Alpha Blondy is one of the world’s most respected Ivorian reggae performers. Singing predominantly in his native language of Dioula as well as French, English, Arabic, and Hebrew, Alpha Blondy creates lyrics that convey strong political attitudes and a fine sense of humor. Eccentric, Grammy award winning reggae legend, godfather of dub, and innovative producer of the early Bob Marley classics, Lee “Scratch” Perry teams up with Vienna’s Dubblestandart to revisit his most classic 70s music with a new twist of futuristic electronics. And NYC’s Subatomic Sound System has built a reputation worldwide for explosive shows, innovative production, and breaking down barriers with their unique adaptation of 1970’s Jamaican sound system culture and dub reggae studio techniques to current music genres, technology, and live performances.
"The beloved hip hop innovator and Renaissance man shares the day with musical trailblazers from around the globe [...] Q-Tip is an American hip hop artist, singer, and occasional actor from Queens, perhaps best known as the leader of legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest [...] Named after sculptor Daniel Chester French, Chester French is an American pop band anchored by founding members Maxwell Drummey and D.A. Wallach [...] Influenced by genres ranging from Motown and swing to power-pop, country and rap, Chester French is constantly reinventing their style and sound.Gothenburg, Sweden-based Little Dragon consists of Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano and friends Erik Bodin (drums), Källgren Wallin (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards), all of whom met in high school [...] British DJ and radio host of 'Deviation' on BBC Radio 1, Benji B spins the best in jazz, funk, hip hop, house, broken beats, and more."
"Q & A Session with Jeffrey Deitch and Alan Vega, visual artist and member of the highly influential and perennially underground synthpunk duo, Suicide. Followed by Mixed Taste: Pickles and Three-Way Marriage. Rick Field, founder of Rick's Picks, will talk about shelf-stable, artisan pickles. Author Abby Ellin will talk about her research on polyamory and alternative marriages. Pickles samples will be provided."
Date: Monday, July 20th Time: 7:30pm Location: Union Hall (702 Union Street @ 5th Ave, Brooklyn) Cost: Free
Brooklyn native and songwriter Rebecca Pronsky founded the Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange in the fall of 2005 to encourage community and support among songwriters in the borough of Brooklyn and around New York City. After a brief hiatus, the BSX has returned with monthly performances at their new location, Union Hall. This show with be an in-the-round evening lead by Rebecca Pronsky and featuring Rod Alonzo, Shannon Wurst and Rebecca Loebe. The four songwriters will perform solo, each sharing a song, then onto the next and so on, and back round again. 21+
Rebecca Pronsky
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccapronsky
"Despite her NY roots, her passionate vocals and textured sandy tones vibe a southern belle who just wandered off the range to find herself eye-level with a mic... Her heart-lorn loneliness combined with her observational disposition draw the listener into her graceful lyrics..." ~ Jezebel Music
Rod Alonzo
http://www.myspace.com/rodalonzo
Catchy light poppy tunes inspired by John Lennon and Smokey Robinson
Shannon Wurst
http://www.myspace.com/shannonwurst
"Shannon Wurst is among the rare breed who can make you sit upright and wonder aloud, "who is that?" She is unquestionably arresting." ~ Sing Out Magazine
Rebecca Loebe
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccaloebe
"Just the right level of confessional metaphor. Loebe pleasantly surprises the listener with her wit and sense of humor." ~ Northeast Performer
Date: Monday, July 20th Time: Films begin at Dusk (about 8ish) Location: Bryant Park (40th and 42nd Sts & Fifth and Sixth Aves) Cost: Free
Bring your picnic baskets and pull up some lawn for an evening under the stars with the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. Every Monday throughout the summer HBO dusts off some classic movies and plays them on a big screen in Bryant Park. Tonight, watch a screening of Harold and Maude. "Teenager Bud Cort and sexagenarian Ruth Gordon both like to go to funerals of people they don’t know, and meet to embark on one of cinema’s great relationships. Audacious and heartbreaking, Hal Ashby’s superb black comedy also features a perfect soundtrack by Cat Stevens."
"Visionary composer and producer, Karsh Kale energizes the Winter Garden with his hybrid sound that brings classical Indian music into the mainstream rock and electronic vernacular. GamelaTron, a robotic gamelan 'orchestra”' opens the evening" Watch the official site for a rain update on this one. All Ages
Date: Wednesday, July 22nd Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm Location: Crotona Park (173 St & Crotona Park East) Cost: Free
City Parks Foundation continues to deliver a stellar line up of free summer concerts tonight with hip hop legend KRS-One. "Grammy-nominated rapper, KRS-One is a significant figure in hip hop, often considered one of the greatest rappers to pick up a microphone. An outspoken MC, KRS-One has been a mainstay in anything hip hop over the last 15 years."
Date: Wednesday, July 22nd Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
On top of getting to watch movies overlooking Hudson River on beautiful summer nights, the other thing I like about River Flicks is that every year they pick a central theme for their screenings. This year's they "know what you did last summer" and screen films released in 2008. Tonight's film The Dark Knight features Heath Ledger's Oscar winning Joker.
Date: 2nd and 4th Wednesdays Time: 10:00pm Location: Ottos Shrunken Head (538 East 14 Street) Cost: Free
You've got mixes, remixes, covers, samples, everyone is stealing and borrowing and reinterpreting from one another, so why shouldn't there be a night dedicated to the art of recreation. Copycat is a monthly night of cover songs, remixes and all the hits with DJ Xerox. This month is a special tribute to the kinks as well as live music by Madam Robot and the Lust
Brigade plus a special accoustic set early and late by Tom
Ward. Check out some past Copycat videos here. 21+
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 9:30am meet, 10:00am head to location Location: 14th Street - Union Square South (Look for "PTH" Red Lettered Flag ) Cost: Free
"As the foreclosure crisis festers, Bloomberg and the banks fail us. The time has come to build the movement we want and the housing we need. From Miami to Sacramento to here in New York City, homeless people aren’t waiting around. It’s time to take back the
land." "Picture The Homeless and allies will liberate the lots and build a tent city installation. We need you! Kick down. Money, tents, tarps, pylons, food, water, and money. No amount too small, all donations are tax deductible. Material donations can be dropped off at The Change You Want To See Gallery"
Date: Thursday through August 20th Time: 6:00pm Location: East River State Park (Kent & North 8th, W'burg) Cost: Free
SummerStarz is a weekly, family friendly, live musical performance and film screening at 8 pm. Those with younger children are encouraged to arrive early for the Children’s Hour at 6 pm, which offers an assortment of games and activities including arts & crafts, music and theater for kids. Tonight features Arts & crafts by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, music from New York’s Finest Jazz Ensemble , and a screening of Babe. Check below for the full season schedule.
July 23rd
6pm: Games and arts & crafts by Town Square
7pm: Co-Creative Music (children’s rock band)
8pm: Nim’s Island (2008, Rated PG)
July 30th
6pm: Children’s theatre session by RockCity Theatrics
7pm: Fenix Down (rock music)
8pm: The Incredibles (2004, Rated PG)
August 6th
6pm: Song and movement by CenterStage
7pm: CenterStage (opera night)
8pm: Bend It Like Beckham (2003, Rated PG-13)
August 13th
6pm: Arts & crafts by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
7pm: Grand Street Community Band (classical music)
8pm: Fly Away Home (1996, Rated PG)
August 20th
6pm: Arts & crafts by the Greenpoint Toy Center
7pm: Kyle Morgan & the Backroad (rock band)
8pm: WALL-E (2008, Rated G)
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 6:30pm Location: Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand St.) Cost: Free
"Straight outta Brooklyn and in the spirit of Bad Brains' hard-core punk and The Roots' masterful hip-hop musical orientation, ADM brings those two influences together at a galvanizing full speed. With a head-spinning attack of dual-vocalists, percussion, horn, guitar, bass, and piano, they shatter old stereotypes and surface with a complex, authentic sound. The music comes from the center of their soul and their live show is an experience that will stay with you."
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm Location: East River Park Band Shell (along the East River between Grand & Jackson streets) Cost: Free
It wouldn't be summer in NYC without a free show with Slick Rick, the infamous hip hop storyteller who wears a pirate’s eye patch and has delivered some of the 80’s greatest hits, including “La Di Da Di,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Children's Story.” Hip hop purists consider him one of the greatest MCs in hip hop’s history. In demand, Slick Rick continues to bring his street-wise edge through collaborations with Nas, OutKast, Raekwon, and Snoop Dogg, among many others.
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 7:00pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th St.) Cost: $3 Suggested Donation
Tonight the Stephen Petronio Company brings his company’s 25th Anniversary Season to Prospect Park. I Drink the Air Before Me is "an evening-length work inspired by the power of extreme weather and storms, both atmospheric and internal. Petronio’s predilection for forward thinking popular music—his dancers have moved to Rufus Wainwright and Antony—is satisfied here by a score from the beloved young composer Nico Muhly."
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: tickets available at 5:00pm; show at 7:00pm Location: Castle Clinton National Monument, Battery Park (State Street and Battery Place) Cost: Free
"Richie Haven's soulful singing style has remained as unique and ageless as when he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene. Today he continues to inspire us through his melodic messages of brotherhood and freedom...Tickets will be distributed 2 per person outside Castle Clinton on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5:00pm on the day of the show."
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 7:00pm Location: Pier 54 (Hudson River at 14th Street) Cost: Free
"Veteran indie band rocks the river! Ted Leo’s 8th consecutive summer of playing free outdoor shows in NYC! With a work ethic and a commitment to touring bordering on maniacal, Ted Leo can frequently be found pouring his heart and soul into his legendary live performances. Ted recently supported Pearl Jam on the North-East run of their 2008 summer tour. Extra Golden is a unique musical collaboration that blends Kenyan Benga music with American Rock and other, assorted African guitar stylings. Dynamic five-piece, Radio 4, known for explosive, sweat-inducing live shows, will be bringing their classic post-punk sound to Pier 54!" More info on RiverRocks here.
Date: Thursday, July 23rd Time: 7:30pm Location: JLA Studios (63 Pearl St btwn Water and Front, DUMBO) Cost: Free
The Non-Motivational Speaker Series returns tonight in DUMBO, Brooklyn. "Find out what you don't know about the Middle East—which, if we're being honest, is probably quite considerable—as Neil MacFar- quhar, Libyan-raised former Middle East correspondent at the New York Times and author of The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday; and Lucette Lagnado, author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, a Booklist-starred memoir of growing up Jewish in Egypt, reflect on the oddities, eccentrics, and (lesser known) tragedies of the region."
Date: Thursday, July 23rd - Saturday, July 25th Time: 8:00pm Location: Municipal Parking lot at Ludlow and Broome Cost: Free
"Come get some free Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot)! The Drilling Company is putting on their 16th annual summer of Free Shakespeare with A Midsummer Night's Dream on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at 8:00. The venue is a parking lot at Ludlow and Broome Streets on the Lower East Side. Bring chairs/blankets/pillows or come early to grab a seat. Be sure to check the forecast because they can't perform in a downpour. For more info check out the website!"
Gorilla Rep will begin another summer of the finest quality of free theatre in the park with the world premiere of Joan of Arc by Robert Steven Ackerman. The play, starring French actress Aleksandra Yermak, was commissioned by Gorilla Rep’s Founding Artistic Director, Christopher Carter Sanderson, who also directs. The production, which marks the 17th season for the highly respected theatre company, will perform on the Pine Lawn in Fort Tryon Park. Directions below.
DIRECTIONS: How to get to JOAN OF ARC in Ft. Tryon Park: by public transportation, take the A train to the 190th Street stop. Once there, take the elevator up to the traffic circle and the pedestrian entrance to Ft. Tryon park which is right across the traffic circle and clearly marked by signs. Once at the entrance, you are close to the performance area. Look for chalk arrows indicating a turn to the left once in the entrance and also look for Gorilla Rep actors in costume to guide you slightly to the left and down a flight of steps to the performance area.
Date: Friday, July 24th Time: 6:30pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th St.) Cost: $3 Suggested Donation
The Prospect Park Bandshell should be a fun place to spend your Friday night. The swamp boogie accordion master Buckwheat Zydeco and his band take to the stage tonight and share the bill with the Holmes Brothers, whose harmony-filled blend of American roots music jumps from church to the juke joint.
Date: Friday, July 24th Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm Location: Ochi’s Lounge, Comix (353 West 14th St East of 9th Ave) Cost: Free
Calvin S. Cato (Game Show Network, Stand-Up New York, Naked Comedy Show) presents a variety show with entertainers who’ll regale you with jokes, songs and humorous job tips! Yes the economy’s gotten that bad. So if you're unemployed, underemployed, or looking to hire someone who knows Microsoft Office, come by and check out the only show that has 100% talent, 0% health insurance. 1 item minimum.
Date: Friday, July 24th Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm Location: 303Grand (303 Grand St at Havemeyer, W'burg) Cost: Free
Now in its second year, the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival is going down this weekend with a pretty nice lineup of local stars. Tonight you can get a taste of the festivities for free as DJs Flashmen, VDRK, and guests host the BEMF Pre-Party. There are visuals from Shantell Martin and free PBR while it lasts. 21+
Date: Friday, July 24th Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
The folks over at Hudson River Park keep calling this RiverFlicks for Kids, but we're really into a bunch of these movies, so either the films are also for grown ups, or we just like kid stuff. Tonight's kid flick is the 80's classic Ghost Busters. "Doctors Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler join together to save Manhattan from a 100ft marshmallow man..."
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 11:30am - 4:30pm Location: Boat Basin Marina (W 79th St Boat Basin at the Hudson River, on the promenade) Cost: Free
"This season City Parks is celebrating summer on the waterfront by hosting 'Marina Day' at the W 79th Street Boat Basin. This all day event features guests form the River Project, Hudson River Park Trust, Urban Park Rangers, and many more. Marina day offers Free activities for kids like knot tying, touch tanks (where kids & adults can 'feel the living river'), tours aboard the Hudson River sloop Clearwater and mini tugboat races. Come and take advantage of this fun and free event for adults and children of all ages."
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 12:00pm - 9:00pm Location: Astoria Park (21 Street, Hoyt Avenue, Ditmars Boulevard, East River) Cost: Free
"Astoria Music & Arts’ 2nd Annual Music & Arts festival in Astoria Park, an environmentally friendly day of family fun & education to be held on the Great Lawn on July 25th. Building upon last year’s main & side stages, Astoria Music Now! is adding a third stage dedicated to world music, dj’s, dance & theater arts. There will also be vendors selling crafts, clothing, art & food at the event. We continue our tradition of live music that spans various diverse cultures from the community. Visitors will watch visual artists create works live, enjoy the sights and sounds of our culturally vibrant neighborhood and participate in this celebration of arts & music!" Full list of performers and activities after the jump.
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 2:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Chelsea Brewery (Pier 59 at 18th st. on the West Side Highway) Cost: Free
Ian The Chelsea Brewery Ambassador gives free tours of Manhattan's only active brewery this afternoon. Tours are on the hour (sign up at the host desk, max 40 people per tour) and be sure to bring your ID for some free samples. Tour participants also receive $4 discount beer tickets so you can sip suds while discussing the wonders of yeast afterwards. 21+
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Riverwalk Commons on Roosevelt Island Cost: Free
After the release of her hit album Bible Belt, rising Billboard star Diane Birch will be playing a free concert at the Roosevelt L!VE summer music festival today. Opening the show, will be Brooklyn's own Jones Street Station, who recently took part in a hugely successful summer tour with Ben Kweller. More on the artists below. All ages.
Jones Street Station is generating significant buzz in the indie scene, after opening gigs with star Ben Kweller. The 5-part band will deliver their signature danceable, genre-defying sound: a single track off of their sophomore album In Verses might sound like a banjo-laden country ballad one minute and a screaming rock anthem the next. Utilizing an unusual array of instruments, they blend the mandolin and harmonica seamlessly with the accordion and banjo in carefully crafted folk-pop melodies that are sure to be a hit.
Still in her mid-twenties, Diane Birch is quickly reaching critical acclaim, as her first single “Nothing but a Miracle” was recently the #1 most played song on Boston's WXRV - beating out giants like Dave Matthews, Coldplay and Kings of Leon for the top slot. Singer-songwriter Diane Birch’s unconventional upbringing helped shape a voice that is both classic and distinctly her own, on her debut CD, Bible Belt. Diane Birch’s skillful piano melodies and soulful vocals tinge even the most melancholy refrain with an uplifting groove.
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 7:30pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th St.) Cost: $3 Suggested Donation
The South Asian superstar, Bollywood icon, and judge of Indian Idol Kailash Kher comes to the Prospect Park stage tonight. "Kher is joined on this bill by Electro Morocco, which is comprised of five NYC-based Israelis and combines buzzing guitars with synths and beats to concoct a dance floor-friendly mix of retro rock, Middle Eastern folk and warped electro. Pre-show dance lesson: Ambika Samarthya, Gobind Singh, Brighid O'Dea, and Alex Sirboiu — professional bhangra dancers based in New York City — stir up the audience with some of the classic moves from the North Indian Heartland. Bhangra has taken the world by storm and the troupe will introduce you to the styles and steps of one of the hottest music styles around."
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 8:00pm Location: Dance Fever Studios (3009 Ave J off Nostrand) Cost: Free
Dancefever Studios presents their free basic salsa class tonight followed by a salsa party in their studios. All levels of dance are welcome so for more information click here.
"Senari presents a danceparty of straight jams and strictly hits [tonight]. You can expect to hear chart toppers, one-hit-wonders (the "where are they now?s), dance hits and jams your parents put you on to from the past few decades. Don't be weighed down by genre or style & leave your hipster hats at the door... tonight just dance." Featuring sets by DJ Ayres (the rub, flashing lights), Dainjah (Disco Four), and DJ Paz. 21+
Mexican Caviar (Sirius and Witnes) will be in Williamsburg DJ'n all night for Bongi's 25th birthday celebration at K&M. This is the launch a new monthly event called "Stir Fry" (4th Saturday of every month), where the boys will be spinin' everything you'll shake ya a$$ to! Po'n dranks are the one and only "Stud Emporium" behind the bar. Free Frank151 books while they last. 21+
Date: Saturday, July 25th Time: 10:00pm - 4:00am Location: Plan B (339 East 10th St.) Cost: Free
DJ Synapse kicks off his new Bi-monthly party, Sordid Saturday, at Plan B tonight. Joining Synapse on his inaugural adventure will be Crooked Disco's DJ Morsy. More details here.
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 11:00am Location: Meet at Madeleine Patisserie, (132 West 23rd St, b/n 6th & 7th) Cost: Free
This may take the cake for NYC walking tours. This is the 9th consecutive monthly tour of the city's neighborhood sweet spots. This walk will explore Union Square which has 5 delicious dessert makers. For starters a small Parisian bakery offers the freshest macaroons, followed by a dense Belgian brownie, our third stop has a totally original
pretzel croissant, next up are gourmet chocolates, and our last course is home-made gelato. Tour lasts approximately 2 hours and the walking distance is about 1 mile. The desserts are free to drool over, but affordably priced for consumption. For more info on the Walking Tours site and be on the look-out for a tour guide in a red ball cap.
Additionally, Walking Tours Manhattan has used these free sugary treks to help raise money for Food Bank NYC. So, if you're feeling it, they ask that you donate $5 via PayPal through sales@walkingtoursmanhattan.com.
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 12:00pm - 7:00pm Location: Sara D. Roosevelt Park Cost: Free
"A day of art activities and performances in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. First, enjoy a range of artist- and educator-led interactive projects and programs related to the neighborhood and the New Museum. Then join the Block Party Parade in a raucous processional marching from the park to the New Museum. Explore the current exhibitions with a free docent-led highlights tour, culminating in a special performance at the New Museum. The New Museum Block Party is free and open to the public. Participants receive a complementary guest pass to visit the New Museum on the day of the event."
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 1:00pm - 10:00pm Location: Water Taxi Beach (2 Bordon Ave, LIC) Cost: Free
NYC House music legend Jellybean Benitez brings his feel vibes (a la their Ain't Nothin' But a House Party events) to the Water Taxi Beach today. This is a great, rare chance to catch a classic house spinner on the waterfront. 21+
Date: Sundays through August 30th Time: gates at 2pm Location: Kent St btw. N 8th and N 9th Sts on the East River, W'burg) Cost: Free
With the McCarren Pool under renovations, the Williamsburg Pool Parties move to the waterfront this summer with seven weeks of free shows. In edition to the free music there will be "DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ’s, bands, burgers the works!" for you to enjoy. Afterparties at Public Assembly. This week features And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Black Lips, Health, and Grupo Fantasmo. Full line-up below. All ages!
Sunday, July 19 — Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co., Crystal Antlers*
Sunday, July 26 — And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Black Lips, Health, Grupo Fantasmo*
Sunday, Aug 02 — Round Robin show w/ Deerhunter, No Age and Dan Deacon*
Sunday, Aug 09 — Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), Fiery Furnaces, Dark Meat, The Netherlands*
Sunday, Aug 16 — Del tha Funky Homosapien, Gravytrain!!!, DD/MM/YYYY, Kenan Bell*
Sunday, Aug 23 — Girl Talk, Max Tundra, Wiz Khalifa*
Sunday, Aug 30 — Beach House & Grizzly Bear*
* A free Pool Party: Gates open at 2pm for all shows. For eight consecutive Sundays in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (July 12th — August 30th), party-goers will be regaled with on-site dodgeball, three-on-three basketball, and, oh yeah, rip-roarin' live performances on the main stage.
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 2:00pm Location: Governor's Island (Travel Directions) Cost: Free
"For forty years, folk music legend Judy Collins has created music of hope and healing that speaks to the heart and inspires the world." (River to River) Today Judy Collins sings the day away on Governor's Island. Whether you are a fan or not the island is always worth the free ferry ride. Part of Folks on the Island.
"After a four-year hiatus from making records, Ginuwine is back in the saddle with the release of his new album A Man’s Thoughts. Ginuwine first emerged on the music scene in 1996 with the multi-platinum release of The Bachelor which paired his silky smooth vocals with Timbaland’s jagged, hyperkinetic beats, creating a fresh new R&B sound... R&B singer Joe has had a remarkable career, having sold over eleven million albums worldwide. The son of two preachers, Joe grew up in the church playing guitar and eventually directing the choir... In 2000 Joe released his break-out, multi-platinum album My Name is Joe forever securing his place among the finest in R&B history. Sultry soul crooner Chico DeBarge will make a return to music with the forthcoming release of his new album Addiction. Earning his musical chops as a member of the famed Motown group, Switch and DeBarge, the singer broke out on his own in 1986, with the release of his debut solo album." More info here.
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 4:00pm - 9:00pm Location: 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Ave., BK) Cost: Free with RSVP
"3rd Ward & Brooklyn Based present the 2nd Annual Pig Roast & Dance Party... Stand by as Pig Roasting Extraordinaire Tom Mylan (from Marlow and Sons, Diner and Bonita) and Chef Eric Sherman turn 200 lbs. of hog into finger-licking good & nicely priced pork tacos. We'll also have sides-a rice, beans and mexi-slaw and Brooklyn Based will top you off with some ice cream. The Colt 45 will be free from 4 to 5pm and the cold drinks will all be under $6. Featuring live music from Stumblebum Brass Band, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, In Cadeo and DJ Tanner all afternoon long. Plus bring your own t-shirts for $1 pig inspired screen-printing and bring your sweetest smile for a carnival style photobooth."
Date: Sunday, July 26th Time: 8:00pm Location: The Living Theatre (21 Clinton Street) Cost: Free
Tonight, The Living Theatre continues it Readings Above Realism Series with a free staged reading of A Shadow in the Dark by Jared Latore. "The subject of Latore’s stunning play is simple enough: a man who spreads disease to his partners. The characters are like us, dealing as best they can with the realities of life. What’s extraordinary is that they meet their fates among characters who are perhaps not personalities at all. They may be ideas… demons? The world of the play is like ours – actual and imagined, with spirits walking among us." All Ages
Date: through July 31st Time: lunch and dinner Location: Various Cost: $24.07, $35 (not including tip and drinks)
Dating in a recession? Fear not becauseSummer Restaurant Week 2009 starts this week. Grab a 3-course dinner for a mere $35 or a 3-course lunch for $24.07 at some of the swankiest spots in town. Just use my excuse "oh that's awesome, I didn't even know it was restaurant week!" Make your reservations online and save me a seat at David Burke Townhouse.
Date: July 27-30 Time: 6:00pm (1:00pm on July 30th) Location: South Street Seaport Cost: Free
"Nicholas Leichter Dance and Monstah Black bring the energy, sweat, swagger, history and future of funk music, culture, fashion, and dance to The Seaport’s historic cobblestone district. A Space Funk Invasion will be performed for bystanders and patrons of four outdoor bars that form the perimeter of the area, promising a free side of funk for the burgers and beer. Performed to music by Daft Punk, The Time, and Monstah Black." Nicholas Leichter Dance began 10 days worth of shows as part of Sitelines on Monday and they will continue through July 30th.
Date: Monday, July 27th Time: 6:00pm Location: Naumberg Bandshell, Central Park (enter at 72nd St and West Side) Cost: Free
Welcome again to another fun evening of Celtic Music and Dance under the stars. Returning again to open our event is the NY Scottish Pipes and Drums. Our main attraction is the high energy, foot-stompin Celtic/Irish Rock of "Finn's Fury." Special performances by The NYC Piper and Irish Dancers.
Date: Monday, July 27th Time: Films begin at Dusk (about 8ish) Location: Bryant Park (40th and 42nd Sts & Fifth and Sixth Aves) Cost: Free
Bring your picnic baskets and pull up some lawn for an evening under the stars with the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. Every Monday throughout the summer HBO dusts off some classic movies and plays them on a big screen in Bryant Park. Tonight, check out The Defiant Ones. Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis are opposites unhappily shackled together after escaping from a chain-gang in the South. As they flee from the police, director Stanley Kramer showcases the humorous and moving situations featuring memorable characters the fugitives come across as they fight for their lives
Date: Monday, July 27th Time: 10:00pm Location: Great Lakes Bar (285 5th Avenue) Cost: Free
The last Monday of each month at Great Lakes Bar in Park Slope, Jenny C'est Quoi, Magdalena Fox, and Joe the Shark present an evening of themed burlesque! And tonight's theme is Bob Ross! Scantly clad women and happy little trees!
Date: Tuesday, July 28th - Friday, July 31st Time: Tues & Thurs 5:00pm, Wed & Fri 12:00pm Location: Chashama Performance Window (217 East 42th St.) Cost: Free
"Where are you from? is a dance installation based around Sarah Dahnke’s latest full-length choreographic work titled from, which explores conflicting forms of cultural identity (from was created while in residence at CAVE in Brooklyn, NY). Throughout the week, there will be a secured box outside the performance space, for passers-by to leave souvenirs from their hometown/home country and answers to the question 'Where are you from?' These artifacts will be incorporated into an interactive map within the
performance space. The performance aspect of the piece explores stereotypes, ethnic motifs and a lot of blurry lines, inviting the audience to stop and think about the way we try to force people to align with stereotypes and to try and recognize the 'grey area' between."
Date: Tuesday, July 28th Time: 7:00pm to sign up; 7:30pm - 9:00pm Location: Nowhere Bar (322 E 14th St. btwn 1st & 2nd Ave) Cost: Free
"Ding, Ding, Ding!!! It's Time For Round 2!!! Big Gay Spelling Bee! Bring your spelling skillz and your gayness and come down to Nowhere Bar 7/28!!! It's FREE! And Everyone is Welcome! Gay, Straight, Bi, Try, All the Sexually Confused! Big Time Prizes!!! Toys in Babeland!!! DVD collections!!! HOMOSEXUALITY!!!"
Date: Tuesday, July 28th Time: 9:00pm Location: World Financial Center Winter Garden (220 Vesey St.) Cost: Free
"Saturn Never Sleeps is a carefully curated electronic experience, created by music producer King Britt and singer/visualist Rucyl Mills. Combining audio-visual micro-components into a thought altering world of sight and sound, live musicians of acoustic and electronic inventions come together in creating a sonic bubblebath for listening pleasure. Visuals add a dimension to transport the audience into a different place. For this special mission, King Britt (electronics), Rucyl Mills (vocals and sampling), Tim Motzer (guitatronics), Damon Bennet (keyboards and flute), Jason Senk (visuals), and some very special guests are dedicating the night to reconstructing, in an improvisational way, the sounds of jazz legend and fellow dreamer, Sun-Ra. Together they will be reducing Sun Ra sounds into a new context, while combining with works by artists influenced by him as well, into a night of vision!"
Date: Tuesday, July 28th Time: 9:00pm Location: Brooklyn Social (335 Smith St., Carroll Gardens) Cost: Free
"Brooklyn Social Presents a new weekly event... 'One Mint Julep' every Tuesday, 9pm 'til late. Featuring DJ Becky Birmingham playing treasures from the vinyl archives! Soul, rockabilly, ska, and beyond to tighten up your Tuesdays! Master of ceremonies Ivan Martin provides customized cocktails! No cover!"
Date: Wednesday, July 29th Time: 12:30pm – 1:45pm Location: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (594 Broadway, Suite 401) Cost: Free
Word for Word continues at Bryant Park this week and carries on through August. Today's installment focuses on New Voices in Fiction. Hosted John Wray from The New York Times Magazine, talks first time authors Wells Tower (Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned) and Lydia Peelle (Reasons for Advanced Breathing) about their recent short story collections and their thoughts on being a writer.
Date: Wednesday, July 29th - Thursday, July 30th Time: 7:00pm Location: The Creek LIC (10-93 Jackson Ave, L.I.C.) Cost: Free
"Talented actors from the Piney Fork Press Theater present two evenings of intriguing original comedies by up and coming playwright Johnny Culver. Among the exciting new works to be performed are: The House on the Hill, Ballerina Tea, Crummy, Bernice the Skunk, Wally, Across the Lake, A Little after Eleven and more. Johnny takes on order-barking iceboxes, fruit-tossing superheroes, a far off war-torn society, a 1970’s Brooklyn brownout and the horrors of the escalator at Gimbels!"
Date: Wednesday, July 29th Time: 7:00pm Location: Brower Park (St. Marks, Kingston Aves, Park Pl, Crown Heights) Cost: Free
Wayne Wonder performs in Brower Park tonight. "With the energetic beats of dancehall and reggae as a foundation, Jamaican-born Wayne Wonder broke into the scene with the explosive single 'No Letting Go' off the album No Holding Back. He is not only a talented singer, but a songwriter, too. He contributed to the success of Buju Banton by writing Banton's hits 'Murderer,' 'Deportee,' and 'Boom Bye Bye.'"
Date: Wednesday, July 29th Time: 7:00pm Location: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (594 Broadway, Suite 401) Cost: Free
"Come enjoy an evening of celebration as MoCCA toasts the the artists in our current exhibition Meanwhile... at 594 Broadway: The Art of MoCCA's Volunteers. MoCCA is a volunteer driven organization and their passion and dedication to comics and cartooning are on display in this show. This special evening will feature presentations by Adriano, Oliver Baer, Brendan Coyle, Gary Dunaier, Maxwell Foxman, Alex Mancheno and Sam Marlow discussing their comic art and writing." More info here.
Date: Wednesday, July 29nd Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
On top of getting to watch movies overlooking Hudson River on beautiful summer nights, the other thing I like about River Flicks is that every year they pick a central theme for their screenings. This year's they "know what you did last summer" and screen films released in 2008. In tonight's film Will Smith becomes the super hero Hancock.
Date: Wednesday, July 29th Time: 10:00pm - 4:00am Location: Arlo & Esme (42 E 1st St. btwn. 1st and 2nd Ave.) Cost: Free Open Bar: Absolut 10:00pm - 11:00pm
At first I thought this was a reading of some sort because the title is "Jean's Book Club - We bringz the ruckus in hardback!". Sounds like a reading right? But actually, its DJ party with open bar featuring Adam Subtract'em and DJ Nunas, spinning Disco, Electro, Funk, Rock, Hip Hop and more. Open Absolut bar from 10pm to 11pm.
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 1:30pm - 3:00pm Location: The Action Center (6 River Terrace, Battery Park City) Cost: Free
"Do you want to know more about climate change and its impact on the most vulnerable people around the world? Come hear from Mercy Corps' resident expert, Dr. Jim Jarvie. Jarvie crisscrosses the globe - working with everyone from farmers in the remote reachers northern Afghanistan to maintain their scarce water resources to slum dwellers in Indonesia who are regularly displaced by floods to better their situation. Most recently, Jarvie was in Congo, working with women refugees in the war torn nation to provide them with fuel efficient stoves, a project funded by offsets in the commercial carbon market. The Congo project and others like it are a part of Mercy Corps' climate friendly Cool Carbon initiative.
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 5:00pm - 9:00pm Location: Hiro Ballroom, Maritime Hotel (88 9th Ave btw W 16th and 17th St) Cost: Free with RSVP Open Bar: Grey Goose, 7:30 - 9
Grey Goose brings DJ Mos and The Dream to Hiro tonight for a special casual-cool hip hop after work party this evening. 21+
Date: Thursday, July 0th Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Apple Store, Soho (103 Prince St) Cost: Free
Join Oscar-nominated filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“The War Room”) tomorrow at the Apple Store Soho as he discusses his new documentary “The September Issue.” Directed and produced by Cutler, the film tells the story of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. “The September Issue” won the Grand Jury Prize for Excellence in Cinematography at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 5:00pm - 9:00pm Location: Crotona Park (Charlotte St and Crotona Park East) Cost: Free
The Friends of Crotona Park, NYC Council member Joel Rivera and Tools of War in Association w/ Rane and Serato present The 2009 Crotona Park Jams! DJ Lord Finesse (DITC), DJ Scratch (88 NMS World Champion), GrandMaster Caz (Cold Crush Brothers), and PopMaster Fabel (Rock Steady Crew) all take to the park tonight!
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 6:30pm Location: Tenement Museum Shop (108 Orchard Street at Delancey) Cost: Free
"While Manhattan’s Little Italy is no longer the neighborhood Martin Scorsese remembers, tonight’s event harkens back to the era of Joe Gallo and the authentic Feast of San Gennaro. Four professional storytellers relate their favorite tales of the old neighborhood, whether Mulberry Street, South Brooklyn or Arthur Avenue. Guests are invited to bring their own three-minute stories to share. More info here.
Margot Farrington tells us about the Little Italy apartment where she lived in the 1970s. Jim O'Grady talks about living in Arthur Avenue. Giulia Rozzi reflects on growing up Italian-American. And Michele Carlo will interview the Italian-American owner of Rosario's Pizza, a long-time Lower East Side establishment.
About the Performers:
Jim O’Grady was a longtime reporter for the City section of the New York Times and is now research director at the Center for an Urban Future, a think tank in Lower Manhattan.
Poet and storyteller Margot Farrington has performed at such places as The Brooklyn Historical Society, Oneonta's First Night Celebration, Roxbury Arts Group, and the Hague Conference on International Law.
Michele Carlo is a frequent contributor to NYC's storytelling community, appearing with The Moth, Speakeasy, TalkingStick, The Liar Show and her own show, "It Came From New York."
Giulia Rozzi is a comic who has appeared on MTV, CNN, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and VH1. She has contributed to Playgirl, Glamour, LifetimeTV.com, and the Huffington Post, among others.
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 6:30pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West at 9th Street, P'Slope) Cost: Free
"Roots reggae legend Burning Spear will return to Celebrate Brooklyn! for another epic performance. Last year’s vital Jah Is Real featured contributions from Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrel and found Spear at the top of his game... The evening will begin with the harmonies and church-inflected soul of Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens."
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 7:00pm Location: Pier 84 (44th St and Hudson River) Cost: Free
"One of Hudson River Park’s hottest events returns delivering a knockout punch. While the sun sets and the stars rise you’ll have the time of your life as amateur boxers from the five boroughs and beyond duke it out to see who is the best." Produced in conjunction with the Church Street Boxing Gym, Rumble features sanctioned amateur boxers from all walks of life facing off in the ring to prove who is the best. All Ages.
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 7:00pm Location: Castle Clinton National Monument (State Street and Battery Place, Battery Park) Cost: Free
"Arlo Guthrie will showcase his own humorous persona and musical mixture of folk, rock, country and blues. From Woodstock to the Castle, his storytelling and anecdotes continue to be woven seamlessly into masterful musical performances. Tickets will be distributed 2 per person outside Castle Clinton on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5:00pm on the day of the show." More details here.
Date: Wednesday - Saturday, through August 1st Time: 7:30pm Location: Inwood Hill Park Peninsula (Enter the park from 218 Street and Indian Road) Cost: Free
For its 10th season of free theater and music in Northern Manhattan, the Inwood Shakespeare Festival presents Dracula by Lee Kaplan and Ted Minos (based on the story by Bram Stoker). Bring your blankets!
Date: Thursday, July 30th Time: 8:00pm Location: Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Ave., W'burg) Cost: Free
"Life is fleeting. Laughter is eternal!! SPOTFEST, the awesome variety show, returns to Williamsburg! Come out this month to laugh, throw your name in the bucket, grab 2-for-1 beers before 8pm and to see one of NYC's finest, Cassidy Henehan, perform one last time before he leaves this plane of existence! (He isn't dying, he is moving. But ya never know! It’s SPOTFEST!)" Details after the jump.
Hosted by: JASON SAENZ
Co-Host and DJ: TRAVIS IRVINE
LINE UP FOR SPOTFEST IV
Top Spot: SEAN PATTON (Montreal "Just for Laughs", Upcoming Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham")
Stand Up Spot #1: ALI WONG (SF Punchline, What's Crackin' NYC?)
Stand Up Spot #2: CASSIDY HENEHAN (Too Cool for School)
Hip Hop Spot: SOCE, THE ELEMENTAL WIZARD! (MTV, VH1, Logo)
Improv/Sketch Spot: SIDECAR (Gentrify Brooklyn, UCB)
Host vs. Comic Spot: RAP BATTLE feat. GREY MATTER
Bucket Spot: YOU!!
Date: Friday, July 31st Time: 5:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Katra (217 Bowery) Cost: Free
"This a one time special event sponsored by corona, the event will include free buffet from 5-6, 2 for1 drinks from 6-8, 2 for 1 coronas from 7-8 and free massages from 7-9. Blac label clothing line is also doing a $500 make over to a lucky lady and also special concert ticket give away to de la soul concert. This is a after work event from 5-11 every one is free all night."
Date: Friday, July 31st Time: 6:00pm Location:South Street Seaport, Pier 17 (South Street and Fulton Street) Cost: Free
Free, summer, concerts roll on tonight as River to River continues their Seaport Music Festival on the East River tonight with a live performance by Polvo. Both alarming and charming, Polvo's eclectic sound and style is absolutely unmistakable. Coming of age in the early 90s, the Chapel Hill noise rock band delivers complex and dissonant guitar harmonies and driving rhythms. After a 10-year hiatus, Polvo reunited in 2008 to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival. The reception sparked the group's return to the studio in mid-March to record their first album in 12 years. Opening for Polvo is the acclaimed garage rock quartet Obits. The Brooklyn-based band records on Seattle's Sub Pop, and plays "heavy, driving, meat-and-potatoes rock music" - thus achieving a musical trifecta.
Date: Friday, July 31st Time: 6:00pm Location: Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West at 9th Street, P'Slope) Cost: Free
The exceptional jazz-funk trio Soulive celebrates ten years of “simmering instrumental funk” (Entertainment Weekly) by bringing out The Royal Family, a conglomeration of various side projects and special guests that will come together for the ultimate outdoor summer NYC jam. The proceedings will begin with a performance by Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, which Offbeat describes as “musically hard-nosed and rooted in 1970s inner city funk.”
Date: Friday, July 31st Time: Dusk (around 8:30pm) Location: Pier 54 (14th St. and the Hudson River) Cost: Free
The folks over at Hudson River Park keep calling this RiverFlicks for Kids, but we're really into a bunch of these movies, so either the films are also for grown ups, or we just like kid stuff. Tonight's kid flick is the animated adventure Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "Set in the time between episodes II & III in the Star Wars saga; Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fight to keep the republic together against formidable odds."
Date: Friday, July 31st Time: 8:00pm Location: Morris A. Schapiro Hall Theatre (615 W 115th St) Cost: Free
The world is changing, and one survivor of a murdered generation makes his way through a landscape distorted by horror and governed by the logic of nightmares.
The Waking Edge is a poetic and striking new play from a group of up-and-coming theater artists. Tickets are free, and no RSVPs are required, so please arrive promptly (or early) to secure a good seat. Please be advised that this play contains violent scenes which may be disturbing. Continues all weekend with performances Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 8pm.
