Upcoming Events This Week/Weekend

To help myself stay organized and invite friends, stalkers and others who have chanced upon my blog, I am going to list events I plan/hope to attend tonight and in the coming days...

• Wed, 1/14/09, Soulgasm, Dance Party, Sin Sin Bar, East Village
• Wed, 1/14/09, Scout Tufankijan Book Launch Party for Yes We Can, a photo-book covering Obama's campaign, DUMBO
  
• Thurs, 1/15/09, Handmade Music Night, Music-Making Party/Spectacle, Bushwick
• Fri, 1/16/09, The Raveonettes, Music Show, East Village, Webster Hall
• Sun, 1/18/09, Eight, Theater, PS 122, East Village
• Monday, 1/19/09, 23rd Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., BAM, Brooklyn
  

Tonight, 1/14/09, Wed, I am going to Soulgasm at Sin Sin Lounge in the East Village, which will be playing funk, house, dub and more. Sin Sin is located at 248 E. 5th St, between 1st and 2nd Ave. It's free before 11 pm and $5 after!

Also, as listed on Myopenbar.com, this is happening tonight:

The Obama Campaign: Photos by Scout Tufankjian

artsy booze, no cover / 6pm-9pm

Powerhouse Arena

New Feature:
Click on bar names to view more information including past and upcoming listings, maps, and other bars nearby.

37 Main Street,
at Water Street
DUMBO
(718) 666-3049

Map It | Directions

Kick inauguration week off right, with a boozy Brooklyn book launch party for Scout Tufankjian's Yes We Can. Tufankjian was the only independent photographer to cover Obama's entire campaign, including the
period before his run was announced.

1/15/09, Thursday. I am intrigued by yet another event listed on Myopenbar.com:

Handmade Music Night

PBR, no cover / 7:30pm-10:30pm

3rd Ward

New Feature:
Click on bar names to view more information including past and upcoming listings, maps, and other bars nearby.

195 Morgan Ave.,
btw. Meadow and Stagg St.
East Williamsburg
(718) 715-4961

Map It | Directions

Dorks, geeks and nerds (but not dweebs or doofuses) unite in this sprawling celebration of all things musical and electronic. 3rd Ward, crafty-bitch central Etsy.com, Make Magazine, and createdigitalmusic.com present this party-come-science fair featuring, among other things:

• a theremin made from mannequin parts
• "gestural controllers made with wood and 3-D printers"
• "over-the-shoulder musical fashion with snakeskin and leather"
• a "prepared" (i.e. f--ed-with) Nintendo System

And from the 3rd Ward website:

Handmade Music
7:30 - 10:30 pm & Every 3rd Thursday Going Forward!

Part party, part mixer, part Science Fair, and part performance, this is an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds. The evening is a gathering of inventors of new instruments & music technology. Featuring circuit-bent toys, custom software and patches, interactive digital & visual instruments, custom electronics, electricity-powered noisemakers, DIY robots and new acoustic instruments. And it's open to everyone from hard-core hackers & newcomers to music lovers who want to learn about the DIY music scene.

To sign up visit http://beepit.eventbrite.com/.

On Friday, 1/16/09, I am going to see The Raveonettes at Webster Hall.

And Sunday, 1/18/09, I am seeing the performance Eight at PS 122, a play about the intersecting lives of twenty-somethings in London.

Monday, 1/19/09, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day features a tribute to MLK, Jr. at BAM, starting at 10:30 am.

More Halloween Parties!

In addition to the previous Halloween parties I listed, I am considering checking out the following. I am sure they both will offer an evening of glorious, costumed revelry!

The Danger Party in Bushwick, this Friday, and the Halloween Masquerade Ball at Galapagos, in DUMBO, this Saturday.

From The Danger website, on the "Promised Land" Halloween party this Friday:

A classic deep-Brooklyn party in a massive 112 year old warehouse of towering steal and brick. *This is a space you haven't seen before.* Expect the epic. We've taken over the expansive remnants of a lost industrial age; a building steeped with urban history with towering ceilings and impossible broken beauty.

Enter at: 215 Ingraham St., Bushwick, Brooklyn

Take the L train to Jeffereson, walk one block north on Wyckoff to Flushing, then walk two blocks up Gardner to the warehouse. Listen for the music.

And, the press release from Galapagos Art Space, on the Halloween Masquerade Ball Saturday:

Saturday, November 1st,
Doors 9pm, show 10pm, $10

Gemini & Scorpio and Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra
cordially invite you to

Halloween Masquerade Ball

The Music: Michael Arenella's Dreamland Septet will cut loose with an authentic all-night 1920s hot jazz programme. Freebass, a DJ & live bass duo, will close the night with their infectious live swing remix dance set.

The Mischief: A ghoulish menagerie of haunting proportions, with magic, burlesque banshees, fire dancers and special guests, including: Greek Goddess of burlesque, Pandora; delightful tasseled and fringed vintage tap dancing by The Minsky Sisters; Harlequin ballerina go-go dancing by The Love Show dancers; and sexy fire hooping antics by The Gyronauts. Plus, fantastical face and body painting by All-Seeing Mystik Painteresse Elyzabeth. Hosted by burlesque's charming reprobate Bastard Keith.

Costume suggestions: Victorian-1940s evening attire, Venetian carnivale, masked villains.

Wednesday Music Events!

I am really stoked that I will be seeing both Beck and MGMT tonight. I think it is going to be an absolutely amazing show! I have been a fan of Beck's for years and have never seen him perform before; so tonight's show will be quite the treat, especially with MGMT opening for him! They are playing at United Palace Theater in Harlem, a venue I have also never been to previously. So, the evening ahead is looking quite electric!

(Beck, above)

The Beck/MGMT shows are sold out, but playing for three consecutive nights, so checking out craigslist.org or ebay.com, or trolling the area for an extra ticket prior to the show may yield you your very own lucky ticket to the event. But if you are not intersted in scavenging for a ticket and are looking for a fun electro-experimental show or an interesting evening in Brooklyn, musical or otherwise, I recommend the show below.

Barbara Morgenstern is apparently a musical superstar in Germany; to the American ear, she offers German-tinged electro-experimental music. See her Myspace page here.

Barbara Morgenstern
Berlin underground favorite Barbara Morgenstern www.barbaramorgenstern.de has come across the ocean to New York. Come hear a bit of what the Berlin scene is creating, and see why it's as interesting as it appears to be.
Buy tickets here!
Barbara Morgenstern is playing at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO. The show is at 8 pm; tickets are only $10!

DUMBO Arts Festival, Dance Parties and Ratatat

The title just about summarizes my weekend. Friday evening started with an exploration around the art "happenings" of DUMBO, where art, just as it was promoted, really was to be found under bridges, in elevators, and projecting off buildings (in addition to the standard gallery displays of art). I was so impressed with this array of artwork, this blurring of convention, and the general charm of the neighborhood, that I returned to DUMBO again Saturday afternoon to get a chance to see openings and happenings not yet open or going on the previos night. Below are some photos to give you the general idea of the festival.

(above: my friend standing next to a laser light with mohair string tied to it...)
(above: the new Galapagos space in DUMBO. The former one in Williamsburg is now called Public Assembly.)

Dumbo art happenings: definitely worth it. The area, DUMBO, in general is pretty adorable, from the panoramic views from the park to the cute galleries and cafes along the streets.

Friday night I attended the "No Big Deal" party at alphabeta, a warehouse space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, after accidentally scoring a free taxi ride. (I got upset that the driver didn't know where Franklin Ave was, and he refused to take my money, telling me to get out of his cab. Upon my exit, a group of people immediately veered to take the cab, and he curtly replied that he was off duty, to which the girl in the group replied, "No, we're going to New York." Not able to help myself, I replied back, "Honey, this is New York," and walked the remaining three blocks to my destination (after they managed to convince the cabbie to take them and I was informed by friendly local kids that my destination was indeed only a few blocks away).

The "No Big Deal" party was part grafitti warehouse and store, and part totally hoppin' house party -- complete with free Sparks drinks -- with an expansive backyard Below are some pictures of the event.





And then, true Brookyln undergound party-style, it got shut down by the police.

We proceeded afterwards to a bar by the name of CoCo 66 (see their myspace profile here and the NY Mag write-up here), which was a fun dancing time to be had.
Luckily, though tired, I was not too exhausted to make it back to DUMBO the next day, OR go to the Ratatat show and have a blast there.


The show exceeded my expectations. Terminal 5 was packed, their performance had the crowd fully pumped, and their set was short but sweet. And that perfectly describes how my weekend felt: short but sweet.

Art. Music and Parties This Weekend

I am--mildly--bummed. Not that I plan to dwell on it or anything: there are other plans to be made, and believe me, I will make them. But I am bummed because, duh, the weather is so crappy and promises to continue in the same vein for the entire weekend. I had planned to go on a hike tomorrow, Saturday, and I had even sold my Ratatat tickets for Saturday night, figuring I would be slightly exhausted after a long day hike and early morning. (See their Myspace page here.) Well... Ratatat's show had been sold out for some time, and I managed to sell my tickets for slightly more than I had paid for them: apparently they have recently exploded. I saw them perhaps two years ago play live at the Guggenheim, and yes, they were fun, but at the time, their audience mostly consisted of high school/young college kids. Also, the Improv Everywhere event I mentioned on my last posting: still happening in the rain! Hmm... should be interesting. And I have to say, I am mighty curious what the synchronized song is that they have everyone to play tomorrow at exactly the same time.

ANYWAY, so I think I may be going to go to the BAM Takeover event this Saturday night instead of Ratatat, featuring the lovely St. Vincent performing, among other featured events of the evening at BAM. Unless... I end up going to Ratatat after all, with my friend who still has extra tickets... NYC life: part complete spontaneity and flexibility, and part meticulous advance planning... the two are currently uncomfortably and excitingly colliding in my life (but aren't they always?).

Apart from this dilemna, I also plan on going out tonight, possibly to this:
For a full description of this event, see the Going.com write-up. And a snippet from their description:
"No Big Deal is new art/music/remix collective project, and of course, party. Whoever you are, it doesn't matter, come for the love of music and art. Dance with your eyes closed. Go crazy, who cares. It's no big deal."
The party is tonight, at alphabeta, located at 70 Greenpoint Ave in Brooklyn.

Also, ongoing this weekend:
The website gives details of this extensive festival, sponsored by Current. From the website:

For the 12th year running, the entire neighborhood of Dumbo, Brooklyn, will become a multi-sensory art arena, FREE and open to all.

Over the FESTIVAL weekend, art will be happening everywhere: streets, sidewalks, storefronts, elevators, lobbies, the water, the waterfront, parks, nooks, crannies, NY Water Taxi, and more. Along with the 65+ new public art projects, over 100 local artists will open their studios to the public and at the new Galapagos Art Space, video_dumbo will feature a non-stop program of cutting edge video art from NYC and around the world.

The FESTIVAL presents art that breaks the white cube: art that is touchable, accessible and interactive. The appeal is universal: for many of the anticipated 150,000 visitors, the FESTIVAL will be their first encounter with art and artists.

DAC, the big impact small non-profit, has been making the annual 3-day event possible since it was founded by local artists in1997. As New York City's creative edge is increasingly threatened by skyrocketing rents, DAC is committed to preserving what is possibly the last urban oasis of its kind: a site where young artists can test their ideas in the public domain, have unprecedented freedom and play. Visual artists have a long tradition of harnessing New York City as their canvas, seeing no boundaries between studio and street. The FESTIVAL allows artists to act upon that impulse by providing them with a place where the unpredictable, the spontaneous and the downright weird can still happen.

I will let these words from the DAC website speak for themselves.