The Breeders Play for FREE at McCarren Park Pool This Sunday
Friday July 11
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Band: Brazilian Girls + Chicha Libre + Ticklah
Show time: 8:00 PM FREE
Venue: Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell
Food: Press 195
Drink: The Gate
Miscellaneous: The Chocolate Room
Brazilian Girls headlines this FREE show in Prospect Park. Blending electronic and South American rhythms, this should be a booty shaking good time. Joining them are newly added Ticklah and Chicha Libre whose blend of South American and psychedelic styles are infectious and gorgeous. Taking the pressed sandwich to the gourmet level, Press 195 offers 30 kinds of hot pressed sandwiches that make this place hard to get tired of. One of the more social bars in Park Slope, The Gate is a great bar with a wide selection of local beers on tap and an outdoor patio overlooking the park. A great little dessert and coffee shop, The Chocolate Room has a menu filled with everything made with some form of chocolate. Try the hot chocolate, you won’t regret it.
Friday July 11
Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn
Show: Brooklyn Keeps on Takin’ It
Show time: 6:00-9:00 PM FREE
Venue: powerHouse Arena
Food: RICE
Drink: Low Bar
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
To help celebrate the 2008 Brooklyn Hip Hop festival, powerHouse Books plays host to the launch party at their bookstore in DUMBO. On the mic will be Fresh Daily, Sputnik Brown, Sucio Smash, and P.Casso. See the future all-stars of hip hop for FREE! RICE not surprisingly offers a pretty intense variety of rice, from brown to Bhutanese red. Most of the rice based dishes come in large and small sizes. Right below RICE is Low Bar, an extremely convenient place to grab a drink and catch some great DJs spin in a lounge environment. Right off the water, with a view of the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge so close you can touch it, the only thing that could make this view better is ice cream. You’ll usually find a long line for Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, but the sweet flavors are worth it!
Saturday July 12
Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Band: Damon Albarn and the Honest Jon’s Revue
Show time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Avery Fisher Hall (at Lincoln Center)
Food: Josie’s
Drink: Candle Bar
Miscellaneous: Emack & Bolio’s
In recent years Blur’s frontman, Damon Albarn has gone in any musical direction he’s felt like, from Gorillaz to Malian music. He’s even started his own record label Honest Jon’s. Tonight, he plays with many of the artists who have recorded for his label including Tony Allen, Afel Bocoum, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kokanko Sata, Candi Staton, Lobi Traore, Simone White and Victoria Williams. Dairy free, organic, and free-range are things that come up often on the menu at Josie’s, that include several tofu and seitan specialty dishes and the Freshly Ground Char-Grilled Brandt Natural Beef Cheeseburger ($15.75), so everyone here will walk away happy. Comfortable and dimly lit, the Candle Bar has a pool table in the back and drink specials daily. For some of the best and most interesting ice cream in the city, Emack & Bolio’s offers some eclectic flavors like Deep Purple Cow (Black Raspberry ice cream with white and dark chocolate chips and blueberries). This place takes their ice cream serious.
Saturday July 12
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Band: Cover Me Badd + The Black Tie Party
Show time: 9:00 PM
Venue: Parkside Lounge
Food: Chickie Pig’s
Drink: Mason Dixon
Miscellaneous: 151
Cover Me Badd are an awesome cover band that break the mold of what a cover band is supposed to be. Replace the bad lead singer with a badass trombone player and you get one kickass good time. Expect lot’s of classic rock, pop and a few surprise hits! What sounds like a vegetarian’s nightmare is actually a gourmet pizza restaurant. Chickie Pig’s offers some interesting brick oven thin-crust pies like The Pig’s Fig Pie with fig jam reduction, Gorgonzola, proscuitto, and chives ($15). If you have the desire to ride a bull when you order a pint, then you’re in luck! Mason Dixon offers both. Seriously, you can drink and ride a friggin’ mechanical bull here! For a good time or if your goal is to get trashed, hit up 151. There’s no sign outside, but inside, happy hour is 2 for 1 everyday from 6-10pm.
Sunday July 13
Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Bands: The Jelly NYC Pool Parties with The Breeders + Matt and Kim + The Whip
Show time: 2:00 PM FREE
Venue: McCarren Park Pool
Food: La Locanda
Drink: Enid’s
Miscellaneous: Royal Oak
Since when do the Breeders play a free show? Who cares, all I know is that I’ll be there enjoying their hits and cuts off their new album April’s Mountain Battles. Matt and Kim will be there too and this duo smiles a lot and we will too as they play their fun and quirky songs. One of the last vestige’s of real Brooklyn in this hipster neighborhood, La Locanda serves simple Italian dishes like Chicken Parmigiana and pasta, but don’t be fooled, the food here is excellent, affordable and the vibe is homey. A good place to drink and talk nearby, Enid’s has cheap beer, a friendly atmosphere, and even food. Another good place for drinks if you feel like bar-hopping, Royal Oak offers a dark and sexy vibe, where excellent DJs play old-school R&B and 80s metal all mixed up like Britney Spears!
