Friday October 16
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Band: Anna Ternheim Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Accessory: The Pink Pony
Swedish indie singer Anna Ternheim has an amazingly sexy voice and great musical taste blending orchestration, electronic, and pop into some gorgeous songs. Joining her are Asobi Seksu and Loney, Dear. For dinner, The Stanton Social has earned a reputation for being a beautifully designed restaurant/lounge while serving up some delicious multi-ethnic cuisine. For drinks, a favorite of mine is The Magician, this bar’s chill atmosphere just may be the cure for a well-earned night of rocking. A great way to end the night? Stop by The Pink Pony. This boho café has been serving French food and coffee since the 80s and has a relaxing vibe. It’s as punk as that neighborhood gets nowadays.
Friday October 16
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: The Raincoats
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Knitting Factory
Food: Dumont Burger
Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten
Miscellaneous: Verb Cafe
The Raincoats, a little known all-girl post-punk band that added violin to the mainly guitar driven rock of the time to create some seriously arty music that has influenced many musicians, like Kurt Cobain, since then. Their time is due and with the re-release of their debut album The Raincoats and this show, part of the Royal Flush Festival, you can hear and see why they have been so influential. Joining them are Soft Power and Viv Albertine. With one of the best burgers in Williamsburg, Dumont Burger offers theirs with gourmet toppings, sandwiches, salads, and their amazing mac & cheese. So you consider yourself a beer connoisseur and like to party. You can do all that and eat at Radegast Hall & Biergarten. The Austrian/German menu perfectly compliments the 12 beers on tap and more than 30 German and Austrian bottles at this large beer hall. One of the oldest and best hipster hangout coffee shops, The Verb Cafe offers up excellent coffee and baked goods, a boho vibe, and big windows to watch the days pass while collecting unemployment!
Saturday October 17
Location: Chelsea, NYC
Art: Harley Davidson: The Art of Rebellion
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: La. Venue
Food: Pop Burger
Drink: Gaslight Lounge
Miscellaneous: Amy’s Bread
Celebrate the history of Harley motorcycle as Harley Davidson: The Art of Rebellion exhibition brings 10 great artists together including Art Chantry, Brian Ewing, Derek Hess, Dirty Donny, Frank Kozik, Harpoon, John Van Hamersveld, Lindsey Kuhn, Tara McPherson and The Pizz, who have each painted one Harley-Davidson Iron 883 gas tank plus will have their own personally designed posters up on display. Burger joint in the front, upscale lounge in the back, the menu at Pop Burger includes basics like 2 pop burgers for $5 for a quick fix or if your lounging, the likes of tuna tartar with soy truffle jus ($15). The Gaslight Lounge, a great hotspot bar in the meatpacking district, is dark and cozy while affordable for the area. If you don’t know Amy’s Bread, when you order a sandwich at a café or restaurant in the city, ask where they got the bread. There’s a good chance it’s from Amy’s because she’s one of the best bread makers in the city.
Saturday October 17
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: Melissa Auf Der Maur
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Knitting Factory
Food: Fette Sau
Drink: Spuyten Duyvil
Accessory: Union Pool
Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur goes solo in a big way here, playing NYC for the first time in a long while, 1007 years according to her website. Playing as part of the Royal Flush Fest, Maur brings an all new live band and a film called OOOM screening at the Anthology Film Archives. Joining her are Kid Savant, Mike Edison and The Space Liberation Army, and Blacklist. Right across the street you can get some amazing BBQ at Fette Sau (fat pig in German), where the owners of nearby bar Spuyten Duyvil have opened up a meat only restaurant serving up some of the best pork and beef in NYC. For drinks, Spuyten Duyvil is a beer lovers dream, with a selection from all over the world, friendly and knowledgeable bartenders and a neighborhood feel, it’s no wonder this place has been so successful. If you’re still ready for more, you must hit Union Pool, where there’s always a band playing, great DJs, and plenty of action.
Sunday October 18
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Theater: Wishful Drinking Get Tickets Here
Show time: See website for performance schedule; Through January 3, 2010
Venue: Studio 54
Food: Junior’s Restaurant
Drink: The View
Miscellaneous: Madame Tussaud’s
In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher takes the stage to tell her truly fascinating Hollywood life story which includes battling depression, addiction, mental illness, breakdowns, and affairs. While the original Junior’s Restaurant in Brooklyn is best, this midtown location offers a nearly identical menu of deli sandwiches, diner entrees, and of course soul food fixin’s, on top of some of the best cheesecake in NYC, which is saying a lot! For drinks check out The View. Not the TV show, but the bar high atop the Marriot Marquis. Plus it revolves. If you’re looking for something to do, go to Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. Yes, it’s a cheesy tourist attraction, but where else are you going to get a picture with Nicholas Cage or Samuel L. Jackson?
