Friday December 10
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: Phosphorescent Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony
Phosphorescent make some great indie folk with a hint of country and on their fifth studio album, this year’s release of Here’s to Taking it Easy, they solidify themselves as a band that can continually make great music. 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 December 10
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: Tricky
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl
Food: Blue Ribbon
Drink: Brooklyn Bowl
Miscellaneous: Bowling at Brooklyn Bowl
Trip-hop ruler Tricky is back with his new album Mixed Race, which is probably his best in a few years. Catch him as he comes to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bowl is a self contained playland for adults that you don’t even have to leave, so your night is wrapped up in one venue. For dinner, check out Blue Ribbon, part of the highly rated eateries in the city, you’ll find southern fare including fried chicken and BBQ, some crazy shakes & floats, and more. For drinks, just walk about 20 feet to the bar where they offer nine draft beers from Brooklyn. Finally, and most obvious, there’s 16 lanes of bowling. While the wait is generally long, where else can you throw a strike and see a great band at the same time?
Saturday December 11
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Band: Buke & Gass Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: Three of Cups
Drink: Whiskey Ward
Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Impressive live, Buke & Gass are inventive, polyrhythmic and deceptively melodic. Their sound is full and complex, while they use very minimal instrumentation, plus they make all of their own instruments! This show is in support of their new album, Riposte on Brassland. What I like about Three of Cups the most is that the food is classic Italian fare like Pizza made in a wood-fired oven, risotto, pasta, while also offering more exciting dishes like lamb stew in a barolo wine reduction, served with potato gnocchi. The atmosphere is relaxing, bordering on romantic. With a name like Whiskey Ward, it’s expected that they deliver the goods, which lucky for this bar, they do. Whether it’s Scotch, Bourbon, Whiskey, or Single Malts, they got em’ along with a pool table and a damn good jukebox. Who doesn’t like cupcakes? Sugar Sweet Sunshine has one of the best in the city. With 10 different kinds, it’s hard to beat.
Saturday December 11
Location: Multple Venues, NYC
Event: NYC Santa Con Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Multiple Venues
It’s that time of year again, and I’m not just talking about Christmas, it’s time for NYC Santa Con, where 100s of holiday loving people dressed as Santa go on a massive bar crawl throughout NYC.
Sunday December 12
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Band: Ducktails Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Cake Shop
Food: Social
Drink: 151
Miscellaneous: Bereket
From right across the pond, in New Jersey comes Ducktails whose lo-fi mix of indie and 60s inspired pop is downright infectious! Joining them are Darlings and Crinkles. Where to go afterwards? Go straight to the bar, and that bar would be 151, where happy hour is 7 days a week from 6pm till 10pm and includes 2 for 1 drinks. For those that don’t want a liquid dinner first, check Social for comfort food including the Mac and Cheese (Macaroni covered in Three Cheese Truffled Mornay Sauce and topped w/Seasoned Bread Crumbs). For a late night eat, a favorite spot of mine is Bereket for falafels and to watch drunks succeed at spilling their food all over themselves and failing at picking up chicks. Not for the faint of heart!
