Friday January 4
Lower East Side, NYC
Music: Cooper
Show time: 6:30 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony
Get close to Weezer without the band actually being there as Cooper performs the Blue album in its entirety. 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 January 4
Location: Union Square, NYC
Music: Naked Sounds: A WBAI Benefit
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar
Drink: McSorley’s Old Ale House
Miscellaneous: Mudd Cafe
Naked Sounds: A WBAI Benefit is a benefit to raise money for the radio station and features performances from Jadex, Dynasty Electric, Beyond This Point, Oskere and the Lucky Bastards, (I am) isis, pILLO tHEORY, and one unnamed special guest. For eats, check out Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar, a sandwich shop offering Thai sandwiches with 7 Steamed Fried Vegetables and a choice of chicken, veggie, tofu or beef on a baguette with 3 types of sauces for $7. One of the city’s oldest bars, at McSorley’s Old Ale House you can feel the history when you enter as memorabilia, since its beginnings in 1854, are all over the walls. Aside from it being a frat hangout nowadays, it’s worth the trip. You’ve seen that orange Mudd coffee truck parked on Astor Place and on various other streets, but check out their Mudd Cafe on East 9th for coffee and a healthy, vegan, and vegetarian menu.
Saturday January 5
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Music: Bridges and Powerlines
Show time: 8 PM; FREE
Venue: Union Hall
Food: Brooklyn Fish Camp
Drink: Union Hall
Miscellaneous: O’Connor’s
Join Bridges and Powerlines as they play their brand of indie pop mixed with electronic sounds. Joining them are Fan-Tan and Crazy Pills. Brooklyn Fish Camp offers some seriously delicious and gourmet seafood including fresh raw bar selections and entrees like the Seafood Gumbo with Blue Crab, Andouille and Shrimp ($23) . While Union Hall looks like a cabin at a ski resort with a fireplace, stone walls, comfy couches, and inexpensive drinks, you may want to stick around rather than barhop. A low-key bar in this hood, O’Connor’s is a hole in the wall where you can grab a cheap drink and watch the game on their TV, just like your grandpa sitting next to you!
Saturday January 5
Location: Soho, NYC
Art: Miami Makeover: Almost Anything for Beauty
Show time: See website for schedule
Venue: The Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art
Food: Nha Trang
Drink: Naked Lunch
Miscellaneous: La Esquina
Miami Makeover: Almost Anything for Beauty is a collaborative exhibit featuring the work of Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Dominique Sapel. Enthralled by the cultural standards of accepted beauty and what some women are willing to do to achieve it, Kominsky-Crumb and Sapel set out to entirely re-imagine their body image. Donning new outfits, wigs, jewelry, nails, makeup and padding in just the right places, the two artists remade themselves in the image of a modern Miami woman. One of the best affordable Vietnamese restaurants in the city, Nha Trang is right near the downtown courthouse, making it a high volume place. Despite that, the food is great and the Pho (rice noodle soup) dishes are $5 and under. Named after William S. Burroughs novel, Naked Lunch is a cool and comfortable bar where local artists usually gather. No shooting up though! One of the best taqueria’s in the city, the Mexican food at La Esquina is authentic and to die for. While tacos will set you back $3, plates are in the $6 to $7.25 range.
Sunday January 6
Location: East Village, NYC
Art: Come Closer: Art Around the Bowery, 1969–1989
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 6, 2013
Venue: New Museum of Contemporary Art
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones
The exhibition Come Closer: Art Around the Bowery, 1969–1989 features original artwork, ephemera, and performance documentation by over fifteen artists who lived and worked on or near the Bowery in New York. Artists include Barbara Ess, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Keith Haring, John Holmstrom, Curt Hoppe, Colette Lumiere, Marc H. Miller, Adrian Piper, Adam Purple, Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Marcia Resnick, Bettie Ringma, Christy Rupp, Arleen Schloss, Charles Simonds, Eve Sonneman, Billy Sullivan, Paul Tschinkel, Anton van Dalen, Arturo Vega, Robin Winters, and Martin Wong. If you like ramen noodles and pork, then Momofuku is your spot for food. The Berkshire pork is the best I’ve had and it’s the only place I’ll eat pork period, which should tell you just how good Momofuku really is! What looks like a neighborhood bar to watch sports, The Village Pourhouse actually has three more rooms, where you can order food or find a quiet place to smooch! For dessert a little left of the dial, Sundaes and Cones offers eclectic flavors like wasabi and corn and many more flavors that are familiar.
