Friday September 20
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Music: Vampire Weekend
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Barclays Center
Food: El Viejo Yayo
Drink: The Gate
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.
Indie rockers Vampire Weekend have a new album out called Modern Vampires of the City, which sees the NYC band moving in a more experimental direction than what they are known for. The music has been drawing acclaim but expect to see and hear plenty of your old favorites from their past two albums. Also on board are Solange and Sky Ferreira. Keeping the night going with Latin flavor, try El Viejo Yayo for dinner. This gorgeous and warm restaurant has an elegant dining room and an affordable menu offering Dominican/Latin cuisine. The Gate is a great Park Slope bar with excellent beers on tap and a outdoor courtyard to chill. If time permits, you must, and I mean MUST go to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., a non-profit organization that helps kids with their writing, that’s fronted by a store selling super powers.
Friday September 20
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Music: Pixies
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: San Loco
Drink: Max Fish
Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine
90’s Alt rock gods, the Pixies are back on another tour and even though Kim Deal has been replaced by Kim Shattuck on bass, expect this show to be a history lesson on how to rock properly. At San Loco, the Mexican food is inexpensive, you can get a heaping amount of nachos for as little as $3.75, and telling by the heavy traffic, the place is doing just fine. What I like about Max Fish is that it’s a local bar for local artists. It’s walls play host monthly for art exhibitions, there’s a pool table in the back, and drinks aren’t pricey, like many new bars springing up in this neighborhood. For one of the best cupcakes in the city, Sugar Sweet Sunshine has 10 varieties, on top of cakes. Try the Sexy Red Velvet or the Bob, a yellow cupcake with chocolate almond buttercream.
Saturday September 21
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Music: Stereophonics
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Terminal 5
Food: Eatery
Drink: Valhalla
Miscellaneous: Central Park
Welsh rock band Stereophonics stop by NYC to play their hits along with new music from their newest album Graffiti on the Train. Nearby and delicious, Eatery offers a new American menu that’s asian influenced. Try the Red Curry Chicken Breast over roti pancake, with baby carrots and red curry coconut sauce ($16.95). Valhalla’s minimalist space is chill, letting the 24 brands of beer from all over the world on tap be the main attraction at this bar. While its warm out, waste a little time walking through Central Park, relax, and get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Just watch your step. The working horses tend to leave surprises behind them!
Saturday September 21
Location: Union Square, NYC
Event: The Awesome 80s Prom
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar
Drink: McSorley’s Old Ale House
Miscellaneous: Mudd Cafe
Relive the best and worst of coming of age in high school at The Awesome 80s Prom. This interactive show is part musical and full-on party as the audience gets to drink, dance and vote for the Prom King and Queen. 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.
Sunday September 22
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Theater: Kinky Boots
Show time: See website for schedule
Venue: Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Food: Eatery
Drink: Valhalla
Miscellaneous: Central Park
From Grammy Award-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper and four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein comes the exhilarating new musical Kinky Boots, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. Charlie Price (Tony nominee Stark Sands) has suddenly inherited his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola (Billy Porter). A fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos, Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he’s meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible… and discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world. Nearby and delicious, Eatery offers a new American menu that’s asian influenced. Try the Red Curry Chicken Breast over roti pancake, with baby carrots and red curry coconut sauce ($16.95). Valhalla’s minimalist space is chill, letting the 24 brands of beer from all over the world on tap be the main attraction at this bar. While its warm out, waste a little time walking through Central Park, relax, and get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Just watch your step. The working horses tend to leave surprises behind them!
