Installation view of Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 16–February 15, 2009). Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins

Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Art: Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933
Show time: See website for schedule; Through February 15
Venue: Whitney Museum of American Art
Food: Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack
Drink: BB&R
Miscellaneous: Dylan’s Candy Bar

When Alexander “Sandy” Calder (1898–1976) arrived in Paris in 1926, he aspired to be a painter; when he left in 1933, he had evolved into the artist we know today: an international figure and defining force in twentieth-century sculpture. In these seven years Calder’s fluid, animating drawn line transformed from two dimensions to three, from ink and paint to wire, and his radical innovations included open form wire caricature portraits, a bestiary of wire animals, his beloved and critically important miniature Circus (1926–31), abstract and figurative sculptures, and his paradigm-shifting “mobiles.” The exhibition Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933 takes a look at the artist’s work during this period. If you’ve got a craving for barbeque, check out Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack as the ribs, chicken, beef, and pork are all smothered in some amazing BBQ sauce. BB&R, which stands for Blonde, Brunette, and a Redhead is the brainchild of three best friends. What they’ve created is something between a neighborhood bar and a lounge with leather seats in the front and a pool table, photo booth, and video games in the back. Looking more like it came out of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dylan’s Candy Bar is a colorful place to get lollipops, licorice, and all things sugary. Don’t go crazy though, or your sweet tooth might melt here!

For fans of psychedelia and South American sounds, Chicha Libre, the band named after a music craze from the Peruvian Amazon and Incan corn liquor, are sure to make you dance with the sexy sounds of surf guitar, moog, and farfisa organ. 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 outside of Buttermilk Bar may look non-descript, but looks are deceiving . . . just not in this case, as this low-key watering hole is where you can grab a cheap drink in a friendly atmosphere, while playing a board game or two. With a near insane menu of chocolates from coffee and tea to delectable dessert, and even beer, The Chocolate Room is a great way to end the night on a high note.

Location: Corona, NYC
Music: Björk’s Biophilia Live Show
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: New York Hall Of Science
Food: Sripraphai
Drink: Saints and Sinners
Miscellaneous: Baruirs

In partnership with The Creators Project and the New York Hall of Science, Björk is set to bring her live Biophilia show to NYSCI. Being that you’re in Queens anyways, you HAVE to take the 7 train to Sripraphai, one of New York’s top Thai restaurants. What makes it better than most is the fact that the ingredients are fresh, and instead of choosing your entree with a choice of meat, they offer a novel sized menu with pics of every dish, most under $10. Once a heavily Irish neighborhood, Saints and Sinners is one of the best looking Irish bars left. Grab a Guinness at the bar or traditional Irish food. If you can, head over to Baruirs in Sunnyside for one of the best cups of coffee in Queens.

Friday February 3

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Class Actress
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: 285 Kent Ave
Food: Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café
Drink: Teddy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: Verb Café

Class Actress make really great electro-pop fronted by Elizabeth Harper’s gorgeous voice. Also performing are Pictureplane and Beige. For vegetarians and those not in the mood for meat, Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café offers Pan-Asian cuisine in a relaxed earth-toned environment with a menu featuring veggies, tofu, seitan, and soy. The best thing about Teddy’s Bar & Grill is that it’s just got this great neighborhood vibe that’s warm and friendly, while also having a great menu of drinks and American bar food favorites like burgers, salads, sandwiches, and steak. A great place to get good coffee, take a seat, and watch the passing hipsters stroll by, Verb Café even has excellent sandwiches and baked goods to snack on before the show.

Saturday February 4

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Music: Skrillex
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Terminal 5
Food: Eatery
Drink: Valhalla
Miscellaneous: Central Park

Blending hip hop, rock and dance music to perfection, Skrillex seems to have come out of nowhere to singlehandedly revolutionize electronic music. Definitely worth seeing live if you wanna dance and/or mosh. Also on board as openers are Skream & Benga, KOAN Sound, TOKiMONSTA. 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 February 4

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Art: Diego Rivera: Murals for the Museum of Modern Art
Show time: See website for schedule; Through May 14, 2012
Venue: Town Hall
Venue: MOMA
Food: Eatery
Drink: Valhalla
Miscellaneous: Central Park

Diego Rivera: Murals for the Museum of Modern Art takes a look back at Diego Rivera, who was the subject of MoMA’s second monographic exhibition (the first was Henri Matisse), which set new attendance records in its five-week run from December 22, 1931, to January 27, 1932. This exhibition will bring together key works made for Rivera’s 1931 exhibition, presenting them at MoMA for the first time in nearly 80 years. 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!

Sunday February 5

Location: Union Square, NYC
Art: Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics
Show time: See website for schedule; Through June 11, 2012
Venue: Rubin Museum of Art
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones

Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics features the most complete collection of comics related to Tibet ever assembled, with examples ranging from the 1940s to the present. More than fifty comic books from Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and the United States reflect on the depiction of Tibet, tracing the historical roots of prevailing perceptions and stereotypes and their visual and narrative evolution over time. 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! The Village Pourhouse looks like a neighborhood bar to watch sports but is 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.

Thurston Moore, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, takes time out from his regular gig fronting Sonic Youth to share music from his new folk album, Demolished Thoughts—a complete departure for this “noise” specialist. His guitar will be stirred, not shaken, in The Allen Room. Low priced anything near Columbia University is getting harder to find, but at Symposium, you’ll get Greek food that won’t force you to take a mortgage out. The Pastitsio (baked macaroni with ground meat $9.95) is out of this world. Not the kind of dive bar you’re thinking, though Broadway Dive has a single malt scotch and bourbon menu big enough that you won’t even know where you are after a few. A coffee bar that also serves liquor, tapas, and baked goods all in one place? Sip sounds good to me.

Featuring extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations, the dazzling new Journey to the Stars launches visitors through space and time to experience the life and death of the stars in our night sky, including our own nurturing Sun. Cheap yet not too heavy, Hummus Place serves up surprisingly great hummus in the uptown version of their original downtown location. More a game room for adults than a sports bar, Jake’s Dilemmal offers more than 50 beers to choose from while you can play pool, video games, or foosball. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Alice’s Tea Cup is as much for adults as it is for kids. Get one of a vast assortment of teas flown in from around the world here or a gorgeously designed slice of cake.

Djuna Barnes, Sketch of a woman with hat, looking right, for "The Terrorists," New York Morning Telegraph Sunday Magazine, September 30, 1917. Ink on paper, 12 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. (32.4 x 21.6 cm). Djuna Barnes Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries

Location: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Art: Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes, 1913–1919
Show time: See website for schedule; Through August 19
Venue: Brooklyn Museum
Food: Tom’s Restaurant
Drink: Soda Bar
Miscellaneous: Old Brooklyn Parlor

Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes, 1913–1919 is an exploration of the early journalistic career of American writer and women’s rights advocate Djuna Barnes (1892–1982). On view will be forty-five objects, including documentary photographs, drawings, works on paper, and Barnes’s stories in newsprint, including eight illustrations she composed to accompany her newspaper columns. Her work suggests a proto-feminist sensibility, emphasizing politics as something experienced on an individual, emotional level. It’s the place where Susanne Vega wrote “Tom’s Restaurant,” but Tom’s Restaurant is just as famous for its food. With a near insane breakfast menu, expect items like pancakes with apples and pecans to be brought to you by the sweetest waitresses in Brooklyn. Soda Bar is a great place for drinks. The alcohol is cheap, there’s surprisingly excellent food, and there’s even another room where DJs spin. If it’s too much, you can hang outside in the backyard patio under the stars. The Old Brooklyn Parlor specializes in old school drinks like the Brooklyn Egg Cream and the Lime Cherry Rickey, making it an excellent anchor to this neighborhood.

For fans of psychedelia and South American sounds, Chicha Libre, the band named after a music craze from the Peruvian Amazon and Incan corn liquor, are sure to make you dance with the sexy sounds of surf guitar, moog, and farfisa organ. 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 outside of Buttermilk Bar may look non-descript, but looks are deceiving . . . just not in this case, as this low-key watering hole is where you can grab a cheap drink in a friendly atmosphere, while playing a board game or two. With a near insane menu of chocolates from coffee and tea to delectable dessert, and even beer, The Chocolate Room is a great way to end the night on a high note.

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Music: Aimee Mann
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony

From the emotional breakdown of “Voices Carry” with her band Til Tuesday to most of her tracks from the film Magnolia, Aimee Mann is a brilliantly witty songwriter worth her weight in gold. 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 27

Location: West Village, NYC
Bands: Gospel Queens of Brooklyn
Show time: 8:30 PM
Venue: Fat Cat Billiards
Food: Tortilla Flats
Drink: White Horse Tavern
Miscellaneous: Magnolia Bakery

If you haven’t experiences the Gospel Queens of Brooklyn you are missing out as it’s like going to church . . .minus the religion and skipping to the great music. Dinner before a show like this should be just as awesome. Check out Tortilla Flats. The food is Mexican and delicious, but it’s the insanity within (bingo and hula-hoop nights) that is the real calling for this place. For drinks afterwards, hit the White Horse Tavern, a great bar and the old haunting grounds for Dylan Thomas. If you somehow have time before all of this, stop by Magnolia Bakery for some of the best tasting cupcakes in the city.

Saturday January 28

Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Music: Matt Bauer
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: The Gutter
Food: Lokal
Drink: Enid’s
Miscellaneous: The Gutter

One of our favorite music blogs kevchino.com celebrates its 10th year of existence with a really great lineup that includes the folky Matt Bauer, singer/songwriter Dana Falconberry, Natureboy who is a fave singer with an incredible voice, and Prairie Empire whose vocals are as lush as their sound. Lokal describes itself as a Mediterranean Bistro, though serves up burgers, pizza, and steak. Regardless, the food is delicious, the ambiance nice, is right on McCarren Park AND they serve mulled wine during the winter. For drinks, Enid’s is Greenpoint’s go to bar. With inexpensive drinks and a festive vibe, you’ll be right in the middle of a good time. The Gutter, the new bowling alley and bar, is brought to you by the same owners as Barcade, so you know it will be good. Bowling + Booze = Awesome!

Saturday January 28

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 January 29

Sherrie Levine (b. 1947), Crystal Skull, 2011. Cast glass, 5 1/2 × 7 × 4 1/2 in. (14 × 17.8 × 11.4 cm). Private collection; courtesy Jablonka Galerie, Cologne. © Sherrie Levine. Photograph by Davina Semo; image courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Art: Sherrie Levine: Mayhem
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 29, 2012
Venue: Whitney Museum of American Art
Food: Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack
Drink: BB&R
Miscellaneous: Dylan’s Candy Bar

Sherrie Levine (b. 1947) has transformed and re-contextualized images and objects in her work since the late 1970s, often presenting them as installations that provide a compelling sense of context. This exhibition, Sherrie Levine: Mayhem, developed as a project by the artist, includes works ranging from well-known photographs, such as After Walker Evans: 1-22, 1981, to recent sculptures, such as Crystal Skull: 1-12, 2010. The exhibition, conceived by the artist as offering constellations of older and newer works, will provide juxtapositions that provoke new associations and responses. If you’ve got a craving for barbeque, check out Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack as the ribs, chicken, beef, and pork are all smothered in some amazing BBQ sauce. BB&R, which stands for Blonde, Brunette, and a Redhead is the brainchild of three best friends. What they’ve created is something between a neighborhood bar and a lounge with leather seats in the front and a pool table, photo booth, and video games in the back. Looking more like it came out of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dylan’s Candy Bar is a colorful place to get lollipops, licorice, and all things sugary. Don’t go crazy though, or your sweet tooth might melt here!

Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics features the most complete collection of comics related to Tibet ever assembled, with examples ranging from the 1940s to the present. More than fifty comic books from Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and the United States reflect on the depiction of Tibet, tracing the historical roots of prevailing perceptions and stereotypes and their visual and narrative evolution over time. 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! The Village Pourhouse looks like a neighborhood bar to watch sports but is 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.

In the exhibition Frances Stark: My Best Company, is a feature-length animation in the form of a serialized soap opera, constructed from interactions in online video chatrooms. The Los Angeles-based artist and writer explores image-making and the written word. Known for her works on paper that often reference the acts of drawing and writing, Stark also makes videos, sculptures, and live performances that are suffused with self-doubt, speculation, and vulnerability.. Being that you’re in Queens anyways, you HAVE to take the 7 train to Sripraphai, one of New York’s top Thai restaurants. What makes it better than most is the fact that the ingredients are fresh, and instead of choosing your entree with a choice of meat, they offer a novel sized menu with pics of every dish, most under $10. Once a heavily Irish neighborhood, Saints and Sinners is one of the best looking Irish bars left. Grab a Guinness at the bar or traditional Irish food. If you can, head over to Baruirs in Sunnyside for one of the best cups of coffee in Queens.