Friday August 28
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: French Miami
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Death By Audio
Food: San Loco
Drink: Max Fish
Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine
With angular guitars and synth backed vocals, French Miami make math rock you can dance to by way of San Francisco, not Miami like their name suggests. 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.
Friday August 28
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: The Damnwells Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: SEA
Drink: Zablozki’s
Miscellaneous: Academy Records
Poppy, folky alt rock with a hint of country, The Damnwells will be performing and promoting their new DVD Golden Days, a documentary about the band. Joining them are Dawn Landes and Colin Smith. Before that, a great restaurant on the same block is SEA. Asian inspired from the décor to the food, this huge and gorgeous space serves up a mostly Thai menu from massaman curries to house specialties like Red SEA Duck (Half duck in red vinaigrette-tomato gravy sauce served with stir-fried mixed veggies), SEA is inexpensive and visually impressive for Brooklyn. With an increasing amount of new bars on the block, Zablozki’s is a standout that’s cozy, mostly mahogany, and has great drinks specials. A great stop off if you’re early is Academy Records. One of the biggest vinyl shops in NYC, if you are a vinyl fan, you will be blown away.
Saturday August 29
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Event: 9th Annual Rumblers Kustom Kills & Hot Rod Thrills
Show time: Car show: 10 AM, Bands: 3 PM; FREE
Venue: Union Pool
Food: Chimu
Drink: Union Pool
Miscellaneous: Eks
Check out Kustom Kills, a car show hosted by the Rumblers Car Club and featuring rockabilly and punk bands like Rehab For Quitters, Tombstone Brawlers, Homeward Bound, Memphis Morticians, Sasquatch and the Sick-A-Billys, and Turbo A.C.’s. With so much good food in Williamsburg, you should not forget about Chimu. A Peruvian steakhouse right next to Union Pool, the rotisserie chicken and every other dish I’ve had here is amazing, and it won’t break the bank! For drinks, Union Pool is still one of the best bars in town. If you’re single, it’s a goldmine for ass, the drinks aren’t pricey, and the DJs play an eclectic mix of ridiculously good music plus there’s a taco truck outside in case you get the munchies. Not exactly Pinkberry, yet just as expensive, Eks is Williamsburg’s answer to the yogurt fad currently popping up.
Saturday August 29
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Bands: Q-Tip Presents: Long Live the King! A Birthday Celebration for Michael Jackson Get Tickets Here
Show time: 10 PM
Venue: Nokia Theater Times Square
Food: Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
Drink: Rudy’s Bar and Grill
Miscellaneous: Peking Duck House
The King of Pop is dead and though he weirdly enough still isn’t buried yet, we’re still gonna celebrate the man who put out Thriller and Bad and all sorts of great music and Q-Tip is leading the charge as he hosts Long Live the King! A Birthday Celebration for Michael Jackson. Expect to hear some never before heard remixes and plenty of video footage with a guest appearance by Mark Ronson. Making fast food healthy, Yoshinoya serves bowls of rice, vegetables, and your choice of beef, teriyaki chicken, veggie, or a combo of meats. Super cheap, it’s a favorite spot of mine in midtown. A great dive, Rudy’s Bar and Grill serves up cheap beer by the pint or by the pitcher, and as for the grilling, that includes free hot dogs and popcorn! Though slightly on the expensive side, if you’re in the mood for duck and are a couple or in a group of four or more, Peking Duck House makes some of the best duck you will ever likely have.
Sunday August 30
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Food: Dumont Burger
Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten
Miscellaneous: Verb Cafe
You may or may not have heard of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros yet but part spaghetti western part Arcade Fire and part psychedelic, this band has really hit on something spectacular and from what I hear, their live performance is just as amazing as their album. 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!
