Friday September 4

Location: East Village, NYC
Event: Howl! Festival
Show time: See website for performance schedule
Venue: Tompkins Square Park
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones

Celebrating music, poetry, art, and dance on the Lower East Side, the Howl! Festival takes three stages and the whole weekend to showcase the talent that NYC has to offer. 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 actually has three more rooms. The Village Pourhouse is 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.

Friday September 4

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Bands: Battles + !!! Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Terminal 5
Food: Pig N’ Whistle
Drink: The Irish Rogue
Miscellaneous: Island Burgers & Shakes

Warp Records celebrates 20 years on this earth putting out some of the most innovative electronic music. Performing are some of the labels best in experimental rock outfit Battles and dance-punk band !!!. For great Irish food, one of my faves is Pig N’ Whistle in midtown. Serving traditional Irish fare like Steak and Kidney Pie as well as American. A great Irish pub in Hells Kitchen, The Irish Rogue has live music and sports playing on TVs, so you know this bar will be a party all day. If Irish food ain’t your thing, then head over to Island Burgers & Shakes as the menu is stacked two pages deep of some of the most intense burgers and chicken sandwiches on the island of Manhattan.

Saturday September 5

Location: East Harlem, NYC
Bands: Electric Zoo Festival
Show time: 11 AM; To buy tickets go to the website
Venue: Randall’s Island
Food Amy Ruth’s
Drink Harlem Lanes
Miscellaneous Stop 125

Celebrating electronic music’s best, the Electric Zoo Festival features the likes of Deadmau5, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Ferry Corsten, Francois K, Kaskade, Danny Tenaglia, Tiga, Richie Hawtin, and many more greats performing on four stages tonight and tomorrow. While you’re up in Harlem, head over to Amy Ruth’s for some of the best fried chicken around. A MUST TRY is the fried or smothered Chicken & Waffles named The Rev. Al Sharpton ($9.50). It’s out of this world! A complex housing 24 bowling lanes, mini arcade, and a gourmet café, Harlem Lanes also has a sports bar with 24 plasma screen TVs. At Stop 125 you’d think the outdoor Tiki Bar would be the main attraction, but it’s the food that many come for. Offering dinner entree’s as well as small tapas style appetizers like the much-loved Chorizo With Caramelized Figs sautéed in its own juices (sm $6.95, lg $12.95), Stop 125 takes American cuisine and spices it up with the international flair that NYC, and especially Harlem are known for.

Saturday September 5

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: Phosphorescent Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Food: Bonita
Drink: Savalas
Miscellaneous: Fabiane’s Café & Pastry Shop

If you’ve never heard Phosphorescent, AKA Matthew Houk, think the perfect amount of country to the right amount of folk and you’ve got some beautiful little songs that echo a genre of legends including Willie Nelson, whom he thoroughly covers on his album To Willie. If you’re in the zone for Mexican, Bonita is a great place. Serving the standard fare, try the mouth-watering chicken burrito and Mexican corn on the cob, wrapped in cheese with a hint of spice for that extra kick. If you’re looking to dance afterwards, Savalas has both great DJs and drink specials on top of delivering on the fun factor. Fabiane’s Café & Pastry Shop is a great little cafe in the heart of Williamsburg that’s great for not too late night people watching. Try one of their fantastic desserts or sip coffee and stare at the passing hipsters.

Sunday September 6

Richard Avedon
Veruschka, dress by Kimberly, New York, January 1967
© 2009 The Richard Avedon Foundation

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Photo: Avedon Fashion, 1944–2000
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: International Center of Photography
Food: Zip Burger
Drink: Subway Inn
Miscellaneous: Kinokuniya Bookstore

Richard Avedon changed the way fashion photography was approached and done by injecting emotion and movement into an emotionless style up to that point. This exhibition, one of the largest to date of his work, looks at his long career, with vintage photos, contact sheets, magazine layouts, and more in Avedon Fashion, 1944–2000. At Zip Burger they offer farm-raised, organic, and grass-fed meat and poultry, letting you build your own burger with plenty of gourmet toppings. The first time I went to Subway Inn I thought it was completely strange that there was a dive bar off Lexington Avenue, especially in this neck of the woods, but somehow it works. Born in the 30s, this bar has somehow remained, and thank god, as it’s easily the cheapest place in the area for a drink. For fans of Japanese pop-culture, Kinokuniya Bookstore has a large selection of Japanese themed books, videos, CDs, magazines, comics, and stationary.