Friday January 20
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Music: Caveman Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: San Loco
Drink: Max Fish
Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Chamber pop act Caveman make sweet sweet pop songs that are as equally fun on record as they are live. Joining them is Au Palais. San Loco serves inexpensive Mexican food. 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 January 20
Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Music: One Step Beyond presents Chromeo DJs
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: American Museum of Natural History
Food: Hummus Place
Drink: Jake’s Dilemmal
Miscellaneous: Alice’s Tea Cup
The monthly series that sees bands, and DJ’s mix with live visuals returns for another season. This time performers include Dirty Projectors (DJ set), Skinny Friedman, and Import/Export. 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.
Saturday January 21
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Music: Portlandia Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony
If you haven’t seen Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s quirky comedy on IFC Portlandia, it’s a show that takes a look at many of the interesting characters in that city, skillfully played by the comedy duo. Not sure how they will pull it off live, but I’m guessing it will be as funny as the show. 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.
Saturday January 21
Location: East Village, NYC
Art: Carsten Höller: Experience
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 22
Venue: New Museum of Contemporary Art
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones
Carsten Höller: Experience is the most comprehensive US exhibition to date of the artist’s engaging work. The current show gathers together a number of the artist’s signature works in an arrangement that transforms the viewer’s experience of time and space. Originally trained as a scientist, Höller is frequently inspired by research and experiments from scientific history and deploys these studies in works that alter the audience’s physical and psychological sensations, inspiring doubt and uncertainty about the world around them. 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.
Sunday January 22
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!
