Friday January 11
Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Music: Morrissey
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: BAM
Food: ICI
Drink: Moe’s
Miscellaneous: Five Spot
Morrissey makes a one night only appearance in Brooklyn to perform all the songs you know and love from his back catalog as well as some new material. Fans, followers and worshippers of the Moz prepare to sing along till your hoarse! Creating a seasonal menu filled with fresh and locally grown ingredients along with wines from small interesting local wineries, ICI creates innovative dishes like Wild Striped Bass with shitake mushrooms, fennel butter, and fennel slaw ($25). An eclectic bar in Ft. Greene that has absolutely nothing to do with The Simpsons, Moe’s offers a decent beer selection, a neighborhood vibe, and big windows to people watch. For incredible soul food and late night drinks, head over to the Five Spot. This Brooklyn gem makes some of the best fried chicken, po boys, and macaroni and cheese in the five boroughs. The drinks are big and the cocktail menu has all of your faves.
Friday January 11
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Slick Rick
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl
Food: Blue Ribbon
Drink: Brooklyn Bowl
Miscellaneous: Bowling at Brooklyn Bowl
The ruler, Slick Rick returns! The hip hop legend hits the Brooklyn Bowl stage to perform the hits, plus it’s his birthday, so it should be off the chain! For dinner, check out Blue Ribbon, part of the highly rated eateries in the city, you’ll find southern fare including fried chicken and BBQ, some crazy shakes & floats, and more. For drinks, just walk about 20 feet to the bar where they offer nine draft beers from Brooklyn. Finally, and most obvious, there’s 16 lanes of bowling. While the wait is generally long, where else can you throw a strike and see a great band at the same time?
Saturday January 12
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Music: GZA
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Stage 48
Food: Swizz Restaurant & Wine Bar
Drink: Café des Artistes
Miscellaneous: Magnolia Bakery
Join Wu-Tang’s GZA as he performs live. Hopefully we’ll hear plenty of tracks off Liquid Swords and maybe even some new material. Also on board is Rasputina, Robben Ford, and Dessa. Fondue lovers, Swizz Restaurant & Wine Bar is the place to go and the menu is just as extensive as its wine. It’s romantic and cheesy. Get it! Café des Artistes is one of those old historic bars that’s as New York as it gets. This bar/restaurant was the meeting place of artists going all the way back to 1917. Today, it serves up new American dishes and cocktails to those in the know. To soothe your sweet tooth, check the uptown location of Magnolia Bakery and sink your teeth into one of the city’s best cupcakes.
Saturday January 12
Location: Union Square, NYC
Music: Purity Ring
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar
Drink: McSorley’s Old Ale House
Miscellaneous: Mudd Cafe
Canadian electronic music duo Purity Ring were members of GOBBLE GOBBLE (now Born Gold) and make experimental electronic dance music with a hip hop feel, so it should make for an interesting show. Also joining them is Young Magic. 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 13
Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Art: Picasso Black and White
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 23
Venue: Guggenheim Museum
Food: Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack
Drink: Cavatappo Wine Bar
Miscellaneous: Ship of Fools
Picasso Black and White is the first exhibition to explore the selected black and white work that occupied the great Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, throughout his prolific career in 20th-century art. Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack is known for their BBQ’d meats, smoked in house. The menu is all Southern favorites like po boys, catfish, fried chicken, along with burgers. Though it’s small, Cavatappo Wine Bar packs a mighty punch, offering an amazing selection of wines from all over the world for under $10 a glass. With more than 40 TVs featuring sports, Ship of Fools also has darts, pool tables, and video games.
