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Fri, Apr 30, 2021, 7:30 PM – Sat, May 1, 2021, 8:45 PM
The Underground Cabaret
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 30 & MAY 1, 2021 (continuing through MAY 31)
7:30 & 7:45 PM
DeKalb Stage, City Point
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
$135
https://www.anverentertainment.com/the-underground-cabaret
Dinner and a neo-circus, neo-burlesque, neo-variety show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dinner is by Israeli chain Minzon.
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Friday, April 30, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Virtual Community Salon
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 (monthly) (or so)
7:30 PM
Contemporaneous
Zoom
Free (with registration)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-community-salon-tickets-147177296255
A virtual salon. Artists and performers can share pieces in whatever stage of completion. Everyone else can comment and converse.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dark 'n' Stormy: pour 2 oz. Blackstrap Rum and 1 oz. lime juice into a Collins glass. Add ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wedge.
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Friday, April 30, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Susan Kander: dwb (driving while black)
OPERA
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
7:00 PM
Urban Arias Stream
$15-$45
https://www.urbanarias.org/performances/driving-while-black/
Susan Kander's BLM-themed opera has been playing around over the last couple of years, and it now appears in a film by the A'KEEN Brand team. Soprano Karen Slack — the only vocal performer — is one incredibly eloquent singer.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Black Barrel: pour 2 oz. Rye and 1/2 oz. each of Averna Amaro and Amontillado Sherry, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, into an Old Fashioned glass over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Friday, April 30, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 (weekly)
5:00 PM
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Facebook
Free
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel-online
The fab alt string quartet ETHEL brings its weekly recitals in the Met Balcony Bar home (theirs and yours). Expect old and new music, and surprise guests (from still more homes).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Amber Negroni: pour 1/2 oz. each of Gin and Braulio Amaro, and 1 oz. each of Lillet Blanc (with the usual preferred substitutions, especially Tempus Fugit Kino l'Áero d'Or) and lemon juice, with 3 dashes of Bitterman's Burlesque Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
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Friday, April 30, 2021, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition
THEATER / DANCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
12:00 PM
La MaMa Live Stream
Free
https://www.lamama.org/shows/kenya-edition
Bold Theater KE brings us a survey of the Kenyan alt-performing arts scene.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you're talking about cocktails in Kenya, you're really talking about the Dawa Cocktail: put 1 quartered lime (skin on) and 2 tablespoons white or 1 tablespoon brown sugar at the bottom of a rocks glass. Crush the lime a little. Add ice. Pour in 2 oz. Vodka and 3/4 oz. lime juice. Dip a honey dipper in honey (I'm assuming you don't have a Dawa Stick) and stir into the drink.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sydney Spann: Attached or Detached (partial disappearance)
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
8:00 PM
With Womens Work
ISSUE Project Room Stream
Free
https://issueprojectroom.org/event/womens-work-sydney-spann-attached-or-detached-partial-disappearance
We start off with a 1970s Sari Dienes piece obscurely based on the baking of a pie, and go with sound artist/avant-popster Sydney Spann wherever she takes us from there (which includes the Jersey Shore, where Spann worked as a live-in nanny).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's keep easing into the new season with a Bitter Mai Tai (which I have to admit I'm quite liking): pour 1 oz. each of overproof Jamaican Rum, Campari, and lime juice, and 1/2 oz. each of Orgeat and Curaçao, into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE. Dry shake. Pour into a mug 2/3 full of crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, mint, and nutmeg.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Trisha Brown Dance Company
DANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
8:00 PM
Joyce Theater Stream
$25
https://www.joyce.org/trisha-brown-dance-company
Even while expanding her style, the late Trisha Brown stayed close to her Post-Modern Judson roots, keeping the quotidian in the midst of larger and larger canvases. This show focuses (not exclusively) on Brown's work from the turn of the '80s, before she really started going large-scale.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Contessa: pour 1 oz. each of Gin, dry Vermouth, and Aperol into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Express a lemon twist into the drink and discard the rind.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021, 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
Livestream Concerts: Billy Hart Quartet
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
7:30 & 9:30 PM
Jazz Gallery Live Stream
$20
https://www.jazzgallery.org/calendar/livestream-billy-hart-2
Billy Hart is one titanic Modern Jazz drummer. And what a great quartet he has: Dayna Stephens on sax, Ethan Iverson on piano, and Ben Street on bass!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Genever Martinez: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Genever and sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon Curaçao, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Julia Izumi: All the Different Ways Commodore Matthew Perry Could Have Died Before Opening Japan but Didn't
THEATER
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
7:00 & 9:00 PM
Theater in Quarantine Live Stream
Free
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqMhCVLpToyrC9Xj1-WWSfg
Being in the closet may have hurt theater in the past. But it isn't hurting Theater in Quarantine. This is some of the best remote stuff around.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Japanese Cocktail: pour 2 oz. Cognac and 1/2 oz. Orgeat, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 27 & 29, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Tune-Yards: Party in a CanMUSIC
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
9:00 PM
NoonChorus Live Stream
$15
https://noonchorus.com/tune-yards/
Merrill Garbus's phenomenal band/art project Tune-Yards celebrates the release of a new album. Their music pops. It rocks. It lilts. The vocal textures reach out and grab you. (As you might be able to tell, I kind of like them.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Freight Train Swizzle: pour 1-1/2 oz. aged Rum and 3/4 oz. each of Green Chartreuse, Falernum, and lime juice into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE. Dry shake. Pour into a mug or tall glass 3/4 full with crushed ice. Stick in a straw. Shake in 3 dashes of Angostura bitters. Top with more crushed ice. Garnish with some mint and grated nutmeg.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Erik Friedlander with Sentinal & The Throw
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
8:00 PM
Roulette Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/erik-friedlander-with-sentinel-and-the-throw/
The composing/improvising cellist Erik Friedlander fronts two very different bands: Sentinal is LOUD, and The Throw are . . . meant to evoke Absinthe?
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: There are a few versions of the Turf Club floating around, but the one from Harry Craddock (which they're serving at the new Gage & Tollner, BTW) (I drank enough of them that I'm a little worried about whether they'll allow me back, to be honest) not only is the best, but includes Absinthe: pour 2 oz. Gin, 3/4 oz. dry Vermouth, 1/4 oz. Maraschino liqueur, and 1/4 teaspoon Absinthe, with 1 dash of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Express a lemon twist into the drink and drop in as a garnish.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
-
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Lisa Natoli: Bright Ideas Salon
PERFORMANCE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
7:00 PM
The Anver Residency at City Point
DeKalb Stage, City Point
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
Pay what you can
http://lisasbrightideas.com/
The amazing aerialist Lisa Natoli showcases long-form aerial works by herself and others.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Cheerful Peruvian food and a whole lot of Pisco at Pollo d'Oro.
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Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 9:00 PM
Darrel Alejandro Holnes: Black Feminist Video Game
THEATER
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 27 – MAY 2, 2021
8:00 PM
The Civilians
59E59 Live Stream
Twitch
$10
https://thecivilians.org/upcoming/black-feminist-video-game/
I'm just gonna quote the promotional materials here:
Enter Jonas: a biracial teenager with autism. Jonas broadcasts all aspects of his life online, including a disastrous first date with his crush, Nicole. Desperate to regain her affections, he dusts off a long-ignored gift from his mother — a classic 2D “Black feminist video game” — hopeful that the game will grant him the key to winning Nicole back. But Jonas soon discovers that, with only the Game Master and his friend Sabine to guide him, he must confront his own misperceptions of the women in his (real) life, or risk losing not only the game but also his first chance at love. In this mashup of live performance, video game design, and online interaction, Jonas and Sabine stream their play on Twitch and find their path through the game together. Along the way, you’ll help (or hinder!) their progress by responding in real time to the choices they make.
Does that sound great, or what?
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Arsenic and Old Lace: Rinse a Martini glass or coupe with Absinthe. Pour 2 oz. Gin, 3/4 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/4 oz. Crème de Violette into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into the rinsed glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Regional de NY
MUSIC
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021
7:00 PM
Pop-Ups in the Latern
Miller Theater at Columbia University Stream
Free (registration required)
https://www.millertheatre.com/events/regional-de-ny-live-from-columbia
If you don't love Brazilian Choro music, well, I just don't know. It's wild and contrapuntal, like Early Jazz — but it's from Brazil, so it lilts. New York being New York, there are a few fine local Choro bands here — and Regional de NY is one of the finest.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Is there any way we're not downing multiple Caipirinhas during this show? Cut 1/2 lime into 4 wedges. Put in the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass with 2 teaspoons of superfine sugar. Muddle. Poor in 2 oz. Cachaça. Stir. Add ice. Stir again. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 27 & 29, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 4:30 PM
Ben Rubin & Brian House: Terminal Morraine
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 27 – MAY 2, 2021 (continuing through JUNE 6)*
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Woodland Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/ben_rubin_and_brian_house_terminal_moraine
A sound installation in the Walled Garden in BBG's new Woodland Garden, intended to purvey a sense of the geological contingency that created the terminal morraine ridge on which the Garden sits that clefts Brooklyn and reaches all the way out to Montauk. The morraine, a pile of rocks left by ice age glaciers at their furthest point of advance before changing climate caused their retreat, was created at a climatic inflection point — and now we're at another (this one, however, of our specie's own creation).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Burmese at Rangoon.
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Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 4:30 PM
-
Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 4:30 PM
Michael Gordon: loved.
MUSIC
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 27 – MAY 2, 2021 (continuing through MAY 9)
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/loved
I hadn't been Listing this: as totally wonderful as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is — it's really about my favorite spot in New York — am I going to send you there to hear a five-and-a-half-minute music tape played hourly at the Cherry Esplanade (the cherry blossoms are OUT!) — even if the music is composed by Michael Gordon and played by master percussionist David Cossin? But with all the other great stuff going on at the Garden now, I'd be remiss not to point you to this as well.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The fabulous Gold Star Beer Counter serves on-premises (outdoors) when it's nice out.
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Monday, April 26, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021
8:00 PM
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
YouTube
Facebook
Free ($12 suggested donation)
http://bindlestiff.org/bindlestiff-open-stage-variety-show-quarantine-edition/
Last call! Bindlestiff and friends' neo-Vaudeville is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Don't miss the grand (online) finale!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Which is why we'll accompany it with Monkey Glands: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Gin and orange juice, and 1 teaspoon each of Grenadine, Simple Syrup, and Absinthe into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe (or better still, Nick and Nora glass). Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 8:00 PM – Fri, Apr 30, 2021, 9:00 PM
Modulations
OPERA
MONDAY – FRIDAY, APRIL 26 – 30, 2021
8:00 PM (or on demand)
California Performing Arts / LA Opera
PROTOTYPE Festival Stream
$25
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/modulation/
A major event. A self-guided exploration of the efforts of 13 composers to deal with the various strands that wove together the past year. The composers include such List regulars as Mollly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Paul Pinto, Raven Chacon, and Bora Yoon! This is how online presentations should be done.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: TGV: pour 2-1/4 oz. Blanco or Reposado Tequila, 1-1/2 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon of Grenadine into a tumbler over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 8:00 PM
Sibyl Kempson / 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr & Perf. Co.: The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.
THEATER
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2021 (continuing through MAY 15)
7:00 PM
Chocolate Factory / Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/sibyl-kempson-2020/
The wickedly inventive theatermaker Sibyl Kempson reinvents Mary Shelley. So far we have a four-part episodic radio play, all of which is now available for streaming. A digital "theatrical miniseries" will follow in the Spring (if we live that long).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dr. Frankenstein: pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 12:00 PM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 7:00 PM
Modesto Flako Jimenez: Taxilandia
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2021 (continuing through MAY 3)
12:00, 2:00 & 4:00 PM MONDAY – FRIDAY
12:00, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
¡Oye! Group
294 Harmon Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Taxi ride $25 per person; text-guided walking tour $3 per person
https://www.taxilandia.com/
Playwright/performer/director/producer Modesto Flako Jimenez drove a cab for years. Which gave him a street-level perspective of his Bushwick neighborhood — the one behind the fashionplate. There are two ways to do this show. Pods of up to three people can take a cab ride with Jimenez, who'll chat about the neighborhood (scarce cab reservations are available by lottery). Or you can take a text-guided walking tour of Bushwick.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Grab some Birria at Nene's Deli Taqueria and eat it in Maria Hernandez Park.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 10:00 AM – Fri, Apr 30, 2021, 12:00 PM
Pamela Z & Geoff Sobelle: Times3 (Times x Times x Times)
OPERA / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – FRIDAY, APRIL 26 – 30, 2021
Starting 10:00 AM
PROTOTYPE Out of Bounds
PROTOTYPE Festival Onsite & Stream
Times Square, Midtown, Manhattan
Free
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/times-3/
A sonic journey through Times Square and its history that you can undertake live in Times Square or virtually at your computer. Created by two of this List's very favorites: magic soundscaper Pamela Z and physical theater magician Geoff Sobelle!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you go, I think the wonderful Los Tacos No. 1 still has an outdoor seating set-up (bizarrely closed Saturdays, though). At home, this will take some advance preparation, but: Times Square. Combine 1-1/4 oz. Southern Comfort (yeah, you heard right), 1/4 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Grenadine in a glass or pitcher. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Pour into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 9:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 5:00 PM
Gelsey Bell feat. Joseph White: Cairns
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2021 (ongoing)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
#stillHERE IRL
Green-Wood Cemetery, Sunset Park Entrance
35th Street at 4th Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$7 or more for soundtrack
https://here.org/shows/cairns/
Something you can actually Go Out! to (although it's not quite "live"). Gelsey Bell, that vocal star of NYC Alt Classical, has conceived of a piece that walks you around Green-Wood Cemetery (starting at the Sunset Park Entrance). You download the soundtrack on your phone beforehand (the Times complains about how hard it is to download from Bandcamp to an iPhone — trust me: if I can figure out how to do it, anyone can). Bell wrote the text and narrates, with a co-composing assist from the inimitable Joe White (who seemingly couldn't write an unenjoyable tune if he tried). The Cemetery itself will do the performing. (You can also listen to the soundtrack at home and pretend you're walking around the Cemetery.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bring bottled water. As for afterward, 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets is designated for street dining on weekends — and there's lots available at all times.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 10:00 PM
Stephanie Fleischmann, Christina Campanella & Mallory Catlett: The Visitation
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
HERE Arts Center Presentation
Jackie Robinson Park
Between Edgecombe & Bradhurst Aves. & 145 – 155 Sts., Sugar Hill, Manhattan
Pay what you wish
https://here.org/shows/the-visitation/
Another sound walk (I LOVE these!), this one set to avant-pop you access through Soundcloud.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Good beer, epic burgers at Harlem Public.
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Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, May 2, 2021, 1:00 AM
Ellen Reid: SOUNDWALK
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 1:00 AM
New York Philharmonic
Central Park
59th Street – 110th Street/Central Park West – 5th Avenue, Manhattan
Free (registration required)
https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/new-york-philharmonic
The New York Phil hops aboard the walk-around-the-landscaped-space-with-soundtrack train (see below). The highly allusive soundtrack was put together by Ellen Reid, who is one of the more soundscapey (and certainly one of the best) of today's many excellent young composers. This walk isn't guided: you download an app that triggers sounds sent to your earphones from various cells around the Park as you wander. So you can do it over many times. (Speaking of wandering around Central Park, here's something that I, for one, never knew.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Delicious pan-African at Teranga (and people say their outdoor dining set-up is lovely).
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Sunday, April 25, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Periapsis Music & Dance: Ipseities
DANCE
SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021
8:00 PM
Soapbox Gallery Live Streem
Free/Pay what you can
https://www.soapboxgallery.org/events/periapsis
In the beginning of the Quarantine last year, Periapsis's Artistic Director reached out to the dance community, offering to collaborate with dancer/choreographers on pieces for which he'd write brief piano solos to which they would create dances. Some were made into dance videos and other remote forms. This is a set of six of them deemed apt for live performance in the small space of the Soapbox Gallery (in my hood!).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Brandy Champerelle: pour 2 oz. Cognac and 1/2 oz. each Triple Sec and Angostura bitters into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Sunday, April 25, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Argus Quartet: noise / SILENCE
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021
7:30 PM
YouTube
5 Boroughs Music Festival Stream
Free
https://5bmf.org/events/noise-silence/
Surrounded by the works of Isamu Noguchi at the Noguchi Museum, the thoughts of the Argus Quartet inevitably turned to the use of silence and noise in music. Among the several composers on the bill, John Cage presumably represents silence. And Paul Wiancko almost certainly represents noise.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Lime Chu-Hai: pour 2 oz. Shochu and 1 oz. lime juice into a Highball glass over ice. Stir. Top with soda water.
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Sunday, April 25, 2021, 5:30 PM – 6:29 PM
Biophilia Records Festival 2021
MUSIC
THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 23 & 25, 2021 (festival continues through MAY 16)
7:30 PM THURSDAY & FRIDAY
5:30 PM SUNDAY
YouTube
Free/Pay what you can (registration required)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdG3ZDS6Us
Biophilia Records, with its genre-denying fresh eclectic spacey-as-they-wanna-be lineup, has proven to be a boon companion during Quarantine. Just picking out a few faves in this first weekend of their Festival, I'll note the cool Portuguese-born art-jazz singer/composer Sara Serpa on Thursday, and the marvelous saxophonist María Grand on Friday.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Lavender Margarita: pour 2-1/2 oz. Silver Tequila, 1/2 oz. each Cointreau and Crème de Violette, and 1/4 oz. each lime juice and Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lime twist and a flower if you have one.
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Sunday, April 25, 2021, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Emi Ferguson & Rukus
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021
3:00 PM
Caramoor Live Streem
$15-$45
https://caramoor.org/event/ruckus-emi-ferguson-livestream-2021/
Ace flautist Emi Ferguson and her band take the perception that Baroque ensembles are structured like rock or jazz bands — melodic instruments on top with an unintegrated rhythm section below — and run with it. They run and run and run, in fact. You will not hear more vivacious Bach.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: It's getting nice out. Let's have a Foghorn: pour 2 oz. Gin, 1/2 oz. each of Cointreau and Lillet Blanc/Cocchi Americano, and 3/4 teaspoon of Absinthe into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into an iced Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Jasper String Quartet
MUSIC
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021
8:00 PM
Edward T. Cone Concert Series
Institute of Advanced Studies Live Stream
Free (registration required)
https://www.ias.edu/events/jasper-string-quartet-edward-t-cone-concert
The excellent Jasper String Quartet plays something by Brooklyn's own Shelley Washington, and also (not that Washington has anything to worry about) the greatest string quartet ever written, Beethoven's 14th.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Almost as profound as Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, the Black Barrel: pour 2 oz. Rye and 1/2 oz. each of Averna Amaro and Amontillado Sherry, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, into an Old Fashioned glass over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Ned Rothenberg, Alain Kirili & Ariane Lopez-Huici: Concert without Public
MUSIC
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021
8:00 PM
loadbang Live Stream
YouTube
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/concert-without-public/
The unique clarinet/whateverist Ned Rothenberg performs alone in the studio of scultpor Alain Kirili and photographer Ariane Lopez-Huici, playing to Kirili's sculptures.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I'm gonna keep pushing the Flying Dutchman until all of you have had one: pour 1-1/2 oz. Genever and 3/4 oz. each of yellow Chartreuse, Bénédictine, and lemon juice into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 7:45 PM – 8:45 PM
The Underground Cabaret
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 22 & 24, 2021 (continuing through MAY 31)
7:30 & 7:45 PM
DeKalb Stage
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
$135
https://www.anverentertainment.com/the-underground-cabaret
Dinner and a neo-circus, neo-burlesque, neo-variety show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dinner is by Israeli chain Minzon.
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Friday, April 23, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Word. Sound. Power.
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021
8:00 PM
BAM Live Stream
$10-$25
https://www.bam.org/wordsoundpower
Underground hip-hop from Brooklyn and even not-Brooklyn.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Six Figure: pour 1-1/2 oz. Mezcal, 1-1/4 Vermouth Blanc, and 1/4 oz. yellow Chartreuse, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Friday, April 23, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Anastasia Clarke: Swans Lakeless
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE / OPERA
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021
8:00 PM
Roulette Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/anastasia-clarke-swans-lakeless/
A multimedia piece about police violence against a tenant organizer. No Tchaikovsky anywhere in sight, happily.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Campari Cocktail (frankly I don't see why this cocktail even exists): pour 3/4 oz. Vodka and 1 oz. Campari, with 1 dash of Angostsura bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake (look, if you're gonna make a vulgar Vodka cocktail, you shouldn't be too concerned with the rules for shaking and stirring). Strain into a tumbler. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Friday, April 23, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Eric Walton: Virtual Impossibilities
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021
8:00 PM
Mile Square Theater Live Stream
$25-$35
https://milesquaretheatre.secure.force.com/ticket/
One last iteration of mentalist Eric Walton's online interactive (as it has to be) show. Sure, stuff like this seems a bit less amazing online than it does in person — but it's still pretty amazing.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Improved New York Cocktail: pour 1 oz. each Rye and Cognac, 1/2 oz. Maraschino liqueur, and 1/4 teaspoon Absinthe, with 3 dashes of Peychaud's bitters, into an Old Fashioned glass over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Friday, April 23, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Spektral Quartet: Something to Write Home About
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021
7:30 PM
DePauw University Live Stream
Free
https://spektralquartet.com/concerts/2021/4/23/something-to-write-home-about-depauw-university
Chicago's excellent Spektral Quartet plays music by, among others, Tomeka Reid, Sufjan Stevens, and Franz Schubert — while you write postcards to whomever you choose.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Brandy Crusta: rim a wine glass with sugar. Curl a long strip of lemon peel around the inside (fancy!). Pour 2 oz. Cognac, 1/2 oz. Cointreau, and 1/4 oz. each lemon juice and Demerara Syrup, with 1 dash each of Angostura and Peychaud's bitters, into an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into the rimmed wine glass with the lemon peel curled around its inside.
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Friday, April 23, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 (weekly)
5:00 PM
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Facebook
Free
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel-online
The fab alt string quartet ETHEL brings its weekly recitals in the Met Balcony Bar home (theirs and yours). Expect old and new music, and surprise guests (from still more homes).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Amber Negroni: pour 1/2 oz. each of Gin and Braulio Amaro, and 1 oz. each of Lillet Blanc (with the usual preferred substitutions, especially Tempus Fugit Kino l'Áero d'Or) and lemon juice, with 3 dashes of Bitterman's Burlesque Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
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Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 10:00 PM
Stephanie Fleischmann, Christina Campanella & Mallory Catlett: The Visitation
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 23 – 25, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
HERE Arts Center Presentation
Jackie Robinson Park
Between Edgecombe & Bradhurst Aves. & 145 – 155 Sts., Sugar Hill, Manhattan
Pay what you wish
https://here.org/shows/the-visitation/
Another sound walk (I LOVE these!), this one set to avant-pop you access through Soundcloud.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Good beer, epic burgers at Harlem Public.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Ugemi Ude: 368
DANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
8:00 PM
With Womens Work
ISSUE Project Room Stream
Free
https://issueprojectroom.org/event/womens-work-ogemdi-ude-368
Nigerian-in-Brooklyn dancer/choreographer/more Ugemi Ude sets a piece to an intricate '70s process piece by the titanic Annea Lockwood.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's keep easing into the new season with a Bitter Mai Tai: pour 1 oz. each of overproof Jamaican Rum, Campari, and lime juice, and 1/2 oz. each of Orgeat and Curaçao, into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE. Dry shake. Pour into a mug 2/3 full of crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, mint, and nutmeg.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Joseph Hendel: Tolerance Party: "Waiting for I Dunno"
THEATER
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
8:00 PM
the cell stream
$5-$25
https://www.thecelltheatre.org/box-office
Another episode in Joseph Hendel's continuing remote epic about a group of people acting in accordance with a set of instructions they've received (or think they've received) that may or make not actually exist.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Rye Shake: pour 2 oz. Rye, 1 oz. lime juice, and 3/4 oz. Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. (I would add 1 or 2 dashes of Angostura bitters myself.) Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
The Underground Cabaret
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 22 & 24, 2021 (continuing through MAY 31)
7:30 & 7:45 PM
DeKalb Stage
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
$135
https://www.anverentertainment.com/the-underground-cabaret
Dinner and a neo-circus, neo-burlesque, neo-variety show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dinner is by Israeli chain Minzon.
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Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 7:30 PM – Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 8:29 PM
Biophilia Records Festival 2021
MUSIC
THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 23 & 25, 2021 (festival continues through MAY 16)
7:30 PM THURSDAY & FRIDAY
5:30 PM SUNDAY
YouTube
Free/Pay what you can (registration required)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdG3ZDS6Us
Biophilia Records, with its genre-denying fresh eclectic spacey-as-they-wanna-be lineup, has proven to be a boon companion during Quarantine. Just picking out a few faves in this first weekend of their Festival, I'll note the cool Portuguese-born art-jazz singer/composer Sara Serpa on Thursday, and the marvelous saxophonist María Grand on Friday.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Lavender Margarita: pour 2-1/2 oz. Silver Tequila, 1/2 oz. each Cointreau and Crème de Violette, and 1/4 oz. each lime juice and Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lime twist and a flower if you have one.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
Marquis Hill: MADE IN NEW YORK: The Music of Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor, George Cables, Jackie McLean & Sonny Rollins
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
7:30 & 9:30 PM
Livestream Concerts
Jazz Gallery Live Stream
$20
https://www.jazzgallery.org/calendar/livestream-marquis-hill
That is one wide-ranging, well-selected group of composers trumpeter Marquis Hill has assembled. But not taking anything away from the excellent Hill, one has to get most excited about the participation of the Altoist Of The Moment, Immanuel Wilkins.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: This has to get a Manhattan, right? Pour 2 oz. Rye (or Bourbon if you must) and 1 oz. sweet Vermouth, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, i into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Marisa Michelson & Miriam Parker: Beneath the Surface
MUSIC / DANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
6:30 PM
National Sawdust Stream
Free
https://live.nationalsawdust.org/event/marisa-michelson-and-miriam-parker-toulmin-co-fellows
Marisa Michelson, leader of the Constellation Chor dance/movement/music band, is an artist whose work can legitimately be characterized as "psychedelic". On this project she collaborates with interdisciplinary visual/movement artist Mariam Parker.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Tequila Gumption: pour 1 oz. each of Reposado Tequila and Mezcal and 1/4 oz. Maraschino liqueur, with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters and 1 dash of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 20 & 22, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
-
Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 7:30 PM – Sat, Apr 24, 2021, 8:30 PM
Shayna Strype: MINE
THEATER
WEDNESDAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 21 – 24, 2021
7:30 PM
Dixon Place Live Stream
$18-$34; $12 students/seniors
http://dixonplace.org/performances/mine-04-10-21/
Puppetry, animation, and wearable sculptures combine to tell a phantasmagorical story of loss, nostalgia, and the destructive human urge to colonize lands, bodies, and minds.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Athol Brose: pour 2 oz. Scotch and 1/2 oz. honey, with a good dollop of whipped cream, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. (Some recipes have you letting the Scotch sit with some oatmeal for a couple of days and then simmering all the ingredients in a saucepan before drinking. We don't go for that kind of rigamarole around here.)
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
5:00 PM
Roulette Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/dark-music-days/
In one of those technological marvels we're all becoming accustomed to, New York's International Contemporary Music Ensemble (joined by such amazing musicians from the local jazz scene as alsto saxophonist Darius Jones and vocalist Fay Victor) collaborate remotely with Reykjavik's Skerpla Ensemble. On the bill are pieces by our Anthony Braxton and their Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir (although she might as well be ours, too, as the last I knew she was living in Brooklyn).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Brenn-Hattan (yes this drink actually exists): pour 2 oz. Brennivin and 1 oz. sweet Vermouth into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig that you've slapped a few times (to release the flavor).
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
An Audience With . . . : Renée Fleming, Bill Frisell, Dan Tepfer & Christian McBride
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
Start Time Unknown
McCourt Theater, The Shed
545 West 30th Street, Hudson Yards, Manhattan
Ticket Price Unknown
https://theshed.org/program/205-an-audience-with
Even we grouches have to admit this is an intriguing assemblage of musicians. Too bad you can't get in.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Cedric's, the lobby bar at The Shed, is very good — but it's closed. Why not go to the TAK Room (BWAHAHAHAHA: kidding)? José Andrés's Spanish Diner is open.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
-
Tue, Apr 20, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 5:00 PM
Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones & David Byrne: SOCIAL! the social distance dance club
PERFORMANCE / DANCE / MUSIC
TUESDAY – THURSDAY, APRIL 20 – 22, 2021
7:00 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – 24, 2021
12:00 & 4:00 PM SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
$45
https://www.armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/social
A choreographer, a set designer, and an avant-rock star walk into a bar . . . and design a socially distanced dance club simulacrum to be put on at the Armory.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I think I miss Donahue's Steak House (not really a steakhouse, more an Irish bar in excelsis, as much as anywhere I used to eat.
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Tue, Apr 20, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 4:30 PM
-
Tue, Apr 20, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 4:30 PM
Ben Rubin & Brian House: Terminal Morraine
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 20 – 25, 2021 (continuing through JUNE 6)*
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Woodland Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/ben_rubin_and_brian_house_terminal_moraine
A sound installation in the Walled Garden in BBG's new Woodland Garden, intended to purvey a sense of the geological contingency that created the terminal morraine ridge on which the Garden sits that clefts Brooklyn and reaches all the way out to Montauk. The morraine, a pile of rocks left by ice age glaciers at their furthest point of advance before changing climate caused their retreat, was created at a climatic inflection point — and now we're at another (this one, however, of our specie's own creation).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Burmese at Rangoon.
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Tue, Apr 20, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 4:30 PM
Michael Gordon: loved.
MUSIC
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 20 – 25, 2021 (continuing through MAY 9)
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/loved
I hadn't been Listing this: as totally wonderful as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is — it's really about my favorite spot in New York — am I going to send you there to hear a five-and-a-half-minute music tape played hourly at the Cherry Esplanade (the cherry blossoms aren't quite out yet) — even if the music is composed by Michael Gordon and played by master percussionist David Cossin? But with all the other great stuff going on at the Garden now, I'd be remiss not to point you to this as well.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The fabulous Gold Star Beer Counter serves on-premises (outdoors) when it's nice out.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 20 & 22, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Monday, April 19, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 (weekly until APRIL 26)
8:00 PM
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
YouTube
Facebook
Free ($12 suggested donation)
http://bindlestiff.org/bindlestiff-open-stage-variety-show-quarantine-edition/
Last two weeks! Bindlestiff and friends' neo-Vaudeville is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Which is why we'll accompany it with Monkey Glands: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Gin and orange juice, and 1 teaspoon each of Grenadine, Simple Syrup, and Absinthe into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe (or better still, Nick and Nora glass). Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 8:59 PM
Modulations
OPERA
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
8:00 PM (or on demand)
California Performing Arts/LA Opera
PROTOTYPE Festival Stream
$25
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/modulation/
A major event. A self-guided exploration of the efforts of 13 composers to deal with the various strands that wove together the past year. The composers include such List regulars as Mollly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Paul Pinto, Raven Chacon, and Bora Yoon! This is how online presentations should be done.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: TGV: pour 2-1/4 oz. Blanco or Reposado Tequila, 1-1/2 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon of Grenadine into a tumbler over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Monday, April 19, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Imani Winds & Catalyst Quartet: (Im)migration
MUSIC
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021
7:30 PM
Music Mondays Live Stream
Free
https://www.musicmondays.org/april-2021
The Imani Winds and the Catalyst Quartet are two great groups. Here they get together to play music reflecting places from which people have immigrated to the U.S. (for better or for worse). Among the composers are such regular List denizens as the exciting Jessie Montgomery (who until very recently was in the Catalyst Quartet) and the sublime Nathalie Joachim — as well as Roberto Sierra, who really ought to be one of the most popular composers around, overplayed by the likes of the New York Philharmonic. (There used to be a very limited number of in-person tickets available to this show — but they're long gone.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Sam Ross's deathless classic, the Penicillin: pour 2 oz. blended Scotch and 3/4 oz. each of lemon juice and Honey-Ginger Syrup (you make this just the way you think you do) into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Top with Islay Scotch. Garnish with some candied ginger (which you really ought to have around in any event).
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Monday, April 19, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
-
Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 7:59 PM
Sibyl Kempson / 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr & Perf. Co.: The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.
THEATER
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (continuing through MAY 15)
7:00 PM
Chocolate Factory/Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/sibyl-kempson-2020/
The wickedly inventive theatermaker Sibyl Kempson reinvents Mary Shelley. So far we have a four-part episodic radio play, all of which is now available for streaming. A digital "theatrical miniseries" will follow in the Spring (if we live that long).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dr. Frankenstein: pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Monday, April 19, 2021, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Lockdown Sessions: Ryan Keberle / Savannah Harris / Theo Bleckmann / Ohad Talmor
MUSIC
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021
6:00 PM
Jazz Gallery Stream
$15
https://www.jazzgallery.org/calendar/lockdown-session-40
Beyond-category vocalist Theo Bleckmann will always get a recommendation here. Among the other people presenting videos of solo performances are valuable local drummer/musicmaker Savannah Harris and Lee Konitz protege Ohad Talmor.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Boulevardier: pour 1-1/2 oz. Rye and 3/4 oz. each sweet Vermouth and Campari into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 12:00 PM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 7:00 PM
Modesto Flako Jimenez: Taxilandia
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (continuing through MAY 3)
12:00, 2:00 & 4:00 PM MONDAY – FRIDAY
12:00, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
¡Oye! Group
294 Harmon Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Taxi ride $25 per person; text-guided walking tour $3 per person
https://www.taxilandia.com/
Playwright/performer/director/producer Modesto Flako Jimenez drove a cab for years. Which gave him a street-level perspective of his Bushwick neighborhood — the one behind the fashionplate. There are two ways to do this show. Pods of up to three people can take a cab ride with Jimenez, who'll chat about the neighborhood (scarce cab reservations are available by lottery). Or you can take a text-guided walking tour of Bushwick.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Grab some Birria at Nene's Deli Taqueria and eat it in Maria Hernandez Park.
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Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 12:00 PM
Pamela Z & Geoff Sobelle: Times3 (Times x Times x Times)
OPERA / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
Starting 10:00 AM
PROTOTYPE Out of Bounds
PROTOTYPE Festival Onsite & Stream
Times Square, Midtown, Manhattan
Free
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/times-3/
A sonic journey through Times Square and its history that you can undertake live in Times Square or virtually at your computer. Created by two of this List's very favorites: magic soundscaper Pamela Z and physical theater magician Geoff Sobelle!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you go, I think the wonderful Los Tacos No. 1 still has an outdoor seating set-up (bizarrely closed Saturdays, though). At home, this will take some advance preparation, but: Times Square. Combine 1-1/4 oz. Southern Comfort (yeah, you heard right), 1/4 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Grenadine in a glass or pitcher. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Pour into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
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Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 9:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 5:00 PM
Gelsey Bell feat. Joseph White: Cairns
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (ongoing)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
#stillHERE IRL
Green-Wood Cemetery, Sunset Park Entrance
35th Street at 4th Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$7 or more for soundtrack
https://here.org/shows/cairns/
Something you can actually Go Out! to (although it's not quite "live"). Gelsey Bell, that vocal star of NYC Alt Classical, has conceived of a piece that walks you around Green-Wood Cemetery (starting at the Sunset Park Entrance). You download the soundtrack on your phone beforehand (the Times complains about how hard it is to download from Bandcamp to an iPhone — trust me: if I can figure out how to do it, anyone can). Bell wrote the text and narrates, with a co-composing assist from the inimitable Joe White (who seemingly couldn't write an unenjoyable tune if he tried). The Cemetery itself will do the performing. (You can also listen to the soundtrack at home and pretend you're walking around the Cemetery.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bring bottled water. As for afterward, 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets is designated for street dining on weekends — and there's lots available at all times.
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Mon, Apr 19, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, Apr 25, 2021, 1:00 AM
Ellen Reid: SOUNDWALK
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19 – 25, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 1:00 AM
New York Philharmonic
Central Park
59th Street – 110th Street/Central Park West – 5th Avenue, Manhattan
Free (registration required)
https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/new-york-philharmonic
The New York Phil hops aboard the walk-around-the-landscaped-space-with-soundtrack train (see below). The highly allusive soundtrack was put together by Ellen Reid, who is one of the more soundscapey (and certainly one of the best) of today's many excellent young composers. This walk isn't guided: you download an app that triggers sounds sent to your earphones from various cells around the Park as you wander. So you can do it over many times. (Speaking of wandering around Central Park, here's something that I, for one, never knew.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Delicious pan-African at Teranga (and people say their outdoor dining set-up is lovely).
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Dance Heginbotham
DANCE
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
8:00 PM
Works and Process
Rotunda, Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
$30; $10 student
https://www.guggenheim.org/event/dance-heginbotham
John Heginbotham's dance pieces are funny and whimsical, but in a repeated chortle rather than a sustained belly laugh sort of way. You walk out feeling like you've been subject to extended soft tickling. Of course, they're Quality Choreography deep down.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Fun, friendly — and good! — South African food and drink at Kaia Wine Bar.
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Rhizome DC: Abstract Poetics: A Vocal Arts Showcase
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
8:00 PM
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio
Twitch
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://ess.org/esscalendar/2021/4/18/rhizome-dc-presents-abstract-poetics-a-vocal-arts-showcase
Rhizome DC presents an evening of experimental vocal music focusing, as you'd expect, on artists from DC. But best of all is a ringer from New York: Anaïs Maviel, who inflects her extended vocal music with the tones of her native Haiti, with results that are personally affecting in a way you might not expect from experimental music.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Rhum Sour: rim an Old Fashioned glass with sugar. Pour in 6 oz. of Rhum Barbancourt (I won't tell anyone if you use an Agricole instead) and 3/4 oz. lime juice, with 3 dashes of Peychaud's bitters, over ice. Stir.
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Out of Caution: The Next Generation (Pilot Episode)
PERFORMANCE / THEATER / DANCE / MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
8:00 PM
The Brick Theater
Out of Caution Stream
Twitch
Free
https://www.bricktheater.com/event/out-of-caution-the-next-generation-the-pilot-episode/
This great showcase for alternative performance turns its focus to student work. So everybody reading this List can feel as old as I always do.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The first time I visited Buenos Aires — probably my favorite city that isn't New York — I was disturbed to find out that their local cocktail of choice is a Fernet and Coke. "What is everybody here, 17?" asked myself bitterly. Then I had a few. The Porteños know what they're doing. Pour 1 cup Coke and 1/2 cup Fernet into a Collins glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge. Be sure to repeat a few times.
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Edward Einhorn: Cabaret in Captivity
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
5:00 PM
Untitled Theater Company No. 61
Open Culture
Morningside Avenue btw. 114th & 115th Streets, Harlem, Manhattan
$25 suggested
http://www.untitledtheater.com/previous-productions/cabaret-in-captivity.html
Sardonic (as they would have to be) cabaret pieces written at the Nazis' Potemkin Village of a concentration camp, Terezin/Theresienstadt, where artists and intellectuals and the privileged were made to look to the world as if they were living happy productive lives under the affectionate protection of the Nazi government while they were being held for transport to extermination camps. This is an outdoor street performance.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I mean, you're right around the corner from the celestial soul food at Melba's.
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
PUBLIQuartet
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
2:00 PM
Schneider Concerts
New School Live Stream
$8
https://event.newschool.edu/Schneider-Concerts-Publiquartet/ws
Among other worthy things, an early piece by the innefibly exciting Jessie Montgomery and improvisations on Hildegard, Francesca Caccini, and Dvorák.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Abbey: pour 1-1/2 oz. Gin and 3/4 oz. each of Lillet Blanc/Cocchi Americano/Kina l'Aero d'Or and orange juice, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
-
Sunday, April 18, 2021, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Bang on a Can Marathon
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021
1:00 PM
Bang on a Can Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://live.bangonacan.org/april-marathon-2021/
This iteration of the epic Bang on a Can Marathons entirely features new commissions. As usual, I can't imagine reading this List and not watching the Marathon (but then a lot of things happen that I can't imagine).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Brown Derby (not the one you're thinking of): pour 2 oz. dark Rum, 1 oz. lime juice, and 1 teaspoon Maple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Saturday, April 17, 2021, 7:45 PM – 8:45 PM
The Underground Cabaret
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 15 & 17, 2021 (continuing through MAY 31)
7:30 & 7:45 PM
DeKalb Stage
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
$135
https://www.anverentertainment.com/the-underground-cabaret
Dinner and a neo-circus, neo-burlesque, neo-variety show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dinner is by Israeli chain Minzon.
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Saturday, April 17, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
loadbang: Premieres
MUSIC
SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021
7:30 PM
loadbang Live Stream
YouTube
$20 suggested donation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws3gYGrZxFQ
The unique and exciting voice/brass/reed quintet loadbang presents premieres and not-premieres by composers including Paul Pinto(!!!), Yotam Haber, and Christian Wolff!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I'm gonna keep pushing the Flying Dutchman until all of you have had one: pour 1-1/2 oz. Genever and 3/4 oz. each of yellow Chartreuse, Bénédictine, and lemon juice into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Friday, April 16, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Caroline Vélez Muñiz Presents: Hacer Ruido
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021
8:00 PM
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio
Twitch
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://ess.org/esscalendar/2021/4/16-caroline-velez-muniz
Experimental sounds from places other here, with 3D visuals.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Six Figure: pour 1-1/2 oz. Mezcal, 1-1/4 Vermouth Blanc, and 1/4 oz. yellow Chartreuse, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Friday, April 16, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Virtual Community Salon
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 (monthly)
7:30 PM
Contemporaneous
Zoom
Free (with registration)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-community-salon-tickets-109687016820
A virtual salon. Artists and performers can share pieces in whatever stage of completion. Everyone else can comment and converse.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dark 'n' Stormy: pour 2 oz. Blackstrap Rum and 1 oz. lime juice into a Collins glass. Add ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wedge
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Friday, April 16, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Zemlinsky: Zemlinsky's Zimmer
OPERA
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021
7:30 PM
the little OPERA theatre of new york
LOTNY Live Stream
$5-$50
https://www.musae.me/lotny/experiences/984/zemlinskys-zimmer
You have to be in the mood for overripe Late Romantic music. But if you are, it really hits the spot — even if you feel a little sick afterward. Here, scenes from Alexander Zemlinsky's Wilde-based opera Eine Florentinische Tragödie are interspersed with passages from Zemlinsky's chamber music. (You can't talk about Zemlinsky without noting that he was Schoenberg's brother-in-law and was rejected by Alma Schindler for being too unattractive, too unsuccessful, and too Jewish) (although she was able to overcome that latter objection for men who were attractive and successful). Apparently, if you view this stream through cell phone-based VR goggles, it will seem to surround you — although some might feel the Late Romantic music is smothering enough already.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Kaffee Maria Theresia: fill a coffee cup with boiling water; after 3 minutes, discard the water. Pour in 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in 8 oz. brewed coffee. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with grated orange zest.
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Fri, Apr 16, 2021, 6:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 8:00 PM
Efraín Rozas: Still
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 16 – 18, 2021
6:00 & 8:00 PM FRIDAY
4:00, 6:00 & 8:00 PM SATURDAY
5:00 & 7:00 PM SUNDAY
Queenslab
1611 Cody Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens
$10
https://onscreen.thekitchen.org/efrain-rozas
In this sound installation, Peruvian composer/software developer Efraín Rozas does what a lot of us have been driven to do over the course of the Quarantine: reconsider linear time.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Great Alt beer (what's the beer version of Natural WIne?) at Evil Twin Brewing.
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Friday, April 16, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 (weekly)
5:00 PM
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Facebook
Free
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel-online
The fab alt string quartet ETHEL brings its weekly recitals in the Met Balcony Bar home (theirs and yours). Expect old and new music, and surprise guests (from still more homes).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Amber Negroni: pour 1/2 oz. each of Gin and Braulio Amaro, and 1 oz. each of Lillet Blanc (with the usual preferred substitutions, especially Tempus Fugit Kino l'Áero d'Or) and lemon juice, with 3 dashes of Bitterman's Burlesque Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Auclair: Ruzunguzungu
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
8:00 PM
With Womens Work
ISSUE Project Room Stream
Free
https://issueprojectroom.org/event/womens-work-auclair-ruzunguzungu
There are strong elements of ritual in lots of '60s-'70s Euro-American avant-garde work. So, in responding to a '70s piece by Carole Weber, British-Rwandan musician/sound artist Auclair wonders, what if it were recast as a Rwandan domestic ritual?
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bitter Mai Tai: pour 1 oz. each of overproof Jamaican Rum, Campari, and lime juice, and 1/2 oz. each of Orgeat and Curaçao, into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE. Dry shake. Pour into a mug 2/3 full of crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, mint, and nutmeg.
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
TVL Ruido
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
8:00 PM
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio
Twitch
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://ess.org/esscalendar/2021/4/15/tvlruido
South American experimental music powerhouse TVL Rec teams with its Buenos Aires colleagues from the new music venue Ruido for a night of new sounds from South America.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: We've already done a Fernet & Coke this week, so let's go back in time for a classic BA cocktail from the early '50s, the Clarito: rim a chilled Martini glass or coupe with sugar. Pour 2-1/4 oz. Gin and 1/2 oz. dry Vermouth into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Express 3 lemon twists into the liquid. Stir. Strain into the rimmed glass. Garnish with another lemon twist. (I love just about everything from BA [well, politics excluded]— but I really love this cocktail.)
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
The Underground Cabaret
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 15 & 17, 2021 (continuing through MAY 31)
7:30 & 7:45 PM
DeKalb Stage
445 Albee Square West, Downtown, Brooklyn
$135
https://www.anverentertainment.com/the-underground-cabaret
Dinner and a neo-circus, neo-burlesque, neo-variety show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dinner is by Israeli chain Minzon.
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Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 7:30 PM – Sat, Apr 17, 2021, 8:30 PM
mayfield brooks: Whale Fall
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 15 – 17, 2021
7:30 PM
Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://www.abronsartscenter.org/program/whale-fall/
"Whale Fall" denominates the process whereby dead sperm whales decay and fall to the bottom of the sea (bummer) where the decaying carcass provides nutrients for deep-sea creatures (yay!). Performance artist mayfield brooks's video runs with the metaphor.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: A whale of a cocktail, the Martinez: pour 1 oz. Old Tom Gin, 2 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1 teaspoon Maraschino liqueur, with 2 dashes of Boker's Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
Livestream Concerts: Caroline Davis
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
7:30 & 9:30 PM
Jazz Gallery Live Stream
$20
https://www.jazzgallery.org/calendar/livestream-caroline-davis
Brooklyn's forward-looking alto saxophonist Caroline Davis leads a sharp quintet.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Old Pal: pour 1-1/2 oz. Rye and 3/4 oz. each dry Vermouth and Campari into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Molly Joyce, Jerron Herman, Max Greyson & Austin Regin: Left and Right
MUSIC / DANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
6:30 PM
National Sawdust Stream
Free
https://live.nationalsawdust.org/event/left-and-right-molly-joyce-toulmin-fellow-jerron-herman-max-greyson-and-austin-regan
Molly Joyce — a composer of mellifluous but powerful music — and colleagues explore the left and right sides of the human body (the sinister left side being denigrated in cultures around the world: because right-handedness predominates? but how much of that is forced for cultural reasons?). It bears mentioning that both Joyce and dancer Jerron Herman are disabled.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Left Hand: pour 1-1/2 oz. Bourbon and 3/4 oz. each of sweet Vermouth and Campari, with 2 dashes of chocolate bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
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Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 1:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 7:40 PM
the american vicarious: Negative Liberty / Positive Liberty
THEATER
THURSDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 15 – 18, 2021
1:00, 1:20, 1:40, 2:00, 2:20, 2:40, 3:00, 3:20, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:40, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, 6:00, 6:20 & 6:40 PM
The Invisible Dog Art Center
51 Bergen Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://www.theinvisibledog.org/all/2021/3/18/negativelibertypositiveliberty/americanvicarious
An eight-minute, one-audience-member-at-a-time holographic karaoke dramatization of (as if I have to tell you) Isaiah Berlin's "Two Concepts of Liberty".
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: During the day, great sandwiches at Court Street Grocers. Later, American Vernacular food at sibling HiHi Room.
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Thursday, April 15, 2021, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 13 & 15, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 11:00 AM – Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 12:00 PM
-
Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 5:00 PM
Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones & David Byrne: SOCIAL! the social distance dance club
PERFORMANCE / DANCE / MUSIC
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 13 – 18, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 22)
7:00 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY
12:00 & 4:00 PM SUNDAY
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
$45
https://www.armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/social
A choreographer, a set designer, and an avant-rock star walk into a bar . . . and design a socially distanced dance club simulacrum to be put on at the Armory.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I think I miss Donahue's Steak House (not really a steakhouse) as much as anywhere I used to eat at.
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Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 4:30 PM
Ben Rubin & Brian House: Terminal Morraine
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 13 – 18, 2021 (continuing through JUNE 6)*
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Woodland Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/ben_rubin_and_brian_house_terminal_moraine
A sound installation in the Walled Garden in BBG's new Woodland Garden, intended to purvey a sense of the geological contingency that created the terminal morraine ridge on which the Garden sits that clefts Brooklyn and reaches all the way out to Montauk. The morraine, a pile of rocks left by ice age glaciers at their furthest point of advance before changing climate caused their retreat, was created at a climatic inflection point — and now we're at another (this one, however, of our specie's own creation).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Burmese at Rangoon.
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Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 4:30 PM
Michael Gordon: loved.
MUSIC
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 13 – 18, 2021 (continuing through MAY 9)
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/loved
I hadn't been Listing this: as totally wonderful as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is — it's really about my favorite spot in New York — am I going to send you there to hear a five-and-a-half-minute music tape played hourly at the Cherry Esplanade (the cherry blossoms aren't quite out yet) — even if the music is composed by Michael Gordon and played by master percussionist David Cossin? But with all the other great stuff going on at the Garden now, I'd be remiss not to point you to this as well.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The fabulous Gold Star Beer Counter serves on-premises (outdoors) when it's nice out.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 13 & 15, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Tue, Apr 13, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 4:30 PM
-
Monday, April 12, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021 (weekly until APRIL 26)
8:00 PM
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
YouTube
Facebook
Free ($12 suggested donation)
http://bindlestiff.org/bindlestiff-open-stage-variety-show-quarantine-edition/
Last three weeks! Bindlestiff and friends' neo-Vaudeville is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Which is why we'll accompany it with Monkey Glands: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Gin and orange juice, and 1 teaspoon each of Grenadine, Simple Syrup, and Absinthe into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe (or better still, Nick and Nora glass). Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 8:59 PM
Modulations
OPERA
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
8:00 PM (or on demand)
California Performing Arts / LA Opera
PROTOTYPE Festival Stream
$25
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/modulation/
A major event. A self-guided exploration of the efforts of 13 composers to deal with the various strands that wove together the past year. The composers include such List regulars as Mollly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Paul Pinto, Raven Chacon, and Bora Yoon! This is how online presentations should be done.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: TGV: pour 2-1/4 oz. Blanco or Reposado Tequila, 1-1/2 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon of Grenadine into a tumbler over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Monday, April 12, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
21st Century Trombone
MUSIC
MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021
7:30 PM
Cutting Edge Concerts Music Festival
Cutting Edge Concerts Live Stream
YouTube
Free
https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/vp-cutting-edge-concerts-new-music-festival-2020-21st-century-trombone
I don't know that I'd call this music "cutting edge", exactly. But I, for one, am crazy about the trombone, which of all instruments most closely approximates the affect of the human voice. The assembled trombonists include the Phil's Joseph Alessi, whom this List hereby nominates one of the best instrumentalists on the planet!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Mae West: pour 2 oz. Cognac and 1/2 oz. each of lime juice and Grenadine into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 8:00 PM
Sibyl Kempson / 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr & Perf. Co.: The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.
THEATER
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (continuing through MAY 15)
7:00 PM
Chocolate Factory / Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/sibyl-kempson-2020/
The wickedly inventive theatermaker Sibyl Kempson reinvents Mary Shelley. So far we have a four-part episodic radio play, all of which is now available for streaming. A digital "theatrical miniseries" will follow in the Spring (if we live that long).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dr. Frankenstein: pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 12:00 PM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 12:59 PM
Modesto Flako Jimenez: Taxilandia
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (continuing through MAY 3)
12:00, 2:00 & 4:00 PM MONDAY – FRIDAY
12:00, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
¡Oye! Group
294 Harmon Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Taxi ride $25 per person; text-guided walking tour $3 per person
https://www.taxilandia.com/
Playwright/performer/director/producer Modesto Flako Jimenez drove a cab for years. Which gave him a street-level perspective of his Bushwick neighborhood — the one behind the fashionplate. There are two ways to do this show. Pods of up to three people can take a cab ride with Jimenez, who'll chat about the neighborhood (scarce cab reservations are available by lottery). Or you can take a text-guided walking tour of Bushwick.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Grab some Birria at Nene's Deli Taqueria and eat it in Maria Hernandez Park.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 12:00 PM
Pamela Z & Geoff Sobelle: Times3 (Times x Times x Times)
OPERA / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
Starting 10:00 AM
PROTOTYPE Out of Bounds
PROTOTYPE Festival Onsite & Stream
Times Square, Midtown, Manhattan
Free
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/times-3/
A sonic journey through Times Square and its history that you can undertake live in Times Square or virtually at your computer. Created by two of this List's very favorites: magic soundscaper Pamela Z and physical theater magician Geoff Sobelle!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you go, I think the wonderful Los Tacos No. 1 still has an outdoor seating set-up (bizarrely closed Saturdays, though). At home, this will take some advance preparation, but: Times Square. Combine 1-1/4 oz. Southern Comfort (yeah, you heard right), 1/4 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Grenadine in a glass or pitcher. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Pour into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 9:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 5:00 PM
Gelsey Bell feat. Joseph White: Cairns
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (ongoing)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
#stillHERE IRL
Green-Wood Cemetery, Sunset Park Entrance
35th Street at 4th Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$7 or more for soundtrack
https://here.org/shows/cairns/
Something you can actually Go Out! to (although it's not quite "live"). Gelsey Bell, that vocal star of NYC Alt Classical, has conceived of a piece that walks you around Green-Wood Cemetery (starting at the Sunset Park Entrance). You download the soundtrack on your phone beforehand (the Times complains about how hard it is to download from Bandcamp to an iPhone — trust me: if I can figure out how to do it, anyone can). Bell wrote the text and narrates, with a co-composing assist from the inimitable Joe White (who seemingly couldn't write an unenjoyable tune if he tried). The Cemetery itself will do the performing. (You can also listen to the soundtrack at home and pretend you're walking around the Cemetery.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bring bottled water. As for afterward, 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets is designated for street dining on weekends — and there's lots available at all times.
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Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 1:00 AM
Ellen Reid: SOUNDWALK
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 18, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 1:00 AM
New York Philharmonic
Central Park
59th Street – 110th Street/Central Park West – 5th Avenue, Manhattan
Free (registration required)
https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/new-york-philharmonic
The New York Phil hops aboard the walk-around-the-landscaped-space-with-soundtrack train (see below). The highly allusive soundtrack was put together by Ellen Reid, who is one of the more soundscapey (and certainly one of the best) of today's many excellent young composers. This walk isn't guided: you download an app that triggers sounds sent to your earphones from various cells around the Park as you wander. So you can do it over many times. (Speaking of wandering around Central Park, here's something that I, for one, never knew.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Delicious pan-African at Teranga (and people say their outdoor dining set-up is lovely).
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Sunday, April 11, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Edward Einhorn: Cabaret in Captivity
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2021 (also APRIL 18)
5:00 PM
Untitled Theater Company No. 61
Open Culture
Morningside Avenue btw. 114th & 115th Streets, Harlem, Manhattan
$25 suggested
http://www.untitledtheater.com/previous-productions/cabaret-in-captivity.html
Sardonic (as they would have to be) cabaret pieces written at the Nazis' Potemkin Village of a concentration camp, Terezin/Theresienstadt, where artists and intellectuals and the privileged were made to look to the world as if they were living happy productive lives under the affectionate protection of the Nazi government while they were being held for transport to extermination camps. This is an outdoor street performance.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I mean, you're right around the corner from the celestial soul food at Melba's.
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Saturday, April 10, 2021, 7:45 PM – 8:45 PM
-
Saturday, April 10, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Brooklyn Art Song Society: New Voices
MUSIC
SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021
7:30 PM
Brooklyn Art Song Society Stream
$9.99
http://brooklynartsongsociety.org/new-voices-i/
A big night for List readers (or at least the List writer). Major List faves the Balliet Brothers, Brad and Doug, reset Schubert's great accidental song cycle Schwanengesang. Another List fave composer, Katherine Balch, looks at Schumann's Dichterliebe song cycle from a female perspective (although Your Compiler, an insane fan of Dichterliebe, can't help noting that Schumann wrote that song cycle, now almost always sung by men, for a female singer to begin with) (not that Schumann and text poet Heinrich Heine can be assumed to have any idea of the female perspective). There'll be a performance of OG Dichterliebe to cap it all off. And the able list of singers includes two more solid List faves, Molly Netter and Karim Sulayman (not to take away from the others)!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Grandfather: pour 1 oz. each of Bourbon and Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy and 1 oz. sweet Vermouth, with 2 dashes each of Angostura and Peychaud's bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
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Saturday, April 10, 2021, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Clara Warnaar: NA4NA Showcase
MUSIC
SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021 (weekly)
6:00 PM
Shipping Media Stream
Freeo
https://www.shipping.media/events-page/na4na-showcase
One thing about our current regime of pop omnivorousness/anti-genre theorizing is that any genre is ripe for appreciation. It might be a sign of mental deterioration — OK, let's call it "mellowing" — during Quarantine that I have come to see some good things about New Age music (I mean, Beverly Glenn-Copeland: GREAT! Am I right?). And apparently I'm not alone. Percussionist-about-town Clara Warnaar (a really key performer on the local Alt Classical/Pop/What's The Difference? scene) assembles a bunch of colleagues to reinterpret New Age. I could use this, frankly.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Zen Collins: muddle 4 cucumber slices at the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Pour in 2 oz. Silver Tequila, 3/4 oz. lime juice, and 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup. Add ice. Shake. Strain into a Collins glass over ice. Top with soda water. Garnish with a cucumber wheel and some dill.
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Sat, Apr 10, 2021, 1:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 2:00 PM
-
Friday, April 9, 2021, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Shi-An Costello: [alloy]
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021
9:00 PM
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio
Twitch
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://ess.org/esscalendar/2021/4/9/shi-an-costello
Prepared piano player Shi-An Costello has commissioned a bunch of new works for that constantly surprising, constantly clanking instrument from composers throughout the country.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Embassy: pour 3/4 oz. each of Jamaican Rum, Brandy, and Cointreau, and 1/2 oz. lime juice, with 1 dash of Angostura bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lime wedge.
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Fri, Apr 9, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 5:00 PM
Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones & David Byrne: SOCIAL! the social distance dance club
PERFORMANCE / DANCE / MUSIC
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 9 – 11, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 22)
7:00 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY
12:00 & 4:00 PM SUNDAY
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
$45
https://www.armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/social
A choreographer, a set designer, and an avant-rock star walk into a bar . . . and design a socially distanced dance club simulacrum to be put on at the Armory.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I think I miss Donahue's Steak House (not really a steakhouse) as much as anywhere in New York.
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Friday, April 9, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021 (weekly)
5:00 PM
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Facebook
Free
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel-online
The fab alt string quartet ETHEL brings its weekly recitals in the Met Balcony Bar home (theirs and yours). Expect old and new music, and surprise guests (from still more homes).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Amber Negroni: pour 1/2 oz. each of Gin and Braulio Amaro, and 1 oz. each of Lillet Blanc (with the usual preferred substitutions, especially Tempus Fugit Kino l'Áero d'Or) and lemon juice, with 3 dashes of Bitterman's Burlesque Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
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Fri, Apr 9, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 4:30 PM
Ben Rubin & Brian House: Terminal Morraine
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 9 – 11, 2021 (continuing through JUNE 6)
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Woodland Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/ben_rubin_and_brian_house_terminal_moraine
A sound installation in the Walled Garden in BBG's new Woodland Garden, intended to purvey a sense of the geological contingency that created the terminal morraine ridge on which the Garden sits that clefts Brooklyn and reaches all the way out to Montauk. The morraine, a pile of rocks left by ice age glaciers at their furthest point of advance before changing climate caused their retreat, was created at a climatic inflection point — and now we're at another (this one, however, of our specie's own creation).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Burmese at Rangoon.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
-
Thursday, April 8, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Zeena Parkins: Ekstasis I & LACE_Mvt IV
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
8:00 PM
Roulette Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/zeena-parkins-lace-box-set-vol-1/
Downtown harp goddess Zeena Parkins plays, with various interesting accompanists, two new pieces — including one inspired by the work of visual artist Jay "The Rose" DeFeo.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I'm going to once again admit to liking Grasshoppers — no matter how silly and unserious that makes me seem (I'm also proud to love Joyva Ring Jells: so THERE): pour 1 oz. each of Crème de Cacao and green Crème de Menthe, and 2-1/2 oz. half and half, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a mint leaf. And just tell me that isn't delicious.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Tafelmusik: On the Road
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
8:00 PM
Tafelmusik Stream
$25
https://my.tafelmusik.org/971/1079
A musical tour through Baroque Europe, with stops at the usual suspects of Germany, Italy, France, and England.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Baroque: pour 1-1/2 oz. Jamaican Rum, 3/4 oz. each of Gin and lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon Maraschino liqueur, and 1/2 teaspoon Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Thu, Apr 8, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sat, Apr 10, 2021, 9:30 PM
Raja Feather Kelley: HYSTERIA
DANCE / PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 8 – 10, 2021
8:00 PM THURSDAY
8:30 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY
New York Live Arts
219 West 19th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
$0-$25
https://newyorklivearts.org/event/hysteria-april-2021/
A neon-tinted exploration of Black queerness in (or rather forced out of) pop culture, by the deep-but-antic dancer-choreographer-performance artist Raja Feather Kelley.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Paella at Socorrat.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Corey Archangel & Hampus Lindwall feat. Stine Janvin / Roc Jiménez de Cisneros (EVOL) / Seth Price / Akira Sileas / Nils Henrik Asheim / Joy-Leilani Garbutt: Remind Me Tomorrow
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
8:00 PM
ISSUE Project Room Stream
Free
https://issueprojectroom.org/event/remind-me-tomorrow-cory-arcangel-hampus-lindwall-stine-janvin-roc-jim%C3%A9nez-de-cisneros-evol
(Very) new music for pipe organ played around the world! (The bad news is that unless you have your computer hooked up to a real audio system, with a real DAC and a real amplifier and real speakers, there's no way you're going to be able to reproduce anything even approaching the sound of a pipe organ.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Emerson: pour 2-1/2 oz. Old Tom Gin, 1 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/4 oz each of Maraschino liqueur and lime juice, with 1 dash of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
-
Thursday, April 8, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Kyle Abraham: World Premiere
DANCE
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
7:00 PM
New York City Ballet Stream
YouTube
Free
https://www.nycballet.com/season-and-tickets/digital-season/
Modern choreographer Kyle Abraham furthers his takeover of ballet with this brand new piece. The dancers include the soon-to-be-gone Lauren Lovette.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Country Club: pour 1-1/2 oz. white Rum, 1 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Curaçao, with 1 dash of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thu, Apr 8, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 8:00 PM
BRIC Jazz Fest
MUSIC
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 8 – 10, 2021
7:00 PM
BRIC Arts Center Live Stream
$20 per person single night; $50 per person festival pass
https://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-jazzfest-0
Three nights of jazz, from the mainstream to the fringe.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Liberal: pour 1-1/2 oz. Rye and sweet Vermouth, and 1/4 oz. Bigallett China-China, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist and a cocktail cherry.
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Thu, Apr 8, 2021, 1:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 7:00 PM
the american vicarious: Negative Liberty / Positive Liberty
THEATER
THURSDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 8 – 11, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 18)
1:00, 1:20, 1:40, 2:00, 2:20, 2:40, 3:00, 3:20, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:40, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, 6:00, 6:20 & 6:40 PM
The Invisible Dog Art Center
51 Bergen Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://www.theinvisibledog.org/all/2021/3/18/negativelibertypositiveliberty/americanvicarious
An eight-minute, one-audience-member-at-a-time holographic karaoke dramatization of (as if I have to tell you) Isaiah Berlin's "Two Concepts of Liberty".
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: During the day, great sandwiches at Court Street Grocers. Later, American Vernacular food at sibling HiHi Room.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 6 & 8, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 9:00 PM
Le Patin Libre: Influences
DANCE
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 6 – 11, 2021
8:00 PM TUESDAY – SUNDAY
2:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
BAM
Lefrak Center, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
$45
https://www.bam.org/influences
A dance performance on ice at the Prospect Park Skating Rink. But, you know, like, real dance.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Mod Guatemalan sandwiches and plates (but mainly sandwiches) at Ix.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue: Zero Grasses: Ritual for the Losses
MUSIC
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
8:00 PM
Roulette Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://roulette.org/event/jen-shyu-jade-tongue/
Jen Shyu is a riveting performer with an absolutely individual musico-theatrical conception. Her mastery of Asian string instruments and Western piano, and of both the classical and jazz idioms, is both complete and unique. We've seen some of these pieces as parts of other projects, mainly dealing with the death of Shyu's father, but this is their first appearance as a fully integrated work for a crack jazz(ish) ensemble. This performance celebrates the release of the recording of this extended piece, in case you're interested in hearing it again (and you will be).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bamboo: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Sherry and dry Vermouth, with 2 dashes each of Angostura and orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Express a lemon twist into the drink and then garnish with an olive.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
International Contemporary Ensemble: From Scratch
MUSIC
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
7:00 PM
TUES@7
International Contemporary Ensemble Stream
Free (registration required)
https://www.iceorg.org/events/tues7-apr6
A bunch of fabulous musicians, including members of the avant-classical Ensemble and fellow travelers from the Brooklyn avant-jazz scene, get together in two small ensembles. In the first, violinist Josh Modney plays some of his compositions alongside saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Mariel Roberts, and pianist Cory Smythe. In the second, bassoonist Rebekah Heller plays along with vocalist Fay Victor. See, I told you all these musicians are fabulous.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: I'm liking the new-to-me Flying Dutchman so much that I'm gonna repeat the recommendation: pour 1-1/2 oz. Genever and 3/4 oz. each of yellow Chartreuse, Bénédictine, and lemon juice into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Ellen Maddow: Efflorescense
MUSIC / THEATER
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
7:00 PM
The Talking Band
La MaMa Stream
$5-$25
https://www.lamama.org/shows/efflorescence
The great, venerable Downtown music-theater company The Talking Band presents a singspiel about six residents of a disused Catskills farmhouse that's been transformed into a safe haven for Vulnerable Expendables (such as, for example, authors of performing arts newsletters).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Tango No. 2: pour 3/4 oz. each of white Rum, Bénédictine, dry Vemouth, sweet Vermouth, and orange juice, with 1 dash of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Attacca Quartet
MUSIC
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
7:00 PM
Live from Columbia: Pop-Ups in the Lantern
Miller Theater Stream
Free
https://www.millertheatre.com/events/attacca-quartet-live-from-columbia
The smoldering Attacca Quartet could not have put together a more appealing program. The best work for string quartet written in the last few years — yeah, I said that — is Gabriella Smith's hopping Carrot Revolution — and we'll hear it tonight! Another top recent quartet piece — with the same energy as the Smith — is Paul Wiancko's LIFT; we won't be hearing that, but rather a newer Wiancko quartet, Benkei's Standing Death, which I for one can't wait to get to know. And the Quartet is
also playing excerpts from John Adams's (an Attacca specialty) enormously entertaining John's Book of Alleged Dances. You REALLY don't want to miss this.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Peacock: pour 2 oz. Cognac, 1/2 oz. Bigallet China-China, and 1/2 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon peel.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Ethan Iverson
MUSIC
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
7:00 PM
Underexposed Live Stream
YouTube
Facebook
Free
https://www.underexposed.live/events/underexposed-ethan-iverson
https://www.underexposed.live/
The smartest person now playing piano — or at least the best writer (well along with Jeremy Denk anyway)? A John Lewis for our time? A joyful disrespecter of genre? Ethan Iverson is at least some of these things.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Marble Hill: pour 2 oz. Gin and 1 oz. each of Byrrh and orange juice, with 2 dashes of Abbott's bitters (you can use Angostura in the rather likely event you don't have Abbott's), into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
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Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 5:00 PM
Michael Gordon: loved.
MUSIC
TUESDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 6 – 11, 2021 (continuing through MAY 9)
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
150 Eastern Parkway, across the street from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Advance ticket required: $18; $12 students and seniors; free children with attending adult; weekdays pay what you can
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/loved
I hadn't been Listing this: as totally wonderful as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is — it's really about my favorite spot in New York — am I going to send you there to hear a five-and-a-half-minute music tape played hourly at the Cherry Esplanade (the cherry blossoms aren't quite out yet) — even if the music is composed by Michael Gordon and played by master percussionist David Cossin? But with all the other great stuff going on at the Garden now, I'd be remiss not to point you to this as well.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The fabulous Gold Star Beer Counter serves on-premises (outdoors) when it's nice out.
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Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 4:30 PM
-
Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 6 & 8, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Monday, April 5, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 (weekly)
8:00 PM
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
YouTube
Facebook
Free ($12 suggested donation)
http://bindlestiff.org/bindlestiff-open-stage-variety-show-quarantine-edition/
The ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the internet's longest-running live remote variety-acts show!!!!! (I don't know why I put all those exclamation points there — actually it's kind of depressing.) Bindlestiff and friends' neo-Vaudeville is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Which is why we'll accompany it with Monkey Glands: pour 1-1/2 oz. each of Gin and orange juice, and 1 teaspoon each of Grenadine, Simple Syrup, and Absinthe into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe (or better still, Nick and Nora glass). Garnish with an orange twist.
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 9:00 PM
Modulations
OPERA
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
8:00 PM (or on demand)
California Performing Arts / LA Opera
PROTOTYPE Festival Stream
$25
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/modulation/
A major event. A self-guided exploration of the efforts of 13 composers to deal with the various strands that wove together the past year. The composers include such List regulars as Mollly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Paul Pinto, Raven Chacon, and Bora Yoon! This is how online presentations should be done.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: TGV: pour 2-1/4 oz. Blanco or Reposado Tequila, 1-1/2 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon of Grenadine into a tumbler over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 8:00 PM
Sibyl Kempson / 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr & Perf. Co.: The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.
THEATER
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (continuing through MAY 15)
7:00 PM
Chocolate Factory / Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/sibyl-kempson-2020/
The wickedly inventive theatermaker Sibyl Kempson reinvents Mary Shelley. So far we have a four-part episodic radio play, all of which is now available for streaming. A digital "theatrical miniseries" will follow in the Spring (if we live that long).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dr. Frankenstein: pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 12:00 PM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 7:00 PM
Modesto Flako Jimenez: Taxilandia
PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (continuing through MAY 3)
12:00, 2:00 & 4:00 PM MONDAY – FRIDAY
12:00, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
¡Oye! Group
294 Harmon Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Taxi ride $25 per person; text-guided walking tour $3 per person
https://www.taxilandia.com/
Playwright/performer/director/producer Modesto Flako Jimenez drove a cab for years. Which gave him a street-level perspective of his Bushwick neighborhood — the one behind the fashionplate. There are two ways to do this show. Pods of up to three people can take a cab ride with Jimenez, who'll chat about the neighborhood (scarce cab reservations are available by lottery). Or you can take a text-guided walking tour of Bushwick.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Grab some Birria at Nene's Deli Taqueria and eat it in Maria Hernandez Park.
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 10:59 AM
Pamela Z & Geoff Sobelle: Times3 (Times x Times x Times)
OPERA / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
Starting 10:00 AM
PROTOTYPE Out of Bounds
PROTOTYPE Festival Onsite & Stream
Times Square, Midtown, Manhattan
Free
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/times-3/
A sonic journey through Times Square and its history that you can undertake live in Times Square or virtually at your computer. Created by two of this List's very favorites: magic soundscaper Pamela Z and physical theater magician Geoff Sobelle!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you go, I think the wonderful Los Tacos No. 1 still has an outdoor seating set-up (bizarrely closed Saturdays, though). At home, this will take some advance preparation, but: Times Square. Combine 1-1/4 oz. Southern Comfort (yeah, you heard right), 1/4 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Grenadine in a glass or pitcher. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Pour into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 9:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 5:00 PM
Gelsey Bell feat. Joseph White: Cairns
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (ongoing)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
#stillHERE IRL
Green-Wood Cemetery, Sunset Park Entrance
35th Street at 4th Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$7 or more for soundtrack
https://here.org/shows/cairns/
Something you can actually Go Out! to (although it's not quite "live"). Gelsey Bell, that vocal star of NYC Alt Classical, has conceived of a piece that walks you around Green-Wood Cemetery (starting at the Sunset Park Entrance). You download the soundtrack on your phone beforehand (the Times complains about how hard it is to download from Bandcamp to an iPhone — trust me: if I can figure out how to do it, anyone can). Bell wrote the text and narrates, with a co-composing assist from the inimitable Joe White (who seemingly couldn't write an unenjoyable tune if he tried). The Cemetery itself will do the performing. (You can also listen to the soundtrack at home and pretend you're walking around the Cemetery.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bring bottled water. As for afterward, 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets is designated for street dining on weekends, if you find that compelling. OTOH: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/07/23/reckless-driver-plows-into-sunset-park-outdoor-dining-area-injuring-patrons/
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Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 1:00 AM
Ellen Reid: SOUNDWALK
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 5 – 11, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 1:00 AM
New York Philharmonic
Central Park
59th Street – 110th Street/Central Park West – 5th Avenue, Manhattan
Free (registration required)
https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/new-york-philharmonic
The New York Phil hops aboard the walk-around-the-landscaped-space-with-soundtrack train (see below). The highly allusive soundtrack was put together by Ellen Reid, who is one of the more soundscapey (and certainly one of the best) of today's many excellent young composers. This walk isn't guided: you download an app that triggers sounds sent to your earphones from various cells around the Park as you wander. So you can do it over many times. (Speaking of wandering around Central Park, here's something that I, for one, never knew.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Delicious pan-African at Teranga (and people say their outdoor dining set-up is lovely).
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Sunday, April 4, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
American Modern Opera Company feat. Anthony Roth Costanza
MUSIC
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2021
8:00 PM
Works and Process
The Rotunda, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
$30
https://www.guggenheim.org/event/anthony-roth-costanzo
The Countertenor Of Today introduces some stuff he's been working on during Quarantine, and sings some existing favorites.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Good South African food and wine at Kaia Wine Bar.
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Saturday, April 3, 2021, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
-
Friday, April 2, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
An Audience With . . . : Kelsey Lu
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021
They Never Told the General Public What Time It Starts
McCourt Theater, The Shed
545 West 30th Street, Hudson Yards, Manhattan
They Never Told the General Public How Much Tickets Cost
https://theshed.org/program/205-an-audience-with
The Shed resumes live performances! At least for its contributors (the series sold out before any tickets were made available to the general public). And you have to show either a completed vaccination card or a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours prior to the performance to be admitted in any event. Good thing I think classical-cellist-gone-popster Kelsey Lu is kind of boring.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Cedric's, the lobby bar at The Shed, is very good — but it's closed. Why not go to the TAK Room (BWAHAHAHAHA: kidding)? José Andrés's Spanish Diner is open.
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Friday, April 2, 2021, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Lisa Bielawa: Broadcast at the Crossroads
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021
7:30 PM
Lisa Bielawa / DePauw University Stream
Free
http://www.lisabielawa.net/broadcast-at-the-crossroads
Lisa Bielawa, one of the more sheerly communicative of the Alt Classical composers, collected impressions of DePauw University students of Life During Lockdown, and assembled them with music performed remotely and separately by DePauw student musicians.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: And So It Goes . . .: pour 3 oz. Bourbon into a rocks glass over ice. Top with 1/8 oz. peaty Scotch (like an Islay).
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Friday, April 2, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Moko Fukuyama: American Recordings
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY & FRIDAY, MARCH 30 & APRIL 2, 2021
7:00 PM
The Kitchen Stream
Free (registration required)
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35572/production/1042854
Multidisciplinary artist Moko Fukuyama cares about narrative — but (happily) in a very abstract sense. These are two "acts" of an ongoing piece (one on Tuesday and one on Friday) reflecting on the state of public discourse in the United States (now there's a cheery topic!). DJ Yo! Vinyl Richie assists.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Mamie Taylor: pour 2 oz. blended Scotch and 6 oz. ginger beer into a Highball glass over ice. Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lime. Stir. Garnish with a lime wedge.
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Friday, April 2, 2021, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021 (weekly)
5:00 PM
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Facebook
Free
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel-online
The fab alt string quartet ETHEL brings its weekly recitals in the Met Balcony Bar home (theirs and yours). Expect old and new music, and surprise guests (from still more homes).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Amber Negroni: pour 1/2 oz. each of Gin and Braulio Amaro, and 1 oz. each of Lillet Blanc (with the usual preferred substitutions, especially Tempus Fugit Kino l'Áero d'Or) and lemon juice, with 3 dashes of Bitterman's Burlesque Bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
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Friday, April 2, 2021, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
First Friday with Robert Black
MUSIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021
12:00 PM
Bang on a Can Live Stream
Free (donation requested)
https://live.bangonacan.org/black/
There isn't that big a repertoire for the double bass (Patrick Susskind wrote a play about that). But ace bassist Robert Black is doing his best to fix that.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Abbey: pour 1-1/2 oz. Gin, and 3/4 oz. each of Kina l'Aero d'Or and orange juice, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
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Thursday, April 1, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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Thu, Apr 1, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 8:00 PM
Jesse B. Koehler: The Garden
THEATER
THURSDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 1 – 4, 2021
7:00 PM
Soho Playhouse Live Stream
$25
https://www.stellartickets.com/o/soho-playhouse/events/the-garden
A dead body. Also, the contingency of reality.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Obituary: pour 2 oz. Gin, 3/4 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1 teaspoon each of Absinthe and Pernod (I'ma use 2 teaspoons of Absinthe myself) into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Thursday, April 1, 2021, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Pamela Z: Other Rooms
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
7:00 PM
University of Maryland, Baltimore County CIRCA Live Stream
Zoom
Free (registration required)
https://circa.umbc.edu/circa-presents-pamela-z/
I'm not going to embarrass myself with fanboy slobbering again, as I did the last time Pamela Z live-streamed this program elsewhere a couple of weeks ago. Let's just say that her Alt-Classical-coming-out-of-pop is EXACTLY what this List is for.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Lonesome Hero: pour 1-1/2 oz. Rye, 3/4 oz. Becherovka, and 1/2 oz. cherry liqueur, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.
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Thursday, April 1, 2021, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Levy Lorenzo & Ikue Mori
MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
6:00 PM
CoPA Artist Hour
New School Live Stream
Free
https://event.newschool.edu/onlinecopaartisthourftlevylor
Brooklyn percussionist (unless he's moved) Levy Lorenzo plays with No Wave electronics godess Ikue Mori. Fascination should ensue.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: My new favorite, the Flying Dutchman: pour 1-1/2 oz. Genever and 3/4 oz. each of yellow Chartreuse, Bénédictine, and lemon juice into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Thu, Apr 1, 2021, 1:00 PM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 7:40 PM
the american vicarious: Negative Liberty / Positive Liberty
THEATER
THURSDAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 1 – 4, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 18)
1:00, 1:20, 1:40, 2:00, 2:20, 2:40, 3:00, 3:20, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:40, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, 6:00, 6:20 & 6:40 PM
The Invisible Dog Art Center
51 Bergen Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Free ($5 suggested donation)
https://www.theinvisibledog.org/all/2021/3/18/negativelibertypositiveliberty/americanvicarious
An eight-minute, one-audience-member-at-a-time karaoke dramatization of (as if I have to tell you) Isaiah Berlin's "Two Concepts of Liberty".
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: During the day, great sandwiches at Court Street Grocers. Later, American Vernacular food at sibling HiHi Room.
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Thursday, April 1, 2021, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Metropolis Ensemble: House Music
MUSIC
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, MARCH 30 & APRIL 1, 2021 (semi-weekly)
10:00 AM
Metropolis Ensemble Stream
Free
https://metropolisensemble.org/house-music
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Metropolis Ensemble showcases ace musicianassociated with its excellent self, or in any event friends of the ensemble, playing solo contemporary, classical, and newly commissioned pieces from home. Metropolis Ensemble has assured me that no musicians were woken early for these shows; they are (new) prerecordings prepared for this series.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Coffee.
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Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 4:30 PM
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Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 8:00 PM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 9:00 PM
Modulations
OPERA
MONDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
8:00 PM (or on demand)
California Performing Arts/LA Opera
PROTOTYPE Festival Stream
$25
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/modulation/
A major event. A self-guided exploration of the efforts of 13 composers to deal with the various strands that wove together the past year. The composers include such List regulars as Mollly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Paul Pinto, Raven Chacon, and Bora Yoon! This is how online presentations should be done.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: TGV: pour 2-1/4 oz. Blanco or Reposado Tequila, 1-1/2 oz. dry Vermouth, and 1/2 teaspoon of Grenadine into a tumbler over ice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.
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Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 7:00 PM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 8:00 PM
Sibyl Kempson / 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr & Perf. Co.: The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.
THEATER
MONDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2021 (continuing through MAY 15)
7:00 PM
Chocolate Factory / Abrons Arts Center Stream
$5-$20
https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/sibyl-kempson-2020/
The wickedly inventive theatermaker Sibyl Kempson reinvents Mary Shelley. So far we have a four-part episodic radio play, all of which is now available for streaming. A digital "theatrical miniseries" will follow in the Spring (if we live that long).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Dr. Frankenstein: pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of Absinthe, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.
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Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 10:00 AM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 12:00 PM
Pamela Z & Geoff Sobelle: Times3 (Times x Times x Times)
OPERA / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2021 (continuing through APRIL 30)
Starting 10:00 AM
PROTOTYPE Out of Bounds
PROTOTYPE Festival Onsite & Stream
Times Square, Midtown, Manhattan
Free
http://prototypefestival.org/shows/times-3/
A sonic journey through Times Square and its history that you can undertake live in Times Square or virtually at your computer. Created by two of this List's very favorites: magic soundscaper Pamela Z and physical theater magician Geoff Sobelle!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: If you go, I think the wonderful Los Tacos No. 1 still has an outdoor seating set-up (bizarrely closed Saturdays, though). At home, this will take some advance preparation, but: Times Square. Combine 1-1/4 oz. Southern Comfort (yeah, you heard right), 1/4 oz. sweet Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. Grenadine in a glass or pitcher. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Pour into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
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Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 9:00 AM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 5:00 PM
Gelsey Bell feat. Joseph White: Cairns
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2021 (ongoing)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
#stillHERE IRL
Green-Wood Cemetery, Sunset Park Entrance
35th Street at 4th Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$7 or more for soundtrack
https://here.org/shows/cairns/
Something you can actually Go Out! to (although it's not quite "live"). Gelsey Bell, that vocal star of NYC Alt Classical, has conceived of a piece that walks you around Green-Wood Cemetery (starting at the Sunset Park Entrance). You download the soundtrack on your phone beforehand (the Times complains about how hard it is to download from Bandcamp to an iPhone — trust me: if I can figure out how to do it, anyone can). Bell wrote the text and narrates, with a co-composing assist from the inimitable Joe White (who seemingly couldn't write an unenjoyable tune if he tried). The Cemetery itself will do the performing. (You can also listen to the soundtrack at home and pretend you're walking around the Cemetery.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bring bottled water. As for afterward, 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets is designated for street dining on weekends, if you find that compelling. OTOH: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/07/23/reckless-driver-plows-into-sunset-park-outdoor-dining-area-injuring-patrons/
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Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 6:00 AM – Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 1:00 AM
Ellen Reid: SOUNDWALK
MUSIC / PERFORMANCE
MONDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2021 (ongoing)
6:00 AM – 1:00 AM
New York Philharmonic
Central Park
59th Street – 110th Street/Central Park West – 5th Avenue, Manhattan
Free (registration required)
https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/new-york-philharmonic
The New York Phil hops aboard the walk-around-the-landscaped-space-with-soundtrack train (see below). The highly allusive soundtrack was put together by Ellen Reid, who is one of the more soundscapey (and certainly one of the best) of today's many excellent young composers. This walk isn't guided: you download an app that triggers sounds sent to your earphones from various cells around the Park as you wander. So you can do it over many times. (Speaking of wandering around Central Park, here's something that I, for one, never knew.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Delicious pan-African at Teranga (and people say their outdoor dining set-up is lovely).
