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Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 8:00 PM – Sun, Sep 2, 2018, 4:00 PM
- Bargemusic
- 1 Water Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11201
- United States
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Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 6:00 PM – Sun, Sep 2, 2018, 4:00 PM
- The Performing Garage
- 33 Wooster Street
- New York, NY, 10013
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 2*
6:00 & 8:00 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY
2:00 & 4:00 PM SUNDAY
The Performing Garage
33 Wooster Street, Soho, Manhattan
Free with reservation
http://theperforminggarage.org/events/dream-adoption-society-and-nowy-teatr/
Dream Adoption Society , the Polish AR/VR company, teams up with NOWY TEATR, a Polish theater company intent on maximizing audience involvement. The piece involves a drug-laden meeting in Warsaw between the Polish poet Miron Białoszewski and the American poet Allen Ginsberg. Expect much mixing of media to insure that the audience feels similarly enhanced as the characters.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: What with all these different showtimes, what you need is an all-day café. And wouldn't you know it, just blocks away is probably the best and most charming of the recent spate of such places in New York: La Mercerie. Whatever else you order, be sure to have a crepe complete.
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Thursday, August 30, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Russ & Daughters Cafe
- 127 Orchard Street
- New York, NY, 10002
- United States
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Wednesday, August 29, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- National Sawdust
- 80 North 6th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11249
- United States
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29
7:00 PM
National Sawdust
80 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$25
https://nationalsawdust.org/event/bill-frisell-ikue-mori-duet/
Guitarist Bill Frisell works so remarkably well in so many styles that you can actually tend to underrate him. He's so good at country-folk-inflected Americana, for example, that you might forget that he's one of the great living masters of avant-garde improvisation. This John Zorn-curated show, a series of duets with avant-electronics godess Ikue Mori, should remedy that. At least for the night.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Bill Frisell probably isn't doing Americana tonight. But Delaware and Hudson sure is -- and extremely well to boot.
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Tue, Aug 28, 2018, 8:30 PM – Sun, Sep 2, 2018, 4:00 PM
- Here
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 2
8:30 PM TUESDAY - SATURDAY
4:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
HERE
145 6th Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$35-$100
http://here.org/shows/detail/1934/
Not to put too fine a point to it, this piece -- premiered at this venue 20 years ago -- is one of the best things I've ever seen. A miracle of puppetry creates perfectly calibrated first-part-of-Fantasia-style visual effects to Berlioz's unhinged visionary masterpiece. It's just so apt, so unexpected -- and so much fun -- you can't believe it. If you haven't seen it, you MUST. If you've already seen it, you'll want to see it again. Piano reduction of the score played live by the redoubtable Christoper O'Riley. While I usually prefer live musical accompaniments on general principle, I actually liked it better when they used to do this piece to an orchestral recording: so much of the appeal of this weird musical masterpiece stems from Berlioz's tangy, unique, unprecedented orchestration. But don't let that keep you away! This is GREAT!!!!!!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can't have too many restaurants featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna, the best in Italy. (Well, probably you could -- but we're not close yet.) So the opening of a new one -- right near HERE, no less -- is certainly something to be happy about. Meet Nonna Beppa.
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Monday, August 27, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Trans-Pecos
- 915 Wyckoff Avenue
- Ridgewood, NY, 11385
- United States
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Monday, August 27, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
MONDAY, AUGUST 27
7:00 PM
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
$20-$25 advance; $25-$30 door
https://lpr.com/lpr_events/lpr-x-taka-kigawa-august-27th-2018/
Expert and inspired New Music piano specialist Taka Kigawa presents a typically compelling program of contemporary and modern piano music. Among the composers are the great pre-Postmodernist Luciano Berio, the excellent Austrian contemporary Modernist Beat Furrer, and the somewhat overrated opera savant Matthew Aucion (wonder what his instrumental music is like?).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Before the show: the Brooklyn Modern Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn has opened a sandwich shop in the Village called Llamita (why oh why couldn't they have stuck with their original name "Deli Llama"?)! The menu looks great! I am REALLY excited about this. Before or after the show: Existing Conditions is a new avant-cocktail bar from avant-cocktail king Dave Arnold, cocktail publisher/entrepreneur Greg Boehm, and cocktailian secret weapon (until now!) Don Lee. The cocktails are stunning, superb, great (right now I'm pretty hot for the Canary -- but don't rule out the Helicopter). I haven't tried Chef Josh Eden's food yet, but it looks really good as well.
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Sunday, August 26, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- National Sawdust
- 80 North 6th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11249
- United States
MUSIC
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26
7:00 PM
National Sawdust
80 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$29
https://nationalsawdust.org/event/rinde-eckert/
Rinde Eckert usually appears as the creator/performer of fantastic music-theater pieces (I doubt anyone who saw his And God Created the Great Whales has forgotten a second of it). But here he appears solely as a singer-musician, playing songs from his new album, invoking musics that have meant a lot to him from various traditions around the world. I don't think Eckert is capable of doing anything uninteresting (or, for that matter, unlistenable).
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The Mid-Atlantic-style eatery Delaware and Hudson is just as wonderful as Rinde Eckert is (and there are very few restaurants I'd say that about). À la carte and (amazingly good) bar snacks in the Tavern Room; extremely reasonable and worth-it prix fixe in the dining room.
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Sunday, August 26, 2018, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
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Saturday, August 25, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- National Sawdust
- 80 North 6th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11249
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
7:00 PM
National Sawdust
80 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$20
https://nationalsawdust.org/event/the-labyrinth/
David Greilsammer is really special: a fabulous pianist and a fabulous, inventive, insightful programmer. This program is typical -- indeed, Greilshammer has already played it in New York to great effect -- using proto-Modernist Janáček as a frame for Baroque pieces from France and Germany, uncatagorizable early-Classical C.P.E. Bach (I'd call him a Modernist myself), and a new piece by Montrealer-from-Israel Ofer Pelz.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Here's the kind of deep thinking you turn to this List for: since Ofer Pelz lives in Montreal, I'm going to send you to a restaurant that, while it doesn't (as is often claimed) serve Montreal-style food, is named after a place in Montreal: Chez Ma Tante -- which is just a wonderful spot, whatever kind of food it serves.
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Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:00 PM – Mon, Aug 27, 2018, 8:00 PM
- Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn
- 500 25th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11232
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 & 26 (continuing through AUGUST 27)
7:00 PM
The Angel's Share
Green-Wood Cemetery
500 25th Street, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$80
https://www.green-wood.com/event/christina-and-michelle-naughton-an-american-in-paris/2018-08-25/
Another of those wonderful Angel's Share concerts in a crypt in Green-Wood Cemetery, preceded by a local whiskey tasting on a bluff in the grounds. This program, given by a truly sterling piano duo (they play so closely together you'd think they were identical twin sisters or something), is dedicated to Leonard Bernstein -- whose grave is steps away from the crypt! So the show opens and closes with pieces by (or arranged by) Bernstein. Between them is a set of pieces by several of my most favorite composers, from France and America: Poulenc, Ravel, Debussy, Bolcom, Nancarrow (!) (all they'd have to do is add Morton Feldman and I'd move into the crypt). This is sold out, of course (I mean: whiskey! the Cemetery! a crypt!) -- but last-minute cancellations do pop up.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Sea Witch has the following advantages: (1) the beer selection is very good, (2) the food is surprisingly palatable, (3) the staff and crowd are very congenial, (4) there's a huge aquarium behind the bar, and (5) it'll still be serving after you've made your way out of the Cemetery following the concert.
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Saturday, August 25, 2018, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
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Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 1:00 PM – Sun, Aug 26, 2018, 2:00 PM
- Commodore Barry Park
- Flushing Avenue & N. Eliot Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
MUSIC
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 & 26
1:00 PM - 10:00 PM SATURDAY
1:00 PM - 9:00 PM SUNDAY
Commodore Barry Park
Flushing Avenue & N. Eliot Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Sold Out (you might be able to find a way in)
http://afropunkfest.com/brooklyn/
The mighty Afropunk Fest started as a forum for African-American Punk music -- but it soon expanded to encompass the alt strains of R&B and hip-hop as well. Just a list of a few of my personal favorites among the slew of performers will show you how beyond-great this year's edition will be (as it always is): Janelle Monae (coming off a new album that is fucking GREAT); Kaytranada; Tyler, the Creator; the Internet; Erykah Badu; Fantastic Negrito;Twin Shadow; Miguel; Jacob Banks; BLXPLTN; Theo Parrish; Blac Rabbit. And those are only performers I'm particularly looking forward to! There are also separately ticketed aftershows at such Brooklyn venues as Baby's All Right, Knitting Factory, Masonic Temple, Putnam's Pub & Cooker, BAM Harvey, and C'Mon Everybody.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: There are a bunch of food trucks on the Festival grounds. Afterward, if you think nine hours in the park was enough and you skip the aftershows, I'll name METTĀ and LaRina as good nearby options that should still be open.
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Fri, Aug 24, 2018, 11:00 PM – Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 12:00 AM
- Elsewhere
- 599 Johnson Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11237
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
11:00 PM
Elsewhere
599 Johnson Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn
$15-$25 advance; $25 door
https://www.elsewherebrooklyn.com/events/2018-08-24-carl-craig-deadbeat-live-dj-lisa-frank/
I've recommended shows by various of Detroit Techno pioneers The Belleville Three over the last several months; now the leading member of the succeeding generation is in town. Carl Craig has had a great last several years, creating many fascinating new projects, so this show is self-recommending. Especially when there will also be a live set by Montreal's leading Dub Techno artist, Deadbeat. And spinning by DJ Lisa Frank, the toast of D.C.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Japanese Ramen superpower Ichiran's Brooklyn branch usually has you slurp your noodles in solo booths, which this sociable gaijin finds mildly disturbing. But, until the beginning of September, they're throwing a Japanese Festival, in which you can instead sit at a central communal table and play various Japanese games with friends and strangers. Actually, this morose gaijin finds that a little disturbing, too.
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Friday, August 24, 2018, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
- Areté Venue and Gallery
- 67 West Street #103
- Brooklyn, NY, 11222
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
9:00 PM
Areté Venue and Gallery
67 West Street #103, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
$15
https://www.aretevenue.com/events/
The Blak Blondz mix acid techno with punk forcebeat guitar crunch, and boy do I love them. Live visuals to accompany the music, the whole shebang.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's take a walk over to Glasserie, in a former glassworks near the mouth of Newtown Creek. The room -- and its situation -- could not be more pleasing. The Levantine/Mediterranean food is very good (even if it never quite regained its initial luster after the excellent opening chef, Sara Kramer, decamped for Los Angeles).
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Friday, August 24, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Microscope Gallery
- 1329 Willoughby Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11237
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
8:00 PM
Microscope Gallery
1329 Willoughby Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Free (R.S.V.P. recommended)
http://www.microscopegallery.com/?page_id=21331
When last we saw Katherine Bauer, at the beginning of the month, she was presenting the penultimate part of a self-created myth in which in which the moon -- once supposedly expelled from Earth in a volcanic explosion -- was drawn back to Earth through the magnetic forces of filmic technologies. Now she concludes the myth cycle by representing -- through means of film projections, slides, and the use of artifacts present in her concurrent exhibition at the Microscope Gallery -- the emergence from the Earth of new Subparticle Moons (with a concluding ritual). (One good thing about all this is that I doubt you have to worry that it would have made more sense if only you had caught the previous performance.) Once again, this will not be your standard night out.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: What's more, before or after you can go to Ops Pizza for good Neapolitan pies and the most fun natural wine program there is.
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Friday, August 24, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
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Friday, August 24, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
7:00 PM
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
$25-$30 advance; $35 door
https://lpr.com/lpr_events/lpr-x-boris-august-24th-2018/
Japanese trio Boris are loud. Boris are REALLY loud. Boris are some of the loudest things you've ever heard. More experimental than metal. But LOUD.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Before the show: the Brooklyn Modern Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn has opened a sandwich shop in the Village called Llamita (why oh why couldn't they have stuck with their original name "Deli Llama"?)! The menu looks great! I am REALLY excited about this. After the show: Existing Conditions is a new avant-cocktail bar from avant-cocktail king Dave Arnold, cocktail publisher/entrepreneur Greg Boehm, and cocktailian secret weapon (until now!) Don Lee. The cocktails are stunning, superb, great (right now I'm pretty hot for the Canary -- but don't rule out the Helicopter). I haven't tried Chef Josh Eden's food yet, but it looks really good as well.
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Friday, August 24, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- House of Yes
- 2 Wyckoff Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11237
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
7:00 PM
House of Yes
2 Wyckoff Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn
$39-$65
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acousticaelectronica-with-touch-performance-art-tickets-47292283493
This will either be pretty great or pretty terrible. A purported combination of dance party and immersive multi-media performance, supposedly mashing up electronic dance music and classical references. The problem will be if the classical references are all clueless parodies of standard rep (in ignorance of how much contemporary classical sounds just like electronic dance music). But it could be a real trip -- and it won't be boring (I mean, it includes circus acts: that's never bad!). If you spring for the expensive ticket, you're promised a more directly interactive experience. I'm not sure whether or not that's agood thing.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Whereas Chez Ma Tante in faraway Greenpoint is (as noted below) named after a Quebecois poutine-and-hot-dog place, UpNorth, right across the street from this venue, actually is one! You won't leave unsated. (Many have said the same thing about House of Yes.)
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Fri, Aug 24, 2018, 4:30 PM – Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 5:30 PM
- The Performing Garage
- 33 Wooster Street
- New York, NY, 10013
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, AUGUST 24 & 25
4:30 - 8:30 PM
The Performing Garage
33 Wooster Street, Soho, Manhattan
Free with reservation
http://theperforminggarage.org/events/dream-adoption-society-new-territory/
The Polish AR/VR company Dream Adoption Society concludes its retrospective of past works, leading up to a premiere next week of a major new work in collaboration with NOWY TEATR, a Polish theater company focusing on audience involvement. This week's piece, based on the work of the early-20th Century Polish mystic / Expressionist / proto-Surrealist Tadeusz Miciński, uses VR technology to give audience members private individual (as opposed to group) experiences.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Since you could be coming and going at various times throughout the late afternoon and evening, what you need here is an all-day café. And wouldn't you know it, just blocks away is probably the best and most charming of the recent spate of such places in New York: La Mercerie. Whatever else you order, be sure to have a crepe complete.
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Thursday, August 23, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Spectrum
- 70 Flushing Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11205
- United States
PERFORMANCE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23
8:00 PM
Spectrum
70 Flushing Avenue, Garage A, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
$15; $10 students/seniors
http://www.spectrumnyc.com/site/calendar.php
Lime Rickey International is the riveting Syrian-Palestinian-American dancer/performance artist Leyya Mona Tawill. Her slogan is, "Lime Rickey International is born of noise and nation." She's not kidding about the noise. This is great stuff if you're open to it.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Stylish Thai at Samui.
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Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 5:30 PM – Sun, Aug 26, 2018, 6:30 PM
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Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Ramsey Playfield
- Central Park
- New York, NY
- United States
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Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
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Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
- Baby's All Right
- 146 Broadway
- Brooklyn, NY, 11211
- United States
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Wed, Aug 22, 2018, 12:30 PM – Sun, Aug 26, 2018, 1:30 PM
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 - 26
VARIOUS TIMES
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
Various Locations, Harlem & Lower East Side, Manhattan
Free
https://cityparksfoundation.org/charlieparker/
An insanely good jazz festival, in honor of the insanely great Charlie Parker, that takes place toward the end of every August. I'm a huge fan of inside/outside alto sax player Gary Bartz in all events, but I genuinely think the two star shows of this year's Festival are the ones involving him: a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of the outstanding debut album by inside/outside trumpeter Charles Tolliver (another player I'm a huge fan of), on which Bartz played (and he'll play with Tolliver here -- along with that king of drummers, Jack DeJohnette!!!), in Marcus Garvey Park uptown on Friday; and a set by Bartz's current quartet in Tompkins Square Park downtown on Sunday -- especially when the opening acts on Sunday include The Bad Plus!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Near Marcus Garvey Park, go to the East 125th Street branch of Manna's, that wonderful steam-table soul food mini-chain, before the show -- or to the smart French wine bar, Barawine, after. Near Tompkins Square Park, grab a hot dog or two at Crif Dogs and then see if you can sneak through the phone booth to Please Don't Tell, serving some of the very best cocktails in a City where that accolade really means something.
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Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 8:30 PM – Sun, Aug 26, 2018, 4:00 PM
- Here
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 - 26 (continuing through SEPTEMBER 2)
8:30 PM TUESDAY - SATURDAY
4:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
HERE
145 6th Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$35-$100
http://here.org/shows/detail/1934/
Not to put too fine a point to it, this piece -- premiered at this venue 20 years ago -- is one of the best things I've ever seen. A miracle of puppetry creates perfectly calibrated first-part-of-Fantasia-style visual effects to Berlioz's unhinged visionary masterpiece. It's just so apt, so unexpected -- and so much fun -- you can't believe it. If you haven't seen it, you MUST. If you've already seen it, you'll want to see it again. Piano reduction of the score played live by the redoubtable Christoper O'Riley. While I usually prefer live musical accompaniments on general principle, I actually liked it better when they used to do this piece to an orchestral recording: so much of the appeal of this weird musical masterpiece stems from Berlioz's tangy, unique, unprecedented orchestration. But don't let that keep you away! This is GREAT!!!!!!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can't have too many restaurants featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna, the best in Italy. (Well, probably you could -- but we're not close yet.) So the opening of a new one -- right near HERE, no less -- is certainly something to be happy about. Meet Nonna Beppa.
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Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 7:30 PM – Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 8:30 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
OPERA
MONDAY & TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 & 21
7:30 PM
dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Mozart & Salieri Festival
La Mama
66 East 4th Street, East Village, Manhattan
$32-$36; $23-$32 seniors; $22 students
http://dellarteopera.org/project/mozart-salieri-scenes-2018/
The lovable dell'Arte Opera Ensemble puts on modest, intimate opera productions every Summer, featuring a bevy of promising young singers. This Summer they're doing a Mozart/Salieri Festival, featuring those two famous colleagues/rivals/murderer-and-victim (depending on whom you believe). This show features extracts from Mozart and Salieri operas; but also, more interestingly, Rimsky-Korsakov's very rare one-act opera about the two composers -- which is based on a Pushkin verse drama that originated the famous libel that Salieri murdered Mozart. It's surprising and intriguing that one of the Music Directors is the contemporary composer and music-theater artiste Whitney George.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Chinese-style spicy crawfish and Peking street food specialist Le Sia is only going to become more of a clusterfuck now that it's had its close-up. But it's open late, so maybe a post-performance visit will be viable.
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Sunday, August 19, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Rumsey Playfield
- Central Park
- New York, NY
- United States
MUSIC
SUNDAY, AUGUST 19
7:00 PM
Mura Masa
SummerStage, Central Park
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, Manhattan
Free
https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/mura-masa-jessy-lanza/?date=20180819
A lot of us were knocked out by Mura Masa's album last year. (Well, that's a slight misstatement: I must be one of the few people in the world who actually listened to those tracks as an album, that dying medium.) A Londoner who group up in remote Guernsey, Mura Masa is a beatmaster who combines the interiority of his birthplace with the urbane eclecticism of his current city -- and is making music that will still sound fresh years from now. This guy is so good Nile Rodgers recruited him to help out on the Chic comeback album! Opening is Ontario's Jessy Lanza, a solidly enjoyable if fairly unadventurous electronic singer-songwriter.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Yeah, it's a little bit of a walk. But I'm sending you to the newly revivified JoJo -- because their Sunday night specials focus on the deeply satisfying cuisine of Jean-George Vongerichten's native Alsace.
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Sunday, August 19, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Here
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 19*
7:00 PM
Christoper O'Riley: Cabaret Fantastique
HERE
145 Sixth Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$15
http://here.org/shows/detail/2002/
This is kind of a no-brainer for a great night out: the excellent and personable pianist Christopher O'Riley performs piano pieces accompanied by Basil Twists wonderful company of puppeteers in the Symphonie Fantastique tank (I mean the puppets and often the puppeteers are in the tank, not the pianist). I've heard that the last edition of this cabaret show focused a lot on Radiohead transcriptions. We'll see what this one is like. (If you haven't seen Symphonie Fantastique yet, you can go to the 4:00 PM show and make it a double-header!)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You know what? A Sunday in August is actually a time when you might be able to get into the best new restaurant in the City, Frenchette.
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Sunday, August 19, 2018, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
- Secret Project Robot
- 1186 Broadway
- Brooklyn, NY, 11221
- United States
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Saturday, August 18, 2018, 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM
- Spectrum
- 70 Flushing Avenue, Garage A
- Brooklyn, NY, 11205
- United States
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Saturday, August 18, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
- 450 West 37th Street
- New York, NY, 10018
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18*
8:00 PM
JACK Quartet/SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg
Time Spans Festival
Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 West 37th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$20; $10 students/seniors; $50 five-concert Festival Pass
http://timespans.org/concert/2018-concert-v/
In the final Time Spans concert, the JACK Quartet -- surely the best New Music string quartet in New York, and up there with the very best in the world -- is joined by electronics from the legendary SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg. The big draw on this bill is the U.S. premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas's String Quartet No. 7, for quartet and electronics. No one plays Haas quartets like JACK. Every tonal subtlety in these unique post-Spectralist-cum-microtonal works is fully realized, while the underlying structure is never lost sight of. You as listener just have to pay close attention, and you're taken somewhere new and different.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's kick it Old Skool and visit Barbetta, the ancient Piemontese restaurant on Restaurant Row. DEEP cellar of Barolos and Barbarescos. A true New York experience.
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Saturday, August 18, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- La Mama
- 66 East 4th Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
OPERA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18 (continuing through AUGUST 26)
7:30 PM
Salieri: La Cifra
dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Mozart & Salieri Festival
La Mama
66 East 4th Street, East Village, Manhattan
$36-$40; $32-$36 seniors; $25 students
http://dellarteopera.org/project/la-cifra/
The lovable dell'Arte Opera Ensemble puts on modest, intimate opera productions every Summer, featuring a bevy of promising young singers. This Summer they're doing a Mozart/Salieri festival, featuring those two famous colleagues/rivals/murderer-and-victim (depending on whom you believe). The thing to see this week, at least if you enjoy Classical-period opera (and if you don't, I feel sorry for you), is Salieri's rarely performed (not that anything by Salieri is frequently performed) dramma giocoso -- with a libretto by Da Ponte!-- La Cifra. Speaking of dramma giocosi with libretti by Da Ponte, they're also putting on Don Giovanni Thursday night and Sunday matinée.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Now that it's been discovered, maybe it won't be as easy to get into as previously, but the food and drink at The Bar at Momofuko Ko are just insanely good.
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Saturday, August 18, 2018, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Colonels Row
- New York, NY, 11231
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
1:00 & 3:00 PM
Letters of the American South
Collaborative Arts Ensemble
Rite of Summer Music Festival
Colonels Row, Governors Island, Manhattan
Free
https://www.riteofsummer.com/festival/collaborative-arts-ensemble/
A collection of songs and instrumental pieces -- both classical and vernacular -- and readings concerning the American South, presented by this socially conscious interdisciplinary ensemble.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You know the drill: lots of food trucks and stands, and a beer garden, on the Island. For a cocktail (and, if you want, a snack) after you get off the ferry home, Dead Rabbit near the Manhattan landing, The Long Island Bar near the Brooklyn.
-
Friday, August 17, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
- 450 West 37th Street
- New York, NY, 10018
-
Friday, August 17, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 17
7:00 PM
Pere Ubu
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
$25 advance; $30 door
https://lpr.com/lpr_events/lpr-x-pere-ubu-august-17th-2018/
Pere Ubu roared out of Cleveland in the mid-'70s, and their combination of guitar punk and synthesizer-driven musique concrète helped birth post-punk. There are tunes under the noise -- and there's noise over the tunes (sometimes they alternate). Amazingly, their last album, released last year, was about as good as their classics from the '70s and '80s.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Before the show: the Brooklyn Modern Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn has opened a sandwich shop in the Village called Llamita (why oh why couldn't they have stuck with their original name "Deli Llama"?)! The menu looks great! I am REALLY excited about this. After the show: Existing Conditions is a new avant-cocktail bar from avant-cocktail king Dave Arnold, cocktail publisher/entrepreneur Greg Boehm, and cocktailian secret weapon (until now!) Don Lee. The cocktails are stunning, superb, great (right now I'm pretty hot for the Canary -- but don't rule out the Helicopter). I haven't tried Chef Josh Eden's food yet, but it looks really good as well.
-
Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 4:30 PM – Sat, Aug 18, 2018, 5:30 PM
- The Performing Garage
- 33 Wooster Street
- New York, NY, 10013
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, AUGUST 17 & 18*
4:30 - 8:30 PM
Dream Adoption Society: The Artist Is [All But] Present
The Performing Garage
33 Wooster Street, Soho, Manhattan
Free with reservation
http://theperforminggarage.org/events/dream-adoption-society-the-artist/
The Polish AR/VR company Dream Adoption Society presents a retrospective of past works over the month, leading up to a major new work in collaboration with NOWY TEATR, a Polish theater company focusing on audience involvement. In this week's piece, audience members collaborate with a virtual avatar of a performer to create poetry.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Since you could be coming and going at various times throughout the late afternoon and evening, what you need here is an all-day café. And wouldn't you know it, just blocks away is probably the best and most charming of the recent spate of such places in New York: La Mercerie. Whatever else you order, be sure to have a crepe complete.
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Thursday, August 16, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
- 450 West 37th Street
- New York, NY, 10018
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16
8:00 PM
Talea Ensemble
Time Spans Festival
Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 West 37th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$20; $10 students/seniors; $50 five-concert Festival Pass
http://timespans.org/concert/2018-concert-iii/
This year's Time Spans Festival features so many personal favorite composers that, if I were even more narcissistic than I am, I'd think they were programming just for me. Tonight the formidable Talea Ensemble presents works for large ensemble by Oscar Bettison and Felipe Lara. Bettison is one of those composers whose surprising and enjoyable music would have a large audience, if only masses of people were willing to listen to contemporary classical. Lara's music is a tougher nut to crack, but his experiments with rhythm and texture are ultimately as dedicated to pure sonic voluptuousness as say, Richard Strauss -- but, at least to my mind, a lot smarter.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: In a rather stunning reversal, the Major Food Group has opened a place that is not ruinously expensive: the Tiki bar (with snacks) The Polynesian.
-
Thursday, August 16, 2018, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
- Roulette
- 509 Atlantic Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11217
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16
6:30 PM
Matt Marks Memorial
Roulette
509 Atlantic Avenue (entrance on 3rd Avenue), Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Free
https://www.facebook.com/events/217617335627365/
Matt Marks, recently deceased at the tragically young age of 38, was an excellent musician and a wonderful composer. He personified the new, audience-friendly, pop-inflected school of contemporary classical. This memorial for him features performances by such of Marks's friends and admirers as Alarm Will Sound (of which Marks was a founding member), Hotel Elefant, and Kathleen Supové -- as well as a choir of Marks's fellow horn-players. There will be pot-luck food, and attendees are encouraged to bring edibles that can be consumed standing.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Drown your sorrows at Grand Army Bar. You can snack well there as well.
-
Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 5:30 PM – Sun, Aug 19, 2018, 2:00 PM
- Music Pagoda
- Near Empire Boulevard entrance
- Brooklyn, NY, 11215
- United States
THEATER
THURSDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 - 19 (continuing through AUGUST 26)*
5:30 PM THURSDAY & FRIDAY
2:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Aphra Behn: The Rover
Torn Out Theater
Music Pagoda
Near Empire Boulevard entrance, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Free
http://www.tornouttheater.org/the-rover/
What more do I have to say than "Aphra Behn performed naked" to get you to run to Prospect Park? How about "non-binary performance of Restoration comedy"? Or "first female professional writer in English"? Or "free"?
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's go Caribbean. Before or after the show Thursday and Sunday, or before the show Friday, The Food Sermon, one of the hidden gems of New York City eating. (You'll thank me for this.) Or, all days before or after, go a little upscale at Gladys Jerk Center.
-
Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM
- Areté Venue & Gallery
- 67 West Street #103
- Brooklyn, NY, 11222
- United States
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
8:30 PM
Ben Goldberg
Areté Venue & Gallery
67 West Street #103, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
$20
https://www.aretevenue.com/events/
Clarinetist/saxophonist/composer Ben Goldberg is an invaluable musician, playing jazz and classical (and klezmer!) with a number of ensembles. It isn't clear if this is a solo show or if he's playing with an ensemble. It doesn't matter: Goldberg is worth listening to in any format. Unfortunately, this recorded-for-podcast performance involves a 45-minute discussion period after the 45 minutes of music.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Paulie Gee's: unquestionably one of New York's premier New Skool pizzerias.
-
Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
- 450 West 37th Street
- New York, NY, 10018
- United States
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
8:00 PM
Alarm Will Sound
Time Spans Festival
Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 West 37th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$20; $10 students/seniors; $50 five-concert Festival Pass
http://timespans.org/concert/2018-concert-ii/
Tonight's Time Spans Festival concert is all-American (well, one composer is Canadian resident in New York), featuring ace ensemble Alarm Will Sound and a bunch of world or local premieres. Most striking from the polemic standpoint of this List is a collaboration between Christopher Stark,* whose modern classical music is not remotely hip-hop influenced, and King Britt, an alt-hip-hop/electronic music artist whose work can't help but skirt the boundary with contemporary classical. Hard not to be extremely curious about that one. Also, Alex Mincek,* whose music typically has an almost electrifying pulse (you'd think he'd be collaborating with King Britt). Zosha Di Castri (she's the Canadian ringer) is also concerned with rhythmic propulsion -- although not in as direct a way as Mincek -- with huge splashes of instrumental color, creating music of constant interest.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: After the scenester melee of Legacy Records, Danny Meyer's Southern-infected bar and grill Porchlight will seem relaxing.
-
Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Marcus Garvey Park
- 124th Street & Fifth Avenue Harlem
- New York, NY
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
6:00 PM
Alice Smith
SummerStage, Marcus Garvey Park
124th Street & Fifth Avenue, Harlem, Manhattan
Free
https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/alice-smith-akala-dj-stormin-norman/?date=20180815
Alice Smith is just an excellent singer-songwriter, doing neo-Soul R&B with rock overtones. She's always a joy to hear.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You are practically right at the 125th Street branch of the wonderful steam-table soul food chain Manna's, a recommendation that no one I know has ever regretted following. If you want something, I dunno, tonier, Barawine is a perfectly fine and very welcoming French place.
-
Tue, Aug 14, 2018, 8:30 PM – Sun, Aug 19, 2018, 5:00 PM
- Here
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 - 19 (continuing through SEPTEMBER 2)*
8:30 PM TUESDAY - SATURDAY
4:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Basil Twist: Symphonie Fantastique
HERE
145 6th Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$35-$100
http://here.org/shows/detail/1934/
Not to put too fine a point to it, this piece -- premiered at this venue 20 years ago -- is one of the best things I've ever seen. A miracle of puppetry creates perfectly calibrated first-part-of-Fantasia-style visual effects to Berlioz's unhinged visionary masterpiece. It's just so apt, so unexpected -- and so much fun -- you can't believe it. If you haven't seen it, you MUST. If you've already seen it, you'll want to see it again. Piano reduction of the score played live by the redoubtable Christoper O'Riley. While I usually prefer live musical accompaniments on general principle, I actually liked it better when they used to do this piece to an orchestral recording: so much of the appeal of this weird musical masterpiece stems from Berlioz's tangy, unique, unprecedented orchestration. But don't let that keep you away! This is GREAT!!!!!! (And on Sunday, you can see the [separately ticketed] Cabaret Fantastique later on!)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can't have too many restaurants featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna, the best in Italy. (Well, probably you could -- but we're not close yet.) So the opening of a new one -- right near HERE, no less -- is certainly something to be happy about. Meet Nonna Beppa.
-
Tuesday, August 14, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
- 450 West 37th Street
- New York, NY, 10018
- United States
MUSIC
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
8:00 PM
Time Spans Festival
Mary Flager Cary Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 West 37th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$20; $10 students/seniors; $50 five-concert Festival Pass
http://timespans.org/concert/2018-concert-i/
The annual Time Spans Festival of New Music concerts* put on by the Earle Brown Music Foundation (the invaluable legacy of an invaluable composer) kicks off with the excellent Bozzini Quartet from Montreal (see, now I'm back to liking everything from Montreal). The program features Canadian composers. Now Cassandra Miller is an excellent composer, but what I'm really excited about is a piece by a new favorite of mine, Linda Catlin Smith. You can tell that she likes Morton Feldman and the Wandelweisers -- lots of space, quiet, and expansive time frames in her music -- but she doesn't really sound like them. She writes with an almost Ravelian clarity and fastidious finesse (I wonder what she'd think of that comparison?). If you haven't heard her music yet, please try to.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: The major restaurant in this area right now is Legacy Records. I find its overly comfortable American-masquerading-as-Italian food representative of much of what's wrong with the pandering and lazy run of restaurants that have proliferated in New York over the last couple of years. On the other hand, you can't deny that the food tastes good enough. People love it -- it's wildly popular -- and so may you.
-
Tue, Aug 14, 2018, 8:00 PM – Sat, Aug 18, 2018, 9:00 PM
- A.R.T./New York Theatres
- 502 West 53rd Street
- New York, NY, 10019
- United States
THEATER
TUESDAY - SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 - 18
8:00 PM
Eliza Bent: The Beyoncé
Adjusted Realists
A.R.T./New York Theatres
502 West 53rd Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$25-$30
https://www.adjustedrealists.com/the-beyonceacute.html
I'm good for a recommendation of just about anything Eliza Bent writes: her whacky, engaged pieces are incredibly appealing. But this one -- a mash-up of Beyoncé and Chekhov (The Fiancée, duh) -- has my name on it: two of my favorite figures in all world culture, in one theatrical presentation! (Not sure how much of a presence Bey will actually be in this piece, though.) Speaking of personal favorites, here's a shout-out to Rolls André, one of my favorite actors about town.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Modern Israeli Taboon focuses on meats, fish, and breads cooked in its huge wood-fired oven (tabun in Arabic, as it happens).
-
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
- Areté Venue & Gallery
- 67 West Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11222
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11
9:00 PM
2018 Summa Slam
Areté Venue & Gallery
67 West Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
$15 advance; $20 door
https://www.aretevenue.com/events/
A night of Downtown-and-Brooklyn improvisers and experimenters. Downtown music legend Ikue Mori on solo electronics. Avant-trumpeter Peter Evans, who has been making a splash with his solo playing, unveils a new band. Charmaine Lee and Andrea Pensado on voices and electronics.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: No question about it, pan-Mexican oven-and-grill-oriented Oxomoco is the Greenpoint Restaurant Of The Summer.
-
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11
8:00 PM
Matthew Shipp/Allen Lowe/Gerald Cleaver/Kevin Ray
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
$20
https://lpr.com/lpr_events/shipp-lowe-cleaver-ray-august-11th-2018/
Normally, when a band includes Matthew Shipp -- one of the great visionary pianists in jazz, and a guy who routinely makes skeptics forget they're dubious about the jazz avant-garde -- you fixate on him. But this roundly excellent jazz collective also includes alto saxophonist Allen Lowe, one of the more interesting figures on the current music scene. Working entirely off the grid, Lowe self-publishes fascinating jazz/pop histories and accompanying compilation records -- and creates his own music that draws together disparate vernacular threads in ways that often surprise but usually convince. To be able to see him at all, much less in the company of a bunch of master players (I mean, drummer Gerald Cleaver: right?), is a rare treat.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Before the show: the Brooklyn Modern Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn has opened a sandwich shop in the Village called Llamita(why oh why couldn't they have stuck with their original name "Deli Llama"?)! The menu looks great! I am REALLY excited about this. After the show: Existing Conditions is a new avant-cocktail bar from avant-cocktail king Dave Arnold, cocktail publisher/entrepreneur Greg Boehm, and cocktailian secret weapon (until now!) Don Lee. The cocktails are stunning, superb, great (right now I'm pretty hot for the Canary -- but don't rule out the Helicopter). I haven't tried Chef Josh Eden's food yet, but it looks really good as well.
-
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Corlears Hook Park
- Corlears Hook Park New York NY
-
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Harlem Meer
- 5th Avenue & 106th Street
- New York NY
-
Friday, August 10, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Secret Project Robot
- 1186 Broadway
- Brooklyn, NY, 11221
- United States
-
Friday, August 10, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Prospect Park Bandshell
- 141 Prospect Park West
- Brooklyn, NY, 11215
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
7:30 PM
Emel Mathlouthi
Celebrate Brooklyn
Prospect Park Bandshell
141 Prospect Park West, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Free
https://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-celebrate-brooklyn-festival/godspeed-you-black-emperor-emel-mathlouthi
Emel Mathlouthi's propulsive Arabic-electronica was, believe it or not, a motive force in the Arab Spring. She's only the opening act, but the headliners, noisy Montreal post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, are a group I find truly annoying. (And as anyone who knows me will tell you, if I have a bad word for anything coming out of Montreal, it must be really annoying!) Go for Emel!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Celebrity-chef Pan-Asian outlet Talde is another spot that Park Slopers tend to overrate. But it's not bad or anything -- not by a longshot.
-
Friday, August 10, 2018, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
- National Sawdust
- 80 North 6th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11249
- United States
-
Thursday, August 9, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- National Sawdust
- 80 North 6th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11249
- United States
OPERA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9*
8:00 PM
Object Collection: It's All True
National Sawdust
80 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$16.50
https://nationalsawdust.org/event/adhoc-presents-object-collection-its-all-true/
Just as with The Force of Objects earlier this week, everyone who missed the run of the Object Collection's surreal piece at La Mama last Winter gets another chance. It's All True is based on the music of the post-hardcore ban Fugazi. Well, not the music, exactly; it takes as its basis the ambient sounds around the music culled from more than a thousand hours of live tapes: guitar noodling and drum thwacks between songs; audience noises (including heckling); pre-show activist speeches; even the sound of the police breaking up gigs! On record, this is a unique listening experience. Live . . . .
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Good Sardinian food and wine (I mean, they have good non-Sardinian wine, too -- but why would you?) at D.O.C. Wine Bar.
-
Thu, Aug 9, 2018, 8:00 PM – Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 3:00 PM
- A.R.T./New York Theatres
- 502 West 53rd Street
- New York, NY, 10019
- United States
THEATER
THURSDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 - 12
8:00 PM THURSDAY - SATURDAY
3:00 PM SUNDAY
Eliza Bent: The Beyoncé
Adjusted Realists
A.R.T./New York Theatres
502 West 53rd Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$25-$30
https://www.adjustedrealists.com/the-beyonceacute.html
I'm good for a recommendation of just about anything Eliza Bent writes: her whacky, engaged pieces are incredibly appealing. But this one -- a mash-up of Beyoncé and Chekhov (The Fiancée, duh) -- has my name on it: two of my favorite figures in all world culture, in one theatrical presentation! (Not sure how much of a presence Bey will actually be in this piece, though.) Speaking of personal favorites, here's a shout-out to Rolls André, one of my favorite actors about town.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Modern Israeli Taboon focuses on meats, fish, and breads cooked in its huge wood-fired oven (tabun in Arabic, as it happens).
-
Thu, Aug 9, 2018, 7:30 PM – Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 8:30 PM
- Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall
- 10 Columbus Avenue
- New York, NY, 10023
- United States
DANCE
THURSDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 - 12*
7:30 THURSDAY - SATURDAY
5:00 PM SUNDAY
Mark Morris Dance Group
Mostly Mozart Festival
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall
10 Columbus Circle, Upper West Side, Manhattan
$40-$150
http://www.lincolncenter.org/mostly-mozart-festival/show/mark-morris-dance-group-1
Do I really have to write up Mark Morris? Surely the most purely enjoyable of the world's great contemporary choreographers. The most musical, as well. And the leader of a great company of distinctive, characterful dancers. This programs features two old favorites set not just to song, but to great great song: Love Song Waltzes (to the eponymous, and quite delightful, Brahmssong collection) and I Don't Want to Love (to Monteverdi madrigals). And, a new piece. Set to Schubert's Trout Quintet! A big component of Morris's shows is excellent live performances of the music; here, for example, the Monteverdi will be performed by some of New York City's top exponents of that composer -- and the pianist in the Trout will be no less than Inon Barnatan!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: OK, here's the drill on Marea: I myself think it's overrated. I find the Italian seafood dishes there to be overelaborate and too heavy. OTOH, you don't get to be one of the most consistently popular restaurants in the City (and get two Michelin stars) without appealing to someone, so maybe you'll disagree. One way to find out.
-
Thursday, August 9, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- David Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
- 61 West 62nd Street
- New York, NY, 10023
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
7:30 PM
Michael Pisaro: a wave and waves
International Contemporary Ensemble
Mostly Mozart Festival
David Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
61 West 62nd Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Free
http://www.lincolncenter.org/mostly-mozart-festival/show/a-wave-and-waves
Michael Pisaro, American Wandelweiser. Like his fellows in that movement, Pisaro presents a lot of sparse notes and chords with extended periods of silence separating them. Don't expect anything fast-moving or dramatic. But if you concentrate, this music will draw you in and take you places. (Expect a LONG line for this free show in a small space -- get there EARLY.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Masseria dei Vini is not one of the top top top Neopolitan pizza spots in New York -- but it's good. Good antipasti and, indeed, pastas and main dishes, too.
-
Thursday, August 9, 2018, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
6:30 PM
Xenia Rubinos
Summer Thursdays
MoMA
11 West 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan
Free with Museum admission ($25; $18 seniors; $14 students; free children 16 & under)
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/4491
Xenia Rubinos's music is hard to classify, even for a genre-hopping Brooklyn indie-pop artist. Sure, there are Latinx inflections in there, she's hewing more and more to dropping hip-hop beats, and there are always some pop/rock tunes, some jazz, and even (this is alt Brooklyn) some classical in the background. It all comes together into something immensely compelling.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: People seem not to think about eating at the Lounge of Le Bernardin, which is something of a mystery to me, as it's more accessible way to get Chef Eric Ripert's excellent food.
-
Thursday, August 9, 2018, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Live at the Archway
- 202 Plymouth St
- NY, 11201
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
6:00 PM
Tiê
Brasil Summerfest
Live at the Archway
Water Street btw. Adams Street & Anchorage Place, DUMBO, Brooklyn
Free
https://dumbo.is/live-at-the-archway
Last week the Brasil Summerfest presented the Brazilian folkie singer-songwriter Tiê for pay at LPR. This week she's appearing again, this time for free, as part of the weekly series of free concerts in a notably enchanting venue: the archway underneath the Manhattan Bridge at Water Street in DUMBO. As I said last week, I'm not totally enamored of the rather insipid pop moves on Tiê's latest album -- but her previous three were almost as enchanting as the space in which she's playing.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Let's get nostalgic. Superfine was notable when it opened years ago because it was one of the first good restaurants (really a bar and restaurant) in DUMBO. Now that there are lots of good places in the area, its vaguely Mediterranean-inflected food no longer seems so special. But the place has never ever been anything less than loads of fun. And that remains true now.
-
Wednesday, August 8, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Baby's All Right
- 146 Broadway
- Brooklyn, NY, 11211
- United States
MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8
8:00 PM
Balún
Baby's All Right
146 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$10
http://babysallright.ticketfly.com/event/1722757-balun-record-release-party-brooklyn/
Look out, I'm going to go into my constant riff about how close certain types of contemporary classical are to certain types of avant-pop. Here, for instance, we have at the top of the bill a (rather wonderful) electro-pop band, Balún, that includes in its ranks an Actual Classical Composer, Angelica Negrón. Opening the show is a classical percussion ensemble, Tigue, that comes across as a dance music band. In the middle is a another wonderful pop band, Mons Vi, that doesn't sound genres apart from Balún (it's less electro). Ideological considerations aside, this is a really nice show.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Diner is open till midnight. Should be able to just make it after the show.
-
Wednesday, August 8, 2018, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
- Sinkane
- Bryant Park
- New York, NY
- United States
-
Tue, Aug 7, 2018, 8:30 PM – Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 11:30 PM
- HERE
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 - 12 (continuing through SEPTEMBER 2)
8:30 PM TUESDAY - SATURDAY
4:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Basil Twist: Symphonie Fantastique
HERE
145 6th Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$35-$100
http://here.org/shows/detail/1934/
Not to put too fine a point to it, this piece -- premiered at this venue 20 years ago -- is one of the best things I've ever seen. A miracle of puppetry creates perfectly calibrated first-part-of-Fantasia-style visual effects to Berlioz's unhinged visionary masterpiece. It's just so apt, so unexpected -- and so much fun -- you can't believe it. If you haven't seen it, you MUST. If you've already seen it, you'll want to see it again. Piano reduction of the score played live by the redoubtable Christoper O'Riley. While I usually prefer live musical accompaniments on general principle, I actually liked it better when they used to do this piece to an orchestral recording: so much of the appeal of this weird musical masterpiece stems from Berlioz's tangy, unique, unprecedented orchestration. But don't let that keep you away! This is GREAT!!!!!!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can't have too many restaurants featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna, the best in Italy. (Well, probably you could -- but we're not close yet.) So the opening of a new one -- right near HERE, no less -- is certainly something to be happy about. Meet Nonna Beppa.
-
Tuesday, August 7, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- naturaBRASIL
- 240 Elizabeth Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7
7:00 PM
Xêni França
Brasil Summerfest
naturaBRASIL
240 Elizabeth Street, Nolita, Manhattan
Free with RSVP
https://www.naturabrasil.com/a-brazilian-diva-takes-the-stage
Xênia França does what you might call post-samba (although I suspect shewouldn't), with plenty of jazz, R&B, and even rock overtones. Her music is quite bewitching. As you might expect, a free show in a cosmetics store in Nolita fills up pretty quickly. But check for cancellations.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Cafe Habana doesn't have the greatest Mexican/Cuban food ever purveyed. But it's fun and popular and right across the street from naturaBRAZIL.
-
Tuesday, August 7, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Joe's Pub
- 425 Lafayette Street
- New York, NY, 10003
- United States
-
Tue, Aug 7, 2018, 1:00 PM – Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 7:30 PM
- Soho Rep.
- 46 Walker Street
- New York, NY, 10013
- United States
THEATER
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 - 12*
7:30 PM TUESDAY - SUNDAY
3:00 PM SATURDAY
Jackie Sibblies Drury: Fairview
Soho Rep.
46 Walker Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
$35-$65
http://sohorep.org/fairview
They may call this a "family drama". But what it really is, is an extremely canny -- and scathing -- and funny (to a point) -- exploration of race in America. At least if you're Caucasian, don't go to this exciting production of an explosive work if you prefer to leave the theater comforted and uplifted. But in that case, you probably shouldn't be reading this List in the first place.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Tweaked-up bistro Frenchette is the best new restaurant in New York. Period.
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Mon, Aug 6, 2018, 7:00 PM – Tue, Aug 7, 2018, 8:00 PM
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- 500 25th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11232
- United States
MUSIC
MONDAY & TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 & 7
7:00 PM
Bridget Kibbey & Friends: The Sacred and the Profane
The Angel's Share
Green-Wood Cemetery
500 25th Street, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
$80
https://www.green-wood.com/event/bridget-kibbey-friends-the-sacred-and-the-profane/2018-08-06/
This is such an enticing show that it's frustrating that it will be almost impossible to get into. The Angel's Share concerts are compelling just for their setting: in a crypt in the middle of Green-Wood Cemetery -- you couldn't getmore atmospheric. The concerts are preceded by a free unlimited tasting of local whiskeys, which is always a very good thing (I mean, the tastings are "free" except that the ticket price is so high). The night would be major fun just for the walks you take through the sprawling cemetery: first to get to the whiskey tasting tables, and then to get to the crypt, and then, best of all, back out of the cemetery from the crypt in the dark after the show (they give you light sticks to light your way). Most important of all, though, this is a very appealing -- and atmospheric -- program. Harpist Bridget Kibbey is a major figure on the local New Music scene, although here she'll be playing more-or-less standard rep, chamber music for harp ("more or less" because chamber music for harp is pretty out-of-the way, so none of this is stuff you hear every week). As you can guess from the program's title, Debussy's exotic, seductive Dances Sacrée et Profane will make an appearance. Rarer, but no less welcome -- and perfect for the setting -- is a harp chamber piece by Debussy's friend and colleague André Caplet based on Poe's The Mask of the Red Death. Britten's affecting Lachrymae (with the piano part taken by the harp), a piece by Saint-Saëns, a transcription of Bach's spookiest piece, perfect for the crypt: this would be a great night out even without the whiskey. The shows are sold out, of course -- but keep checking for cancellations.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Good beer, good-enough pub grub, big aquarium, all at the Sea Witch.
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Mon, Aug 6, 2018, 6:30 PM – Wed, Aug 8, 2018, 8:30 PM
- Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center
- 29 Jay Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11201
- United States
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Saturday, August 4, 2018, 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM
- Elsewhere
- 599 Johnson Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11237
- United States
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Saturday, August 4, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4
7:30 PM
Tiê & Rubel
Brasil Summerfest
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
$20 advance; $25 door
https://lpr.com/lpr_events/brasil-summerfest-august-4th-2018/
Why are Brazilian folkie singer-songwriters better than their American counterparts? Because they lilt.* Brazilians can't help but lilt, in whatever they do. Stan Getz got rich in the '60s reproducing that Brazilian lilt -- but Brazilians do it better. Tiê has been a very good practitioner of the Brazilian folkie singer-songwriter style over the last several years; I'm not totally in love with the rather insipid pop moves inserted on her latest album -- but, hey, she still lilts. Rubel, making his U.S. debut here, is an up-and-comer in the Brazilian folkie singer-songwriter field. He lilts, too. (Brasil Summerfest and LPR probably don't want me to tell you this, but just so you know, Tiê is also doing a free show under the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO next week.)
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Before the show: Llamita (see above). After the show: Existing Conditions* is a new avant-cocktail bar from avant-cocktail king Dave Arnold, cocktail publisher/entrepreneur Greg Boehm, and cocktailian secret weapon (until now!) Don Lee. The cocktails are stunning, superb, great (right now I'm pretty hot for the Canary -- but don't rule out the Helicopter). I haven't tried Chef Josh Eden's food yet, but it looks really good as well.
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Sat, Aug 4, 2018, 12:00 PM – Sun, Aug 5, 2018, 5:00 PM
THEATER
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 & 5
12:00 - 5:00 PM
Erin Bregman: This Is Not a Torture or an Engine
Dysfunctional Collective
Nolan Park House 8B, Governors Island, Manhattan
Free
https://govisland.com/things-to-do/programs/2018-dysfunctional-collective
I've been dissing immersive theater a lot lately, but this show looks pretty good. It purports to involve the (offensively misogynist) Prometheus and Pandora myths (which this production will no doubt critique), kidnapping, bureaucratic systems, and torture by snowball.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Usual drill: lots of stands and food trucks (and a beer garden) on Governors Island. For the inevitable (at least for me) cocktail after you've returned to the bigger islands on the ferry, Dead Rabbit has now reopened near the Manhattan landing; The Long Island Bar is near the Brooklyn.
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Saturday, August 4, 2018, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
- PS1
- 22-25 Jackson Avenue
- Queens, NY, 11101
- United States
MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4*
12:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Laff Trax (Toro y Moi + Nosaj Thing)
Warm Up
PS1
22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens
$18 advance; $22/$18 students door
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/4451?locale=en
Laff Trax* is a joint project by two of California's better contemporary pop musicians. Toro y Moi (who's a guy, not a band) is a chillwave refugee who can seemingly do anything convincingly: lite funk, psychedelic rock, you name it. Nosaj Thing creates ace alt-hip-hop.* (If you miss Laff Tracks here, they'll be playing at Elsewhere in Bushwick later tonight.) Among the many other performers on the bill, I have to give a shout-out to Starchild & The New Romantic, who appears to love Prince even more than I do.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can grab lunch or an early dinner at M. Wells Dinette inside PS1. After the show, why not walk over to M. Wells Steakhouse? Its name notwithstanding, it's not really a steakhouse. Rather, it's the closest thing we have in New York to one of the great over-the-top Nouvelle Quebecois restaurants in Montreal, whose food is anything but dainty.
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Friday, August 3, 2018, 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
- Nublu
- 151 Avenue C
- New York, NY, 10009
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3
9:00 PM
Bruno Capinan/Maglore/Criolina
Brasil Summerfest
Nublu
151 Avenue C, East Village, Manhattan
$15
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brasil-summerfest-bruno-capinan-maglore-criolina-tickets-47452773523
The big news on this bill is the U.S. debut of Bruno Capinan, who creates samba-inflected electronica (unless it's electronica-inflected samba) that's a pleasure to hear (FULL BRAZILIAN DISCLOSURE: although Capinan's Bahian by birth, he now lives in Toronto). Also making U.S. debuts are Maglore, whose 1968-70-sounding rock music is just too heavy for my taste, and Criolina, a reggae duo who, because they're Brazilian, lilt.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Excellent drinks, good but basic bar food, fun atmosphere at The Wayland.
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Friday, August 3, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Microscope Gallery
- 1329 Willoughby Avenue
- Brooklyn, NY, 11237
- United States
PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3 (another performance on AUGUST 24)*
8:00 PM
Katherine Bauer: Cinematic Death Moon Return: Impact Phase Performance
Microscope Gallery
1329 Willoughby Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Free
http://www.microscopegallery.com/?page_id=21291
Holy shit. This is like, take Bill Morrison's work, put in on steroids, and then give it a dose of the most potent hallucinogen you can find. In this live performance, Katherine Bauer activates the eponymous piece in an exhibition she has going on in the Microscope Gallery in which materials salvaged from an abandoned movie theater are surrounded by night-blooming plants. Bauer presents a self-created myth in which in which the moon -- once supposedly expelled from Earth in a volcanic explosion -- is drawn back to Earth through the magnetic forces of the filmic technologies made from metallic elements excavated from the quarry that formed where the moon was expelled. (Got that?) The gallery will be plunged into darkness, becoming a dark room in which a photochemically treated movie screen becomes a photograph that is exposed to light coming from a 35 mm projector Bauer will reassemble from the parts salvaged from the abandoned movie theater (representing the materials excavated from the quarry formed on Earth by moon's volcanic expulsion). (Got that?) The light coming from the projector represents the moon, returning to the photochemically treated screen representing the Earth (I think). (Got that?) In the end, a photograph will have been created on the screen, embodying all this stuff. This will not be your standard night out.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: What's more, before or after you can go to Ops Pizza for good Neapolitan pies and the most fun natural wine program there is.
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Friday, August 3, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Barbes
- 376 9th Street
- Brooklyn, NY, 11215
- United States
MUSIC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3*
8:00 PM
Quince Ensemble
Opera on Tap New Brew Series
Barbes
376 9th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn
$10 suggested donation
https://www.operaontap.org/newyork/
The Quince Ensemble (fresh from doing the vocals in John Adams's Grand Pianola Music with ICE last night) comprises four geographically dispersed singers well-known on the New Music scene, who have great chops and great taste. The chops you'll have to trust me on. But as for their taste, just look at a few of the composers on this wide-ranging program: local fave Kate Soper, possible greatest living composer Kaija Saariaho, more-relevant-than-ever self-taught Italian playboy Giacinto Scelsi. Another show to convince those doubters who think you can't just listen to New Music.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You don't need to go anywhere other than Barbes itself for drinks (and if you see me there, I'll be happy to enter a Chilcano-drinking contest with you). And speaking of Chilcanos, let's take that Peruvian thing further with a visit to Coco Roco for dinner.
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Thursday, August 2, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Prospect Park Bandshell
- 141 Prospect Park West
- Brooklyn, NY, 11215
- United States
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Thursday, August 2, 2018, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Gerald Lynch Theater, John Jay College
- 524 West 59th Street
- New York, NY, 10019
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2*
7:30 PM
International Contemporary Ensemble
Mostly Mozart Festival
Gerald Lynch Theater, John Jay College
524 West 59th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
$30
http://lincolncenter.org/mostly-mozart-festival/show/grand-pianola-music
ICE is certainly one of the very best New Music ensembles in the world. That's not controversial. What used to be controversial is the lead piece on this program, John Adams's Grand Pianola Music, which was denigrated at the time of its premiere for being too catchy, if you can believe that. Good thing we don't think like that any more. Also on the program is a piece by George Lewis, whose composed classical music tended until recently to be perhaps a bit underappreciated relative to its quality (his nonpareil jazz work has always been justly revered) -- but not any longer, based on the number of performances his classical works have been receiving over the last several years. When you hear it -- surprising, challenging, powerful -- you'll wonder why it isn't played even more often. And a piece by New Orleans composer Courtney Bryan. I'll confess I'm not familiar with her work -- but describe a piece as being for solo piano (played by the composer) and recordings of pop music plucked from YouTube, and I'm there. The estimable-with-a-bulletQuince Ensemble (see Friday) does the vocals on Grand Pianola Music.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Le Soleil used to be one of the standout Haitian spots in the City. It's not quite that anymore -- places like La Caye and Grandchamps have surpassed it. But that doesn't mean it isn't still a perfectly good, enjoyable place to eat.
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Thursday, August 2, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- David Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
- 61 West 62nd Street
- New York, NY, 10023
- United States
MUSIC
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2*
7:00 PM
Negro Leo
Brasil Summerfest
David Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
61 West 62nd Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Free
http://www.lincolncenter.org/show/negro-leo
Negro Leo is really good. Part of the Rio de Janeiro experimental music scene, he does a very noisy, sort of no-wave update of Tropicália, the fantastic Brazilian psychedelic rock style of the '60s, with even more free jazz and funk mixed in -- and, don't forget, noise. It's been said accurately that Leo's "short and pointed tunes . . . behave like song but sound like noise, and sometimes vice versa" -- as good a description of his music as I can imagine. Good for Brasil Summerfest for bringing him over.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Masseria dei Vini is not one of the top top top Neopolitan pizza spots in New York -- but it's good. Good antipasti and, indeed, pastas and main dishes, too.
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Wednesday, August 1, 2018, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- (Le) Poisson Rouge
- 158 Bleecker Street
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
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Tue, Jul 31, 2018, 8:30 PM – Sun, Aug 5, 2018, 4:00 PM
- HERE
- 145 6th Avenue
- New York, NY, 10012
- United States
PERFORMANCE
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, JULY 31 - AUGUST 5 (continuing through SEPTEMBER 2)
8:30 PM TUESDAY - SATURDAY
4:00 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Basil Twist: Symphonie Fantastique
HERE
145 6th Avenue (entrance on Dominick Street), Hudson Square, Manhattan
$35-$100
http://here.org/shows/detail/1934/
Not to put too fine a point to it, this piece -- premiered at this venue 20 years ago -- is one of the best things I've ever seen. A miracle of puppetry creates perfectly calibrated first-part-of-Fantasia-style visual effects to Berlioz's unhinged visionary masterpiece. It's just so apt, so unexpected -- and so much fun -- you can't believe it. If you haven't seen it, you MUST. If you've already seen it, you'll want to see it again. Piano reduction of the score played live by the redoubtable Christoper O'Riley. While I usually prefer live musical accompaniments on general principle, I actually liked it better when they used to do this piece to an orchestral recording: so much of the appeal of this weird musical masterpiece stems from Berlioz's tangy, unique, unprecedented orchestration. But don't let that keep you away! This is GREAT!!!!!!
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You can't have too many restaurants featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna, the best in Italy. (Well, probably you could -- but we're not close yet.) So the opening of a new one -- right near HERE, no less -- is certainly something to be happy about. Meet Nonna Beppa.
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Tue, Jul 31, 2018, 7:30 PM – Sun, Aug 5, 2018, 7:30 PM
- Soho Rep.
- 46 Walker Street
- New York, NY, 10013
- United States
THEATER
TUESDAY - SUNDAY, JULY 21 - AUGUST 5 (continuing through AUGUST 12)
7:30 PM TUESDAY - SUNDAY
3:00 PM SATURDAY
Jackie Sibblies Drury: Fairview
Soho Rep.
46 Walker Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
$35-$65
http://sohorep.org/fairview
They may call this a "family drama". But what it really is, is an extremely canny -- and scathing -- and funny (to a point) -- exploration of race in America. At least if you're Caucasian, don't go to this exciting production of an explosive work if you prefer to leave the theater comforted and uplifted. But in that case, you probably shouldn't be reading this List in the first place.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Tweaked-up bistro Frenchette is the best new restaurant in New York. Period.
