The schedule of summer events in NYC is like my group of friends on a bender: it just don’t stop!

August Activities Around NYC:

Monday, July 28th-Friday, August 1st
Restaurant Week
Enjoy prix fixe lunches at selected restaurants for $24.07 and prix fixe dinners for $35. Please your pals by scoring a great reservation at one of the more than 200 participating restaurants, but make sure they know to bring cash. Order the wine and tip the wait staff generously.
www.nycvisit.com/restaurantwee

July 22nd-August 17th
Shakespeare in the Park
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical featuring Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening)
Get up early and stand in line at Central Park, 81st Street entrance near the Delacorte Theater. Good luck!
www.publictheater.org/content/view/126/219

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

This week I’m focusing on events that only take place in this fabulous town. Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

This week’s post is jam-packed with events taking place throughout July, from Brighton Beach up to Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Click after the jump to find enough activities to keep you busy every day for the rest of the month!

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

This week I found myself in a slightly less familiar part of town: the east side. Yeah, I’m one of those kids who lives and works on the west side, and audibly groans when friends want to hang out on the opposite side of town. Of course, exceptions are made for good happy hour specials and a sloppy brunch.

My venture on the crosstown bus proved worthy when I arrived to Madison Square Park (23rd Street & Broadway) on Wednesday to meet two old friends I hadn’t seen in a while. We reunited to hear Raul Midon, a blind soul/pop guitarist we’ve followed for years.

I discovered Midon at Joe’s Pub about five years ago. He recently received a glowing review from the New York Times for his JVC Jazz Festival performance, and described as “…a one-man band who turns a guitar into an orchestra and his voice into a chorus.” Check out his tour schedule at www.raulmidon.com - he’s incredible.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

Every year around this time, my friends anxiously await an e-mail that I send around once a year. For a number of years, I’ve compiled a list of all the great summer activities that take place in NYC and send it to the masses with hopes that others will join me on urban adventures.

There are many other summer events lists floating around the Internet right now, but mine includes activities that take places in *gasp* other boroughs than Manhattan.

The list is usually the same from year to year, but one notable exception for 2008 is the absence of the Metropolitan Opera concert in Central Park. Instead, the Met will host one performance in Prospect Park on Friday, June 20.

Be sure to bookmark this page, as I’ll add a few more events as I come across them. And check back for the lists of monthly activities for July, August and September later this summer.

Pull up your calendar and mark down these dates. What a way to kick off summer!

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

Even more exciting than the presence of an actual spring in NYC this year is the variety of outdoor summer activities that will soon be upon us. I dont know about you, but the release of the summer schedules always renews my love for New York.

Here are a few events that just happen to be located in Midtown, but some are local favorites and all are definitely worth your time.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (1)

Although firmly rooted in psychedelic rock, 54 Seconds excels at creating catchy, well-crafted pop songs.

Consisting of Spencer Gibb (guitar/vocal/songwriter), Stewart Cochran (keys, backing vocals), Rachel Loy (bass, backing vocals), and Jeff Botta (drums, percussion), 54 Seconds has a wide variety of sounds with which to weave their musical fabric. Gibb’s songs are accessible yet deep, with poignant stories and infectious hooks. Loy’s voice provides an excellent counterpoint to Gibb’s. And Cochran, who by day plays piano for ballet and modern dance performances, brings the keyboards to the fore in a way that I wish more bands would.

Gibb is the creative center of the band, writing lyrics and singing lead vocals. Despite being the son of legendary Bee Gee Robin Gibb, he’s determined to make it the old-fashioned way - by traveling around the country and playing at clubs like Rehab and Cicero’s .

Although regulars to the Austin scene (having snagged an SXSW award for Best Music Video ), 54 Seconds recently embarked on their first national tour to promote their new album, Postcards from California .

I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at Rehab last Saturday, where I filmed them playing Dirty Little Secret (video above), That’s How I Roll , and California . Before the gig, we walked up to Tompkins Square Park, where I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions. (Our Q&A after the jump.)

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

I have a confession to make: for most of my life, I didn’t enjoy hip-hop. Don’t get me wrong - I’ve always admired skilled hip-hop artists, especially those who freestyle . It’s just that my enjoyment of music generally comes from the instruments and the interplay between them. I appreciate lyrics and vocals, but I see the human voice as one instrument among many, and not always the main attraction.

However, my view of hip-hop changed dramatically about a year ago, when a friend forwarded me a link to DJ Dangermouse’s The Grey Album . Here was one of my favorite bands (the Beatles) providing instrumental tracks for one of the most skilled hip-hop artists of the day (Jay-Z). I finally understood what people have been saying about hip-hop all along - it really is an amazing vocal styling. Not just the words, but the rhythm of the words. I don’t think that I fully appreciated it until I heard it mashed up with equally impressive music.

Suddenly, I had to have it all. My generation had created an art form that rivaled anything that the Baby Boomers had came up with, and I wanted a piece of it. So I set upon a quest to find the best hip-hop mashups on the internet.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

Tired of seeking out fun new activities for you and your crew? Let the activities come to you! My social life would be nonexistent if not for the plethora of e-mail alerts I receive every week in my inbox.

One of my longtime favorite lists is Hipster Travel, written by my pal Evan, who I met years ago at an (now defunct) organized social drinking club. (Don’t judge - it’s where I met all my NYC friends!)

Sign up for Hipster Travel and you’ll be sent a weekly e-mail that is chock full of activities, ranging from gallery listings and dance parties to food festivals and free alcohol events. Evan searches for the week’s best offerings and compiles them into one massive e-mail that usually takes me 10 minutes to read. (Mostly because I’m adding so many events to my calendar.)

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)

Who are Psychic Drive? They are Lizzy (guitar/lyrics/vocals), Connie (drums), and Kristin (bass/vocals). Their sound is hard-driving, feedback-drenched, and tinged with psychedelia. Reminiscent of the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine (who are playing at Roseland in September), their music features rich sonic textures, multi-layered guitar effects, and a pounding rhythm section.

However, I would never call Psychic Drive a “shoegazing” band, simply because they never shoegaze. Lizzy is a performer from the old school. He’s never content to just play a song; he wants to give you a show. As he dances across the stage, you can see every note and lyric reverberate through his body. Not afraid to engage the audience, he’s been known to jump into the crowd to play a solo, or even to use other peoples’ bodies as musical instruments. (True story!)

Psychic Drive has been perfoming in NYC for 3 years, and have played at all of my favorite haunts - Arlene’s Grocery, Niagara, Pianos, Luna, Lit, the Delancey, and the Bowery, where they shared a bill with Blondie.

I was fortunate enough to see them at Arlene’s Grocery last Wednesday, where I filmed them playing Cartoon Christ (video embedded above), Hide, and Ray of Sunshine. I also had the opportunity to ask Lizzie and Kristen a few questions. Our Q&A is after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (0)