26 Seats on Ave B

I am going on an Ave B binge right now, so just bear with me.

I don't particularly care for the 26 Seats' official website, but I do like the review on NYMag.com:

None of the 26 chairs match in this satisfying sliver of a restaurant near Tompkins Square Park. But that seems to suit the young, happy regulars just fine, because the owner has made quite a show of putting a hallway to good use as a restaurant. The French are famously eclectic, and this exceptional little place is no exception to the rule. Framed mirrors, tiny yellow lights, the hinged, empty panels of a wooden diptych occupy the wine-dark walls. Expect little to no elbow room, but in exchange you get an exceedingly good meal at an exceedingly good price. Service is friendly and professional. Tables are small, but the southern French food has a big personality. The chef elevates bistro food to the hilt by adding smart, zingy touches: cherry juice to offset a hearty duck breast, and a sweet corn cake and champagne vinaigrette makes an unpretentious striped bass bucolic. Wine is priced to sell.
— Natalie Danford

168 Ave B and 11th Street (hel-lo B-Side)

Max Restaurant in East Village

Max appears to be affordable, yummy, and in my favorite area to have libations. Sounds good for a cheap-eat night. Plus they have an outdoor garden area (once it is warm enough again for such things). It's cash only, so don't let me forget to make the needed ATM pit stop.

51 Ave B between 3rd and 4th St

The 2008 Show Round-Up Post

I feel like I post about shows all the time, so here is in its most current state:

Previous
January:

• Kimya Dawson, 1/16, Europa Club: Write-up by Heidi Vanderlee
  
• Quitzow, 1/27, Mercury Lounge (proud Heidi supporter)
  
• Joanna Newsom, 1/31, Brooklyn Academy of Music: Pictures
  

Upcoming
February:

• I am the Heat, 2/13, Lit Lounge (to support Mike)
• The Magnetic Fields, 2/21, Town Hall *SOLD OUT*
  

March:

• 2008 PLUG Awards (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds/Dizzee Rascal/St. Vincent/Jose Gonzalez), 3/06, Terminal 5
• Jose Gonzalez, 3/12, Brooklyn Masonic Temple *have extra ticket*
  

April:

• Paul Simon, April, Brooklyn Academy of Music *purchasing ticket soon*
• French Kicks, April, Mercury Lounge *purchasing ticket soon*

May:

• The Black Keys, 5/15, Terminal 5

Wish List:

• Colin Meloy, 4/16-4/17, Music Hall of Williamsburg
• Feist, 4/28-4/29, Hammerstein Ballroom
• La Vita-Williams Guitar Duo, 4/28, St. Paul's Chapel
  

2008 Plug Awards

Plug Awards at Terminal 5 on March 6th. Jesse and I already plan to purchase tickets, so anyone else that is interested should do the same.

Quick rundown of what to expect:

• Nick Cave and Bad Seeds - headlining performance
• St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, Jose Gonzalez also performing
• Patton Oswalt - host

Can purchase tickets starting Friday here.

Colin Meloy in Williamsburg

Colin Meloy (lead singer of The Decemberists) is playing two nights in April at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Wed. 16th and 17th to be exact).

It will be beautiful, sweet, sweet music. Looking for someone who would want to get tickets with me.

So, yeah.

Joanna Newsom, after the fact

I saw Joanna Newsom perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM last night. It was a breathtaking performance and now I forever want to be Joanna's friend and learn to play harp so we can play harp duets (if people do such things in real life).

The reason I am writing an after-the-fact blog is to point out that there was an empty seat next to mine. In the second row! (So close, I felt I could jump up and pluck her harp strings). And my ticket was only $35. Someone could have joined me to share in the experience. Too late now. Sigh. No one will believe how great it was.

The Sartorialist

Yet another exhibit I want to go see (they are really starting to add up).

Scott Schuman, The blogger-turned-digital photographer, is exhibiting his pictures of street fashion. He has gained fame through his blog, where approximately fifty thousand people visit each day. This "blogenomenon" (totally trademarking that) has caused Schuman to be listed as one of TIME Magazine's top 100 design influencers, and now does photo shoots for style.com, the official VOGUE website.

Plus he originally hails from Indiana, my neighbor-state. Let's give two Hoorays for blogs, photos, and Hoosiers*.

When: thru February 23rd, Wed-Fri 11am-6pm; Sat noon-6pm
Where: Danziger Projects, 521 W. 26th St., between Tenth & Eleventh Aves


*Interesting sidenote, Anna, a native of STL, uses this term in a different way as I have seen witnessed before. Courtesy of Wikipedia, "In St. Louis, the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "white trash".^[6]"

Aussie Love in East Village

SATURDAY DOWN UNDER
Two Aussie Buffets
In honor of Australia Day, two of Manhattan's Aussie establishments are following their national tradition of excess, in the form of Beer Chugging and Pie Eating contests at the Sunburnt Cow and free beach juice shots at Bondi, along with all-you-can-eat shrimp and a buffet. Ozzie ozzie ozzie, oi oi oi...
411: The Sunburnt Cow, 137 Ave C (between 8th and 9th), 212-529-0005
Bondi Road Fish and Chips, 153 Rivington St (between Suffolk and Clinton) 212-253-5311
-- content taken from UrbanDaddy Newsletter

Horst P. Horst Exhibit

Horst P. Horst
What: An exhibition of fashion-shoot perfection from the avant Vogue photographer.
Why: A Horst is a Horst, of course, of course.
When: Thru Mar. 15. Opens Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Regular hours, Tues. & Wed., Fri. & Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where: The Forbes Galleries, 60 Fifth Ave., at 12th St. (212-206-5548).
--- taken from Daily Candy Newsletter


I know Chrissy is down for this.

Jose Gonzalez on March 12th

Jose Gonzalez is playing at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple (Clermont & Lafayette) on March 12th and I have two tickets. Want to come along with me? This is part of a "green" tour, so just think of the good you will be doing by coming along!

Etiquette at Velseka

U.S. Premiere of Etiquette
What: Take a seat at a 24-hour Polish diner, put on headphones, listen, and follow directions to pre-recorded live theater.
Why: The chance to be the audience and the actor? It’s your pierogi-tive.
When: Thru Jan. 20. Daily, every half hour, noon-midnight.
Where: Veselka, 144 Second Ave., at 9th St. (212-228-9682). Tickets can be purchased (pairs only) at 866-811-4111; online at thefoundrytheatre.org.
--- taken from Daily Candy newsletter

Also covered on NYTimes.com in this video. Looking for someone to partner up with me so that we can eat Ukrainian food and put on our acting hats!

Brooklyn Arts Council Gallery Exhibit

The Lack of Desire
January 17 - April 11, 2008
BAC Gallery, 111 Front Street, Suite 218, Brooklyn
Curator: Scott Henstrand

"The Lack of Desire seeks to visually represent, from a side glance, what our desires imitate: the universal lack existing in the multiple recesses of our psyche from which our fleeting and never-ending desire springs. The artworks chosen for this exhibition offers the viewer a way to be present with lack rather than escape into the endless feedback loop of desire.

In many ways, human beings desire to keep desire from being fulfilled. Without it, we would be empty, our Self would disappear. We hunt and create objects that articulate desire, but simultaneously point to its inherent lack. In fact, lack is revealed as the positive object and desire becomes a nebulous abstraction.

How do we experience this lack? Desire drives narrative. We spin our tale around desire. Lack is the absence of this narrative and reads as a “block,” a loss of narrative and direction. This is manifest in an individual viewed from behind or the smoke of an ambiguous fire. It is disclosed in the incomprehensible blankness of a doll, inanimate and pre-language."

Transforming Reality: Patten and Design in Modern and Self-Taught Art

Galerie St. Etienne currently has the exhibit, Transforming Reality: Patten and Design in Modern and Self-Taught Art on display through March 8th.

I think this would be a great exhibit to check out. Any takers?

Artists in Exhibition:
Ilija Bosilj Basicevic (Serbian, 1895-1972)
Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000)
André Bauchant (French, 1873-1958)
Camille Bombois (French, 1883-1970)
Joseph Crépin (French, 1875-1948)
Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969)
Lyonel Feininger (German-American, 1871-1956)
Conrad Felixmüller (German, 1897-1977)
Johann Fischer (Austrian, b. 1919)
Erich Heckel (German, 1883-1970)
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (German, 1880-1939)
Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940)
Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918)
Oskar Kokoschka (Austrian, 1886-1980)
Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945)
Augustin Lesage (French, 1876-1954)
Anna Mary Robertson 'Grandma' Moses (American, 1860-1961)
Emil Nolde (German, 1867-1956)
Gertrude O'Brady (American, 1904-1985)
Hermann Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955)
Heinrich Reisenbauer (Austrian, b. 1938)
Vasilij Romanenkov (Russian, b. 1953)
Egon Schiele (Austrian, 1890-1918)
Matija Skurjeni (1898-1990)
Louis Vivin (French, 1861-1936)
Scottie Wilson (Scottish, 1888-1972)

The Black Keys in NYC!

Thanks to Mark's sleuthing, The Black Keys are releasing a new album in April and going on a massive "Keyed Up" tour, with a stop being at Terminal 5 on 5/15 in NYC! Hopefully tickets will be on sale in the near future.

Yay oh yay! Someone must go with me. And we must drink whiskey. From my flask.

Le Royale in West Village

"Le Royale aims to carry on the tradition of eclectic music, drunken hipsters and general debauchery. Equal parts Vegas kitsch and pop art, the new space brings in an upstairs stage and a whole lot of purple, but the spirit remains the same.

Inside, it's all about history. Specifically, taking you back to that brief era when patterned carpets and mirrored walls were considered normal. As for the Warhol-esque wallpaper...well, you get the idea. But with a steady stream of top-shelf rock and electronic acts, and Thursday nights taking over Movida's Robot Rock party, you won't be in danger of getting too retro." -- Urban Daddy Newsletter Content

Le Royale, 21 Seventh Ave (at Leroy)

Yes, please!