The nightmare before Thanksgiving 1. Tim Burton retrospective at MoMA
You’re first order of business for the weekend: Hit up MoMA(11 W 53rd St between Fifth and Sixth Aves; 212-708-940, moma.org) and get inside the creepy yet brilliant mind of Tim Burton at a just-opened exhibit exploring his filmography. You may feel a little gloomy on your way out of the museum—boost your spirits by hopping into the pool at the Grace Hotel(125 W 45th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves; 212-354-2323, room-matehotels.com) and sipping on a green-tea martini ($15) at the swim-up bar. Nonguests have to shell out $10 to get wet (includes towel rental), but you can always just perv out at the landlubber’s bar that looks out on the water.
The man who dresses like a “gay Orville Redenbacher” 2. Devendra Banhart
After a hospital spell for nervous exhaustion and a much-talked-about relationship with Natalie Portman, the guitar-toting singer-songwriter seems to have found himself again. And unlike Mase’s move from the mike to the pulpit, Barnhart’s newfound self-awareness is resulting in some great music. Catch him live on Sunday at The Town Hall(123 W 43rd St between Sixth Ave and Broadway, 212-840-2824), then grab a Guinness at Jimmy’s Corner(140 W 44th St between Sixth Ave and Broadway, 212-221-9510), a haven of no-frills authenticity amid the glitz of Times Square. Just don’t get into a fight—owner Jimmy Glenn used to coach at a nearby boxing gym. (Relax, he’s friendly.)
TGIF! Your perfect weekend is here, and it’s a work of art. Start in Times Square with the opening of “Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop,” a re-creation of the Renaissance man’s studio, complete with a walking 3-D model of a mechanical lion and a robot knight. Continue to probe the world of nightmarish animals at “Subliminal Communication,” an exhibition of Surrealist works by Gilbert Oh and Joe Vaux—check out a piece called Deep Sea Diva, featuring a she-octopus chopping up whales with her tentacles.
Animals of a third kind can be found at the book launch of Sandhogs (it turns out they’re humans who’ve been digging a new city water tunnel 800 feet below the streets of Manhattan since the ’70s). And if all of this wackiness is a bit too much to handle this early in the weekend, head to the Town Hall to catch Ray Davies, who will revisit the Kinks’ back catalog with the aid of the Dessoff Chamber Choir, making for a quintessentially British perfect Friday.
Books Jayne Anne Phillips
Phillips, recently nominated for a National Book Award, reads from her latest novel, Lark & Termite, which alternates between scenes of war and the story of two siblings living in the South.
Event Sandhogs book launch
Photographer Gina LeVay shares a slide show and discusses her book about sandhogs—urban miners who dig tunnels beneath the streets of Manhattan.
Art “Remembering the Fulton Fish Market”
Artist Naima Rauam stages the fourth edition of this exhibit, which features her sketches and paintings of the Fulton Fish Market from its days in South Street Seaport.
Happy Ending Lounge(302 Broome St between Eldridge and Forsyth Sts; 212-334-9676, happyendinglounge.com) lives up to its euphemistic name tonight—expect things to get hot and heavy at the fourth anniversary of the “In the Flesh” reading series (8pm, free), hosted by erotic writer and cupcake connoisseur Rachel Kramer Bussel. To celebrate in style, she’ll feature some of the steamiest readers from over the years, including memoirists Lily Burana (Strip City) and Isobella Jade (Model Life), as well as the organizers of the 2010 Sex Blogger Calendar.
As its longevity suggests, the event is very popular, so it’s advisable to get there by 7:30pm to snag a seat. You’ll also want to put yourself in prime position to bogart one of the 300 cupcakes Bussel’s baking for the occasion (check out her cupcake-themed blog here). Erotic giveaways throughout the evening include a paddle and slapper from Extreme Restraints, a $100 Babeland gift card and the prize of all prizes, a 24k gold dildo from Jimmyjane.
Clubs Deep See: Patrice Scott
A Motor City master of evocative house plays an intimate set at Bar 13.
Comedy Craig Robinson
The Office star employs every ounce of his abundant smoothness to make you laugh.
Event “Jewish Comedians: On Woody Allen”
Columbia Professor Jeremy Dauber heads to the 92nd Street Y to discuss Allen’s impressive but overlooked early career as a comedian (7:30pm, $27).
Books Greil Marcus: Lipstick Traces
Marcus, pictured, wrote his seminal work on punk and the Situationist movement 20 years ago, but it still rocks.
Party Post-Apocalypse Survival Party
Join party-lovin’ musician Andrew W.K., comedian Matt McCarthy, author Tony O’Neill and more at this discussion, which doubles as a launch party for Pomp and Circumstance magazine.
It’s all going down in a couple hours at Hammerstein Ballroom(311 W 34th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves, 212-279-774): Sixteen of the best B-boys from around the world face off in a one-on-one, single-elimination-format competition to crown a champion of Red Bull BC One 2009. Think of it as America’s Best Dance Crew, minus the crew part and Mario Lopez. Instead, you get host KRS-One (who will lend his legendary mike skills to the proceedings throughout the evening), as well as live performances from Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, Rock Steady Crew and the National Double Dutch League. Oh, and no Lil Mama or JC Chasez, either—winners will be chosen by B-boy godfather Crazy Legs and former Red Bull BC One winner Ronnie Abaldonado.
What else do you need to know? Check out the footage of this year’s contestants settling into NYC (with a stop at graffiti mecca 5Pointz), then backflip over to the Hammerstein stat!
If you don’t know who Henry Selick is, a quick glance at his directing credits—Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas,James and the Giant Peach, etc.—should give you a sense of his status as one of the premier auteurs of the animation world. Tonight at 7pm, join him at the Crosby Street Hotel (79 Crosby St between Prince and Spring Sts; 212-226-6400, crosbystreethotel.com) for an intimate discussion of his career and craft, including clips from his oeuvre ($20; go to movingimage.us or call 718-784-4520 for tickets).
If you want to do something beforehand, look no further than the hotel bar. You can order high tea until 5:30pm, or pop in for a quick cocktail before the event. Committed stop-motion geeks can also catch Selick again tomorrow night at the Director’s Guild Theater (7:30pm, $20), where he’ll chat with Museum of the Moving Image chief curator David Schwartz, following a screening of Coraline in 3-D. And, of course, you’ll eventually want to bring your newfound Nightmare Before Christmas knowledge to the new Tim Burton retrospective at MoMA.
Book Mark Danner
The intense war reporter gives a talk on government-sponsored torture and how it’s documented.
Drink Up Le Bingo at (Le) Poisson Rouge
Drag King Murray Hill hosts this nominally French-themed night. One wonders what a real French person would think of Tater-Tots and a can of Rolling Rock for $6.
Lecture “Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin”
On what would have been his 200th birthday, this lecture examines Darwin’s life and legacy.
Eat Out Whiskey Dinner
Ward off the cold at this wintry dinner, where French Culinary Institute students will serve six courses paired with single-malt whiskey.
Comedy The Nights of Our Lives
The UCBT’s humorous reading series, hosted by the fantastically funny David Martin, features stand-ups and improvisers waxing humorous about true-life tales.
Nature Meteor shower
Be sure to look up to the sky this evening, or join the Inwood Astronomy Project in Inwood Hill Park for a telescope-assisted view.
Event An Evening with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discusses his passion—protecting the environment—at tonight’s event, sponsored by the National Resource Defense Council.
Drink Up Connect Four
Round three of this monthlong championship promises to get pretty heated; winners move on to next week’s finale, with a chance to win $250.
Books National Book Awards Reading
All 20 nominees of this year’s NBA—who include Rae Armantrout, Jayne Anne Phillips and Colum McCann—will read their work.
Eat Out Pie Tasting and Talk
’Tis the season of pies—bulk up your knowledge, as well as your waistline, at this lecture and tasting.
Event “Law & Order: Twenty Years and Counting”
Creator Dick Wolf chats with cast members (including Sam Waterston) about the police show that just keeps on chugging.
Books A celebration of Vladimir Nabokov
A group of Nabokov admirers—including novelist Martin Amis—will read from the The Original of Laura, an unfinished novel that the author left on his deathbed and is just now being published.
Music Red Hook Ramblers
Last week they played the TONY office; tonight, they bring their vintage jazz sound to Sycamore.
Lecture “Proust Wars”
Literary historian and Columbia professor Elisabeth Ladenson chats about Marcel Proust.
Theater Broadway Close Up: Bound for Broadway
The latest edition of this valuable annual advance look at musical-theater works-in-progress includes songs from Party Come Here, The Scottish Musical, and Sleeping Beauty Wakes.
This one’s for you, Twihards! 1. Dark Shadows at Twilight: A Paley Center Vampire Weekend
Midtown’s pop culture-loving Paley Center(25 W 52nd St between Fifth and Sixth Aves; 212-621-6600, mtr.org) hosts a vaguely Twilight-themed weekend with screenings of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and other vampirey fare. Check out the schedule here to find a screening you want to see, or go from 2:30 to 4pm on Saturday for a panel discussion led by Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker. Afterward, you’ll probably have a taste for blood—take a stroll down to Keens(72 W 36th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves; 212-947-3636, keenssteakhouse.com) for one of the best steaks in the city.
If you haven’t yet taken the opportunity to check out the endless lineup of horror, dance, vaudeville, comedy and spoken-word performances at Ant Fest 2009, perhaps you were just waiting for the word free to enter the equation. Hold out no longer—to see tonight’s gratis edition of the ongoing variety show “Showgasm,” all you have to do is reserve a seat beforehand at arsnovanc.com.
Ant Fest is all about out-of-the-box live entertainment, so the pick-’n'-mix variety format offers the perfect chance to see the weird and wonderful range of performers who play at Ars Nova(511 W 54th St between Tenth and Eleventh Aves, 212-868-4444). As an added bonus, tonight’s hosting duties will be handled by Upright Citizens Brigade vets Lance Rubin and Ray Munoz.
If you can’t brave the cold, you still have one more chance to see the show for free before the festival closes: next Thursday, November 19, at 10pm. Who knows—maybe you’ll find out you have more of a penchant for the avant-garde than you thought.
Music Numero’s Eccentric Soul Revue
The great Chicago reissue label hits the road for its first-ever tour. Tonight’s show features special guest Missy Dee, an MC who takes it back to hip-hop’s roots.
Discussion “Some Still Like It Hot”
Actor Tony Curtis talks about the making of Billy Wilder’s comedy classic Some Like It Hot, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Festival 5 Dutch Days
Kick of this Dutch-themed festival with free food and Netherlands-ish trivia at the Dutch Quiz Quest.
Event “Lower East Side Stories: Apartment Tales”
This regular storytelling series turns to a topic we can all relate to: NYC apartments, and the horror stories contained therein.
Discussion Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By
Author Anna Jane Grossman will discuss things that are no longer in common use (e.g., mixtapes and getting lost), then open the floor to audience members who want to argue about them.
With even the big-box bookstores struggling against the tide of technology, you know it’s got to be hard out there for an independent bookseller. Bibliophiles and local business advocates alike can show their support for the small guys during Independent Bookstore Week (November 15–21), which kicks off tonight with a “preweek” party at powerHouse Arena(37 Main St at Water St; 718-666-3049, powerhousearena.com). The event is free, but a suggested $10 donation will be collected at the door.
Get there at 7pm for a wine-and-beer reception and a performance by singer-songwriter Mark Ettinger, then check out talks by authors like Kurt Andersen (who wrote a few New York Times bestsellers), Jennifer Egan (The Keep) and Sharon Zukin (Naked City). Stay for another musical break from Brooklyn Jones Street Station at 9pm and to find out winners of a raffle featuring (what else?) books and a special signed edition of a poster designed by New Yorker illustrator Bruce McCall.
If you still haven’t fulfilled your indie-bookstore cravings by the end of the evening, check out the 40-plus events scattered at 25 indie bookshops throughout this week and next.—Laura Yan
For just $19.97 a year, you'll get hundreds of listings and free events each week, plus our special issues and guides, including Cheap Eats, Great Spas, Fall Preview, Holiday Gift Guide and more!
Time Out New York respects your privacy. We will only use your e-mail address in order to contact
you regarding to your subscription and to send you our weekly e-newsletter. We will not share this information with anyone.
