Pencil This In

MUSIC: You know summer is just around the corner when the Seaport Music Festival has their first show of the season. Tonight Animal Collective, Danielson and XXXChange (Spank Rock) will all be on Pier 17 for a FREE show! Come, drink, listen.

Friday // 7pm // South Street Seaport, Pier 17 // Free

THEATER: Critics are loving Passing Strange and now it’s extending its run at The Public Theater to July 1st. The sly yet passionate rock musical takes audiences on a rollicking ride with an aspiring musician as he journeys from his garage-band life in L.A. to decadent Amsterdam and further to post-punk Berlin, where he dabbles in radical politics. The story may not sound like much but that’s probably intentional, as one of Passing Strange’s characters proudly insists, “Narrative is a capitalist plot!” Isherwood deems it “a fresh, exuberant and bitingly funny new musical… that defies generic categories.” Martin Denton declares the on-stage “light wall” to be “one of the most spectacular theatrical design achievements of recent memory.” - John Del Signore

Friday // 8pm // The Public Theater [425 Lafayette Street] // Ticket prices vary.

FILM: The 10th Brooklyn International Film Festival starts today. The theme this year has been titled "Identity".

BiFF 07 is about revelations. It’s about uncovering the truth that lies beneath. It is about revisiting and coming out of the shelf to leave a mark. It’s about being transparent in an opaque system. Ultimately, BiFF 07 is about individuality, personality, distinctiveness, uniqueness, and the courage to be oneself.

Check out the full schedule here, the festival runs through June 10th. Opening night is tonight, and there's a party!

Friday June 1st through June 10th // Various Times and Locations

MUSIC: The Big Sleep, Die Romantik (pictured), La Laque and Mancino will all be at Mercury Lounge Saturday for a bit of a celebration. Check out the Big Sleep rocking the Spiegeltent at our show last summer right here - then check all these bands out at Die Romantik's cd release party this weekend!

Listen: Narcissist's Waltz.mp3 - Die Romantik

Saturday // 8pm // Mercury Lounge [E Houston at Essex] // $10, buy tickets here

THEATER: Enrolling in medical school just wasn’t enough for Jordana Kritzer – no, she had to start a theater company and direct not one but six short plays by David Ives during her finals. Actually, even that wasn’t enough; Kritzer herself plays one of the roles! (Though since she’s playing a doctor maybe we shouldn’t be too impressed.) To fill the hours, her neglected husband has been firing off emails about his wife’s overachievements, highlighting the fact that "she hasn’t slept since March". Of course none of this back-story would matter if Ives’s plays weren’t such fun: one of the six in this series concerns two mayflies who learn from a TV nature program that their entire lifespan is only one day. Babel’s in Arms is a Masterpiece Theatre-style murder mystery in which two blue collar Mesopotamians are pressed to finish building the Tower Of Babel. In a way, we’re sure Kritzer can relate. - John Del Signore

Saturday // 9:30pm // The Laurie Beechman Theatre [407 West 42nd St] // Tickets cost $20

EVENT: FreeNYC points us towards a great event taking place this Sunday in support of the Domino Sugar Factory:

Come join the Brooklyn Brewery, Shofield Films and Underground Press to sign a petition to prevent the demolition of the historic Domino Sugar Factory on the banks of the East River. Nada Surf will be performing accoustic, The Wau Wau Sisters will be doing their burlesque thing, the Hungry March Band will make an appearance and Vic Thrill, Cheeseburger and The Black Tie Party will also be playing.

More details here.

Sunday // 2 to 8pm // Grand Ferry Park, Williamsburg [Grand St and East River] // Free

MUSIC: It's time for another 826NYC benefit. This time the show starts before bedtime, that's likely because the lineup includes kindie rockers Smoosh, Tiny Masters of Today and Care Bears on Fire. The event, hosted by Martha Plimpton, is to raise money for 826NYC’s free writing programs for children. Tiny Masters of Today (who played our show at CBGB last year) recently got some praise from Bowie, so you may wanna check them out!

Sunday // 2pm // Southpaw [125 5th Ave, Park Slope] // $25 adults, $10 kids. Buy tickets here.