REMINDER: Don't forget to check out the World Science Festival, running through Sunday. And David Byrne needs your help Playing the Building.
ART: Honey Space opens their Portrait of Silvia Elena tonight, the collaborative installation will include work by Swoon and Tennessee Jane Watson. "The exhibition- a memorial to Silvia Elena, a 17-year old girl who was murdered in Juarez, Mexico, in 1995- combines text, sound, excavation, shrine elements, and one of Swoon's most intricate paper cut-out/block prints to date."
Friday // opening reception 6 to 8 p.m. // Honey Space [148 11th Ave] // Free
MUSIC: The Seaport Music Festival kicks off their season tonight with 70s legends Wire, meaning there's really no other place to be tonight. Enjoy the after-work outdoor show on the pier, and catch a band who hasn't played in town since the early aughts. Die! Die! Die! open, so get there early.
Friday // 7 p.m. // Pier 17 // Free
After the Seaport, rush over to Bowery Ballroom for Apes and Androids. The band has the best live show in New York (and likely the universe), and tonight promises to be big. The band goes on at 11 p.m., and the after party at Fontana's will keep the night going. Opening the night are The Forms and Free Blood.
Friday // 8 p.m. // Bowery Ballroom [6 Delancey St] // $15
THEATER: Game On is a new interactive theater “environment” that uses multiple video perspectives and remote technology to involve the audience in the action. Happening this weekend only at The Chocolate Factory in Long Island City, the “hour-long diversion shuffles player and spectator together, dealing them to a table of video feeds, motion sensors, and interactive art. Play the wildcard, challenge the Wizard, and bring meaning back to Kansas.” Not sure what that last bit means, but Artistic Director Brian Rogers says Basic Assembly, the tech-savvy company behind Game On, “officially holds the record for most televisions ever crammed into the Chocolate Factory at one time.” – John Del Signore
Friday // 8 p.m. // The Chocolate Factory [5-49 49th Ave, Long Island City] // $15
SPORTS: The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic is coming to town this weekend, meaning the first Polo match in NYC for over 70 years will go down. Ralph Lauren's team, Blackwatch, is playing against Asprey team, bringing "a taste of Hamptons to NYC," and marking the start of summer. The event is open to public, ferries run from Manhattan to Gov Island every 30 mins and picnics are allowed -- so bring a blanket.
Saturday // 3 p.m. // Governors Island // Free
FOOD: Memorial Day is behind us and BBQ season is in full swing! Get your 'cue on this weekend at Brooklyn Pigfest. It's an entire day of cold beer (provided by Brooklyn Brewery), slow cooked barbecue and live music, with proceeds to benefit the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. Three plates and beer throughout the day are included with admission price. That's beer, barbecue and bluegrass - what's not to like!
Saturday // 1 to 6 p.m. // Empire Fulton-Ferry State Park // $85 in advance or $95 at the door
EVENT: FreeNYC reminds us that the 12-hour Bang on a Can Marathon takes place this Saturday. "As artistically inclusive as it is audience-friendly, Bang on a Can's annual 12-hour Marathon has become one of the most diverse, most open and most exciting music events in the world. 'Imagine Lollapalooza advised by the ghost of John Cage,' Vanity Fair wrote." Get all the details here.
Saturday // 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. // World Financial Center, Winter Garden // Free
MUSIC: Adam Schatz and Jeff Curtin, working under the name Previously On Lost, soundtrack the deserted island each week, posting a new song on their MySpace page sonically recapping each episode. Their recap rock show takes place this Sunday, so make sure you watch last night's season finale prior to that, lest you be subject to some spoilers. The NY Times even got tuned in to the tunes.
Sunday // 8 p.m. // The Knitting Factory [74 Leonard St] // $10
THEATER: Last year it was The Pretentious Festival; this time the curatorial theme of the annual Brick theater festival is even more irreverent. This year's month-long explosion of under the radar work is entitled The Film Festival: A Theater Festival. “Theater as it was meant to be seen: On screens, TVs, laptops, iPods, cell phones and occasionally on stage.” And with the Brick’s truly massive video screen, the setting seems ideal. There are way too many intriguing productions to cram into this blurb – you can take in four on Sunday alone – so peruse the website at your leisure. (A free cabaret preview of the festival goes down tonight [Friday]; party to follow.) – John Del Signore
Sunday // Various Times // The Brick Theater [575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn] // $10