Secret Formula, the folks who bring you sing-along parties focused on everything from Aladdin to Jem & The Holograms, aren't Waiting For The Man to Rock You (get it?! HA!) with their latest event: David Bowie meets Queen.
Under Pressure: Sing Along With Queen And David Bowie This Weekend!
David Bowie Cinema Retrospective Coming This Summer
From his very early years as Davie Jones and the King Bees, through his glam-rock transformation into Ziggy Stardust, his coke-fueled exploits as The Thin White Duke, and even the disastrous Tin Machine period, David Bowie has long held a deep fascination with and appreciation for the visual and performing arts. And this summer, The Museum of Arts and Design will be highlighting Bowie's cinematic achievements with a new audio-visual retrospective: David Bowie, Artist.
Videos: David Bowie Bike Ride, Last Week's Critical Mass
To round out the first week of Bike Month NYC, here are a couple of pro-cycling videos. The first is from last night's David Bowie bike ride, during which a group of glam cyclists pedaled and danced around with Ziggy blasting from mobile speakers. Why, you ask? Well, their ride through the East Village was intended to "raise awareness for creating a more sustainable NYC," according to Time's Up. "Bowie has always had cutting-edge fashion concepts and music ideas much like Time's Up! pushing the boundaries on sustainable change," says Bill DiPaola, director of Time's Up.
Jenna Jameson's Chinatown Hotspot
Earlier this year news of new clubs opening doors in Chinatown emerged, and it seems "clubland" is steadily growing in the 10013. The latest duo to stamp their name on a future hotspot are none other than ex-porn star/savvy-businesswoman Jenna Jameson and Heatherette designer Richie Rich. Though an exact address hasn't been released, the NY Post reports that it will be called The General Store and it will be housed in an old whorehouse. Sounds...
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MUSIC: If you aren't at your local hometown bar this Thanksgiving-eve, drinking with old high school buddies -- we suggest a sonic alternative. Tonight The Hold Steady and Art Brut do their best at making Terminal 5 feel a little bit cozier this holiday season. Buy tickets here. 7:30pm // Terminal 5 [610 W 56th St] // $30 MUSIC MOVIES: If you're sick and tired of the bands playing around town, go check out two...
Extra, Extra
Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a carjacking on East 108th St. and Farragut Rd. in Brooklyn, a pedestrian struck on 87th St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan, and a carjacking/shooting at Grace Ave. and Hammersley in the Bronx. [Tough day for drivers and pedestrians] In possibly the worst idea ever a Staten Island school sub allowed her class to play a game called "Quiet," in which the first student to speak would be pelted...
Report: Gothamist at The StarChefs ICC
Earlier this week, StarChefs held its 2nd International Chef’s Congress on the top two floors of 7 World Trade Center. Open to industry professionals only, this annual event draws notable chefs from all over the world and provides the opportunity to honor its Rising Stars, an award the culinary organization gives to young professionals. A full list of this year’s winners, including Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Chris Lee of Gilt, and Daniel Eardley of Brooklyn’s Chestnut can be found here. This year’s winners were celebrated during the Rising Stars Revue Tuesday night at The Mansion on West 28th Street, which capped off the proceedings.
Ronen Givony, Wordless Music Series
Not too long ago Ronen Givony started the Wordless Music Series, which is pretty much just what it sounds like it would be. Sonic worlds collide and fuse classical with indie, jazz with electronic and listeners with instrumental-only music. In the next week audiences will enjoy the sounds of Do Make Say Think and Beirut from an intimate setting for just such an experience.
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THEATER: With his zany imagination and distinctive bass-baritone voice, Joseph Keckler (myspace) has been generating buzz throughout the gooey honeycomb of the downtown performance art cabaret scene. Tonight he sprinkles his particular blend of whimsical catnip at Dixon Place with Cat Lady, in which a man re-enacts an ordinary day with his mother, who runs a community theater with cat actors out of her home. “Past lives are recalled, songs are sung, and finally a trip to the vet's is made in this comedic and dark exploration of the relationship between art and trauma.” Part of the HOT! Festival. – John Del Signore
Video of the Day: Elvis in New York
In June of 1972 (just months after his divorce) Elvis Presley performed a 3-day run at Madison Square Garden. These shows were the first full concerts he put on in NYC, and the first since he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Excitement was in the air, and Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, all of Led Zepplin and half of The Beatles (John Lennon and George Harrison) were in the audience. Another notable name: some report Liberace was there and after seeing him in concert suggested adding flashy costumes into his act.
Sting and Bowie's Burlesque
What will become of mainstay clam bar Little Charlie's once it closes shop later this year? The 5,500 square foot space at 19 Kenmare Street (which includes a basement and first floor) will turn in to a burlesque haven later this year, housing Ivan Kane's famous show Forty Deuce (originally named for 42nd Street). With tiered seating and a stage, the new space will be part of the transformation happening in the 14,000 square foot building purchased by David Zahabian for $10M.
Arcade Fire Fans vs Radio City Security
Last night Arcade Fire and The National played their third New York show of the week, and the first show of the inaugural High Line Festival (which kicked off at Radio City Music Hall). David Bowie, co-founder and curator of the festival and Arcade Fire's #1 fan, was in attendance but didn't perform with the band as expected. He also didn't announce the kick off to the festival - nor does he seem to know what the High Line actually is. Ah, rock stars.
Metropolitan Museum of...Fashion
Anna Wintour, Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière, and Cate Blanchett hosted last night's annual Costume Institute gala, which was a celebration of Paul Poiret, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Poirot was the pioneer in modern fashion, and freed women from petticoats and corsets - though many, even those in attendance last night, aren't familiar with him. Everyone did their best to dress "in the spirit of" the King of Fashion however, including: Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kirsten Dunst, Renée Zellweger and many other bold-faced names (photos here).
The High Line Festival: WWDBD?
As we get closer to the kick-off of the much anticipated High Line Festival, let's take a closer look at what's to come, and at the man who co-founded and curated the whole thing, David Bowie. The eleven days of music, film, art and comedy starts Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall. Who else to play the first event at the inaugural festival than Bowie-beloved Arcade Fire? Pair 'em up with Brooklyn's The National and you've got a lineup that already beats most out there.
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THEATER: Biography is a largely forgotten 1932 comedy by S. N. Behrman, who wrote witty and flattering plays for high society. In the Pearl Theatre’s current revival, Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order) plays Marion Froude, a free-spirited, liberated lady in her 40s who draws heat when she decides to write a tell-all about her eccentric life. One of the colorful characters from her past who dreads the exposure is a U.S. Senate hopeful; sparks fly when Ms. Froude refuses to self-edit. Martin Denton calls it “a delightful, giddy, smart screwball comedy of ideas.” - John Del Signore
The High Line Brand
NY Mag recently talked about the unexpectedness of the High Line brand. Of course venues are rebranding more and more, but the High Line is taking it to a new level - as it is, and started out as, much more than just a venue. With a festival curated by David Bowie, a neighborhood with proposed condos that allow residents to park their car on an elevator right next to their living space, and of course the park - 20 years ago no one would have dreamed all of this.
DeNiro And Bowie Duke It Out Downtown
Are Robert DeNiro and David Bowie battling it out in a sort of festival turf war? Though both turned up at the Vanity Fair party thrown in honor of New York's Tribeca Film Festival - it seems there's some animosity in the air...or at least in the press. Bowie's High Line Festival begins on May 9th, just three days after DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival ends. NY Mag describes the difference between the two:
Contest Alert: Tribeca Film Festival Ticket Giveaway Extravaganza
We've got a few pairs of passes to give away to the following Tribeca Film Festival events, and we want to give them to you...
David Bowie's High Line Festival Announced
The much anticipated, David Bowie-curated High Line Festival has finally announced a lineup.
The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Picks: Kooky Families edition
Billy Bob Thorton sets aside his raunchy also comes to big screens this weekend.
David Byrne's Perspective
Last night marked the start of David Byrne's "No Boundaries" series at Carnegie Hall. It was the first performance in fifteen years of the complete music from his 1985 music-theater collaboration with Robert Wilson, The Knee Plays. Tonight he continues the four night event called "Welcome to Dreamland". The evening features a handfull of his favorite experimental folk rockers, including: Vashti Bunyan, Cibelle, CocoRosie, and Devendra Banhart. Each with sonic roots in 60s psychedelia, jam bands, world music and more.
Gothamist's Week in Rock, Volume 1
This is traditionally a pretty slow time for music. Everyone is getting their feet back under them from the holidays, there aren't many bands putting out albums, and even less are ready to get back out and start touring. The news cycle in general is still pretty weak, and music has it no different. Nonetheless, we're starting a new feature this week recapping the biggest stories in rock around this town every Friday. So...
The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Picks: Scandalous edition
Only a few more days until the end of the year (and the cut off for the 2006 Oscar season), so of course the movie theaters are glutted with choice new releases.
The Arcade Fire at Judson Memorial Church
Ah, remember when the Arcade Fire played Mercury Lounge and on the street in Union Square? Now they're back for a five night run which is thankfully not at Webster Hall, but at Judson Memorial Church. Rumors of a church venue have been circulating recently, and we're glad they're true. If you've heard their new song, Intervention, you know a church is very fitting. From ArcadeFire.net:
Driveshaft in Spin, Lost Returns Tonight!
Earlier today we had our Band of the Week feature posted. Meanwhile Spin.com posted their artist of the day feature. And who was it? Driveshaft, of course. With Lost coming back on the air tonight, it was only fitting. From their post:
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THEATER: Harold Pinter’s taught two-hander, Ashes to Ashes, is running through Wednesday at the intimate Paradise Theatre in the East Village. The cryptic 45 minute one-act examines a refined couple’s quiet life at home, with the usual brutality menacing just beneath the surface. In a previous interview, Pinter blamed the male gender for the cruelty dramatized in his work, insisting that “God was in much better trim when He created women.” - John Del Signore
Fashion Rocks
We're not that in to the whole Fashion Week scene, and it's been pretty easy to ignore its existence in this city. We even missed the whole Fashion Rocks show on tv last week. Last year Arcade Fire and David Bowie performed at it together, this year Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars did. Not the same. We feel we don't give enough opportunity for you to comment on what happened to the artist formerly known as Jordan Catalano, so here you go:
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LITERATI and GRAFFITI: Smith Dalek, Sasha Jenkins and Darin Rowland (one of the authors of the book "Freight Train Graffiti") discuss the nature of the relationship between graffiti and art, and how a city fad broke out worldwide. A reception and book signing with the graffiti artists on hand will follow.

