To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of music journalist Michael Azerrad's history of indie rock, Our Band Could Be Your Life, indie musicians of all persuasions gathered at the Bowery Ballroom last night to perform the material of the 13 bands featured in the book. More than just a bunch of de facto cover tunes, the concert was an opportunity for a reinterpretation of enduringly influential music by contemporary ears. more ›

Brooklyn comic Eugene Mirman is spending the week in Copenhagen, covering the protests coinciding with the UN Climate Change Conference for Grist. He reports that over the weekend, "somewhere between 50,000 - 100,000 protesters marched without incident, even when I teased them." Our favorite part of this video is probably when he chats with an elderly protester who says he's visited NYC, and Mirman asks, "Oh, have you ever been to Lit? It's like a crazy, late-night bar. Actually, it's not worth it." Keep speaking truth to power, Eugene! more ›

Today, in the wake of the CB6 meeting that took place last night, Eugene Mirman tells us what he really thinks of his nagging neighbors; sentiments that are surely being echoed from his speech last night. Put in some earplugs and read carefully Crow & Co.

I feel bad that some people are genuinely bothered by the noise outside the bar — and Union Hall has done a lot to remedy the situation. I don’t live on Union Street, but I live around the corner, about as close as John “I Called 911 Because I Thought Their Assembly Permit Was Expired” Crow. more ›

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ART: The Bronx Museum of Art is getting on board the First Friday bandwagon. They'll be opening their doors every first Friday of the month for free, and add a little something extra each time. Tonight their theme is “Say it Loud! I’m Black & I’m Proud” in celebration of Black History Month. There will be a tribute to the late James Brown, and a showcase of independent artists paying tribute to black music. more ›

Is this the first election season where you’ve supported one of the candidates? Sort of. This is the first time I’ve supported someone during the primaries, which carries a lot of weight with people who were already going to vote for Obama. In 4th grade I campaigned for Reagan (it worked), and in 2004 I did a bunch of fundraisers for John Kerry (Sorry, America, I failed). Basically, after Bush beat Al Gore and tried to ruin America, I decided to be more politically involved. But not too much! I want to remain “cool.” more ›

EVENT: Tonight's Downtown Third Thursday seems promising. Pete Hamill, author of Downtown: My Manhattan, will be on hand at 41 Broad Street, a "Classical Revival style building designed by Cross and Cross Architects completed in 1929 as the headquarters of the Lee-Higginson Bank. The original grand banking hall with its marble mosaic columns now houses the Broad Street Ballroom." The NY Times has more on the rarely seen space. more ›

The Comedians of Comedy are performing at Irving Plaze on October 27th at 6 and 10:30 PM. Both shows will be hosted by Patton Oswalt, who will be joined by Brian Poshein, Maria Bamford, Eugene Mirman, John Mulaney, and some yet to be announced special guests. Last year's surprises included performances by David Cross, Nick Swardson, Jon Benjamin, and Jon Glaser. With such a line up, the event is certainly a night not to be missed. Gothamist got a hold of Patton to get his opinion on some of his past roles, politics, and where he likes to eat when he's in town. more ›

MUSIC: Scottish indie sensations Camera Obscura bring their pop and their rock to the Seaport tonight. They're joined by The Last Town Chorus. After that, there's only one more show down there this season! more ›

, humorously chronicled her pilgrimage to locales connected to three slain American presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley). Vowell will be appearing this Sunday as part of a fundraiser for 826NYC (tickets); she’ll be talking “with/to/about” comedian Eugene Mirman. (Demetri Martin hosts the event, which also features musicians Grizzly Bear, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and Feist, among others.) Gothamist recently spoke with Vowell about 826NYC, politics and gluten. more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles. more ›

MOVIE: In To Sir, With Love, an engineer who is unable to find a job as such lands a position teaching at an East End London high school. It's faculty vs students until the new teach (Sidney Poitier) breaks through all the teen angst. Lessons are learned, etc etc. more ›

THEATER: A revival of Patrick Hamilton’s thriller Gaslight has just begun at Irish Rep; some may remember the award-winning 1944 film version starring Ingrid Bergman and Angela Lansbury. The chilling study in domestic domination to the max concerns a diabolical husband who, not satisfied in exploiting his wife’s savings to buy their house, plots her murder. But while he’s out the police inspector comes in to warn the poor bride that her husband is suspected of another “black-hearted murder” committed fifteen years ago... in the very same house! - John Del Signore more ›

Like the Blues Brothers, God's Pottery are on a mission from God. But instead of driving through malls or shooting up dope, they're changing the world one youth at a time through inspirational song. All the prayer and hard work have paid off for band members Jeremiah Smallchild and Gideon Lamb because May 21st they'll be recording an EP at Comix for Comedy Central Records. Gothamist sat down with these holy crusaders to do a little Q and A about G-O-D. more ›

READING: John Sellers will be reading from his book, Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life, tonight. Idolizing bands like Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Pavement and Guided by Voices, the book outlines how he developed his taste in music. It reads more like a blog, than a book, which makes sense since Sellers has one. more ›

Anya Garrett may describe herself as “a 23-year-old girl who doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life yet,” but that hasn’t stopped her from making her living taking photos, doing web design, and generally immersing herself in the local comedy scene. After getting her B.F.A in Film/Television/Radio from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she struck out on her own, with a little help from people like David Wain, who she befriended snapping photos at his comedy shows, now Garrett can be found performing any number of tasks, from film production to directing sketch comedy, and acting, though she’s at her best snapping her way through New York City with her digital camera and eye for the zany. The “self-taught web nerd” has designed sites such as Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale’s Invitethemup.com and JulieandJackie.com, and has appeared on Stella as a cashier and in short films and onstage skits, harkening back to her acting days. Throughout her work, she shows a playfulness and creative zeal, such as in her cradle project, humorous self-portraits, or backstage antics. Whatever she's capturing, Garrett makes you wish you were there, laughing right along with her. more ›

MUSIC: We've been enjoying us some Ford & Fitzroy, and are eager to hear what they've got in store sonically (as there is only one track available online right now). But the ex-Asobi Seksu bassist and his talented bandmates have got us hooked off just that one tune. Give a listen at their MySpace. And check them out tonight with V2's Roman Candle. more ›

Comix and South Toward Home bring together Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Zach Galifianakis and Eugene Mirman for a benefit show in November. The stand up comedy charity event benefits South Toward Home, a non-profit organization created in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. more ›

Brett: It's about the two of us, Flight of the Conchords, living in New York and trying to make it as a band. more ›

Last night the Starbucks Salon opened with a private event for press which included a performance by Aimee Mann and free cocktails and coffee drinks. We forgot to go. We do look forward to heading out there at some point though for one of the following performances. Love 'em or hate 'em, they have some good acts coming up: more ›

THEATER: The Fringe Festival is over and pretty much every stage in town is dark tonight, but the Abingdon Theater Co. is producing a reading of Stephen Cone's Lacrimosa, about an famed evangelist and his wife who seclude themselves in their big mansion, thinking the Second Coming is near, but instead a strange girl arrives, and the evangelist's volatile brother, and with them all the problems and craziness of our mixed-up world, jolting them from their comfortable complacency. This reading will be even more interesting because minster and evangelical expert Cathy Gilliard is on hand for a talk-back. - Mallory Jensen more ›

Starbucks is all over the news today, and not in a good way. Above is a clip from a protest that took place this morning, led by employees of the chain. more ›

Reader Njoki (whom some of you may remember from Eugene Mirman's music quiz during Laughable Hype) let us know she had some photographs of the Intrepid today. And it was for a special event - a swearing-in of new American citizens, with special guest Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez (maybe not so much "woo!" but still interesting that he made it up here). What a day to be worn in on the Intrepid, as immmigration and the Intrepid are in the news. more ›

Thank you to all of the comedians: Eugene Mirman, Aziz Ansari, Todd Barry, Daniel Kitson and John Mulaney. Daniel Kitson was a last minute addition and we couldn't be happier he could join us. Since we're more music than comedy, we'll just say this, he was like...the Arcade Fire of comedians. Luring us in to his well crafted tales of everyday life, leaving us with cheeks hurting from laughing so hard. If you want to catch him before he heads back cross the pond, you can do so tonight (and only tonight!) at his "Stories for the Wobbly Hearted" show. Tickets and info here. more ›

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READING: The wonderful Paragraph, a downtown writers' haven, is hosting a roof deck reading, which is a pretty sweet way to get a good view and some good stories at the same time. The reading, which features Mohammed Naseeu Ali (), will actually be held on the roof deck at Clay, the spa next door to Paragraph on 14th street. Wine and cheese at Paragraph will follow the reading. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras more ›

One of them had the funniest interview to date on Gothamist. Another is on a label with some of our favorite bands. And another just opened for Radiohead at Bonnaroo, well, sort of. more ›

with Todd Barry, Eugene Mirman and Aziz Ansari (pictured above with the band Thunderbirds Are Now! at SXSW). more ›

Tonight, after a day of rooftops and BBQ...head over to UCB Theater for some indoor BBQ. Sure, it sounds dangerous (that's a pretty confined space!) but that'll make it even that much more fun. And funny. more ›