Inhabiting what used to be an old retail shop near South Street Seaport is a new DIY space brought to you by the producers of the Seaport Music Festival. The venue is simply called @Seaport, and it's now up and running. The space will host a wide range of events, from art to music to comedy to readings; from the press release:The producers behind the acclaimed Seaport Music series of outdoor indie music concerts......

Last week we were tipped off to a new, nearby festival temporarily dubbed Coachella East, because of it's relation to the mammoth west coast fest and their shared event producer. Now we learn the proper name, All Points West, and some more details from the press release:The three-day event is set for August 8, 9 and 10, 2008 at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This historic location offers panoramic views of the Statue of......

EVENT: Tonight Duncan Sheik (ah, we still remember when he sang "Barely Breathing" at the Peach Pit After Dark) and Steven Sater pair up for a Spring Awakening book signing. They will be joined from 5–5:30pm by Spring Awakening cast members Jennifer Damiano and John Gallagher, Jr., who will perform acoustic versions of two song selections from the show at the signing. 5 to 7pm // Drama Book Shop [250 W 40th St] // Free......

Time Out New York is telling secrets and talking about all the little things that make up this city (for instance, did you know a baby was baptized in the lobby fountain at the Guggenheim?). Some of our favorite items dished include: • Other Music keeps the gold record The Strokes gave them in their store bathroom, where it has hung for many years. • At Carnegie Hall photographers get their up-close stage shots through......

Battles vs. Deerhunter by the Sea A fine way for the Seaport Music Festival to send off the summer, with two of the year's biggest breakout bands on a lovely evening. We were taking in both Battles and Dearhunter for the first time last Friday and were massively impressed by both bands. Deerhunter, down a man and with their usual shtick toned down, sounded like a young Sonic Youth or stripped down Broken Social Scene.......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

EXPLORE: Last call to visit the historic Governors Island this season! Free ferry rides depart hourly right next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Sitting 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan and about 400 from the Brooklyn waterfront, it isn't often you can get a view of the city and a house like that one to the right all from the same place. All Weekend // Governors Island // More info here READING:......

MUSIC: Ever wonder what former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp has been up to? Well, he's back fronting his other old band, The Rentals. With a long list of former members, amongst them Maya Rudolph and Petra Haden, the group is now six-strong, and playing Nokia Theater tonight in support of their new EP, The Last Little Life. 8pm // Nokia Theatre [1515 Broadway] // $22.50 Over at Sound Fix Camera Obscura will be serving a......

MUSIC: If you haven't checked out the Summer of Love exhibit at the Whitney, head over there after work and get a double dose of rock while you're at it. Tonight Dirty Projectors and Lucky Dragons take the stage at Whitney Live. Get there early to get in. Check out this "Take Away Show" in New York featuring the Dirty Projectors. Friday // 6pm // The Whitney [945 Madison Ave at 75th St] // Free......

Last year Brooklyn band Bishop Allen released twelve EPs, one for each month. This year they're delivering twelve songs which make up their label-debut full length album, The Broken String (out July 24th). The Harvard grads who formed the band, Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, also wear their acting hats from time to time. Perhaps fittingly their band has had a rotating cast of members, and currently includes drummer Cully Symington and vocalist/percussionist Darbie Nowatka......

EVENT: If you haven't taken a trip back to the Summer of Love yet, head over to the Whitney tonight for the exhibit and enjoy their Whitney Live event. DJ Scientific and Dana Leong will be providing the tunes. Friday // 6pm // The Whitney [945 Madison Ave] // Free with museum admission MUSIC: Tonight at the Seaport Music Festival Menomena and Beat the Devil will rock the sun down. Menomena "makes experimental rock that......

MUSIC: There's no better way to end the week by heading over to the Seaport Music Festival on a Friday evening. Sit on the pier with a glass of wine and watch some bands as the sun goes down. The water and ships provide the perfect summer backdrop. Tonight Fujiya & Miyagi will get you moving with some dance beats and Black Moth Super Rainbow will stick to the synth-rock. Friday // 7pm // South......

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......

Yes, yes...Last week was Volume 18. We had some counting...issues. Apologies. Human Giant's MTV Takeover A Success Not only did the Human Giant crew blow past their goal of one million page views well before the 24 hour mark that they were on the air, but for one day they returned MTV to its irreverent, enjoyable and, well, musical roots. The comedy trio aired videos we didn't think MTV still knew existed (Aphex Twin, Stone......

Here's a heads up on sunny summertime shows. Sure, after the first week we'll be complaining about the heat, the smell of the city as it melts, and the lack of shade...but it's always nice to have some music to look forward to. So stock up on the SPF for the following shows: Celebrate Brooklyn picks (full schedule here, always the most diverse lineup) • June 16th Joan Osborne, The Jazz Passengers: The Supremes Project......

This Sunday, the Mayor will formally unveil more PlaNYC details (though the website has been up for a while now). He'll give the speech at the American Museum of Natural History, to which New York Mag says, "while we're excited to see the plan, we confess the museum's symbolism is making us nervous: dinosaurs … carcasses … oy." MUSIC: Celebrate the earth with some tunes this weekend at the Green Apple Music Festival. Musicians will......

David Byrne's foldable Montague mountain bike has been stolen. The avid city biker rode in the 5 Boro Bike Tour last year, commenting: "The organizers close the FDR drive, the BQE, the Belt Parkway and the Verrazano-Narrows bridge on one side — so we get the thrill of riding in the middle of the street, not having to stop at red lights and no worries of the ubiquitous jaywalking peds on suicide missions." This past......

THEATER: Less than a week post-Fringe, another festival is upon us: the Brick's new Clown Theater Festival, which starts tonight with a subway parade and "free-for-all pie-fight." Some of the participating local and international performers wear big red noses but these aren't the sort of clowns that kids get scared of at birthday parties, but rather the promoters of and participants in a vibrant physical format that's re-energizing theater; there are performances like Chiche Capon's......

THEATER: The end of the Fringe Festival draws near, and the dilemma sharpens: what should you not miss? Of the shows that are still on, a good bet is Chris Harcum's http://www.chrisharcum.com/ Some Kind of Pink Breakfast, a solo comedy (but multi-character) with music by Debby Schwartz that melds '80's songs and movies with events from his own experiences, making for a hilarious yet poignant retro performance that should be a perfect way to end......

Tonight marks the five year anniversary of Ted Leo and the Seaport Music Festival (they really are such a cute couple). The relationship is quite literally a stormy one, however. Legend has it if you hold your ear up to a seashell on the day of a Ted Leo performance at the Seaport, you will hear the sound of the SMF's Stephen Dima weeping. Nearly every year something crazy happens on this night, and tonight......

MOVIES: Seriously, like there is anything else to see this weekend besides Snakes on a Plane. C'mon, you know you wanna. Everytime // Everywhere // $10.75(ish) THEATER: One of the few things the Fringe Festival doesn't have, somewhat surprisingly, is a full-fledged outdoor production. If you want to take advantage of good weather this weekend, check out Pulse Ensemble Theatre's urban adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Alexa Kelly and performed on a small......

This just in: the New York Dolls are playing the Seaport Music Festival on August 18th. We can't imagine what it's like to see the Dolls in daylight, but we're sure looking forward to finding out. The above is the trailer for an early 70's documentary by rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya, who in a period of three years shot over 40 hours of New York Dolls footage. Early performances in......

EVENT: Fat Baby is turning in to Craft Baby tonight, with a Make Workshop event that will teach you to reconstruct your boring 'ol clothes. You can als how to embroider, knit and crochet...your grams would be so proud of you. And don't forget to stop by the silk screen and iron-on station (byo-witticisms). Friday // 5 to 8pm // Fat Baby [122 Rivington St] // Free READING: Jennifer Egan, Curtis Sittenfeld, Elizabeth Merrick, and......

So we've been racking our brains as to what excuse Gothamist had at a music festival in Chicago, but we were there nonetheless and had an absolute blast. Compared to the mess that was Mccarren Pool on Saturday night, the Pitchfork Music Festival went off without a hitch. There was plenty of cheap beer, water and food for all. We spent a lot of time hanging out near the Fuze beverage tent, which provided shaded......

COMEDY: The Del Close Marathon is happening this weekend, the full schedule is here. "Del Close was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few. After Del's passing in 1999, the UCB started the Del Close Marathon to celebrate their mentor and keep alive his name and teachings for future generations"......

COMEDY: If you missed Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel and Aziz Ansari at Summerstage last night - you can catch them all together tonight as Human Giant takes over UCB tonight. What to expect?: "Each week they present a collection of sketches, short films, and presentations that have all been pre-approved by the other "human giant" - Michael Clarke Duncan. In addition, if anyone leaves the show unsatisfied, Mr. Duncan has agreed to go to......

We caught the "free outdoor music bug" this past weekend, thanks to Siren, and we're determined to go to as many of these shows as possible. Even if it's 18,000 degrees outside and our face is melting. One of our favorite venues of all time is the Seaport Music Festival stage down on Pier 17. There have been some changes (additions) that we're really excited about to some upcoming shows there: July 28th - Nicolai......

There's a slow-motion battle of the blobs shaping up in the atmosphere above the eastern U.S. this week. So far this summer our weather has been dominated by the Beast of the East otherwise known as the Bermuda High. The clockwise flow of air around the Bermuda High brings us the heat and humidity of the tropics. Later in the week the jet stream, which is already to our north, is going to retreat further......

MUSIC: Tonight head down to the Pier 17 for another Seaport Music Festival show. Lineup: 7pm Mike Wexler, 7:45pm Juana Molina, 8:45pm White Magic Friday // 7pm // Pier 17 // Free COMEDY: We just happened to check out the UCB site and found out that God's Pottery is playing tonight! We saw these guys months ago and they made us laugh quite a bit. Go check them out! To give you an idea of......

Sometimes you need to clean yourself up, get serious, and move in with daddy for a few months before you head to Latin America for a new gig. The District bids Jenna Bush adios. D.C.-based television shows have an elderly audience and DCist has some suggestions to fix that. They're also throwing Butterstick the panda bear a birthday bash. Yeah, we may have a few issues with our World Cup broadcasters here, but this guy......