EVENT: Angels and Kings is hosting a Nerd Nite, described as: "the Discovery Channel with beer." This evening brings zombies to life, sort of, with a presentation on the undead titled "Zombies Are Real: Actual Zombies of the Natural World And Why You Might Be One." Drink, learn, be nerdy. 7pm // Angels & Kings [500 E 11th St] // Free LECTURE: Come get schooled on "green architecture" tonight at the kick-off event for The......

MOVIE: Audrey Hepburn, a doll filled with heroin, Alan Arkin and the West Village in the 60s. What more could you ask for? Come check out Wait Until Dark tonight, but don't wait until dark to get there - the lawn fills up fast! Lawn opens at 5pm // Bryant Park // Free READING: Pamela des Barres is the Queen of the Groupies, and would likely never have referred to herself as a "band-aid". She......

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......

A couple of weeks ago we mentioned Pool Aid and their efforts to "keep the pool in the hands of the community". In their mission statement they focus on wanting "to see everyone in the neighborhood attending events at the pool, not just hipsters." Which makes one wonder why they chose hipster-approved bands Nada Surf, Giraffes (et al) to record their "We Are The Pool" song. Check out the video below: JellyNYC (the people who......

A few years ago Nada Surf contributed to the For The Kids, Too! album, in which a portion of the proceeds went to the Lili Claire Foundation (for children living with neurogenetic disabilities). Tonight the band proves that they really are for the kids, once again. They will be coming together on the stage to play an acoustic show at Mercury Lounge as part of a benefit for NYChildren, a non-profit that works to bring......

Another week begins and it's time to start penciling in some shows. Tonight, The Concretes are back! The Scandinavian 8+ person band will be playing Bowery Ballroom. While over at Sin-e King of France, Less and Dawn Landes play a more intimate gig. Tuesday night Guillemots, Levy, The Marina play Bowery. The name Guillemots has been overwhelming our inbox lately, but we've yet to give it a good listen. From what we can tell they're......

For some reason there doesn't seem to be a lot going on this week. Tonight Cold War Kids take over Pianos, catch them there before they're headlining Bowery (and then having that show switched over to Webster Hall to accomodate all of their fans). What we're trying to say is...there is buzz. There are plenty of shows to go to Tuesday night incase you missed out on Yeah Yeah Yeahs tickets (which you should be......

Last chance for Brokeback jokes and the Pita's Music Picks: Unlike Ennis, we know how to quit you. Next time it'll be someone else's picks. See you in the clubs![Ed. Note - This is Catherine's last week on the music roundup-- thanks, Catherine!] We have never set foot inside Avalon, and we suspect tonight may be many Mogwai fans' first foray into the club, too. This is the first show that's come up on our......

Now that you're finished pretending you care about football, it's time for the music version of Monday-morning quarterbacking: What are you going to do with your week? To the videotape.... We're going to do things a little bit differently this week, just in case you can't be arsed to read the whole post, and start things off with what we consider to be the show of the week, the absolute don't-miss if you're a rock......

Raphie Frank,
Interview Retrospective...

We don't know where to begin with show recommendations this week. Emily Haines is in town with her band Metric for shows at Bowery Ballroom and Southpaw. Today Pitchfork declared the new Broken Social Scene album, on which she appears, "best new music." Broken Social Scene's new label-mates, The Most Serene Republic, are opening both shows. Then there's the Decemberists. Back in town once again, they're also playing two shows - Webster Hall tonight......

Kayrock & Wolfy,
Kayrock Screenprinting...

Gothamist went to see Nada Surf at Southpaw last night. They mainly played songs from their wonderful (rocking, but with a pop sensibility) Let Go for a good ninety minutes until 1:20AM. For Gothamist, one highlight was when they broke into Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart - lead singer-guitarist Matthew Caws does a spookily effective Ian Curtis, which then brought to mind that Caws' dancing style was Ian-Curtis-meets-Beck. Sorta (see 24 Hour......

Artists get screwed over all the time in the music industry, and while some manage to get back at the labels, other bands struggle a little more. Ethan Smith's Nada Surf feature a few weeks ago revealed that they had to go into a holding pattern of sorts, and as the Daily News pointed out, it ain't all that glamorous to be a musician [via Gawker]. I started to listen to their new album,......