Writer Jim Carroll died of a heart attack Friday while working at his desk inside his Manhattan apartment at age 60. Carroll is most famous for writing , his follow-up memoir about working in Warhol's Factory and attempting to get clean. Carroll is survived by a his brother, Tom.
Because opening ceremonies for the Olympics are on Friday, most of the big studio movies are opening today. At the top of the heap is Pineapple Express, the new stoner comedy from Seth Rogen and southern art-house director David Gordon Green (friend of Gothamist). The action-packed romp, replete with an eponymous theme song by Huey Lewis, follows a stoner and his dealer on the run from some murderous thugs. Reviews are very mixed, with the Daily News deciding that “the movie's aspiration to be the little doobie brother of The Big Lebowski doesn't click.” The Village Voice, on the other hand, loves it as “a savvy nod to 1980s action comedies. But its greatest achievements lie in the tossed-off non sequiturs, the pop-culture (and Scott Baio) allusions, and the unexpected respites in the midst of all the bang-bang-boom.”
For the second year running, the Food Bank for New York City and the Lunchbox Fund of South Africa have enlisted over 100 celebrities in their holiday fundraiser. Boldface names like Kanye West, Elton John, Cameron Diaz, Mike Meyers, William Wegman and, um, Urban Outfitters, have created personalized, autographed lunchboxes that are now onsale via online auction. At Thursday night's kick-off event at Saatchi & Saatchi, a lunchbox by Michael Stipe was snatched up...
MOVIE: In the unlikeliest of scenarios, rapper (and jeweler) Paul Wall, his grills, Reggaetón king Tego Calderón and Wu-Tang's Raekwon traveled to Sierra Leone. The outcome is an informative documentary called Bling: A Planet Rock which focuses on "the flashy world of commercial hip-hop jewelry played a significant role in the ten-year civil war" in West Africa.
Last night Bowery Presents new Brooklyn venue, the Music Hall of Williamsburg, was supposed to open with 'ol New York rocker Patti Smith. Perhaps it's fitting that the opening night didn't go as planned, and instead the new New York rock regime (Brooklynites Matt & Kim) will now christen the new stage tonight.
TIP: Starting today and running through the 16th you can see some of Off-Broadway's best for only $20! Go here for more details about the 20at20 deal.
Last month Reverend Billy was locked up for reciting the First Amendment in Union Square. Tonight he returns with a troupe of others to speak out against the outrageous new law that would limit public photography and filming in New York.
North 6th Street has been quiet with music venue Northsix shutting its door in January, and with Galapagos pretty much closing its doors this summer. However, after murmurings of the upcoming Music Hall of Williamsburg opening, not opening, having problems opening...for months, there's finally a date to mark on the calendar for the venue, which has been slowly taking over the Northsix space (and thensome?).
The store was founded by Ben Bass on what was known as Book Row, which at the time housed 48 bookstores. Today it's run by Fred and Nancy Bass. When asked how the business changed over the past 80 years and if people are still as literary as they once were, Fred Bass answered:
Smith doesn't like to have her photo taken, so we left our camera at home. The Hotel Chelsea bloggers snuck in and took some shots of the action off-stage. Above is their photo of Smith entering the hotel before her performance.
Last night at the Waldorf Astoria, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - the first hip-hop act to receive the honor! The South Bronx group pioneered the genre, being the first to incorporate deejaying and emceeing.
Tibet Rocks
One of the first Carnegie Hall shows we went to, years ago, was the Tibet House Benefit. The President of Tibet House is none other then Uma's dad, Robert A.F. Thurman. The annual show he has help put on is now in its 17th year, and this time around will take place on February 26th. The lineup has been confirmed (why the press release is giving Ben Harper top billing is beyond us) and some of the artists include: Laurie Anderson, Ray Davies, Philip Glass, Deborah Harry, Lou Reed, Sigur Ros (pictured), Patti Smith, Michael Stipe.
THEATER: According to industry rag Variety, playwright Kristine Thatcher “has been deservedly attracting international attention. [Her] latest, Among Friends, is a whimsical and provocative deconstruction of hetero male bonding." The story goes like this: “Three old friends gather as often as possible to play poker. Matt is a struggling Sears appliance salesman; Will, a public school teacher; and Dan, a real-estate developer and award-winning humanitarian. But when Will discovers the lionized Dan cheating at cards, he decides to explore exactly how deeply the rot goes.” - John Del Signore
THEATER: The Pearl Theatre Company, known for their deft handling of classic plays, has revived Molière's satire School for Wives. The play deliciously skewers the aristocrat Arnolphe, who so fears he’ll marry an unfaithful woman that he locks a little girl in a convent for 13 years, keeping her utterly isolated until she comes of age. The hi-jinks begin when he’s finally ready to fulfill his master marriage plan and finds himself outmaneuvered by a cunning young rival, bumbling servants and the bride-to-be herself. The Times says it’s “quite funny.” - John Del Signore
A whole bunch of bands just came together to pay tribute to Bob Dylan. Here's some video from that tribute show, of Phil Lesh and Warren Haynes singing "Thunder on the Mountain". Also on hand were Patti Smith, Ryan Adams, Philip Glass, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cat Power, and many more.
The above is from a set of panoramas taken at CBGB. If you ever feel the need to revisit the sticker wallpapered room again, now you can!
Last night was the final one at CBGB, the (now even more) legendary venue shut it's doors for good sometime after 1am. For a ton of coverage on the last couple of nights there, check out Brooklyn Vegan. Bad Brains was one of the last bands to take the stage, a short video of that is below, and we expect a lot more video (of the last nights with Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, et al) will be showing up as the day goes on.
After what seems like decades of dragging its feet, it really is going to happen. After tonight's performance by Patti Smith, CBGB's will close its doors on the Bowery for the last time.
Our favorite was the CBGB short featuring "Lou Reed" and "Patti Smith", but since that isn't up on YouTube yet, check out the above one featuring "Martin Scorsese" and "Rosie Perez".
A Benefit for Music for Youth will bring us The Music of Bob Dylan this fall. Will Bob be there? We're hoping so. Those who are on the bill to play a song by Dylan include: Philip Glass, Rosanne Cash, Ryan Adams, Jay Farrar, Bob Mould, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Patti Smith, Phil Lesh, Cat Power, Seal, Lee Ranaldo Project, Medeski Martin & Wood and plenty of others. Including Sandra Bernhard, we hear she does an amazing cover of "Like a Rolling Stone" (not kidding).
We hear about a lot of events each week and we can't write one post about each of them, because then you'd be here all day. So we're going to sift through and pick out some gems for the weekdays, here are some of the highlights for this week...
What? No New Year's plans? Leaving it a bit late, no? Forget the overcrowded bars, the swarms of amateurs, the lame-o house parties. There are a ridiculous number of shows happening around town, some of which are worth your time and some of which not so much. Many of them are sold out, but it's highly possible you could score with the scalpers. Let's have a little look-see, shall we?
It's that time of year again. The time of year we spend entirely too much money on going to a bar or party or club that any other night would cost nothing to enter. But we go, we pay and we fight the Bridge & Tunnel crowd for a spot at the bar. Why? We don't know. It's just part of NYE in NYC. This year we're fleeing the country, but for those of you staying on the island here's a list of parties to go to (that is, of course, if none of your friends will have you at theirs):
If there's one week that folks might be at a loss for things to do in the city, this is the week. You might think not a creature was stirring, but how many times do we have to tell you? This is New York. The kids are definitely nestled all snug in their beds. What to your wondering eyes should appear this week? Take a look....
Here we go: it's a huge weekend for year-end Oscar-bait and questions abound. Will audiences flock to see the "forbidden" love of ? (No.) Is it any good? (It's OK.) Will people be turned off by the heavy (and occasionally heavy-handed) allusions to Christian imagery? (Possibly, but we were moved more by Aslan's humiliation and sacrifice than Jesus' in Mel Gibson's biblical slasher film)
This week is full of shows by some of our favorite new artists. On the high-profile end of the spectrum, The Hold Steady are back at Bowery Ballroom for a two night run Friday and Saturday. We're especially interested in checking out the openers on Friday. It's the Pitchfork-approved, Coldplay-tour-opening, Village Voice weird album of the week winning band called Black Mountain. On Sunday, M.I.A. plays her biggest and freeest NYC show yet at Summerstage. Superstar DJ Diplo is on the bill too, though it's questionable whether he'll show up. He definitely plays Friday with RJD2 on a Rocks Off Concert Cruise though.
great, but want to check them out for ourselves, since we do like this video. Also check out the last sell outs post for more info on future shows we're not relisting here.
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