New York-based writer/director Adam Leon's first feature, called Gimme Some Loot, took home the big prize (the Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature) at SXSW's film festival this year. The story follows a pair of teenage Bronx graffiti artists throughout two summer days, and stars Tysheeb Hickson and Tashiana R. Washington. On their Kickstarter, they describe the plotline: more ›

People are understandably pissed off at a New York-based ad agency who has turned homeless people into Wi-Fi hotspots during SXSW. It's a blend of marketing cloaked in philanthropy with an infuriating element of "new media": how better than to use technology to exploit our fellow man? Word that Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty may bring "Homeless Hotspots" to New York has prompted a release from Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. "BBH has crossed a line from cynicism to exploitation," de Blasio says. more ›

After a long testing period (which started last year) and a difficult February without snow or Dorito-flavored Taco Bell, yesterday at midnight stoners across the country (including New York!) finally flocked to strip malls and sampled from the shameful culinary merger of Dorito-flavored Taco Bell shells. Forcing us to get even more orange Dorito dust on our hands while eating $2 tacos will be enough to suggest that "the brand has its mojo back," at least according to Brian Niccol, the chief marketing and innovation officer for the Mexican chain. Not everyone sees the mojo rising, however. "Certainly people love Doritos, but putting them onto a shell doesn't necessarily make it a more authentic Mexican restaurant," says marketing strategist Laura Ries, who clearly has no clue about what attracts people to Taco Bell. more ›

It's that time of year when New York's "creative types" head to Texas to bake their translucent skin in the sun, daydrink and make many, many obnoxious tweets about tacos, all under the guise of "work." Or as one Austinite puts it, "South by Southwest is when 6th Street turns into Bedford Avenue and is just about the only time I consider moving out of Austin (besides ACL)." So BE COOL, people. The key to being cool is blending in, so you'll need these tips from former New Yorker/current Austin resident and Emo's Head Talent Buyer (if you don't know what that means cancel your flight) Jack "Skippy" McFadden. more ›

Some NYU kid claiming to be with Gothamist recently asked Das Racist about their upcoming show at the University—an opportunity the band took to trash both NYU and Columbia! more ›

On May 3rd, Pete Seeger will celebrate 90 years on the planet with a star-studded birthday extravaganza at Madison Square Garden. The concert will double as a benefit for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. As expected, the concert will feature a ton of stars who have been influenced by Seeger's legendary career, including Joan Baez, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen, who recorded an album of Seeger covers a few years back. Tickets start going on sale next Monday morning, with the cheapest seats going for $19.19 (The year of his birth) and most of them priced at $90. For the full list of bands scheduled to play, check out Brooklyn Vegan. more ›

Also this Week: more ›

Two of the more recognizable New Yorkers down in Austin last week for SXSW were Lou Reed and Moby. During a tribute show for...himself, Reed showed up for a 7-minute encore of "Walk on the Wilde Side," which can be seen below. more ›

The persona Snoop Dogg has created for himself is a fascinating one. Once a gritty, talented gangsta rapper from Long Beach, he's now some sort of lovable, cartoonish pot smoking pimp that seems to have a larger than life mainstream appeal, despite his questionable character traits. With a new album this week, which sounds more like pure retro funk than an actual rap record (at least going by the early singles,) Snoop was in New York to promote and celebrate. He hit up The View, performed on Letterman, acted on the soap One Life to Live, Threw a massive album release party at Touch nightclub, and blew it out at a last minute surprise show at the intimate Gramercy Theater. With all this going on, along with his family reality show on E!, this is likely not the last you'll hear from the Doggfather in the near future. Brace yourselves. more ›

If you happen to be one of the many New Yorkers in Austin this week for SXSW, head over to our party! Austinist & Gothamist are proud to announce our day party, taking place on Wednesday, March 12 at the Mohawk (912 Red River, Austin). The party kicks off around 11 a.m., and the day ends at 6 p.m., but not before Shout Out Louds, Shearwater, Liam Finn and Phosphorescent perform. more ›

http://seattlest.com/2008/02/28/foo_fighters_da.php">announced his presidential bid.

Photo Credit: Malingering more ›

Salt & Samovar are a Brooklyn band that sound more like they're just visiting here from Upstate...or a Coen brothers film. Their live shows are described as "pentecostal revival-like performances that evoke the musical and spiritual heirlooms of a cherished American past." A simpler and simply transporting sound that'll have you pining for the past. Come check out their revival-rock this Friday at Mercury Lounge -- get your tickets here. more ›

THEATER: Temporary Distortion’s Welcome to Nowhere (bullet hole road) juxtaposes lushly photographed cinema with hypnotic live performance. Positioned within a small but elaborately designed boxlike installation, the actors draw the audience into their blood-stained world with a stillness that approaches meditation. When fused with the rich film projection above their heads – which furthers the abstract plot of the road movie/love story – the show draws you into an intimate embrace, as if the characters are whispering in your ear while you watch their dreams. (Read a feature article about Temporary Distortion in the current Brooklyn Rail.) – John Del Signore more ›

You might better picture Björk in some sort of magical Garden rather than the Garden, but nonetheless the avant-queen took the big stage earlier this week and brought her elaborate, over the top live show with her. She's been a busy gal all summer, headlining many of the major American music festivals, and with this being her second time through NYC. The last time she was in town she played increasingly large theaters night after night, and MSG acted as a spectacular encore. There were lasers, pyro, confetti and, perhaps most exciting, another guest appearance by Antony, whose haunting voice eerily echoed around the arena in a duet. An impeccably executed show, throughout. (pic via elcunzio1's flickr) more ›

EVENT: The American Opera Project has taken on...baseball? Tonight they present Baseball Through The Eye of the Artist. You'll catch some scenes from Daniel Sonenberg's opera-under-development The Summer King. And stick around for Bang The Drum Slowly, "the acclaimed 1973 baseball film that marked the beginning of Robert DeNiro's illustrious film career." more ›

READING: Rosemarie Tichler, casting director and artistic producer at New York's Public Theater, and playwright Barry Jay Kaplan have put together a written work called Actors at Work. Tonight they'll be discussing this quintessential, and inspirational, resource. more ›

While we couldn't make it down this year (a bit festivaled out between SXSW and Coachella and Sasquatch so far this year), Bonnaroo kicked off last night with a couple local favorites warming up the early arrivers. The National, Langhorne Slim and Apollo Sunshine among others took the stage for the Thursday night festivities. Much much more on the way for the rest of the week, including hometowners Sam Champion, El-P and The Hold Steady. If you're stuck in NYC this weekend as well, relive our full coverage of the hippie/hipster fest from last year here, here and here. Also, stream the current fest at AT&T Blueroom. (Photo via EW's flickr.) more ›

Austin seems to be pumping out the rock bands lately. The latest on our radar is Peel, who mix indie-pop with rock-noise creating anthemic lullabies. This weekend they make their New York debut, with two shows at Pianos and one at Matchless. We have a pair of tickets to give away for each show at Pianos. So if you'd like to rock out Austin-style, email us at GothamistContest (a) gmail dot com and tell us why. more ›

EVENT: FreeNYC reports on a new happening at Pete Wentz's Angels and Kings (aka: AK-47). It's Nerdnite! Tonight, "Matthew King presents a stunningly creepy visual account of the state of mental hospitals in the Northeast, and lawyerly nerd Brendan Kehoe discuss lawsuits that threaten Google and YouTube, and therefore, all of our spare time at work." more ›

THEATER: Tonight is the first annual Downtown Clown Golden Nose Awards, where the highly coveted award for Clown of the Year will be announced, among other wacky honors. The semi-formal event – "noses optional" – will kick off with a glamorous red carpet entrance (expect tiny limos filled past capacity) and feature performances by nominees, spectacular dance numbers and fabulous door prizes. - John Del Signore more ›

A couple of years ago, Bryan Devendorf (drummer for The National) documented the band's trip to SXSW for us. We enjoyed it so much, we asked him to do it again! This time he documented their recent shows with Arcade Fire right here in New York, and even addresses those security guards at Radio City. more ›

AMNY continues the ongoing story about clubs and venues in New York closing. They report on the irony of it all: more ›

FESTIVAL: The New York Ukulele Festival has arrived. The weekend includes: "nonstop Ukulele Fun! Concerts, Vendors, Workshops, Jams! 40,000 Square Feet, Two Concert Stages! FREE BEER ALL WEEKEND. FREE UKULELE DOOR PRIZES AT EVERY CONCERT!!” more ›

In two weeks at IFC, a screening of Orphans will be shown in memory of one of the films' stars. Lily Wheelwright, the 24-year old who played one of the two estranged sisters in the film, Rosie, died on March 22nd. more ›

While at SXSW last month we had the pleasure of drinking some Lone Star beers in an alley with Michael Pitt & Co. His band, Pagoda, signed with Thurston Moore's label and was in Austin to play some shows. Autopilot was on hand so we got it all on tape (though much was left on the cutting room floor), the edited footage just came in and... just be sure to watch to the very end. more ›

You may have noticed that many tickets for the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival are $18, which indieWIRE notes is a 50% jump. The TFF says, "In an effort to continue to provide the best possible experience, we have raised our prices, which have until now been lower than most other festivals." A spokeswoman tells the Post that the festival must spend "a significant amount of money to outfit all theaters it uses with digital projection equipment, and to fly in top-tier talent for personal appearances at screening Q&A's." Plus, people who live in the 'hood can get discounts. more ›

One of the nice things about being a music fan in New York City is that you rarely have to wait very long to see a band you're recently missed. The Black Lips famously played about 6,000 shows at SXSW this year, yet despite our interest in checking them out, we managed to catch them exactly zero times (with our final chance being cut short by that whole collapsing balcony thing.) So we were stoked to discover they were going to play last Monday back home at Bowery Ballroom. The show lived up to our ever inflated expectations and managed to bring the house down with their drunken-fried punk. While their "wild boyz" antics may seem a bit forced at this stage in their careers, the music more than holds up on its own. It's not easy to play such sloppy rock and roll so precisely. (Pic via Sandwich!) more ›