It’s been said that one of the defining characteristics of punk rock – besides the anti-establishment attitude and DIY ethos – is the urge to transcend the barrier between the performer up on stage and the traditionally passive spectator. In that sense, there are few artists in today’s theater more punk than Wallace Shawn – which may come as a surprise to those who know him as “that guy” from such movies as The Princess Bride and Clueless. more ›

MOVIE: Fraternity Massacre at Hell Island is...a real movie! With a plot and everything! Wanna hear it?: "Jack Jones, a pledge in Zeta Alpha Rho Fraternity must battle homophobia and a killer clown during his fraternity's Hell Night." Sounds pretty deep. more ›

Wallace Shawn has long enjoyed a fruitful career as a character actor in mainstream movies (Clueless, Princess Bride, Chicken Little). He also happens to be one of the world’s most significant dissident writers. His plays The Designated Mourner, Aunt Dan and Lemon and The Fever – to name just a few – have garnered much praise (and controversy) for their unflinching examinations of brutality. Shawn’s plays are political but not polemical; through his writing he questions everyone’s complicity – liberal intellectuals especially – in the horrors unleashed out of sight and out of mind. more ›

A few years back we saw them do a set at Sin-e as "Wolfbait", they played some great covers including R Kelly's Bump n' Grind. So you sort of don't want to miss this show, as they're slated to play as Wolfbait this time as well. more ›

THEATER: The two most dreaded words in theater, "staged reading", get a shot at redemption with tonight's free reading of Stuff Happens. The show has cut and run from the Public Theater, so this is your last chance to catch David Hare's satire about the ramp-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In an interview with NPR, Hare described it as "a play about how a supposedly stupid man, George W. Bush, gets everything he wants..." Laugh the pain away. - John Del Signore more ›

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. more ›

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Time to start the new year off right, by seeing live music and not being left out on the cold cold sidewalk listening to your favorite songs echoing down the snow-filled street. This month there are a lot of hyped up bands coming our way. We are mainly talking about the Arcade Fire, if you don't have tickets we don't know what to tell you. If you're good at haikus you could try this contest. We'll also be having some ticket give-a-ways for some shows this month, and maybe MAYBE there will be an Arcade Fire one. But in the meantime, here are some tickets on sale that you can still buy: more ›

Still haven't ironed out your New Years Eve plans yet? It's okay, we think that holiday is over-rated anyway. We suggest you gather some good friends, resolve in '05 to buy tickets before they sell out and get over to one or more of the following shows: more ›

Some New Jerseyans say, "Feh" and tell the Times, "It's going to cut down on some of this traffic, that's what it's going to do." Ah, the philosophy of people from half of Gothamist's native land. New Jersey, though, is trying to fight to keep the "Nets" name, in the hopes NJ will be able to get another team to use it. As if the "Nets" is that great to begin with and as if the NBA isn't overexpanded already. NJ Sports and Entertainment Authority George Zoffinger says, "Ratner should name the team after himself. I think the Brooklyn Rats has a nice ring to it." When the Times asked some Brooklynites what the nickname should be, one suggested, "Iconoclasts." more ›