Results tagged “yolatengo”

                      

Well, that's that. McCarren Pool – the giant Robert Moses-era landmark that's been revived as a music, theater, dance and film venue after decades of neglect – hosted its last free 'pool party' yesterday. The Bloomberg administration has allocated $50 million to renovate the pool for swimming, restore the historic bathhouse building, and build a year-round recreation center that is to include a skate park and an ice rink.

And then there were three. The “Couch Potato” publicity stunt going on over at ESPN Zone – the favorite restaurant of Yo La Tengo’s James McNew – took a dramatic turn when one of the four contestants abruptly dropped out of the butt-numbing competition. The quitter was Rutgers student Lindsay Wagenblast, the only female participant, who had “emerged as the favorite” in the contest, which started New Year's Day and involves sitting in a recliner in front of twelve 42-inch high-definition plasma televisions and a couple of 14-foot HD projection TVs broadcasting sports nonstop.

THEATER: As Steve On Broadway notes, Chicago’s stellar Steppenwolf Theater Company, which launched the careers of Gary Sinise and Little Johnny Malkapee, is back on Broadway for the first time since 2001, when their production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won the Tony for Best Revival. This time they’ve delivered playwright Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County, and after reading today’s rave reviews, you can count on more Tonys flying back to the Windy...

The holiday-time movie releases are starting to pile up with their usual feverish frequency. Some have Christmas themes, like the widely reviled Vince Vaughn vehicle Fred Claus that’s already roadkill on the lost highway of cinema history; others, like Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, are timed to make an impression as close to Academy Award-voting season as possible. Here are some of the biggest gorillas set to dominate New York’s screens in the next six...

Saturday night viewers of NBC didn't get a new episode of Saturday Night Live, but 150 audience members at the UCB Theater did! Live and un-aired, the show was to help raise money for crew members affected by the strike. Amy Poehler, who organized the event, made this statement:"The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater is a second home to a lot of these performers and writers. We are doing this to raise spirits, raise awareness, and...

You know you’ve finally arrived when your name appears in an Onion headline. The satirical paper of record paid that respect to the decades-spanning indie-rock phenomenon Yo La Tengo some years back with an article titled “37 Record-Store Clerks Feared Dead In Yo La Tengo Concert Disaster.” Since 1984 the band, started by husband and wife duo Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan, has been blazing an independent trail of restlessly inventive guitar rock. Their most...

Last night we sent photographer Raymond Haddad to the I'm Not There concert at Beacon Theater. Calexico, The Roots, My Morning Jacket, J Mascis, Yo La Tengo, Mason Jennings, Joe Henry, Mark Lanegan, Lee Ranaldo & the Million Dollar Bashers and many more were on hand to celebrate the soundtrack, the film and of course Bob Dylan himself (who, in fact, was not there). The soundtrack is a double-discer that's been getting praise from...

Looking ahead to this week's movie options, there's a few indie-sized pics and one massive, Super Big Gulp-sized car racing comedy. Ordinarily Gothamist is all about championing the cinematic little guy, but when it's this goofy, yet earnest we say go for the excess.

Tonight is a BIG night, TV-wise, so much so that we can't stand to DVR anything - we need to see it actual time. (Well, we are DVRing it so we can watch it over and over again, but you get the idea and urgency.) There's the Gilmore Girls finale, the Veronica Mars finale, and then a Kathy Griffin special on Bravo! (Okay, the Kathy Griffin special will probably repeat 10 times before the weekend, but we'll probably watch all 10 times because a Dakota Fanning-has-a-drug-problem joke is classic.) The Gilmore Girls finale will also feature Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, and Joe Pernice - thanks to music-lovin' creator Amy Sherman-Palladino (we will miss you next season) - which makes it aces in our book, but overall, it's been a very uneven season for the double G. But we're most excited for Veronica Mars to be on Tuesday at 9PM after all this time - too bad the season must end. And we think she might be visiting NYU in order to get that other witness to confirm Steve Guttenberg's Woody Goodman's bad man tendencies. Of course, many of you will probably be watching American Idol and House - it's okay to disagree, but for all of you who have been missing out of Veronica Mars because of House or Lost, we strongly advise you to pick up DVDs of Season 1 and 2 (when it's out).

Despite the fact that we saw Hedwig, we hadn't heard of Emily Hubley until we read about An Evening with her (and her friends) at MoMa. This may be because we consume most of our animation in the form of Family Guy. However, chances are if you can have people spend money on an entire evening with you then you're pretty awesome.

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?

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....

Pickings this week are slimmer than last month's turkey. If your Christmukkah party schedule allows, give yourself an early present and forage for some rock and roll scraps.

There are some important shows this week. It's your last chance ever to see Q and not U (@ Knitting Factory). Brian Jonestown Massacre (whose gear was stolen the other day) are at the very small Pianos. Steve Winwood is at the very small Bowery Ballroom. Yesterday Bon Jovi rocked the very small Nokia Theater. These shows all matter, but they're not the focus of this week's post . Instead, let's concentrate this week on Hurricane Katrina survivor benefits.

This weekend seems to be all about the music. Outside, in parks, on rooftops. It'll be everywhere, and here is where we would be if we were you...

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release a highly acclaimed album as Madvillain. MF DOOM joins the not-very-indie De La Soul and The Roots on Summerstage Tuesday night for a benefit to save the Rhinos. Alternatively, Jean Grae (another indie favorite) joins Killah Priest from Wu-Tang Tuesday night at SOB's. [Listen to Jean at her website.] Wednesday the "Best Damn Rap Tour" with J-Live, Vast Aire, and C-Rayz Walz are at Northsix. Thursday 50's enemy Ja Rule plays BB Kings.

Gothamist is definitely interested in films which take creative risks, particularly when it involves a ginormous squishy underdog fighting for love, respect, and glory in wrestling rings. That's why we're going to check out The Calamari Wrestler; a comedy following an ambitious, oversized restaurant-appetizer who revitalizes the Japanese pro wrestling industry by triumphing in their title championship. Directed by Japan's self-proclaimed “Roger Corman” or “Ed Wood, Jr. with talent," this Rocky-meets-Little Shop Of Horrors, has critics praising its charming absurdity and the Calamari’s tender unrequited-love subplot. At 8:00 and 10:00 PM, ImaginAsian Theatre, 239 East 59th Street, between 2nd and 3rd

As for this weekend, so many new movies are coming out: If you’re a Will Ferrell fan then there’s soccer-comedy Kicking and Screaming ;documentary fans should definitely catch the heartwarming Mad Hot Ballroom; those who loved Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels might appreciate the producer’s new Layer Cake, the tale of a British coke dealer trying to exit the underground drug world; Gothamist saw Monster-in-Law and while J.Lo was Nutra-sweet annoying, menacing Jane Fonda was hysterical, and not only because she indulged in what so many have yearned to do: slap J. Lo around (really, the audience was cheering).

This is where Gothamist tells you what tickets to buy...because not every band gives it away for free on a flatbed truck (yes, we've somehow managed to make the free U2 show sound dirty.) So, before the tickets sell out and you are left bargaining on Craigslist, we are here to tell you what to buy...

New York has a well-earned reputation: bright lights, honking cars, late nights, frantic energy, non-stop. All this constant motion necessitates downtime: an aimless stroll, sifting through the Sunday , an afternoon nap, a hot bath. Brooklyn's Argentine makes music that goes hand-in-hand with a somber mood or rainy day. An antidote to a more common musical typology (four boys in suits and haircuts playing something loud and fast and fleeting), Argentine's slowcore sound swells with drunken guitar laced with viola, drawing comparisons to Low, with strains of Galaxie 500, Mazzy Star, early Radiohead and Yo La Tengo. The quintet consists of Ian Carpenter (vocals, guitars), Nat Guy (guitar, bass), Timothy Quigley (percussion), Marcus Smith (bass, keyboard, guitar) and Chris Curtis (viola). Vocalist Carpenter gives us his two cents on life in the city.

Gothamist is really psyched to check out Dirty on Purpose tomorrow night (details below). Their sound gets endlessly compared to Yo La Tengo and we've been listening to their EP for a while now, but haven't had a chance to catch them live just yet. On any given Sunday we like to scroll over to their song on our iPod and go walk around a quieter area of downtown...the perfect weekend soundtrack. Often breathy vocals shyly build up into something that gets us walking faster while simultaneously relaxing us. The music gets into our head and we're left wanting more...

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Bruce Bennett, Writer/Typist/Guitarist

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Todd Levin/Bob Powers

Tinkle Toes
Last night, I went to Tinkle with Tania, Sam T, and others for loads of comedy fun from David Cross, Jon Benjamin, and Todd Barry.

A producer here at work also produced a film about animators John and Faith Hubley. It is screening at Cinema Village on December 9, 6PM. John and Faith were these experimental animators who were independent before independent film was the rage. (Fun fact: One daughter is Georgia, drummer for Yo La Tengo.) Anyway, this PBS site about the film is really interesting...being more familiar with Faith's work, I never knew that John was a Disney animator and worked on many seminal films like Bambi, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Fantasia. Independent Spirits

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