Archive for September, 2006

Three peephole boxes sit in a vacant lot on 13th St. between 2nd and 3rd Ave as part of the Art in Odd Places Festival. I knew it was going on, but I wasn’t expecting to run into it the way I did — just randomly walking home. The festival is designed to let artists interact with public spaces, but it also lets the viewer stumble across it, making the city into a giant gallery.

The festival is only up until Sunday night, so I suggest that you get out this weekend and wander. Over 25 artists have pieces in the Lower East Side. You can either get a map and go find them, or just wander and discover them on your own. Either way, it will add some beauty to your world.

I went to see Regina Spektor in her second of two shows at Town Hall. She is a Russian born singer/songwriter and a darling of the NYC anti-folk scene. I love Town Hall; it’s intimate, old-timey, and cozy. The first act was a local NYC band called Only Son. To me, they sounded like a mix of those alterna-pop bands from the 90’s or maybe Death Cab for Cutie minus the thing that makes DC4C so great. They weren’t bad and they weren’t amazing, they were just there, though I did enjoy the “advertisement” at the end of their set for their myspace page.

Finally, Regina Spektor came out. She is earnest, dorky, and adorable; sincerely humbled by the adoration of her rabid fans. It would be easy to compare her to Tori Amos, Bjork, Ani Difranco, and Nina Simone; so I will, as she does have a lot in common with and has obviously been influenced by these women. However, I think the thing that easily distinguishes her from them is her sense of humor and her playfulness. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She is effortlessly charming and hilarious and this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

I had such a great time that I already checked her website to see where else she would be playing on this tour. FYI - If you’re a fan and you missed the New York shows, you could still catch her in Philly on Sat at Electric Factory.

This past weekend was the Come Out and Play Festival, “a street games festival dedicated to exploring new styles of games and play”. Many activities were offered, but the one that appealed to me the most was the GIANT game of Space Invaders.

That’s right, GIANT. Designers Kuan Huang and Evan Barba designed a version of everyone’s favorite Atari game to be projected onto the side of a building, with the player’s body as the controller. How could this not be amazing?

Space Invaders was being run outside of the Come Out and Play opening ceremony, so luckily the wine was free flowing, and people were anxious to line up for the game. I waited for about 15 minutes before I got my turn. The way it worked was that they pointed a video camera at me which then was fed into a motion sensor program on a laptop and calibrated specifically for my height. At the top of the building across the street I could see the invaders from space, slowly making their way down the side. I could also see my spaceship at the bottom. If I leaned to the right, it went right, If I leaned to the left, it went left. When I wanted to shoot, I had to throw my hands over my head (really just one hand, but everyone was using both, it was hard not to for some reason). The whole thing was much more tame than I was expecting.

It was fun, and I’m glad I did it, but I wish it had been more exciting. I was anticipating running back and forth under the invaders. I thought I would be out of breath when it was over. They could even spice it up more if they gave you a plastic gun to aim.

Everyone who took a turn lasted about a minute before they got bored; especially because there was only one level. The general consensus of the crowd seemed to be that Space Invaders was way more fun to watch than to play. So, not quite amazing, but a really interesting start.

New Season of Gilmore Girls starts tonight!!!
Here’s a catch-up:

Recap of Seasons 1-5

Season Six started with Lorelai and Rory not speaking. . .which went on for a torturous nine episodes. In the meantime Luke and Lorelai celebrated their engagement and remodeled Lorelai’s house so they could both live in it. Rory turned into the daughter Emily and Richard Gilmore never had, even joining the DAR. Eventually she came to her senses and reconciled with her mother and agreed to go back to Yale.

Just when we thought everything was normal, we found out that Luke has a surprise 12-year-old daughter. This caused the postponement of the wedding we had been preparing for all season, and much tension between the happy couple when Luke refused to let Lorelai be a part of his daughter’s life.

Rory’s dad, Christopher came into a large amount of money and offered to pay for her education, much to the dismay of Emily, who was already worried she had blown her second chance to be a part of her daughter’s and granddaughter’s lives — this led to one of the funniest episodes in Gilmore Girl’s history, “Friday Night’s Alright For Fighting” in which all four Gilmore’s finally said what was on their minds.

Rory and Logan were on-again, off-again all over the place, and after finally convincing Rory that he loved her, he hit her with the news that he was being forced by his dad to move to London the day after graduation. Rory’s season six ended with her saying good-bye to him as he left for the airport.

Meanwhile, unable to be a part of Luke’s life, Lorelai reconciled with Christopher, even babysitting for him and taking him as her date to Lane’s wedding (while Luke was out of town chaperoning his daughter’s field trip). Finally realizing that she couldn’t take it anymore Lorelai confronts Luke and tells him that they have to elope right then, and figure out how his daughter fits into their lives later. Luke answers that he doesn’t like ultimatums, and she calls the whole thing off. Then she goes to seek solace with the only person she can think of Christopher. Season six ends with us finding a regretful looking Lorelai in Christopher’s bed. DAMN!!!!

So there ya go, you’re all set for tonight.

The Flaming Lips performed to a sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom last night. The show featured Wayne Coyne rolling out into the crowd in a giant clear plastic bubble, tons of confetti shot into the air, hundreds of giant balloons let loose into the crowd, and a pack of aliens and Santas on each side of the stage to incitie the already rambunctious crowd. And that was just the first song.

Witnessing a Flaming Lips performance is like being at a ten-year-old’s birthday party on acid. While the band is not the most musical and relies on many backing tracks to deliver their synthesizer-heavy layered sound, it is certainly entertaining and a spectacle that every music fan should witness.

The opener, Dearhoof, San Francisco’s indie rock stars, both delighted and confused the crowd with their noise rock assault. Whatever confusion was left over by Dearhoof was quickly resolved by the Lips and Coyne’s message of hope, peace and the necessity of having a good time.

I went to The Greg Johnson Show at Rififi on Friday night for the very first time. All you need to do to get in is buy a drink; my Jack and Coke cost $7, a fair price for a drink and a show. Last night, Dan Newbower, comic and Rififi regular, hosted the show for Greg. Dan’s shtick is the politically incorrect kind, and he sometimes makes the audience uncomfortable in a completely hilarious way. Even if he’s trying out new material that fails, he’s fun to watch. This being my first time at the show, I was a little upset that Greg didn’t host, but I enjoyed myself so much that I will definitely be back again.

Of the five other comics that performed, the standouts in this show were definitely Greg Johnson, Jordan Carlos, and Chelsea Peretti. Greg Johnson is so damn likable and very funny; the kind of comic who seems to really get a kick out of what he’s doing. Jordan Carlos of “The Colbert Report” (where, according to comedycentral.com, he appears as “Allan,” Steven’s long-suffering black friend) was next. I’m too uncool to have cable, so iI was unaware of his act, but he was hilarious. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages, tears were streaming down my face. Also, he gets bonus points for being a super nice guy. I chatted with him afterwards, even casually plugged my own upcoming show at The PIT, and he sincerely sounded like he was going to come check it out. I had seen Chelsea Peretti before and thought she was just okay, but last night she was quite funny.

Next week, guests include Michael Showalter and Leo Allen! Check it out, but buyer beware, Rififi is small, so you must get there early if you want to get in when they have the big names performing. I would say check it out a couple hours in advance and see what the scene is like. If you can get in, it’s definitely worth it to see your favorite comics perform in an intimate setting.

With 487 short film submissions from 39 different countries it makes sense that Nicholas Mason, the founder of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, wanted to make the final selections accessible through a variety of venues. In response to suggestions that he should have shown the films on television or the Internet, Mason said: “This is first and foremost a festival, and a festival to me conjures up images of people coming together.” So over the past few days, people came together at approximately 66 theatres around the globe.

The 12 final selections are all unique in their own ways, so impressive that they would appear to be cornerstones of great careers in features. It’s impossible to pick just one to win. But that’s the beauty of the Manhattan Short Film Fest, aside from the pleasing aesthetics on the big screen: audience members vote for their favorite short at the end of the fest.

“Lyra Lezana”, about a young Cuban girl’s U.S. visa lottery ticket, showcases the scenery of Cuba filmed mostly in natural light, and not without obstacle either. The Cuban government does not allow film production there, so Clayton Haskell’s crew had to keep a low profile. “The Third Parent” was written and directed by a USC film student who has a vested interested in the subject matter. Shot documentary-style, this raw short is about an 11-year-old girl as she cares for her autistic younger brother. She speaks candidly in a voice over, wavering between self-pity and guilt for all that she does and can’t do for her brother. Spain’s “Without Seeing” is a fusion of a strong story with a skilled filmmaker in Salvador Gomez Cuenca. Leave me a comment if you don’t cry for the characters of Martin and Pluto. “Off-Sides”, an Israeli short, sends a gut-wrenching message through a simple story of two soldiers and two insurgents as they face each other while listening to a World Cup soccer match on a hand-held radio. It’s high production quality like most war films, with the colors of heat and desert and fatigues and massacre bleeding through the screen, without the bravado.

These are just a few of the short films you can catch in Union Square next Sunday, September 24, during the final screening in the 2006 Manhattan Short Film Festival. The winner will be announced after the screening. Tickets are $10.00.

Often when I tell people about my love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I am met with strange looks and people backing away. But on Friday night I was in good company when I went to the IFC for New York’s first Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sing-A-Long. Back in Season 6 creator Joss Whedon wrote a musical episode that has since become a favorite among fans.

Luckily I had bought my tickets in advance because when I showed up at 10pm to pick them up I was told the show was sold out and to come back early. I asked what time the theatre opened and was told “Not for an hour and a half; but because of the. . . uh. . .emotions. . . of the Buffy . . . people, the line will probably start any minute now.”

Here’s a tip I learned about the IFC: they let people drinking in the bar next door into the theatre first.

Everyone in the packed theatre started playing with their vampire teeth and little monsters from goodie bags being sold ($2 each). Clinton McClung (the organizer) came on stage and gave us our instructions - when to yell when to throw things (the goal is to make it like The Rocky Horror Picture Show). He then had people come up on stage to act along with a sad Buffy/Angel scene and do their best impressions of Cordelia and Anya.

When the movie finally started the crowd went crazy. For the entire length of the one-hour episode everyone in the theatre was singing, yelling, throwing things and sometimes even dancing in the aisles. Buffy fans may be considered weird in the real world, but inside the theatre we could embrace our inner dorks.

After the screening McClung joked about starting it over again, to which half the audiences members yelled “yes!”, but instead he showed us the original unaired pilot, which Buffy creator Joss Whedon himself says sucks-ass.

For anyone who couldn’t get tickets or just plain missed it, you’ll stll have your chance. The Sing-A-Long will be back in November and hopefully will become a regular staple after that.

Would Lenny Bruce be proud of the homage to him that was held on Wednesday night at the 92 St Y?

Maybe.

Everyone was shocking. Eugene Mirman punctuated each joke with the word ‘cocksucker’. Julie Goldman and Judy Gold spoke openly about their lesbianism, much to the dismay of the elderly group behind me. Lewis Black went on one of his trademark tirades about the state of our union. Surprise guest Sarah Silverman won the gold prize (and the audience’s heart) for her sexually scandalous remarks. Jeff Garlin and Todd Barry didn’t have shocking subject material, but did make ample use of the word fuck and I believe cunnilingus was also mentioned. But it was the author of the evening, Jonathan Ames, that I think paid the biggest tribute when he told a story about ending up in a run-down motel with a black transexual, smoking crack on Christmas Eve.

Lenny Bruce was the first comic that shocked people — sometimes it was just to be shocking — but most of the time it was done with sensitivity, intellect, insightfullness and passion. Most of the performers last night were just going through the motions; Black rehashed jokes from his show at Carnegie Hall, Mirman played a phone conversation that has been on his website for a year and Barry did his entire set that’s on MySpace right now, word for word (I think he even had on the same outfit). Ames alone seemed to tap into that special something that made Bruce legendary.

But that’s not to say that I didn’t like the show. One of my problems is that I love all of these comedians and go see them every chance I get, so of course it starts to feel stale. The crowd, mostly older, seemed to appreciate the evening — and since most of them probably saw Lenny Bruce live I should just shut the fuck up and defer to their opinion.

My parents made me get an American Express Card when I was in college for emergencies. I always thought it was a really big pain because I had to pay a yearly charge to keep it. But here’s a chance to make some of that money back.

If you are an Amex cardholder starting today you can get 4 FREE movie tickets in NY to be used between September 18 - September 24. All you have to do is go to the website and give them your name and card number (for verification purposes) and they give you a fandango gift code, good for four. YAH! That pretty much covers my yearly charge right there.

And while you are there sign up for the ‘Dining‘ alert, which will remind you to sign up for a free dinner for (up to) five at select restaurants later in the month.

I know I sound like an Amex commercial, but I’m just really excited about free stuff.