Silent Adios III by Kenneth Noland

Location: Upper East side, NYC
Art: Earning His Stripes: Kenneth Noland in the ’60s
Show time: Tues to Sat 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, thru June 14
Venue: Leslie Feely Fine Art, LLC
Food: Jackson Hole
Drink: Metropolitan Museum of Art Balcony Bar and Roof Garden
Miscellaneous: Café Sabarsky

This exhibition focuses on American artist Kenneth Noland’s striped painting from the 1960s. Grab some wine and cheese and let’s get cerebral. If you like your burgers big, Jackson Hole is where you want to bring your appetite. Home of the 7oz. burger, you can get a beef, turkey, or the veggie kind prepared in a number of ways. Try the Eastside, a bacon cheeseburger topped with ham, mushrooms, tomato and fried onions ($12.50). For drinks on top of the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Balcony Bar and Roof Garden has an amazing view of the city and some delicious cocktails. Located in the Museum of German and Austrian Art, Café Sabarsky offers a menu of traditional Austrian delights like strudel and linzertorte while it’s design is straight out of Europe’s 1920’s.

Pureology
NanoWorks Shampoo and Conditioner


Nano technology was first introduced to our planet by our favorite earth dwelling alien, Mork. He was trying to improve the luxor and shine of his human girlfriend, Mindy’s hair. Like everyone knows now, (thanks to Mork) tiny nano molecules can penetrate the hair shaft to strengthen, moisturize, brighten and protect earthling hair.

Pureology has taken nano technology, added some anti-age and anti-fade complex, a little shitake mushroom (seriously), guar gum, and other human advancements in technology, shaken it all up and made a superb shampoo and conditioner for humans.

--Sheehan McGuirk

It’s An Audiophiles Wet Dream!

Location: East Village, NYC
Event: ARChive Summer Record Sale
Show time: Sat to Wed 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Venue: ARChive of Contemporary Music
Food: Ear Inn
Drink: Village Lantern
Miscellaneous: Jacques Torres

The ARChive is a not-for-profit archive, library, and research center for music with a vinyl collection more than 1.5 million records deep. This sale spans the world of music, literally, and they even acquired hit radio station Z-100’s LP collection when they moved, so expect lot’s of 80s albums. One of my favorite places for food, Ear Inn is a 200-year-old bar with a small menu featuring burgers, sandwiches, and a chalkboard with specials including Jerk Chicken that’s under $10. With $3 pints Monday thru Friday 12pm to 7pm along with comedy and music performances, the Village Lantern is a great bar to chill at after work, especially now that it’s finally getting warm outside. Watch some of the best chocolate in the world made right in front of your eyes or browse through the store and sample for yourself the fruits of this master chocolatier’s labor.

M.I.A. Opens the McCarren Park Pool Concerts

Friday June 6

Location: Tribeca, NYC
Band: Gary Wilson
Show time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Knitting Factory
Food: Pakistani Tea house
Drink: Walker’s
Miscellaneous: J&R

Gary Wilson recorded and self-released a quirky album called You Think You Really Know Me in 1977, which ended up as an obscurity. Today, the record would fit just fine in the freak-folk section. This show is totally worth checking out for adventurous music fans! For eats, the Pakistani Tea house is a great little discreet Indian restaurant serving five to six different types of Indian food that is way cheaper than this show. For a drink, try Walker’s. This local hang serves up inexpensive drinks and makes a great burger. Being in the financial district, there’s not a lot going on in Tribeca, but thank god for J&R. With music, electronics, and computer stores all in one area, you chances of getting bored are slim.

Friday June 6

Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Band: M.I.A. + Holy Fuck
Show time: 7:00 PM
Venue: McCarren Park Pool
Food: Shanghai Lee
Drink: Black Rabbit
Miscellaneous: Peter Pan

M.I.A. opens this summer’s concert series at McCarren Pool bringing her high-energy world music sampling hip-hop to the stage. Joining her is Holy Fuck, a group blending electronic effects with live instrumentation. These guys are just as awesome as M.I.A. For dinner, get your Chinese food cravings under control at Shanghai Lee. Though serving your standard Chinese fare, the atmosphere here is fun and the cocktails drinks come in special tiki glasses. Black Rabbit, the newest bar in Greenpoint, with its dark wood and dark lighting make this place look like a pub transported from somewhere deep in England. With a great vibe and even better beer selection, grab a booth and hit a button when your cup is empty. Genius! If you like donuts, then Peter Pan will be your downfall. Making huge donuts stacked with creams and jellies, they are well-worth the stomach ache to come.

Saturday June 7

Location: Tribeca, NYC
Bands: The Cool Kids + HEAVy(BBE) + Mickey Factz + Egg Foo Young
Show time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Knitting Factory
Food: Pakistan Tea House
Drink: Mocca Lounge
Miscellaneous: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Illinois hip hop duo The Cool Kids have been blowing up since 2007's hit Black Mags was featured in a Rhapsody commercial. On the heels of their new EP, The Bake Sale, they perform here with HEAVy, Mickey Factz, and Egg Foo Young. Nearby, Pakistan Tea House is a buffet style Indian restaurant where you can choose between chicken, meat, fish and vegetables. It’s affordable and very good. For drinks, check out Mocca Lounge. With a funky interior and a menu of Italian inspired fare, it’s also a bar with a large list of coffees with or without alcohol, beers, and frozen shots. Smack dab in the heart of Chinatown, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory makes gourmet ice cream flavors like Black Sesame, Ginger, Durian, and more exotic flavors like Taro and Wasabi. Don’t worry, they have the go-to’s like Vanilla, fruits, and chocolate flavors too.

Saturday June 7

Location: Chelsea, NYC
Band: Mudhoney + Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments + The Cynics
Show time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Highline Ballroom
Food: Better Burger
Drink: Turks & Frogs
Miscellaneous: City Bakery

Celebrating the reissue of their 1988 debut album Superfuzz Bigmuff and their new album The Lucky Ones, Seattle grunge rockers Mudhoney are back, and joining them are former L7 member Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments, and The Cynics. The name says it all in it’s mission to serve a burger as Better Burger uses organic, antibiotic, hormone & nitrate free meat and poultry in its quest to offer up a healthier alternative to the classic patty. A great little wine bar in Chelsea, Turks & Frogs has a menu of wine and beer from all over the world, including Turkey, while having the ambiance of being in someone’s home. A must if you’re in Chelsea, City Bakery offers one of the best chocolate chip cookies and thickest and richest hot chocolates in the city. The food is a gourmand’s delight.

Sunday June 8

Location: Gramercy, NYC
Bands: Gnarls Barkley + Battles
Show time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
Food: Souen
Drink: Revival
Miscellaneous: Trader Joes

Gnarls Barkley and Battles team up to help celebrate Myspace’s 150th secret show with a FREE performance at the Fillmore. How to get in? Go HERE and add them as your friend. For fans of the vegan lifestyle or if you want to try something new, Souen is one of the best places to go for macrobiotic food. With a menu offering mostly tofu and seitan, the closest you will get to any meat is fish if you can’t handle a meatless meal. Speaking of revivals, Revival is a two story bar nearby with a lounge up top and a cozy garden in the back open till midnight on weekends. If you’re feeling dangerous, step into Trader Joes. Once you get over the insane shoppers and lines, the very moderately priced gourmet goods will make you understand why the lines here are never-ending.

Song Yet Sung
James McBride
Riverhead




At turns lyrical and plodding, the new novel Song Yet Sung by memoirist James McBride skillfully evokes life during the height of slavery in Maryland, while wrestling with visions of a chilling future for modern African Americans.

Centered on the travels of a woman known as "The Dreamer," who has visions of the future that she uses to inspire slaves, the novel tracks her through the wilds of Eastern Maryland as she attempts to escape slave-catchers, determined to bring her back for bounty.

Ultimately, McBride tries too much, with parallel visions of slavery and the horrors of modern life in ghettos, an explanation of the secret codes of the Underground Railroad, the story of one woman's flight from slavery to freedom, and an attempt to depict Maryland during the tumultuous years preceding the Civil War.

Song Yet Sung is eminently readable, but McBride's best work may be a story yet told.

--Jonathan Shieber

Mixel Pixel

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: Mixel Pixel + Violens +Chairlift + Project Jenny, Project Jan
Show time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: Supper
Drink: Barramundi
Miscellaneous: Kudos

Known for using a strange combination of Casio keyboards and video game loops on top of folk have made Mixel Pixel endearing among fans. Joining them for this show are label mates Chairlift, along with Violens and Project Jenny, Project Jan. A favorite restaurant of mine, Supper has a dimly lit, all-wood interior giving it a rustic vibe. They even have what looks like a bar overlooking the chefs cooking for you to watch. The Italian menu offers some fantastic food too. Though it might sound like it has to do with Buddhism, Barramundi is actually an Australian owned bar that has infused vodkas, sangria, and a laundry list of mixed drinks like the Champagne Cocktail made with sugar and bitters with Courvoisier, topped with bubbly. If coffee and a snack is your thing, Kudos is an inexpensive place to get baked goods, a cup of coffee and chill before the show.

Tim Fite
Fair Ain't Fair
ANTI





These 16 tracks hint at Tim Fite's abundance of creativity, and quickly its unconventional nature becomes apparent. Fite's talk/sing vocal style gives a staccato feel to the compositions. It's a curious modern mix of punk, vaudeville, and country western heard through a spoken word filter.

That complicated set up demands attention much of the time. While there are intriguing bouts of word play throughout the record like the excellent "Big Mistake," it's hard to walk away feeling possessed of any greater understanding of what Fite was aiming for with the words he chose.

Halfway through the record, his monotone singing voice starts to wear thin, only to win a slight reprieve a few tracks later with the subtle overdubbed harmonies on "Harriet Tubman." The remaining tracks see the record coming to a laborious end. Fite is an intriguing songwriter, but brevity as well as less reliance on opaque lyricism would have done him well.

--Chris V



Helio Sequence
Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Sub Pop





Keep Your Eyes Ahead sounds like the background music to your new favorite sitcom. Songs like "Can't Say No" will get you on your feet, while songs like "No Regrets" will make you stop to think about every relationship you've ever had. "Shed Your Love"--which acts like a dividing line in the center of the album--may in fact be the best ballad written in the last 10 years. The electronic feeling of their earlier work is most present on "You Can Come to Me," but instead of the usual synth action powerhouse, it works itself into the song like the newest found instrument. The band's mellower sound on this album is due in part to singer Brandon Summers re-learning to sing after damaging his voice, however the album still stands brilliant on it's own.

Tania Katherine