ANDY WARHOL© Ugo Mulas Estate. All rights reserved


Location: Upper East Side, NYC
Art: Warhol From the Sonnabend Collection
Show time: Tues – Sat 10 AM to 6 PM
Venue: Gagosian Gallery
Food: Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack
Drink: BB&R
Miscellaneous: Dylan's Candy Bar

Spanning Andy Warhol’s career, from his Campbell Soup cans to portraits of Mao Tse-Tung, many of the paintings, sculptures, and works on paper are from his best known years of 1962 to 1967, all coming from the collection of Ileana Sonnabend, an early supporter of his work. If you’ve got a craving for barbeque, check out Brother Jimmy’s Bait Shack as the ribs, chicken, beef, and pork are all smothered in some amazing BBQ sauce. BB&R, which stands for Blonde, Brunette, and a Redhead is the brainchild of three best friends. What they’ve created is something between a neighborhood bar and a lounge with leather seats in the front and a pool table, photo booth, and video games in the back. Looking more like it came out of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dylan’s Candy Bar is a colorful place to get lollipops, licorice, and all things sugary. Don’t go crazy or your sweet tooth might melt here!

N.A.S.A.
The Spirit of Apollo
(ANTI)







Exploding out the hearts and minds of a pair of incredibly hooked up and talented DJs, Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon); North America/South America’s groovin’ album seeks nothing less than to bring people together using the shared enjoyment of bangin’ music. Five years in the making, The Spirit of Apollo blends such varied artists as David Byrne and Gift of Gab, Karen O and a posthumous ODB, as well as P Funk’s George Clinton & Chali 2na over a range of tracks set to bouncin’ hip-hop rhythms, Brazilian beats, and lounging soul.

At first blush, the pairings seem a bit off the wall, but somehow they never come off as gimmicky or trite; but always on point and aurally pleasing. I was simply blown away by
‘Spacious Thoughts,” the track featuring Tom Waits & Kool Keith. One might never think it, but Waits’ has an incredible ability to sing back up on a hip-hop cut and the DJ Duo’s blending of these seemingly disparate artist’s styles is truly masterful. Pulling talent from both coasts of the U.S. as well as some well known South American acts (CCS’ Lovefoxxx & Seu Jorge among others), The Spirit of Apollo features some of the hottest up and comers; Santogold, Lykke Li, Barbie Hatch, as well as the pleasing return of some of my favorite underground voices from the 90s; Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert among those already mentioned. A true attempt at cross media collaboration, N.A.S.A. got five artists, like Shepard Fairey, Marcel Dzama, Mark Gonzales and friends, to create five interchangeable covers available in copies of the album as well.

It’s difficult to find any faults with the album. It’s obviously been meticulously crafted and gone over with a bazillion fine tuned space-age combs, it’s as polished and original a final product as I’ve seen in a long time. Perhaps, if you don’t like hip-hop, this might not be an album for you, but why not give it a try and see if the spirit has something to say to you.

Kenneth Joachim

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Location: Union Square, NYC
Talk: Harvey Pekar
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Yivo
Food: Chat N’ Chew
Drink: Beauty Bar
Miscellaneous: Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man

Join Harvey Pekar, eccentric, legendary writer, and creator of the graphic novel “American Splendor” as he discusses his life, career and what he has coming up. The movie American Splendor was based on his life which led to a cult following as well as appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman. A good drink spot that will be as interesting as the movie is Beauty Bar. This former beauty parlor is one of the most happening bars in the city. Where else can you get a manicure with your drink (seriously, drink/manicure specials on weekends $10). Chat N’ Chew is a down-home comfort food spot with plenty of faves like meatloaf, Mexican, and milkshakes. If you’d prefer to just escape the cold, head over to Max Brenner and cool off with a variety of hot and cold chocolate drinks that will blow your mind.

Best known for creating the much-touted lip venom used by celebrities throughout Hollywood, Cristina Bartolucci, Makeup Artist and Creative Director of DuWop Cosmetics seems to have once again succeeded in creating products worthy of use on movie sets and stages across the nation.

DuWop Crush is a three-part, “jewel-toned” series of metallic eye shadows, presented in shades resembling gold, bronze, and goth-ish raspberry. On first sight, the compartments appear to be filled with crushed velvet rather than crushed powder, and upon application, that crushed velvet appearance is magically retained. Furthermore, this product’s smooth and easy application is guaranteed to add instant-vamp to any diva’s evening beauty routine (emphasis on evening – these colors might not be suitable for the corporate cubicle). That being said, DuWop Crush is absolutely the product of choice for those in the market for fiercer, shinier lids.

Jessica Stein

Location: West Village, NYC
Art: More Than A Woman
Show time: Tue-Sat: 11 AM – 6 PM, Sun: noon – 6 PM, Through March 15
Venue: hpgrp Gallery
Food: Tortilla Flats
Drink: White Horse Tavern
Miscellaneous: Magnolia Bakery

Tokyo based photographer Becky Yee investigates the life of a computer engineer living in a three-bedroom apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo. Only he is the self-proclaimed world’s largest collector of “Dutch Wives,” or sex dolls. In this exhibition, Yee explores the man’s collection of over 70 love dolls (all accessorized) that fill his apartment as well as the collector and his cravings for companionship. Dinner before a show like this should be equally wacky. Check out Tortilla Flats. The food is Mexican and delicious, but it’s the insanity within (bingo and hula-hoop nights) that is the real calling for this place. For drinks afterwards, hit the White Horse Tavern, a great bar and the old haunting grounds for Dylan Thomas. If you somehow have time before all of this, stop by Magnolia Bakery for some of the best tasting cupcakes in the city.

Photo by Joseph Calleja




It was a cold night in the ol’ hot town last night when I dragged my uncultured butt to The Metropolitan Opera to see my first opera, Rigoletto. Under the adept baton of Riccardo Frizza, I heard a blisteringly precise orchestra deliver the music of this famous piece, the only song of which “La donna e’ mobile’” I knew. It was an interesting, if somewhat long-winded 3 hours sitting in the plush, sold-out Met orchestra, reading the translation on my personal screen, marveling at the pomp and circumstance that is opera in the 21st century.

I’m not about to recount the story of the show, convoluted and melodramatic as Italian opera sometimes is (what I know of it of course) but Zack Brown’s sets (4 different ones) and costumes were suburb as were the talents of all the folks on stage. In fact, in my unrefined way, I was more impressed with the arched lumbering, silted singing of the chorus of “Rigoletto” than its stars…and its stars were very good indeed. Really, opera is a whole different type of theatrical experience than I (and I dare say most people) are used to. It can be comical at times (as this was) maudlin (yes, it was that too), and at times, I dare say it-while freely admitting I’m an uncultured slob-a bit too long. (Though to be fair, they do give you these nice, ridiculously long intermissions so you stay at the theater longer than usual, in effect tricking you into believing that stupidly high price you paid for the ticket was worth it).

Rigoletto doesn’t have the strongest of plots, but again, the sheer spectacle of an opera overwhelms so much that you tend to let some stuff slide. Hell, it was a night out and it was nice to do something this high-brow. I really did enjoy the arch-ness of it all, the plodding, the formality of the main players taking bows after each act, all that folderol from the gloved ushers to the women in gowns, all of it makes going to ‘The Opera’ at ‘The Met’ a rare treat.

Ralph Greco, Jr.