The Weekend:Dec 2-4.

FRIDAY:

TED BROOKLYN:
We’re living in what is commonly referred to as the “Information Age.” With the emergence of social networks, we build new communities by pressing the “Like” and “+1” buttons and becoming fans. As we become increasingly interconnected with the Brooklyn community in these new ways, we find ourselves grasping for a new common ethos. In other words, we are striving to refine and define “better.” On December 2 at Brooklyn Bowl, we will address these issues with talks from the best and brightest minds of Brooklyn and beyond.

OPERA ON TAP/Roulette Sisters.
Opera is fun. Most people don’t seem to realize how much fun it really is. In order to prove it, Opera on Tap has taken its act to barrooms where they found out that beer on tap enhances the operatic experience. The company is made up of young singers and instrumentalists who relish the direct contact with audiences not inhibited in their reactions by the looming menace of giant chandelier.The Roulette Sisters have been turning heads and stopping traffic since forming in the cold winter of 2003. Noticing that their warm velvet harmonies and spicy hot licks were melting the snow outside, the sisters realized that they had started something not only weather-altering but soul-stirring as well. The sexy sisters play a hip-shaking blend of American country blues, traditional songs, popular tunes and old timey music from the first half of the 20th century. With Mamie Minch: resonator guitar, Meg Reichardt: electric guitar, Megan Burleyson: washboard, Karen Waltuch: viola.

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THE WEEK: OCT 17-21.

MONDAY:

SONIC: Sounds of a New Century (ONGOING)
SONiC – Sounds of a New Century – a brand new festival of 21st century music by more than 100 composers age 40 and under, will take over New York from Friday, October 14 through Saturday, October 22, 2011. Events will range from a daylong marathon to a DJ/VJ night, from a free symphony concert at the World Financial Center Winter Garden to collaborations between emerging choreographers and composers. SONiC concerts will take place at ten different venues throughout New York, and will include performances by 16 extraordinary ensembles featuring at least 18 world premieres, eight US premieres, and eight New York premieres. SONiC is co-curated by composer Derek Bermel and pianist Stephen Gosling, and is a production of American Composers Orchestra and The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. SONiC is presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall and Miller Theatre at Columbia University. New York Public Radio’s online radio station, Q2, is the media partner and digital venue.

Secret Science Club “Controlled Experiment
SPECIAL EVENT: The Secret Science Club is teaming up with the Imagine Science Film Festival for “Controlled Experiment,” a night of science-inspired short films.


EYES WIDE SHUT: CONTEMPORARY DRAWINGS FROM GERMANY

Vogt Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of contemporary German drawing, “Eyes Wide Shut,” featuring work by Jonathan Meese, Andy Hope 1930, Ralf Ziervogel, Hansjoerg Dobliar, Marc Brandenburg, Ulla von Brandenburg, Claudia Wieser, Bo Christian Larsson, and Florian Meisenberg. The exhibition brings together some of the most well-known German artists working in drawing today and is guest curated by Birgit Sonna, a Berlin-based writer and curator.

Dario Azzellini, Immanuel Ness & Victor Wallis
Capitalism would have us believe we need our bosses. This volume, edited by Immanuel Ness and Dario Azzellini, reveals the history of workers who dare to disagree. From the dawning of the industrial epoch, wage earners have gone so far as to challenge the very premises of the system by creating institutions of democratic self-management aimed at controlling production without bosses. With specific examples drawn from every corner of the globe and every period of modern history, this new book comprehensively traces this often underappreciated historical tradition.

La MaMa 50 Gala
TAR SANDS ACTION: Manhattan Obama for America office
CHRISTOPHER LUECK AND GUESTS:THE DOWNTOWN CLOWN REVU
Collaborative Means
Life Hack: How to Live Rent-Free in NYC
Robert Fernandez & Jennifer Tamayo
Stargazing Party Finalé
APERTURE 2011 Benefit and Auction
Author Julia Alvarez
A Dead Animal Man: Screening and Q and A with Film Maker Lily Henderson
Dr. Queen’s Drag Academy: The Martin Worman Papers
Around the Campfire: A Night of Ghost Stories with Storychord.com
Real and Scary Historical Halloween
LARS FROM MARS

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THE WEEKEND: SEPT 23-25.

KRONOS QUARTET: Awakening: A Musical Meditation on the Anniversary of 9/11

Part of the 2011 Next Wave Festival
Sep 21—24, 2011 at 7:30pm 

Pioneering contemporary music ensemble Kronos Quartet (More Than Four, 2007 Next Wave) returns to BAM with a heartfelt program comprising 12 compositions—including works by Michael Gordon, Terry Riley, Osvaldo Golijov and Gustavo Santaolalla, and John Oswald—plus gripping arrangements of traditional songs from around the globe. This stirring collection of works reflects upon those instances where traditional language fails us, and music steps in to restore what violinist David Harrington refers to as “equilibrium in the midst of imbalance.”

Read the full program here.

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THE WEEKEND: SEPT 16-18.

GRAND OPENING @ROULETTE – Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed and John Zorn/GRAND OPENING – COSA BRAVA featuring Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Zeena Parkins, Matthias Bossi, Shahzad Ismaily, and the Norman Conquest
Sat Sep 17 – 8:00 PM and Sun Sep 18 – 8:00 PM

Three legends of the New York Underground combine forces for an evening of extreme improvised music. “The most important multimedia artist of our time,”(LA Times), Laurie Anderson is best known for her multimedia presentations and musical recordings that have challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 30 years. Tonight Anderson teams up with husband Lou Reed – arguably one of the most influential musicians in rock history whose band, the Velvet Underground, redefined the music of the late ’60s. Also joining them tonight is maverick composer/performer and godfather of the Downtown New York scene, John Zorn.

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THE WEEK: Sept 14-16.

 ARIAS WITH A TWIST @ABRONS ART CENTER.
September 14-October 16
Wednesday-Saturday | 8 pm
Saturday Late Show | 10:30 pm
Sunday | 7 pm

This updated version of the original deliriously madcap fantasy once again features the soaring song stylings of demented diva Joey Arias surrounded by an eye-popping theatrical extravaganza conjured by a team of puppeteers under the direction of Basil Twist. Channeling lurid celluloid dreams, macabre nightmares and bizarre premonitions, the adventure begins with an alien abduction and concludes with a stupendous Busby Berkeley-esque finale. Along the way, the throaty chanteuse belts out pop, rock and jazz standards in addition to some original tunes by Alex Gifford as Twist and company work their magic with vintage marionettes, anatomically correct puppets and fantastical scenic elements.

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New Books and Kuiper Belt Series from Allison Sommers.

Allison Sommers keeps the goodness coming all summer long. Here’s how:

A) Awesome new “sketchbook” book, FLOTSAM, featuring intricate drawings that really are nowhere near sketches but more like tiny, pre-works of art in themselves.

B) New additions to the Kuiper Belt Series! A tribute to the small inhabitants circling the outer regions of Neptune and Pluto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt

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