Join the masses at Atlantic Avenue’s enormous, crazy street fair when it returns for its 27th year on Sunday. Photo: Atlantic Antic
It’s Wednesday again, and yet another week jam-packed with music, comedy, readings, food, art and good times in our great borough awaits you. Start things off tomorrow night with a release party for New Order’s first album in a decade at Donna at 9pm. If you’re a fan of the supremely influential, synthpop 80s band, you won’t want to miss out on a chance to hear the new tracks for the first time among like-minded folks, not to mention album giveaways, free posters and New Order-themed drinks.
Friday night presents an amazing opportunity to see comedy in the form of Chris Rose’s ever-popular (and free!) Late Night Basement talk show at Livestream Public. This month’s lineup is ridiculously impressive, with guests like Jo Firestone, Josh Gondelman, and . . . wait for it. . . David Cross! Doors open at 8:30pm, but you should probably get there long before then to make sure you get in–you’re not the only one who quotes Mr. Show and Arrested Development on a daily basis.
Now that the beach-going crowds have thinned out a bit, why not make a fall trip to the Rockaways? Sure, it might be too cool for a swim, but there’s enough action going on at this Saturday’s Rockaway Scrawl that you might forget about the beach altogether. A slew of our favorite businesses out there, including Uma’s, Playland, Caracas, Lola Star, and more, are participating in this all-day pub crawl of sorts, which features deals on drinks, food, merchandise, and a chance to win prizes. If you’re looking for a slightly more highbrow activity for Saturday, buy a ticket to see Jonathan Franzen at St. Joseph’s College discussing his latest novel, Purity, which we previewed earlier this month.
Sunday, droves of people will descend on the stretch of Atlantic Avenue between 4th Ave. and the East River for the 27th Annual Atlantic Antic. Depending on your mood, personality, and general feelings about street fairs and crowds, you will either run toward this or run away from it, but if you do venture to that neck of the woods you might want to decompress with some crabs and a cold one at Three’s Brewery’s End of Summer Crab Boil. For $35, you get a bucket of crabs, a pint of beer, and live honky tonk music at one of three afternoon seatings.
Those are just a few things that came across our radar screens this week but, as always, we’ve got a whole mess of alternative ideas for you too. Read ahead for the full roundup of great things to do in your upcoming Ideal Week, and let us know if there are events you’d like to see here going forward by emailing us at tips@brooklynbased.com.
At BAM on Thursday, Elizabeth Gilbert will deliver sage advice for creative types. Image: BAM
Thursday, September 24
If there’s one thing that Elizabeth Gilbert is known for more than finding herself on an enviable world journey, it’s that TED talk she delivered about creativity and the possibility that genius isn’t something innate, but rather a kind of spirit that may or may not pop in for a visit while you’re doing your work. Her latest book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, builds upon her philosophy of creativity and offers advice on living a creative life, even if you don’t plan on making a masterpiece. If you enjoyed that viral TED talk, you’ll enjoy seeing her live, on stage at BAM with Sarah Jones, where she’ll discuss the wisdom of pursuing what you fear most. –N.D.
In case you were wondering what is the most fun song to sing along to ever, it’s “Like A Prayer,” and you can test out the theory on Friday at Union Hall’s King & Queen of Pop Singalong. Photo: Madonna
Friday, September 25
So maybe you didn’t shell out the big bucks to see Her Madgesty in person at the Barclays Center this weekend–there’s still plenty of opportunity to Vogue your face off at a much more reasonable $10 price point. This Friday night at Union Hall, the undisputed titans of early MTV, Madonna and Michael Jackson, are the focus of a special King & Queen of Pop Singalong starting at 9:30pm. It’s basically a two-hour dance and communal karaoke party, with lyrics to all the classics like Thriller, Lucky Star, Beat It, Like A Prayer, Man In the Mirror, and more displayed up on a big screen so you can belt out every note. There will also be costume contests, dance-offs, Material Girl and MJ memorabilia, and themed drinks like the Moonwalker and Erotica. Buy a ticket now and start practicing your best rolling around in a wedding dress and/or crotch-grabbing moves! –K.H.
The Grand Éléphant, one of the spectacular creations that will be ambling around the World Maker Faire this weekend. Photo: Les Machines de L’île de Nantes
Saturday, September 26
The Queens Hall of Science is a fun destination on any day, particularly with kids in tow, but when The World Maker Faire arrives this weekend, it turns this museum into a fairgrounds for freaks and geeks and the amazing things they’ve built. This year you can expect to see intricate contraptions like fire-breathing robots and a four-story high mechanical elephant (that you may or may not be able to ride). But spectacles like these are not the only reason to attend–the fair is also a chance to see fantastic feats of engineering and art like a 3D-printed line of clothing and a robotic gamelon orchestra. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased here. –N.D.
Foosball meets the neon imagination of artist duo, Faile, at the Brooklyn Museum. Photo: Meredith Craig de Pietro
Sunday, September 27
Going to see Faile is different than any other museum experience you’ll have. For one thing, it’s a full sensory overload. Brooklyn artist duo, Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, have been friends since high school, and their influences run the gamut of youth culture: punk flyers, comic books and collage are all mainstays in their work. In their exhibit, FAILE: Savage/Sacred Young Minds, at the Brooklyn Museum, they’ve created a fully interactive Deluxx Fluxx Arcade which includes a stand-alone room of hacked 80s era video games and pinball machines tricked out to include Brooklyn-themed games where you have to parallel park your car or tag a brick wall. Additionally, an adjacent room is covered in neon posters and features fully workable foosball tables. If you can pull yourself away from the action, visit the Faile Temple, a crumbling sculpture that looks like a subway entrance, where you can walk in, and pray to the gamer gods. It runs through Oct. 4, so be sure to get some game time in before then. –M.C.
It’s time to say namaste to fall, but sayonara to the yoga classes on the Brooklyn Grange rooftop as of this Monday. Photo: Sarah Capua
Monday, September 28
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Whoever thought of having weekly yoga classes on the rooftop farm at Brooklyn Grange is a genius! It’s hard to imagine ever getting fired up for a Monday night workout sesh, but stretching and posing in an herb-scented garden while watching the sun set over Manhattan is as good as it’s gonna get. Sadly, this week’s class is the last of the season, thanks to increasingly cool temperatures and shorter days, so you should pick up a $15 ticket now and get the fix that will take you through the long winter ahead. The hour-long asana class is for all levels and starts promptly at 6:30pm–just be sure to bring your own yoga mat, water and a photo ID. –K.H.
Chow down on New Orleans-inspired grub at a NOLA popup dinner on Tuesday night. Photo: Antler & Woods
Tuesday, September 29
Atlantic Avenue-based clothing and accessory shop Antler & Woods just opened this spring, but it has already made a habit of hosting monthly in-store pop up dinners at a long communal table, which sounds like a pretty awesome way to spend a Tuesday evening–or at least to fully experience peak Brooklyn. This month’s magnificent meal is NOLA-themed, featuring oysters on the half shell, chicken gumbo, Pimm’s cups, and more, and will be prepared by Kate Galassi, a chef and food expert who is one of the founders of Quinciple. Tickets are $50 per person, which includes food and alcohol, and dinner starts at 7pm. As they say in New Orleans, laissez les bon temps rouler! –K.H.
Noah Baumbach, Brian De Palma and Jake Paltrow will be at the New York Film Festival to talk about the new documentary, “De Palma.” Photo: New York Film Festival
Wednesday, Sept 30
Brian De Palma is one of Hollywood’s great iconoclasts, having made small, weird independent movies, as well as blockbusters like Carrie, Scarface and the original, very good, Mission: Impossible. He’s worked with everyone from Orson Welles to John Travolta, and is now the subject of a new documentary by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow called simply, De Palma. All three directors will be on hand to answer questions after the film screens at the New York Film Festival at 6pm on Wednesday, and, stick around and make it a double feature with a 9pm showing of De Palma’s 1981 film Blow Out, starring John Travolta as a sound engineer who inadvertently records a murder. –A.G.
This week’s tips by Nicole Davis, Annaliese Griffin, Kate Hooker and Meredith Craig de Pietro.
