As promised, Don Cornelius fans, many donning afros, took to the streets of NYC on Saturday afternoon to honor the recently deceased Soul Train creator with a Times Square Soul Train line dance. According to an ABC News Report, it lasted 45 minutes before cops broke it up, though the same ABC story says "about a hundred people" were there. As you can see in the videos below, including the ABC one, and a NY Post-created one that says there were "thousands", there were more than 100 people. Watch the videos below...

Continue reading "Don Cornelius honored in Times Square by Soul Train line dance flash mob (videos)"

In honor of Don Cornelius, people are planning a double soul train in Times Square at 4pm today (Saturday, 2/4). Details at Facebook. Similar festivities went down in Chicago where Don Cornelius was from.

On Dec 2nd at 6pm, hundreds of performers and artists will occupy a privately owned public space in Times Square with 24 hours of non-stop free performances.

In recent weeks, we have seen a push to tramp on our rights to public assembly, public space and by extension democracy itself.
In response, we join a global struggle from Tahrir Square to Davis, California with occupation as a form of creative resistance. Rather than oppose something, we are using public space to create a more colorful image of what our streets could look like, with public performances, art, and music in once vacant corporate, bonus plazas. Through this movement, New York re-imagines itself as a work of art, rather than a retail shopping mall. With capitalism gone mad, foreclosures increasing, and bank crises consuming whole communities, we are signaling through the flames that there is another way of living. Join us.
Occupy public space. Reclaim democracy. We are all part of the show! and the show must go on!

Sign our Manifesto online here.

Meanwhile go check out Zuccotti Park and then Lincoln Center.

computer rendering of Best Buy Theater marquee (via NY Times)

For whatever reason, I prefer "Nokia Theater" - it almost doesn't sound like a sponsored name or I just got used to it. "Best Buy Theater" on the other hand - all I can think about is blue and yellow ("Danzig played the Best Buy Theater" doesn't sit well).... Press release below...

Continue reading "Nokia Theater is now Best Buy Theater (Linkin Park appropriately playing the inaugural performance)"

Okkervil River are Roky Erickson's band at Webster Hall tonight (5/25).

"bomb scare outside killfest 2010 at nokia theater in times square.. mayhem inside and out" - John

The Nissan Pathfinder that prompted police to close off parts of New York's Times Square contained bomb-making materials, the city's mayor said.

"There were gas cans and bomb making materials in the car," Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters early Sunday morning. "Who abandoned the car and why are under investigation."

Bloomberg said authorities found propane cylinders, fireworks and timing devices in the car.

The shutdown began late Saturday when a foot patrol officer saw smoke coming from a box inside the car with Connecticut plates on 45th Street between 7th and 8th avenues. [CNN]

Though some weren't able to get to the show due to Nokia Theatre's Times Square location (Broadway between 44th & 45th), Overkill, Vader and the other bands on the Saturday night metal bill, did play. John says, "yea the concert went uninterrupted just had to talk my way past police line. overkill, vader and god dethroned were on fire." BlueEyedDevil had less luck. He wrote that he "was enjoying a great afternoon in the city and walked to TQ to find it barracaded off. Just got home and what a f'n waste. Would have been a great time." Sucks, but at least nobody was hurt.

Grace Potter played a short 15 minute set in an even shorter shiny purple dress in the middle of Times Square in honor of Earth Day this morning (they went on around 11:30am). The Earth Day festivities continue as I type this. Backed by her band The Nocturnals, there was a cheering crowd in front of her and completely random passerbys to her left - many who didn't even turn their heads to see who was performing to their right. The pictures in this post were grabbed from the live feed.

If you missed it, there's an even longer and also free and more conveniently timed Grace Potter and the Nocturnals show happening outside Grand Central on Friday, also in honor of Earth Day ("6:00PM. 45 minute set. Free Show. Outside of Grand Central Station on Vanderbilt, between 42nd and 45th")

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals will then return to NYC again on June 12th for a headlining show at Webster Hall. It's part of a few new dates they announced in support of their new album "set to be released digitally on iTunes on 5/25 and physically on 6/8". The NYC show and a Boston one are on fan presale now. The NYC show then goes on general sale Friday at noon (Boston goes on sale Saturday).

All dates, the band's new video, and couple more screencaps from Times Square below...

Continue reading "Grace Potter played Times Square, playing outside Grand Central, Webster Hall & other shows - 2010 dates "

DOWNLOAD: DJ Ayres & DJ Eleven - Glamourous Life 3 (mix) (MP3)

There's no single New Year's Eve option that is like OMG this year, but the amount of options does keep increasing. We've learned about a bunch more events since our first roundup, and many of them were then covered in subsequent posts. Here are even more....

One potentially really good one is happening at the Old American Can Factory with The Rub. Built by MeanRed hosts . Tickets are on sale. Grab a new free mix from the The Rub's DJ Ayres and Eleven above. Flyer for the event below.

The Rub sometimes play Southpaw on New Years Eve, but that Brooklyn venue hosts two separate shows this year instead (Felice Brothers is sold out, but tickets still available for Dean & Britta).

If you have a lot of money to burn, Standard Hotel's Boom Boom Room is selling $250 to $750 tickets for a night that features a performance by Courtney Love (of Facebook fail fame). Get your spot here. A flyer, just to show it's not too good to be true (that is if she shows up), below.

Public Assembly is hosting a party with DJs from The Ohio Party. Tickets (with open bar and not) are on sale.

Team Robespierre headlines Bruar Falls. Full lineup below.

92YTribeca has a party too with "music, comedy, visual and conceptual art." A lengthy list of those involved is below. Tickets are on sale.

Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and Scott Durday of the Soundmen are playing a party in NoHo. Flyer below.

Union Hall hosts Project Jenny Project Jan and DJs. Tickets are on sale. Its sister venue The Bell House has Obits and Eli Reed.

Glasslands promises an "extravaganza" with locals Golden Triangle and Electric Tickle Machine.

And remember, Gogol Bordello play pre-NYE shows December 27th-29th at Webster Hall (they're in Charlottesville, VA, for NYE itself). Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are also on sale for the previously-mentioned Europa Trouble & Bass bash, with DJs "AC Slater/B. Rich/Udachi/The Captain(T&B)/Stareyes(T&B)/Jubilee/VDRK/Bradley D." Flyer below

One stay-at-home option includes watching the Times Square "action" via the live feed while browsing the Brooklyn Vegan archives. The embedded Times Square feed, event flyers and two Will Smith-related videos are below...

Continue reading "more New Year's Eve parties & shows (The Rub, Courtney Love, Golden Triangle, a Times Square stream & more)"

Car Free Times Square (BF 09)

In addition to the car free Times Square, which started Memorial Day weekend and will run at least till the end of the year (see article below), New Yorkers and tourists will get more chances to enjoy pedestrianized city streets.

One of those comes in August...

NYC DOT and our partners are proud to present Summer Streets. We will temporarily close Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park to motor vehicles and open it up to people on three consecutive TBA Saturdays in August.

Then in Brooklyn...

The L Magazine and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) have partnered this year to organize the 2009 Williamsburg Walks. We invite North Brooklyn residents, visitors and merchants to celebrate the community on a pedestrian Bedford Avenue: Williamsburg's lively main drag will be closed to cars between North 4th and North 9th Streets every Saturday from June 6th to July 11th from noon to sunset.

More info on the traffic free areas below...

Continue reading "Bedford will be closed to cars on Saturdays (including during Northside) ++ other NYC pedestrian walkway news"

Times Square pedestrian mall (bearfuz)

"Just in time for Memorial Day and tourist season, Broadway has been closed to vehicle traffic in Times Square and also in Herald Square. Traffic is diverted to 7th or 6th Avenue or the cross streets, and pedestrians can wander about or lounge on folding chairs scattered around. I'll be interested to see how this works out. " [bearfuz]

Hospitality played Death By Audio on Friday. Video from that show below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday? (Memorial Day)"

Matt & Kim's new video below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim naked in Times Square (the video) "

this is what it will look like later

Times Square in New York may be one of the brightest places on Earth, but on Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm the premier concert venue, NOKIA Theatre Times Square, will be turning off its centrally located marquee from 8:30pm to 9:30pm as part of Earth Hour, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Meanwhile inside, Keller Williams, with special guest Reid Genauer, will be performing his high-energy, one-man show setting the scene for the global spirit of the evening.

NOKIA Theatre Times Square is among 28 AEG venues worldwide that will be taking part in Earth Hour, a global effort to raise awareness about the climate crisis and the power each one of us has to make a difference. More then a billion people and businesses in a 1000 cities in more then 80 countries will turn off their lights and come together to discuss these important issues on March 28.

"Nokia Theatre is proud to be participating in this worldwide event, demonstrating that each business, each person has the ability to make a global impact on the environment," says Blake Henry, Assistant General Manager Nokia Theatre Times Square. "By turning off our lights in the heart of Times Square we will be sending a visual message that we are taking action to combat climate change."

"Earth Hour seems so obvious. Hopefully this will lead to 'Earth Day' being 24 hour darkness," says Keller Williams. "There is beauty in darkness." [press release]

"We knew the iconic Virgin Megastore was on its way out, but now we've got a date for the goodbye party. The store closes this coming April; not long after, a Forever 21 will open in its space. Some fun facts: Virgin has the highest volume of music sales in the US, and that location was "profitable to the tune of $6 million," but it was only paying $54/square foot in rent (as opposed to the $700/square foot that's market rate for the neighborhood.) Worrying about the Union Square outpost, Idolator speculates about how long we have "before Other Music becomes the retail powerhouse of New York City by default."" [Racked]

And in other related news, Record Store Day returns this year. The date is April 18, 2009. Stay tuned for a list of festivities that will happen in non-megastore type record stores across the country that haven't gone out of business by then. Last year there were sales and in-store shows and and limited editions and free schwag and other fun stuff like that.