Critical 5 things to do in NYC: don't get S.A.D., Jan 4-6
January may statistically be the coldest, most depressing month, but you don’t have to give in to its doldrums.
Continue on reveling in 2013 with this great lineup of affordable events, complete with cultural celebrations, contemplative art, and tribute bands.
Target First Saturdays at Brooklyn Museum, Jan 5
Kick off the new year with Brooklyn Museum’s revamped monthly museum party series. For the first Saturday of the month, New York’s own all-girl Led Zeppelin tribute band Lez Zeppelin will join forces with the Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory for pop, lock, and (classic) rocking. Round out the cultural evening with discussions with artists Mickalene Thomas and Carrie Mae Weems about everything from beauty conventions to the intersection of race and gender.
For those who just have not had enough celebrating this season, from 10:30am until noon this Friday, East Harlem will be stomping ground for camels, colorful puppets, parrandas, and lively dancers. Now in its 36th year, El Museo del Barrio yet again lets you experience the excitement of the parade all along Third Avenue. To catch the parade, process in it yourself, or learn how to make your own celebratory crown, check out the website for details.
COIL at Performance Space 122, Jan 3-19
The always inspired East Village performance space is putting on its eighth annual winter festival of all that is avant-garde in the performance world. Expect an eclectic roster of theater and dance that plays with the new or reimagines the classics, like Inflatable Frankenstein, which explores Mary Shelley’s life as a gothic teen sex dream. Be sure to catch “The Curator’s Piece,” in which Tea Tupajic and Petra Zanki hold an unscripted “trial against art” for failing to save the world.
Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees + Girls Girls Girls, Jan 5
Tragedy: An All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees satirizes the band’s sugary melodies and danceable grooves with a heavy dose of snarling guitars and vein-popping screams. Disco ditties like “Jive Talkin” and “Nights on Broadway” lose their falsetto-laden innocence but gain instead an interesting, hilarious depth with Tragedy’s heavy metal spin. Catch them and the first-ever all-female Mötley Crüe cover band, Girls Girls Girls, for a night of ironic tributes at Mercury Lounge.
Head to the Bell House for the first and best comedy at the 7th annual 50 First Jokes. John F. O’Donnell is once again inviting 50 of his favorite comics to try out their first new jokes of the year on anyone willing to dish out $10 to listen. Learn where jokes come from first-hand and meet some of the city’s best aspiring comics at this well-loved and well-laughed-at event.
