WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3
(FINISHING SCHOOL)
WALK UNLIKE A MAN
Besides chest hair and that pesky Adam’s apple, the hardest part of becoming a woman for us was learning to walk in heels. Let’s give Miss Vera the floor for a moment: “We all want to get rid of the clomp in our clip, and a bent kneed ‘spider walk’ is not attractive.” Amen. And, by popular demand, her Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls is not just for “t-girls” anymore. So-called “genetic girls,” or g-girls, are welcome to sign up as well. 250 W. 54th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), 212-989-0906 (registration required) or register@missvera.com; 7:30, $49.
(READING)
SHOW MUST GO ON
Although party promoter, drag performer and rock star Dean Johnson was recently found dead, his series, Reading for Filth: Queer Writers Read Queer Sex Stories will continue this week, now as a memorial gathering. Fans are invited to come and bring photos, memories and more to celebrate the legendary Downtown fixture. Rapture Café, 200 Ave. A (betw. 12th & 13th Sts.), 212 228-1177; 8, free.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4
(PERFORMANCE)
LOCAL COLORS
It Came From New York celebrates the people and stories born and bred in the Big Shitty, er, City. Tonight features spoken word, comedy, music and a bag o’ chips from the disparate worlds of Greenwich Village and the Bronx with the theme, “Crime and Punishment: Stories” about getting busted and/or doing the busting. Collective:Unconscious, 379 Church St. (betw. White & Franklin Sts.), 212-254-5277; 8, $10.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5
(PARTY)
GETTING DOWN WITH DEWEY
The press release for Dance Dance Library Revolution encourages you to “party like a librarian.” What they might have added was: “…like a librarian from a Williamsburg branch.” Those Desk Set folks are just about the hippest bookworms around. Trade in a gently used paperback for a free drink. Enid’s, 560 Manhattan Ave. (at Driggs Ave.), B’klyn, 718-349-3859; 10, free.
(COMEDY)
FAMILY TROUBLE
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” Tolstoy wrote. The sickos in the troupe Death By Roo Roo: Your Fucked Up Family take all the juicy trauma your drunken parents and lecherous relatives inflicted upon you—in short, your worst nightmares—and transforms it into live improv goodness. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 W. 26th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 212-366-9176; 8, $8.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6
(MUSIC)
FLOWER PEOPLE
Members of Psychic TV and Nurse With Wound lend their very strange talents to the multisensory, avant-garde Grand Guignol performance piece Dicentra, “a story about the life of a flower whose anatomy appears to be split into two, its journey through its growth, its inevitable lament and the potentially poisonous hallucinations rendered by its consumption.” We’re freaked just writing about it. The Stone, 2nd St. (at Ave. C), no phone; 10, $10.
SEE IT ALL
Today and tomorrow, the world of NYC architecture is everyone’s oyster. The Open House New York Weekend, co-sponsored by—we hate to say it—Target is the culminating annual event for the OHNY nonprofit organization, which “promotes a greater appreciation of New York City’s built environment.” All across the city, buildings and grounds that are normally closed to the public are open and just begging to be explored: The New York Times building, United Nations, Rockefeller Center Rooftop Garden, Fresh Kills (for you trash enthusiasts) and a lot more. Most sites don’t even require a reservation. Tours are $25. Go to OHNY.org for a full listing.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7
(SPORT)
BASH BABES
Amateur Female Jello Wrestling, wherein girls jump into a kiddie pool filled with 50 gallons of a jello-like, biodegradable substance and beat the crap out of each other. Some enterprising women’s studies major has her hands full. With girl bands Do You See the Dark and the Vesties. Arlene’s Grocery, 95 Stanton St. (betw. Orchard and Ludlow), 212-995-1652; 8, $5-$20.
(FILM)
QUADRUPLE FEATURE
It’s Shocktober, which means horror movies everywhere. Why go to this club’s screening of arguably the greatest slasher flick of all time, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Well, it’s free, and as an appetizer, three frightfully good shorts—all made by local auteurs—will be served up. And, free popcorn for everyone and free drinks for the winner of the Leatherface trivia contest. Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St. (betw. Kent & Wythe Sts.), Williamsburg, 718-384-4586; 8, free.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8
(TALK)
BOOK BABE
Leading satirists Elise Blackwell and Joe Queenan gather to talk about Blackwell’s new novel Grub, a satire of the dog-eat-dog world of 21st century novelists, editors and other literary hopefuls. (The title is a sly contemporary take on George Gissing’s 19th century classic New Grub Street, if you were wondering.) McNally Robinson Booksellers, 52 Prince St. (betw. Lafayette & Mulberry Sts.), 212-274-1160; 7, free.
(FILM)
THE WRETCHED & THE RADICAL
Clayton Patterson has chronicled the hippies, hipsters, outcasts and in-crowds that have made the Lower East Side arguably the most storied city nabe. Now the camera is turned on him in “Captured,” a documentary that includes Patterson's rare footage of the Tompkins Square police riots and provides a close-up look at the man to coincide with the exhibit of his photographs at the gallery. Kinz, Tillou + Feigen, 529 W. 20th St., 11th fl. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212.929.0500; 7, free.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9
(DANCE)
BUTOH BOOT CAMP
You must be patient when you watch a butoh performance. The slow, controlled movements may seem like torture, but once you focus and relax, it can be an entirely transcendent experience. Perhaps that’s why maverick butoh master, Akaji Maro, brings Kumotaro Mukai’s Tiger’s Cave: Butoh Boot Camp. It’s like a kick-ass gym class for your artistic soul (just without the killer squats and ab crunches). This event kicks off the three-week Butoh Parade. So remembr to stay hydrated and...breathe. Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), 212-715-1258; 7:30, $30-$35 (Butoh pass $97-$113).
ONGOING ART
PUNK’S LICHTENSTEIN
Combining vernacular media and comic book vernacular with dark political and personal themes, Raymond Pettibon is best known as the artist who designed Black Flag’s four-bars logo and whose work adorns many of their album covers. Pettibon also did the cover of Sonic Youth’s “Goo” in 1990. But you won't see any of that in this exhibition, “Here’s Your Irony Back,” through October 20 at David Zwirner gallery, 525 W. 19th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212-727-2070; Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm, free.
BRINGING IT HOME
On display through Oct. 28 in Long Island City overlooking the New York skyline, Takashi Horisaki’s Social Dress New Orleans: 730 Days After is an awesome, eerie spectacle: a full-scale latex replica of a demolished Lower Ninth Ward shotgun-style home. Socrates Sculpture Park, 3201 Vernon Blvd. (at Broadway), socratessculpturepark.org; On display seven days a week, 10am-sunset, free.
EARLY STELLA
Through Nov. 17, five rarely seen paintings by American master Frank Stella. Culled from an early but pivotal phase in his development (1958-1965) they include “Your Lips Are Blue,” which is one of only two such paintings with text that still exist. Also on display: “Bafq,” an exotic dazzle of mixed orange, green and purple bands named for an ancient Iranian city. Peter Freeman Gallery, 560 Broadway (betw. Prince & Spring Sts.), 212-966-5154; Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm.
ART OF ICK
Michael Whittle’s very finely wrought, somewhat icky pencil drawings are reportedly inspired by a Dylan Thomas poem. We don’t see it. What we do see is an almost scientific approach to imaginary organic or natural forms, like the blueprints for props in a David Cronenberg flick. “Cloud, Gland, Tributaries,” for instance, could be a river or a fleck of skin magnified a thousand times. Either way, you’ve been warned. The one-man show runs through Oct. 27. Daniel Cooney Fine Art, 511 W. 25th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212-255-8158; Tues.-Sat., 11am-6pm.
(FINISHING SCHOOL)
WALK UNLIKE A MAN
Besides chest hair and that pesky Adam’s apple, the hardest part of becoming a woman for us was learning to walk in heels. Let’s give Miss Vera the floor for a moment: “We all want to get rid of the clomp in our clip, and a bent kneed ‘spider walk’ is not attractive.” Amen. And, by popular demand, her Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls is not just for “t-girls” anymore. So-called “genetic girls,” or g-girls, are welcome to sign up as well. 250 W. 54th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), 212-989-0906 (registration required) or register@missvera.com; 7:30, $49.
(READING)
SHOW MUST GO ON
Although party promoter, drag performer and rock star Dean Johnson was recently found dead, his series, Reading for Filth: Queer Writers Read Queer Sex Stories will continue this week, now as a memorial gathering. Fans are invited to come and bring photos, memories and more to celebrate the legendary Downtown fixture. Rapture Café, 200 Ave. A (betw. 12th & 13th Sts.), 212 228-1177; 8, free.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4
(PERFORMANCE)
LOCAL COLORS
It Came From New York celebrates the people and stories born and bred in the Big Shitty, er, City. Tonight features spoken word, comedy, music and a bag o’ chips from the disparate worlds of Greenwich Village and the Bronx with the theme, “Crime and Punishment: Stories” about getting busted and/or doing the busting. Collective:Unconscious, 379 Church St. (betw. White & Franklin Sts.), 212-254-5277; 8, $10.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5
(PARTY)
GETTING DOWN WITH DEWEY
The press release for Dance Dance Library Revolution encourages you to “party like a librarian.” What they might have added was: “…like a librarian from a Williamsburg branch.” Those Desk Set folks are just about the hippest bookworms around. Trade in a gently used paperback for a free drink. Enid’s, 560 Manhattan Ave. (at Driggs Ave.), B’klyn, 718-349-3859; 10, free.
(COMEDY)
FAMILY TROUBLE
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” Tolstoy wrote. The sickos in the troupe Death By Roo Roo: Your Fucked Up Family take all the juicy trauma your drunken parents and lecherous relatives inflicted upon you—in short, your worst nightmares—and transforms it into live improv goodness. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 W. 26th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 212-366-9176; 8, $8.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6
(MUSIC)
FLOWER PEOPLE
Members of Psychic TV and Nurse With Wound lend their very strange talents to the multisensory, avant-garde Grand Guignol performance piece Dicentra, “a story about the life of a flower whose anatomy appears to be split into two, its journey through its growth, its inevitable lament and the potentially poisonous hallucinations rendered by its consumption.” We’re freaked just writing about it. The Stone, 2nd St. (at Ave. C), no phone; 10, $10.
SEE IT ALL
Today and tomorrow, the world of NYC architecture is everyone’s oyster. The Open House New York Weekend, co-sponsored by—we hate to say it—Target is the culminating annual event for the OHNY nonprofit organization, which “promotes a greater appreciation of New York City’s built environment.” All across the city, buildings and grounds that are normally closed to the public are open and just begging to be explored: The New York Times building, United Nations, Rockefeller Center Rooftop Garden, Fresh Kills (for you trash enthusiasts) and a lot more. Most sites don’t even require a reservation. Tours are $25. Go to OHNY.org for a full listing.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7
(SPORT)
BASH BABES
Amateur Female Jello Wrestling, wherein girls jump into a kiddie pool filled with 50 gallons of a jello-like, biodegradable substance and beat the crap out of each other. Some enterprising women’s studies major has her hands full. With girl bands Do You See the Dark and the Vesties. Arlene’s Grocery, 95 Stanton St. (betw. Orchard and Ludlow), 212-995-1652; 8, $5-$20.
(FILM)
QUADRUPLE FEATURE
It’s Shocktober, which means horror movies everywhere. Why go to this club’s screening of arguably the greatest slasher flick of all time, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Well, it’s free, and as an appetizer, three frightfully good shorts—all made by local auteurs—will be served up. And, free popcorn for everyone and free drinks for the winner of the Leatherface trivia contest. Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St. (betw. Kent & Wythe Sts.), Williamsburg, 718-384-4586; 8, free.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8
(TALK)
BOOK BABE
Leading satirists Elise Blackwell and Joe Queenan gather to talk about Blackwell’s new novel Grub, a satire of the dog-eat-dog world of 21st century novelists, editors and other literary hopefuls. (The title is a sly contemporary take on George Gissing’s 19th century classic New Grub Street, if you were wondering.) McNally Robinson Booksellers, 52 Prince St. (betw. Lafayette & Mulberry Sts.), 212-274-1160; 7, free.
(FILM)
THE WRETCHED & THE RADICAL
Clayton Patterson has chronicled the hippies, hipsters, outcasts and in-crowds that have made the Lower East Side arguably the most storied city nabe. Now the camera is turned on him in “Captured,” a documentary that includes Patterson's rare footage of the Tompkins Square police riots and provides a close-up look at the man to coincide with the exhibit of his photographs at the gallery. Kinz, Tillou + Feigen, 529 W. 20th St., 11th fl. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212.929.0500; 7, free.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9
(DANCE)
BUTOH BOOT CAMP
You must be patient when you watch a butoh performance. The slow, controlled movements may seem like torture, but once you focus and relax, it can be an entirely transcendent experience. Perhaps that’s why maverick butoh master, Akaji Maro, brings Kumotaro Mukai’s Tiger’s Cave: Butoh Boot Camp. It’s like a kick-ass gym class for your artistic soul (just without the killer squats and ab crunches). This event kicks off the three-week Butoh Parade. So remembr to stay hydrated and...breathe. Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), 212-715-1258; 7:30, $30-$35 (Butoh pass $97-$113).
ONGOING ART
PUNK’S LICHTENSTEIN
Combining vernacular media and comic book vernacular with dark political and personal themes, Raymond Pettibon is best known as the artist who designed Black Flag’s four-bars logo and whose work adorns many of their album covers. Pettibon also did the cover of Sonic Youth’s “Goo” in 1990. But you won't see any of that in this exhibition, “Here’s Your Irony Back,” through October 20 at David Zwirner gallery, 525 W. 19th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212-727-2070; Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm, free.
BRINGING IT HOME
On display through Oct. 28 in Long Island City overlooking the New York skyline, Takashi Horisaki’s Social Dress New Orleans: 730 Days After is an awesome, eerie spectacle: a full-scale latex replica of a demolished Lower Ninth Ward shotgun-style home. Socrates Sculpture Park, 3201 Vernon Blvd. (at Broadway), socratessculpturepark.org; On display seven days a week, 10am-sunset, free.
EARLY STELLA
Through Nov. 17, five rarely seen paintings by American master Frank Stella. Culled from an early but pivotal phase in his development (1958-1965) they include “Your Lips Are Blue,” which is one of only two such paintings with text that still exist. Also on display: “Bafq,” an exotic dazzle of mixed orange, green and purple bands named for an ancient Iranian city. Peter Freeman Gallery, 560 Broadway (betw. Prince & Spring Sts.), 212-966-5154; Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm.
ART OF ICK
Michael Whittle’s very finely wrought, somewhat icky pencil drawings are reportedly inspired by a Dylan Thomas poem. We don’t see it. What we do see is an almost scientific approach to imaginary organic or natural forms, like the blueprints for props in a David Cronenberg flick. “Cloud, Gland, Tributaries,” for instance, could be a river or a fleck of skin magnified a thousand times. Either way, you’ve been warned. The one-man show runs through Oct. 27. Daniel Cooney Fine Art, 511 W. 25th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 212-255-8158; Tues.-Sat., 11am-6pm.
