For our (unconscionably high) rent money, the best thing about living in New York City is its endless supply of fun, odd, and inspired cultural events. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to even begin planning your week. To help you make sense of it all, Flavorpill has launched a new social discovery engine where users can create and share events with friends, as well as follow Flavorpill editors’ and plugged-in local curators’ picks. Below, you’ll find the very best of what’s on offer this week, recommended by Flavorpill NYC’s very own Managing Editor, Leah Taylor. It’s just a taste of what you can find on the new Flavorpill, so if you like what you see, be sure to sign up. We found so much this week, we bear to couldn’t stick to the 10-event limit!
Monday, March 4th
ART: CNNCTD+ Gumball Machine Raffle Street Art Installation
Tuesday, March 5th
BOOKS: Sam Lipsyte While we love his novels, we’re totally fine with Sam Lipsyte deciding to put out a book full of his darkly humorous short stories. “The Fun Parts” is full of the weird, sometimes touching, sometimes creepy, and always downright perfect prose we’ve come to expect from Lipsyte. — Jason Diamond
Wednesday, March 6th
PARTY: The Armory Party 2013 One of the hottest tickets of Armory Week, MoMA’s opening night bash always attracts a bold and eclectic crew of revelers. Last year’s party saw Neon Indian play in the shadow of Balzac. For 2013, Beyoncé’s little sister Solange is the featured performer. Reinventing herself as a R&B indie icon, Solange is sure to treat the art-loving crowd to the danceable beats found on her latest EP, True. The rest of the night’s soundtrack is served up by DJ/model Harley Viera-Newton. Tickets to the Armory Party also score goers evening entry to the Armory Show prior to the party. And, if you have dollars to spare, a pricier VIP ticket is available that grants access to MoMA’s sixth-floor galleries and a meet-and-greet with Armory commissioned artist, Liz Magic Laser. — Mindy Bond
Thursday, March 7th
MUSIC: INPUT featuring Rustie, Shlohmo, Jackmaster, Oneman, and D33J Wedidit mates Shlohmo and D33J are headed out on tour this spring, bringing h8er vibes all over the place. Shlohmo just dropped a new EP, which you can get here. He tends to vibe you out on all sorts of experimental beats and then slam some trap down to send you off wondering who you are, what you’re doing with your life, and why you’re here. D33J makes equally experimental beats with some of the most unique methods and instrumentation around. The great thing is, you’ll hear it all through the newly opened Output’s Funktion One system, easily the best club sound system on the East Coast, if not in the US. — Dennis Lynch
Friday, March 8th
BOOKS: Al Gore: The Future Any time you have a chance to chat with — or just hear from — former VP Al Gore in person, you should take that chance. Tonight, he discusses his latest book, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change, which serves as his forecast for the future. — Leah Taylor
Saturday, March 9th
ART: Independent 2013 If you’re looking for a low-cost art show option this weekend, head over to the former Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea for this free, temporary exhibition devised by gallerists Elizabeth Dee and Darren Flook. Now in its fourth year, Independent reexamines traditional art fair models and methods of presentation. Rather than jamming art into cramped booths, the organizers worked with Christian Wassmann to conceive an art-friendly exhibition space. International in scope, over 40 galleries and non-profit institutions are participating, including Labor from Mexico City, The Modern Institute from Glasgow, Wilfried Lentz from Rotterdam, Giò Marconi from Milan, and New York’s own Gavin Brown’s Enterprise. A rooftop space housing international publications such as Mousse and Bidoun is also slated. — Mindy Bond
Image courtesy BrooklynVegan
Sunday, March 10th
MUSIC: Wooden Wand Those who have heard any one of the many Wooden Wand albums that James Jackson Toth has produced over the years know that he is one of the finest singer/songwriters around. Michael Gira of Swans said that Jackson Toth has “got that picaresque quality that Dylan had in his heyday, wherein the shambolic narrator undergoes various travails and epiphanies — harrowing, bleak and darkly comical —in the course of a narrative, then leaves you mystified, both smiling and sad.” Tonight Jackson Toth will play the intimate back room of Union Pool. If you haven’t had a chance to find out what Gira is talking about, there is truly no time like the present. — Jason Diamond
Ongoing
THEATRE: Really Really Paul Downs Colaizzo, a scribe on the rise, paints a bloodcurdling portrait of the Millennials in his razor-sharp new play Really Really. The story ensues in the hours following a drunken dorm-room kegger. The characters seem to be as unsure as the audience as to what transpired at the party, but that doesn’t stop them from gossiping about the behind-closed-doors antics of Davis and his good friend Jimmy’s girlfriend, Leigh. As the cat begins to come out of the bag, a he said/she said battle erupts and everyone scatters for higher ground. In this piercing MCC Theater production, directed by Obie Award winner David Cromer, the studious and hunky Davis is well-played by Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights), while Zosia Mamet (Girls) slithers superbly into the role of Leigh, the calculating and unscrupulous girl from the wrong side of the tracks. David Hull also turns a solid performance as the rugby-playing college lifer, and Lauren Culpepper is outstanding as Grace, the poster girl for the “me” generation. In limited engagement at the Lucile Lortel Theatre, Colaizzo’s provocative work is sure to infuriate some, which is precisely why we recommend you see it. — Mindy Bond