For our (unconscionably high) rent money, the best thing about living in NYC is its endless supply of fun, odd, and inspired cultural events — especially during the summer months. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to even begin. To help you make sense of it all, we’re sharing the very best of what’s on offer this week. 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.
Monday, September 9
BOOKS: Tales of Cacophony: How to Make Your City a Playground San Francisco’s culture-jamming subversives the Cacophony Society have almost 30 years of baffling, laughing at, and sometimes pissing (the right) people off under their belt. Founded in 1986 from the remnants of the Suicide Club, an earlier Bay Area secret society, the Cacophony Club was an instrumental force in the ’80s and ’90s underground art scene, helping to found the now-obligatory Burning Man festival as well as organizing Dadaist flash mobs, public installations, and pranks. Housing Works hosts a panel exploring the implications of the organization and their secret history as documented in the book Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society, with co-authors John Law and Carrie Galbraith, Improv Everywhere’s Charlie Todd, Wanderlust Projects’ Ida Benedetto, and moderator Jeff Stark, who along with being the editor and publisher of the underground newsletter Nonsense NYC, says the Cacophony Society ruined his life. — Cooper Berkmoyer
Tuesday, September 10
FILM: Nitehawk Outdoors: Chicago
Wednesday, September 11
COMEDY: Sweet 9-Year Anniversary Show One of our favorite, longest-running, and cheapest downtown comedy shows hosts a special night of standup tonight. Seth Herzog hosts as usual, with help from award-winning comedian and 30 Rock vet Hannibal Buress, SNL featured player Kate McKinnon, self-proclaimed “geek” Jessi Klein, and New Orleans-groomed funny man Sean Patton. This week is SWEET’s ninth anniversary, so Herzog has some other hilarious surprises on the docket. Don’t miss ’em. — Leah Taylor
Thursday, September 12
Theater: The Recommendation The best reason to attend a Flea performance is always for the Bats, their talented ensemble of young actors. Never has this been more apparent than in Jonathan Caren’s The Recommendation, an absorbing exploration of male friendship. Iskinder (James Fouhey), a lawyer with an Obama-esque demeanor, chronicles his relationship with Aaron (Austin Trow), the rich-kid director everyone loves on the outside but resents on the inside. Everything comes easily for Aaron until he spends the night in jail with Dwight (Baron B. Bass), a petty criminal who changes the lives and relationship of the longtime buddes. Set in Los Angeles, The Recommendation has a Hollywood feel — the idealistic lawyer who loses his way, the filmmaker who doesn’t realize he has a wealth of material staring him in the face, the parolee seeking a “recommendation” to lead a better life. But there is nothing predictable or sentimental about this plot-turning social study. These three men have some serious thinking to do; so does the audience. — Patricia Contino
Friday, September 13
PARTY: ABSOLUT® Lunch Break featuring The Jillionaire and Walshy Fire (Major Lazer) The Jillionaire and Walshy Fire of Major Lazer drop in at ABSOLUT® Lunch Break this Friday for fall’s first free dance party. Join us on the dance floor from 1-2pm, and snag a lunch to take back to the office (or class!) with you. If you can, donate a few bucks to our friends at the Food Bank for New York City — reps will be on-site to accept your donation, and just $1 will feed five New Yorkers in need. Click through to RSVP on Flavorpill; the location will be revealed upon your RSVP. — Leah Taylor
FASHION/STYLE: Williamsburg Fashion Weekend With the tire tracks left from the Mercedes-Benz-driven fashion week still fresh, it’s time for New Yorkers to turn their attention to the place where the magic is really happening these days, North Brooklyn. Now in its 13th year, this faithful Williamsburg anti-velvet-rope affair returns with another round of fashions from emerging, community-minded designers. Heralded for its atypical catwalk presentation, this year Williamsburg Fashion Weekend runs two evenings, providing a full range of body adornment and live music. This season’s class includes IQ Test Melissa Lockwood, Mark Tauriello, King Gurvy, Derrick Hinds, and more. And since all great fashion shows have swinging afterparties, WFW has one of those up their sleeve too. So dress up or come as you are, anything really goes at Brooklyn’s most creative and eclectic fashion function. — Mindy Bond
MUSIC: Chromatics with Glass Candy It’s Johnny Jewel night at Terminal 5. The Italians Do It Better founder brings two of his bands to the stage for a night of certified dance music. Co-headlining in the opening slot are Chromatics; the Jewel arranged Portland, Oregon four-piece currently specialize in soundscapes that weave dance-pop with minimal electro. Kill for Love, the band’s fourth record and follow-up to 2007’s Night Drive, is a 90-minute masterpiece. Closing out the night are Glass Candy. After several incarnations, this band has graduated into a synthpop partnership, teaming Jewel with vocalist Ida No. — Mindy Bond
Saturday, September 7
FOOD/WINE: Taste Talks (Flavorpill Giveaway!) For those who love to eat, talk, and daydream about food, the folks behind the Northside Festival, in consultation with chef extraordinaire April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig), have come up with a primo two-day event where you can commune with like-minded folks and feed your foodie passions. On Saturday, choose from 20 panels, discussions and demonstrations featuring the likes of Mario Batali, Dale Talde, Wylie Dufresne, Questlove, and Andrew Tarlow (Marlow & Sons). The day’s menu also includes a pancake breakfast served up by Blue Ribbon in accord with My Morning Jacket’s Patrick Hallahan, a foraging tour of North Brooklyn, and a cooking lesson with Sinkane. Sunday is highlighted by community dinner curated by a Cook it Raw and a foodie-fabulous All-Star Cookout that dishes out a whopping 11 courses prepared by culinary masters from Brooklyn and abroad. It’s an alcohol-friendly meal (two beverages included with admission), so be sure to leave the minors at home. — Mindy Bond
BOOKS: Lit Crawl Manhattan 2013 After causing quite a stir in San Francisco, Litquake brought their formula for presenting literary fare in a variety of venues eastward back in 2008. Now five years strong, with a Brooklyn edition also under their belt, Lit Crawl returns to Manhattan for another round of beers and literature. This time, the crawl includes three 45-minute phases allowing for 28 literary-themed events in East Village and Lower East Side bars, restaurants and galleries. Highlights include ghost stories with Lapham’s Quarterly, trivia served up NPR’s Ask Me Another-style and overheard conversations of the sexy sort with Gigantic & VICE. The evening comes to a head at Happy Ending with a free after-party open to all 21+ crawlers. –– Mindy Bond
Sunday, September 8