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Fri, December 14, 2007 07:40:14 AMFrom:
NYTimes.com
Subject:
UrbanEye Weekend: A Symphony of Boomboxes
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PERFORMANCE
A Symphony of Boomboxes
Phil Kline Among all the city’s storied holiday sights — the tree lightings, drunk Santas and Tony Manero impersonators — only one involves hundreds of boomboxes held aloft, Lloyd Dobler-style, to create a mobile symphony. “Unsilent Night,” the composer Phil Kline’s annual parade for audio tapes, hits the streets tomorrow. Participants bring the sound system, the composer provides the tapes, everyone pushes play at once, and voilà: a new holiday tradition is born. “Noises Off! Making a Boombox Cacophony,” by Anne Midgette
DANCE
The Hills Are Alive
Hurry: there are only a few tickets left to the last performance of “Fräulein Maria,” the choreographer Doug Elkins’s ode to “The Sound of Music”, at Joe’s Pub. Channeling his inner Julie Andrews, Elkins and his company inventively mix styles and references — Balanchine and breaking, Vulcan salutes and vaudeville. The hilarious result is “heavenly to watch, and probably more delicious to perform,” writes Claudia La Rocco “Who knew ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ was made to serve as a hip-hop dance number?” If you miss out, don’t fret: just a few blocks away at PS 122 is the latest installment of the adventurous dance and performance art series Catch, which also has a sense of humor. This weekend’s comedians/choreographers include Ivy Baldwin, Heather Olson, Heidi Schreck and Ursula Eagly. There’s a post-show party on Saturday, avec beer. “The Hills Are Alive (Ditto a Career),” by Roslyn Sulcas “No Yodeling: This Lonely Goatherd Likes Hip-Hop,” by Claudia La Rocco “Catch 25,” by Claudia La Rocco Reviews of pieces by Ivy Baldwin, Heather Olson, Heidi Schreck and Ursula Eagly FILM
The Only Man in Manhattan
“I Am Legend” is the zombie-action flick that annoyed New Yorkers by shutting down the Brooklyn Bridge, then made up for it by employing avant-garde local dancers. Playing the last man in a wild, uninhabited New York, Will Smith proves himself a star worth paying attention to, writes A.O. Scott, even in a film that’s not all shoot-em-ups. “Without taking itself too seriously,” the movie “does ponder some pretty deep questions about the collapse and persistence of human civilization,” he writes. “It mixes dread and suspense with contemplative, almost pastoral moods.” Also, it makes a deserted Manhattan look mega-cool. “Expect Havoc Near Brooklyn Bridge, but It’s Just for a Movie,” by Emily Vasquez “Hollywood Windfall? Take it to the Streets,” by Claudia La Rocco “Man About Town, and Very Alone,” by A.O. Scott “The City That Never Sleeps, Comatose,” by David M. Halbfinger FILM
Consciousness, Confounded
In the other corner, thematically if not metaphysically speaking, is Francis Ford Coppola’s “Youth Without Youth.” “A narratively ambitious, visually sumptuous surrealist enterprise” it is “by turns bewitching, inspiring, enervating and confounding,” writes Manohla Dargis. The director says it’s about human consciousness; Dargis thinks it’s about cinematic consciousness. Go see it, and join the argument. Times Topics: Francis Ford Coppola “The Folks You Meet on the Border Between Consciousness and Dreams,” by Manohla Dargis A.O. Scott narrates a slide show of Coppola’s work MUSIC
Your Money’s No Good Here
Cheap but still want to rock out? You’re in luck! Ben Sisario gives a guided tour of the city’s no-cover music clubs, from Hill Country in Chelsea, home to rockabilly, bluegrass and blues and eye-poppingly good barbecue, to Sound Fix Records in Williamsburg, which hosts about-to-be-big indie rockers like Fur Cups for Teeth (tomorrow night). If you insist on paying for music, check out The Figgs. The local garage rockers join a “pop-punk lineage that stretches back to the early, rowdy Beatles,” writes Jon Pareles, and they’re doing so in three shows (including a free one on Staten Island!) this weekend. “Live Rock on a Small Bankroll,” by Ben Sisario “The Brisket Speaks With a Texas Accent,” by Peter Meehan SHOPPING
Give the Gift of Geek
You’ve bought something for the enviro-conscious and status-conscious. What about the techno-conscious? Since the Wii is, sadly, nearly impossible to get, Seth Schiesel recommends Sony’s PSP portable, which can cost as little as $169, and has better graphics and media capabilities than the Nintendo DS. In the mood to get out and about? As John Schwartz notes, even if you don’t have a car, you could use a GPS device — to find your way around the Upper East Side, say, or help your marathon training. Go tech geek, go. “A World Consumed by Guilt,” by Eric Wilson “Carried Away with Imitation Luxury,” by Ruth La Ferla “Yes, Gamers, There Is Holiday Fun Without a Wii,” by Seth Schiesel “Something to Watch Over You,” by John Schwartz “In the Mansion Land of the ‘Fifth Avenoodles’,” by John Strasbaugh “I’m Not Really Running, I’m Not Really Running. . .” by Gina Kolata NIGHTLIFE
Party Off the Clock
Let’s face it: the office holiday party is not going to cut it. Tonight at Studio B, a much better office — that of DFA records — will throw a public bash. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and his compatriots Tim Sweeney and Tim Goldsworthy, will be behind the decks. Count on all sorts of disco fun — without any funny business in the supply cabinet. “The Office Party, As a Tightrope Walk,” by Kelley Holland “Still Disco-Punk, Still Spoiling for a Fight,” by Nate Chinen |
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