TRAMPS LIKE US: MARATHON SHOW
Springsteen tribute band will re-create legendary 1978 show on February 11 in Times Square
A TRIBUTE TO THE BOSS
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
237 West 42nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Thursday, February 11, $26-$37.50, 7:30
212-997-4144
www.bbkingblues.com
www.trampslikeus.com
On September 19, 1978, we very clearly remember sitting up in our room, taping a live concert being broadcast over WNEW, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing the Capitol Theater in Passaic in what would become one of their most legendary shows. We also recall heading into the Village shortly thereafter and buying the bootleg boxed set, called PIECE DE RESISTANCE. Last year, for the first time ever, Springsteen began playing some of his albums in their entirety, and now tribute band Tramps Like Us will be playing the famed 1978 concert in its entirety at B.B. King’s on February 11. Generally, we are not big fans of tribute/cover bands — like the one that played our high school prom — but Bruce’s 9/19/78 performance was extraordinary, featuring memorable versions of such unreleased songs as “Independence Day,” “Fire,” “Because the Night,” and “Point Blank,” a spate of tunes from his latest album, DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, including a “Prove It All Night” that nearly blew the roof off with its blistering guitar solo, and a killer finale of “The Detroit Medley” and “Raise Your Hand.” But the highlight of the show was the triple shot of “Not Fade Away” into “She’s the One” followed by an unforgettable “Backstreets” with a majestic, emotionally powerful “Sad Eyes” near the end (later to be adapted into “Drive All Night” on THE RIVER). We’ve been waiting, hoping, and praying for Bruce to go into “Sad Eyes” every time we’ve heard “Backstreets” since then, to no avail, so this is the closest any of us are likely to get.
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: BEAUTIFUL
Korean psychological thriller looks at beauty and dangerous obsession
BEAUTIFUL (A-LEUM-DAB-DA) (Juhn Jai-hong, 2008)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, February 9, 7:00
Admission: free; reservations accepted at info@koreanculture.org or 212-759-9550
www.subwaycinema.com
www.tribecacinemas.com
www.koreanculture.org
Juhn Jai-hong’s 2008 debut feature, BEAUTIFUL, based on an unfinished script by Kim Ki-duk, is a harrowing psychological tale of dangerous obsession. Cha Soo-yeon stars as Kim Eun-young, a beautiful woman who wants to live a normal life but is constantly harassed by teenage girls who want her autograph, refusing to believe she is not a celebrity, and men who are uncontrollably drawn to her because of her perfect face and body. When one of her many secret admirers attacks her in her apartment, she soon decides to try extreme methods to change her appearance as she begins a slow descent into madness. At first, a local detective (Choi Myeong-soo) seeks to protect her, but he becomes obsessed with her as well, leading to a violent, dramatic conclusion. BEAUTIFUL goes from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again as Kim proclaims her desire to live despite the horrible things that are happening to her, with Junh alternating between the lurid and the exploitative to the poignant and heartbreaking, in some ways a mix of executive producer Kim Ki-Duk’s TIME and BAD GUY. The film is being screened as part of Korean Movie Night presented at Tribeca Cinemas by the Korean Cultural Service; the series continues on February 23 with BREATHLESS, a film written, directed by, and starring Yang Ik-june, followed by three films in March and April (every other Tuesday) that are all being remade in America.
YANK! TICKET GIVEAWAY
Stu and Mitch sing but don’t ask and don’t tell in new military musical
YANK! A WWWII LOVE STORY
The Theatre at Saint Peter’s
619 Lexington Ave. at 54th St.
February 16 – March 21, $67.50
212-935-5820
www.yankthemusical.com
Named Best Musical by audiences at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival, YANK! had a sold-out extended run in San Diego and now comes to the York Theatre in Midtown for five weeks. A throwback to old-fashioned Broadway musicals, YANK! tells the fictional love story between draftee Stu and Private Mitch, inspired by actual events experienced by gay and straight military men and women. Directed by Igor Goldin, written by lyricist David Zellnik and composer Joe Zellnik, and choreographed by Jeffry Denman (who also appears as Artie), YANK! stars Nancy Anderson, Ivan Hernandez, and Bobby Steggert.
GIVEAWAY: Tickets are $67.50, but twi-ny has five pairs to give away for select nights. To be eligible to win a pair, all you have to do is name which New York Yankees superstar gave up three baseball seasons while in his prime to fight for his country during WWII. Send your name, daytime phone number, and the correct answer to contest@twi-ny.com by Wednesday, February 10, at 3:00 pm. Five winners will be chosen at random. All entrants must be at least twenty-one years of age.
FEBRUARY RESIDENCY: BLUEBRAIN
Bluebrain will play Monday-night residency at Pianos this month
Pianos
158 Ludlow St.
Monday nights at 10:00 through February 22
Admission: free
212-505-3733
www.pianosnyc.com
www.myspace.com/bluebrainbluebrain
Last June, Bluebrain — brainchild of brothers Hays and Ryan Holladay, formerly of the Brooklyn-based band the Epochs — played their first show ever, in their hometown of Washington, DC. In 2009 they also released a five-track EP, CULT FOLLOWING, which will be followed on February 9 by their debut full-length, SOFT POWER (both on Lujo Records). In celebration of the new disc, the brothers will be playing three free shows this month, in residency Monday nights at Pianos on the Lower East Side. Onstage, the Holladays each stand behind their own podium, as if they are holding a press conference or a debate, pumping out their dynamic, mellifluous electronic dance music while strange images are broadcast behind them, sort of the Yes Men meet the Butthole Surfers meet 1980s dreamy synth pop, or something like that. In “Ten by Ten,” which features a sweeping, swirling riff that will take over your whole body, the brothers repeat, “I can never make it alone”; in that vein, Bluebrain will be joined on February 8 by Riffle Recoil and on February 22 by Spiderfang and George Positive.
ART ON VIEW: FOOD FOR ART, ART FOR THOUGHT
T. Charnan Lewis’s “Chocolate Road” uses candy to pave the way at chocolate-infused art show
MIGRATION OF SENSES: CHOCOLATE & I NEW YORK
511 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
February 8-14
Admission: free - $75
www.chocolateandi-newyork.com
We were crushed when the downtown Ritz-Carlton shut down its luxurious Rise bar, where pastry chef extraordinaire Laurent Richard had been creating majestic works of art made out of chocolate every February. Well, Migration of Senses’ Virginie Delavaud and Marco Antonio Castro also know about the art of chocolate; they have teamed up to curate a Chelsea exhibition dedicated to chocolate and its relationship to us addicted humans. For the show, which runs one week leading up to Valentine’s Day, CW&T will drip chocolate from the ceiling for “Chocolate Timepiece”; Jason Krugman uses LED technology in “Firefly”; Michelle Mayer delves back into the history of chocolate in “Conflict Confection,” an installation that will make gold-leafed chocolate bullets; Carolina Vallejo takes her thoughts and writings and turns them into chocolate pieces she will serve to visitors in “You will eat my words”; T. Charnan Lewis takes on corporate globalization and America’s past in three pointillist paintings that use such materials as candy dots and Styrofoam; EMA’s mixed-media mural “Hedonistic Cloud” features the artist’s imaginary characters; and Elim Chen’s “I Need You to Need Me” looks into our need to need.
In addition to sponsoring the free art show, Chocolate & I will also be holding a series of chocolate-related lectures, discussions, workshops, and tastings all week long at the gallery, which will be divided into Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and White Chocolate Rooms. Among the special events (some are free, but most cost $35-$95) are “What Would the Gods Say?,” in which Bond Street’s Lynda Stern and Sakaya’s Rick Smith pair chocolate with sake; “The Art of Artisanal Chocolate Making” with Bespoke’s Rachel Zoe Insler; “Save the World Through Silliness & Chocolate” with Fine & Raw’s Daniel Sklaar; a fondue party for singles; a chocolate-infused Valentine’s Day dinner designed by Anne Apparu; and much more.
RED RIDING TRILOGY
British trilogy will get special screening at IFC Center
RED RIDING — 1974 (Julian Jarrold, 2009)
RED RIDING — 1980 (James Marsh, 2009)
RED RIDING — 1983 (Anand Tucker, 2009)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
www.channel4.com
Based on four novels written by British author David Peace (THE DAMNED UNITED), the RED RIDING TRILOGY is an epic crime noir set against the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, a series of murders that took place in England in the 1970s. The first part, RED RIDING — 1970, directed by Julian Jarrold (BRIDESHEAD REVISITED), follows hotshot reporter Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) as he returns home after an unsuccessful attempt at making a name for himself in the big city. Dunford is investigating the disappearance of several young girls, but he soon gets in too deep, uncovering rampant police corruption, falling for one of the victim’s mothers (Rebecca Hall), and battling powerful businessman John Dawson (Sean Bean), who will stop at nothing to build the area’s first giant shopping complex. The second film, directed by James Marsh (MAN ON WIRE), moves the action to 1980, as Manchester detective Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) is summoned to help capture the Yorkshire Ripper. Trying to put his past behind him, Hunter immediately finds himself up against the local police, particularly Bob Craven (Sean Harris), who is hiding a dark secret. The third film, directed by Anand Tucker (HILARY AND JACKIE), heads forward in time to 1983, as Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey) begins to question his involvement in the corruption and cover-up and ragged lawyer John Piggott (Mark Addy) believes they might have convicted the wrong man.
Sean Bean plays a critical role as corrupt businessman in crime trilogy
Written by Tony Grisoni (FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS), the RED RIDING TRILOGY is a moody, gripping thriller that is part SERPICO, part THE WIRE, part INFERNAL AFFAIRS, with the first film focused on journalism, the second on police procedures, and the third on the law. Although each film — originally made for British television with an eye for international release — can stand on its own, there are recurring characters and overlapping story lines, and the dark, foreboding atmosphere haunts all three works. Despite being made by different directors, the films flow seamlessly into one other and are best seen back to back to back. With that in mind, the IFC Center will be screening the whole series fourteen times from February 5 to 11, beginning each day at 1:00 and 7:00, unfurling this Special Roadshow Edition of the five-hour trilogy for a special price of $25 that comes with a collectors program, free popcorn, two intermissions, and no commercials or trailers. Starting February 12, the films will be shown individually, with separate admissions.
EYES WIDE OPEN (EINAYM PKUHOT)
Haim Tabakman’s debut feature examines forbidden love in Jerusalem
EYES WIDE OPEN (EINAYM PKUHOT) (Haim Tabakman, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
Opens Friday, February 5
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.eyeswideopenisrael.org
After his father dies, Aaron (Zohar Shtrauss) decides to keep the family butcher shop going, even taking on a mysterious apprentice, Ezri (Ran Danker), who has arrived in Jerusalem with nowhere to stay and no money. Rumors swirl throughout the tight-knit Orthodox community about Ezri’s past, but Aaron refuses to get rid of him — and soon finds himself unusually attracted to the young gay student. As he fights his desires and tries to keep the burgeoning relationship a secret from his family, his wife (Tinkerbell) starts suspecting something is wrong, and everything he has built threatens to fall apart. A festival favorite at Cannes, Toronto, Karlovy Vary, and last month’s New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center, EYES WIDE OPEN is a subtly beautiful examination of forbidden love flying in the face of religious belief. Shtrauss portrays Aaron with an awkward uncomfortability that reveals his character’s painful inner struggle and complex moral dilemma, while Danker infuses Ezri with a quiet power. First-time director Haim Tabakman and screenwriter Merav Doster keep things slow and steady all the way, avoiding genre clichés and grandiose statements in favor of a gentle, compelling narrative that never hits you over the head.
