twi-ny recommended events

INTERROGATIONS: WORDS OF THE ZEN MASTERS

Yoshi Oida will perform solo tour de force at Japan Society Oct. 8-9 (photo © William Irwin)

Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
October 8-9, $23-$28, 7:30
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
www.yoshioida.com

Paris-based Japanese actor, director, and writer Yoshi Oida, who has worked with Peter Brook over the course of five decades, makes his first appearance in New York City in twelve years with his widely acclaimed one-man show, INTERROGATIONS, at Japan Society for two very special performances October 8-9. Accompanied by German experimental musician Dieter Trüstedt, Oida, mixing dance and comedy, plays a Zen master teaching a student (the audience) by asking Rinzai Zen koans that have no specific answers but are part of the continual journey toward enlightenment and, in Oida’s words, “a moment of shared delight [and] a living theatre.” As Oida explains on his website, “In this case, there is no spiritual or philosophical objective, only an entertainment based on the gap between word and thought. Obviously, there is no need for anyone to find the ‘right’ answer, but the questions act as a thread linking the audience with the two performers.”

JOHN LENNON 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

New York City will be celebrating what would have been John Lennon’s seventieth birthday with a plethora of events this week (photo © Bob Gruen)

Multiple venues
October 6-9 (and beyond)
www.johnlennon.com

It’s hard to believe that in December it’ll be thirty years since John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota on Central Park West. On October 9, the cool Beatle, who had fallen in love with his adopted home of New York, would have turned seventy years old. The city will be celebrating that never-reached milestone with a series of events all over town this week. Starting today and running through December 31, the Paley Center will be presenting “This Boy . . . John Lennon in Liverpool,” comprising rare photographs from John’s early years. On Thursday night at 7:00, the Paley Center will screen the American Masters film LennonNYC (Michael Epstein, 2010) as part of DocFest 2010, followed by a panel discussion with Epstein, Susan Lacy, Dick Cavett, and Dennis Elsas. In addition, the Paley Center has scheduled showings of IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON, WHAT’S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE U.S.A., THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, and GIMME SOME TRUTH: THE MAKING OF JOHN LENNON’S IMAGINE ALBUM through the end of the year. On October 9, City Winery will be celebrating with “A John Lennon 70th Birthday Party,” featuring a VIP dinner and “Imagine Wine Flight” and performances by Kimya Dawson, Anais Mitchell, Freedy Johnston, Jesse Malin, the Chapin Sisters, Lisa Bouchelle, the Kennedys, and Tony Scherr; proceeds benefit the Food Bank of New York City. Also on October 9, LennonNYC will be screened for free at Central Park SummerStage at 7:00 (but you better get there a lot earlier). And finally, at the Morrison Hotel Gallery on Bowery, Julian Lennon’s photographs are being displayed for the first time, through October 10. Happy birthday, John!

THE HEIST: RESERVOIR DOGS

Not everything in RESERVOIR DOGS is quite so black and white

RESERVOIR DOGS (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Friday, October 8, 1:30, 5:20, 9:20
Series runs through October 21
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org

Why does Steve Buscemi have to be Mr. Pink? Because Quentin Tarantino said so. Tarantino burst onto the indie film scene with the ultraviolent genre picture RESERVOIR DOGS, about a robbery gone horribly wrong. You know there’s a problem if Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) has to be called in to clean up the mess made by Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Mr. Brown (Tarantino), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), and, of course, Mr. Pink. Double crosses, Madonna discussions, and an ear slicing set to the Stealers Wheel song “Stuck in the Middle With You” make things go from funny to frightening in hysterical blasts of bloody irony. RESERVOIR DOGS sent Tarantino on his way, to be followed by his great script for TRUE ROMANCE (1993) and his blockbuster PULP FICTION (1994). RESERVOIR DOGS is being screened October 8 in a double feature with KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (Phil Karlson, 1952) as part of the outstanding series “The Heist,” playing at Film Forum through October 21.

COTTON JONES

Cotton Jones will be at the Knitting Factory on October 6

Knitting Factory Brooklyn
361 Metropolitan Ave.
Wednesday, October 6, $10-$12, 8:00
347-529-6696
www.myspace.com/thecottonjonesbasketride
www.knittingfactory.com

Formerly known as the Cotton Jones Basket Ride, the Cumberland duo now simply called Cotton Jones is on the road, touring behind TALL HOURS IN THE GLOWSTREAM (Suicide Squeeze, August 2010), a tasty mélange of groovy indie Americana roots rock that follows last year’s highly praised PARANOID COCOON. Michael Nau, formerly of Page France, and Whitney McGraw share sweet vocals on the patriotic “Glorylight and Christie,” backed by some fine snare drumming, while Nau takes the lead on “Somehow Keep It Going,” which features the infectious chorus “C’mon, baby, let the river roll on.” The soothing, wordless “Soft Mountain Shake” sits in the middle of the album, in between the sixties-ish “Song in Numbers” and the fifties-ish “Place at the End of the Street.” Cotton Jones will be playing the Brooklyn Knitting Factory on October 6, with Pepper Rabbit and Beau Jennings opening things up.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

THE TWO TOWERS will get the deluxe musical treatment at special Radio City performances October 8-9

Radio City Music Hall
1260 Sixth Ave. at 50th St.
October 8-9, $59-$150, 7:30
866-858-0008
www.theradiocitylotrconcert.com
www.lordoftherings.net

Middle-earth returns to Midtown in a big way as Howard Shore’s Grammy-winning score will be performed live October 8 and 9 by three hundred musicians while Peter Jackson’s second installment of the Lord of the Rings is projected on Radio City’s sixty-foot screen. Crowding the stage will be the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the Dessoff Symphonic Chorus, and soprano Kaitlyn Lusk, conducted by Ludwig Wicki, following up last year’s deluxe presentation of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. In THE TWO TOWERS, Jackson continues J. R. R. Tolkien’s immortal tale as Frodo (Elijah Wood) is off to see the wizard (Christopher Lee) at Mordor, where he can destroy evil by throwing the Ring into a fiery volcano. In addition to loyal Samwise (Sean Astin), Frodo is joined by a creature called Gollum (Andy Serkis), which is what you come up with when you mix Yoda with Steve Buscemi. Throw in a bunch of Ents and Orcs, the kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor, and lots of great music and special effects and you have a three-hour film that surpasses the first part and paves the way for the gripping conclusion.

THE POSTELLES ARTIST RESIDENCY

The Postelles will begin three-week residency at Bowery Electric on October 6

Bowery Electric
327 Bowery
Wednesday, October 6, 13, 20, free, 10:00
212-228-0228
www.myspace.com/thepostelles
www.theboweryelectric.com

The Postelles are a quartet of college-age Upper West Siders who play feel-good garage rock steeped in sixties-era pop and soul. Lead singer and guitarist Daniel Balk, lead guitarist David Dargahi, bassist John Speyer, and drummer Billy Cadden will be celebrating the release of their eponymous debut CD (Astralwerks, October 12) with a free three-week residency at Bowery Electic, teaming up with Dinosaur Bones on Oct. 6, the Ambassadors and Jangula on Oct. 13, and the Rassle and Xylo on Oct. 20, the last one a CMJ showcase. On the new disc, Balk sings with a reggae lilt on such tunes as “White Night,” the record’s first single, and intones romantic teen angst on such tracks as “Stella,” “Hey Little Sister,” and “Blue Room.” You won’t be able to stand still to such songs as “1 2 3 Stop,” “Sleep on the Dance Floor,” and, well, “Can’t Stand Still.” Each night, the Postelles are scheduled to go on at 10:00. Oh, and did we say that the shows are free?

PROSE PROS

Brooklyn-born author Philip Lopate will help kick off fall season of Prose Pros on October 7 with Burt Kimmelman

Sidewalk Café
94 Ave. A
Thursday, October 7, free (donations accepted), 6:30
Series continues November 18 & December 9
212-473-7373
www.sidewalkmusic.net

The literary reading series Prose Pros kicks off its fall season this Thursday at the Sidewalk Café, home of the antifolk music scene, pairing “prose practitioners linked by agreement or opposition, by topic similarities or discordances.” Hosted by writers Martha King (NORTH & SOUTH) and Elinor Nauen (LADIES, START YOUR ENGINES), Prose Pros will team Brooklyn-born authors Philip Lopate (AGAINST JOI DE VIVRE, NOTES ON SONTAG) and Burt Kimmelman (AS IF FREE) on October 7, reading works set in their hometown. On November 18, Andrei Codrescu (THE POETRY LESSON) will join CAConrad (THE BOOK OF FRANK, THE CITY REAL & IMAGINED), followed by Eileen Myles (INFERNO) and Basil King (LEARNING TO DRAW/A HISTORY: TWIN TOWERS) on December 9.