TimeKill NYC's 2010 recap: Art!

My best artsy activities of 2010. 

Joseph Wolf Grazi's Fountain of Youth at Volume Black Gallery 

 At Joe Grazi's interactive installation, at the Volume Black Gallery in Gramercy, artwork lined the walls of the main room (where the open bar was stationed), while Pennsylvania band The Click Clack Boom jammed in a ball pit in the back. This party was so much fun! I hadn't played in one of those since back in the day when my mom took me shopping at IKEA in the second grade.

Photo by Emily Hara

Dumbo Arts Festival

In September, the Dumbo Arts Festival celebrated New York City's art world with dances, plays, street art, musical acts, and interactive art installations. The annual festival takes place down by waterfront, in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and is a perfect way to kill time the family-friendly way.

BLT Gallery 

In August, I went to see Francois Gilot's exhibit at the BLT Gallery in SoHo. Gilot is the famous lover and muse of Pablo Picasso and author of the novel, Life with Picasso.

Line Up - Rigging Knots + Glimpses of a Master Class at 

The Clic Gallery 

The new intimate space at the Clic Gallery in SoHo currently hosts an exhibit called Line Up, a unique collaboration between Brooklyn-based photographer, Victoria Dearing, and the world famous high wire artist Philippe Petit. Dearings set of film-noir style photos depict the tight rope dancer as he teaches his first master class. Hanging beside them are intricate drawings of rigging knots sketched by Petit himself. I covered the gallery for BlackBook here. 

TimeKill NYC's 2010 recap: Shows, DJs, Music!

The best music I heard live. 

Jamie XX at Club Love 
 In October, after a show at an old theater in Washington Heights, Jamie Smith from The XX, DJed a set of unreleased solo tracks at Love in the West Village. As for how to describe the sound, my friends and I thought it was music 'that aliens would make love to.'

Check out an XX remix:

Everything Everything at Bowery Electric - I saw this amazing electro pop/art rock band at Bowery Electric in October. The small venue is great for an close-up, intimate experience.

Caspa, Rusko, Hellfire Machina, Emalkay, Dieselboy at Webster Hall.
This year Webster Hall booked some of the biggest names in Dubstep for their Friday night shows on the top floor. Yes, it was overcrowded and sweaty, but the music and the sound system made it worthwhile. Besides, there really aren't many other places in NYC where you can see these guys live.

Thursday Night Live at John Varvatos 
Every first Thursday of the month, the John Varvatos boutique hosts a show for up-and coming rock bands. Open bar, classic location (former CBGBs club). I saw Dead Sparrows and Jamie Burke's new band Delilah in November.

The Click Clack Boom and Carney at Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn bowl is not really my scene - it's too big and quite frankly, too much like a bowling alley...because it is one. But they hosted some good shows this year, and I had a great time when I went to see my friends from PA, The Click Clack Boom, open for Carney in September.




As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions will be playing their last show ever in New York (the band is breaking up!) at Highline ballroom on December 22nd. This is going to be an amazing last show!

TimeKill NYC's 2010 recap: Parties!

Where I had the most fun in 2010. 

The basement at
 Sloane NYC
 This former pop-up shop on the corner of Mott and Broome streets, housed a beautiful line of redesigned vintage clothing by Brian Stanziale. The designer and his friends/business partners used to throw parties in the basement where they had a small bar set up and an even tinier DJ booth. The parties were private, for-those-in-the-know type of events, but eventually people in the neighborhood took notice and Brian had people knocking on his door on any given night in search of loud music and cheap booze. Sadly, they lost the space back in June.

99 Richardson

The grubby warehouse on 99 Richardson street in Williamsburg, dubbed The Shank, was the scene for a number of raucous after-hours parties until it shut down after a month-long run in 2009. Fortunately, the spot reopened in September to once again breath life into the underground party scene. I attended one of Feed the Starving Artists' Heaven and Hell themed parties at 99 Richardson over the summer. There we three different rooms with DJs (Hell in the basement and Heaven on the roof) fire dancers, a graffiti wall, beer pong etc. When the cops came to shut down the party, everyone had a costume on so the party coordinators pretended we were extras in a movie they were filming. It worked! 

Sullivan Room - Dedicated to underground electronic, Sullivan Room hosted a series of One Family parties featuring notable DJs from the dubstep, drum n bass, and 2 step scenes like Ginz and Hellfire Machina.

Friday Night Throwdown - Secret underground boxing matches held on the 2nd floor of the empty warehouse on the corner of Allen and Delancey street. $15 entry. Music by DJ MessKid. Throwdown had a home-made boxing rink with a DJ booth and bar on either side. This party was unlike any I had ever been to before in New York.

Summer Camp at Highbar.

Summer Camp at Highbar - All summer long Highbar had burgers, hot gay men, and pink frozen drinks that tasted like candy, but smelled of strong vodka. This was the best spot to go to on Wednesdays and Sundays for a relaxing, summer-barbeque-style vibe in Manhattan.

Le Bain - The second club to open in The Standard Hotel, Le Bain was pretty cool when it opened over the summer. They have a small jacuzzi pool (which I never dared dip in because it just doesn't seem sanitary), and a roofdeck covered in Astroturf; but they don't play the music loud enough up there. 

Kenmare - The small basement club located at 98 Kenmare street served as this year's staple spot for the socialite/hipster crowd that formerly sought out nighttime revelries at Paul Sevigny's Beatrice.

Looking for a good way to kill time? Spend a moment in awe.

The December issue of O magazine featured an interesting article on that wonderful thing we feel "when faced with something sublime, exceptional, or altogether beyond comprehension” - awe. Now awe is not a phenomenon I tend to think about during my day-to-day, but this article made some rather incredible statements that had me searching for moments of awe within my own lifetime. The writer, David Hochman, says that awe is one of the least understood human emotions, and one that can cause dramatic positive changes should we experience it.

Music - Awe is triggered in our brains by the unknown! Try listening to some new, obscure genre of music. Hint: You’re probably not going to find any "moments of awe" listening to Top 40...

 Hochman says contemporary research suggests that cultivating awe in our own lives can actually lead us to feel like a part of something greater than ourselves and may even help us get closer to figuring out our "greater purpose in life". This may be due in part to the fact that Oxytocin, “the bonding hormone”, is released during moments of awe.

Sights - While hiking to the top of Mount Everest might be high up there on the list of awe-inspiring activities, this is advice for those of us who are doing things a little more local. That narrows down the options, but there are at least a few sights worth seeing in New York that just might have the power to evoke a moment of awe. Try looking at Manhattan from new heights! If you haven’t looked down on the city from the top of the Empire State building, why not give it a try? There are even helicopter rides you can take for $35.95. Check it out..

In a study that used fMRI scanners, scientists from the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory found that people who were exposed to awe-inducing images (think: massive star collisions in space) showed brain activity, not in areas tied to self-interest or self-satisfaction (as is the typical response to cash rewards & silly prizes), but instead in the parts associated with touch and nurturing. Rather than a self-centered kind of satisfaction, awe triggers feelings of warmth and appreciation toward others.

Group activities: Concerts, festivals, raves, protests! 

The O article says ecstatic social experiences often occur in large groups. This can happen anywhere from a political rally to a sweaty drum & bass show. In NYC, the opportunities to be part of a crowd are many...

Peaceful protest:

 Get Up Stand Up! 

 Brooklyn for Peace 

Music:
1990's Retro Rave "Mixtape"  12/3 Escape the System 12/4      New Year's Rezolution! (Dubstep, electro house, dnb) 12/31

 What really appealed to me about this article was the philosophy behind the science. The root of Hochman's statements lie in a more artistic view of human emotions, which broadens the primordial spectrum of feelings, "anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise," to include what he refers to as the “more nuanced sensations – Compassion, forgiveness, humility, and awe.” A moment of awe can be a refreshing, affirming experience; something that resonates down in the core of your being and compels you to embrace the wonder of the world around you. It seems that we could benefit from looking a little further into this natural phenomenon. Challenge yourself - find something to inspire a moment of awe in your life!

Meditation: 

Many people find their path to higher states of being through energy healing or yoga, which are based on ancient Asian techniques of meditation. Check out Yoga to the People for extremely affordable yoga classes. Nurture New York - "All things holistic and nurturing in NYC." 

Natural Phenomena 

One of the best places to experience awe is in a breathtaking natural environment. For those willing to roll out of bed before dawn, December is a great month for stargazing. The Geminid, known as the 'Grand Finale' of meteor showers, can be seen on December 13th as early as 10 PM with a peak at about  2 AM. Check out this Cosmic Event! To see the most awesome stars make sure you find a dark viewing site.