WEDS WEDS. 2/19 Bisexual speed dating sounds like ...
WEDS. 2/19
Bisexual speed dating sounds like a disastrous free-for-all. Unfortunately, Serendipity Dates has things under control. They'll be holding their first LGBT singles event this evening at That Bar. It's pricey at $35, but five percent of the proceeds go to the Bisexual Research Center. If the night is anything like the schmooze they sent us-nested heart-shaped boxes in every shade of the gay rainbow, each filled with M&Ms-it should be tidy and sweet. Roll up the latest issue of Anything That Moves and jump into the melee. 6 p.m. for ages 30-45, 8 p.m. for ages 21-35, 116 Smith St. (betw. Dean & Pacific Sts.). See www.serendipitydates.com for more info.
THURS. 2/20
If we were unemployed, we'd spend a lot more time watching Sesame Street. Instead, we have a fucking job. And fucking bills. And a stupid fucking ex with an 18-fucking-year-old girlfriend. So we're going to the premiere of Avenue Q tonight at the Vineyard Theater, hoping to glean some advice. The musical's puppets will be learning about post-college life, including "love, sex, money, race and what to do with a jury summons." The show features four puppeteers from Sesame Street proper. $30+ surcharge while in previews. Use discount code "AQPCARD30." 108 E. 15th St. (betw. Union Sq. East & Irving Pl.), 8 p.m., 212-239-6200.
John Strausbaugh's Rock Til You Drop-which the Washington Post dubbed "extremely readable and informative"-celebrates a second paperback edition tonight with a serving of good, old-fashioned, ass-shakin' rock 'n' roll. Strausbaugh, former editor of New York Press, signs copies of the book while the bands Candy Ass, Blue Sparks, Some Action and the Fad perform onstage. Village Underground, 130 W. 3rd St. (betw. 6th Ave. & MacDougal St.), 212-777-7745; 8 p.m., $10.
Sometime in the 16th century, so it is said, Rabbi Loew created a golem, an homunculus that then became a symbol of mankind's hubris or humility, depending on which rabbi you ask. In 1921, German filmmakers Carl Boese and Paul Wegener gave the world The Golem (based on Henrik Galeen's book of the same name), a film that would ultimately influence just about every horror movie ever made. (Not to mention handing Boris Karloff the playbook for taking on the role of Frankenstein a decade later.) Tonight, Gary Lucas provides a live soundtrack of "avant-guitar trickery, blues slide and FX" for a screening of this silent film. Buy your ticket in advance. The Jewish Community Center. 334 Amsterdam Ave. (76th St.), 646-505-5708, 7:30 p.m., $10 members/$12 non-members.
FRI. 2/21
Whatever happened to the Jim-Morrison guy in The Greenhornes? Remember the one who departed, forcing drummer Patrick Keeler to assume the role of "the pretty one," a position their label boss, Todd Abramson, insists the lad thought he'd held all along? Jim fronts Soledad Brothers tonight at Mercury Lounge. Drink of choice: rum. Favorite song: "I Can Only Give You Everything." 217 E. Houston St. (betw. Ludlow & Essex Sts.), 212-260-4700, 11:30 p.m., $10.
Love dirty, trashy rock 'n' roll? Crave Back from the Grave-style fucked-up garage? Slither over to see the Black Lips tonight at Local. They'll be playing their brand of "live-fast-die-feel-no-pain" songs from their upcoming Bomp Records release. Opening are The Carbonas (Atlanta speed punks), Dementia Thirteen (NYC) and The Lids. 351 Kent Ave. (S. 5th St.), Williamsburg, 718-599-1936; 9 p.m., $7. Tomorrow night, NYC's Little Killers join the Black Lips and the Carbonas on Sat. at Siberia, 356 W. 40th St. (9th Ave.), 646-674-1710; 8:30 p.m., $7.
SAT. 2/22
Since it seems that our current high alert is based on a bunch of lies fed to the FBI, it might be a good time to laugh about this bizarre situation wherein we are told to be vigilant (and very, very afraid), but also to go about our normal business. One of the more astute observers of this dichotomy is downtown celeb, author and producer Mike Albo. His latest work, Three Women in Indecision, is a satirical look at our "American life of super-surveillance, fear-marketing and constant reality show orgasms." Check it out tonight at the West Side Dance Project, 357 West 36th St., 3rd Fl., (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 212-330-7120, 8 p.m., $15, [Weds. 2/26 - Sat., 3/1].
How much new chamber music has been composed, let alone performed, for the general public as of late? Not enough, according to the Anti-Social Music Collective. They're bringing not punk rock but punk orchestra to the people. More precisely: original chamber music by way of DIY. Tonight, ASM presents its fourth Semi-Annual Premieres Extravaganza, featuring a full roster of new compositions from "punks who went to orchestra camp." The last performance was so packed that the crowd spilled onstage. This time, they promise standing-room-only space in the rafters. Greenwich House, 46 Barrow St. (betw. Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S.), 917-543-0947, 8 p.m., $9.99.
SUN. 2/23
Like Birth of a Nation, Leni Riefenstahl's 1934 Triumph of the Will is often more referenced than actually seen. This documentary of a Nazi rally in Nuremberg serves as a Who's Who of the Third Reich-Goebbels, Göering, Heydrich and, of course, the Big H are all on hand. And they're all seen through a loving camera's eye. This afternoon's screening follows a 2:00 p.m. showing of Sergei Eisenstein's October, Ten Days That Shook the World. His documentary-style re-enactment of the Bolshevik uprising should dovetail nicely with Riefenstahl's frightening yet fascinating Nazi blowjob. American Museum of the Moving Image. 35 Ave. (36 St.), Astoria, 718-784-0077, 4:15 p.m., $8.50, $5.50 st./s.c.
MON. 2/24
If you can't find a copy of New York Press next Tuesday afternoon, blame Miranda July. This newspaper closes every Monday night, so we often can't get out to shows. This time, though, we might shirk responsibility and sneak out early. By interacting with carefully prerecorded video and both live and recorded sound, this Portland-based performance artist causes everyday life to fragment and reform into eerie moments of haunting, surreal intimacy. Disturbing threats and unexpected moments of beauty converge and unsettle. Tonight, she presents new video, sound, performance, Web, visual and written work at MOMA's Gramercy Theatre. 127 E. 23rd St. (betw. Lexington & Park Aves.), 212-708-9680; 8:15 p.m., $12. The artist will also read tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. at the Knitting Factory.
The glory days of pornography-and we're talking about real pornography with real application, not 50s fetishism, not Bettie Page retroticism, not naturalist magazine voyeurism, nothing ironic and not a thing wrong with it-were in the early 70s. Wild bushes, natural boobs, actors who really fucked and, it seemed, really got off. Even the softcore was exciting. And the queen of softcore 70s porn? Emmanuelle, a bored, frisky wife running wild in Bangkok. And then London. And then Venice. And then... The lovely Emmanuelle has been everywhere, even in space with a recent addition to the franchise. Tonight, watch the original-the only-Emmanuelle in the 1974 movie that originated some 30 Emmanuelle and Emanuelle sequels and spin-offs (the difference being, according to Joe Bob Briggs, French and Italian origins, respectively). Sylvia Kristel is nothing short of stunning. Two Boots Den of Cin, 44 Ave. A (3rd St.), 212-254-0800; 8 p.m., $5.
TUES. 2/25
With Arlene Grocery's Heavy Metal/ Punk Karaoke gracing NYC tourist books and not somewhere we'd be caught dead, stop by their new Tuesday night version of Stump the Band. Until the audience proves to be less predictable, Adam Roth leads the music comedy show titled "A Night with Adam Roth & the Jaded Six," with local musicians, bartenders and concert promoters. It's kinda like Name That Tune but with a live band. Arlene Grocery, 95 Stanton St. (betw. Ludlow & Orchard Sts.), 212-358-1633; 9:30 p.m., $5.
MOMA's second-annual film benefit, "A Work in Progress: An Evening with Alexander Payne," honors the writer/director responsible for 1996's controversial Citizen Ruth and, more recently, Election and About Schmidt. There will be a conversation between Bingham Ray and the filmmaker, plus an after-party sponsored by Vanity Fair complete with a DJ and dancing at the W Hotel in Union Square. Gramercy Theatre, 127 E. 23rd St. (betw. Lexington & Park Aves.), 212-708-9680; 7 p.m., $200-$375.