We Are Scientists vs. Hipster Central

I wasn't planning to post today - the combination of actual WORK to do at my day job (really??? you expect me to complete actual tasks for the money you pay me, instead of just reading Salon and working on my blog?) and the reading I'm desperately cramming in for my upcoming summer course has made it hard to dedicate time to helping you find fun new free activities. But I just learned about this on Broke Ass Stuart and had to share:



Pop-y indie rock band We Are Scientists will play a free show in Williamsburg tomorrow night at Sound Fix Record Store, 44 Berry Street, at 8 pm. Those of you who know me recognize that getting me to Williamsburg is no easy feat - and even if you succeed, I will likely complain and judge the crowd the whole time. And while this will no doubt be the case tomorrow night, I really do like this band. And I went to college with them, incidentally. A friend dated one of them. Their music is totally lovable. I'm going to check it out...and then make a mad dash for the L train as soon as it's over.

Alright. It's time...

...that we talk about SummerStage. Honestly, I've been avoiding this one because it's such a MASSIVE offering of events that I wasn't sure how to go about describing it to you - especially since I've not yet been to one of the performances. However, that will all change in a few hours - Mike and I are going to check out jazz with the McCoy Tyner Quartet in Central Park tonight. The show starts at 7, but true to form, Mike has just texted me that he and a dozen other people are already there, patiently awaiting the opening of the doors at 6 pm. I am a lucky lady.

I'll admit that I'm not familiar with most of this summer's performers (except Jimmy Cliff, who is apparently a doctor of something, according to the SummerStage website). That's one of the glories of free shows, though: because there's no financial commitment, you can explore music and performance that you wouldn't take a risk on if you had to buy the ticket. Be empowered by this freedom, my broke friends! There are 33 free concerts at the Main Stage at Rumsey Field alone from now through September, and additional shows throughout the five boroughs, spanning Afro Caribbean dance, Italian pop, Jamaican reggae, Turkish rock, Mexican folk dancing, and more. Good old American snarkiness puts in an appearance when contributors from The Daily Show do stand-up comedy on July 21. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs July 23 and 24, and beatbox artist Doug E. Fresh makes strange and amazing sounds on August 11. This is just a taste - you get the idea. Poke around the SummerStage website and see all that's in store.

Make your own kind of music

Each day I commute downtown at lunchtime via the N-R-W train at Times Square. I generally attempt to numb as many of my senses as possible, trying to forget the experience as it's happening. New York in the summer is a particular assault on one's delicate sensibilities - too loud, too hot, too goddamn PUNGENT (that's a nice way of saying "reeking of urine"). As a side note, I'm having an extremely difficult time negotiating crowded sidewalks lately - does that ever happen to you too>

Today, though, as I was shuffling along, the sound of a piano drifted toward me with the marvelous strangeness of music out of place - rich, full, lovely. It was a brief moment - I was, as always, running late - but it breathed a little life into my harried day.

British artist Luke Jerram has placed sixty pianos all over the five boroughs as a part of his installation "Play Me, I'm Yours". The pianos are an invitation to passersby to play, talk, engage, make music, pause for a moment, experience their space in a new way. Musicians (and would-be music-makers), yearn no longer for an instrument to charm - you've got from 9 am to 10 pm each day, now through July 5, to work your magic. You might just change someone's whole day.

Volunteer for the NYC Food Film Festival

NYC Food Film Festival 2010 Trailer from George Motz on Vimeo.

This is another example of an awesome event that you either can't afford or didn't get tickets in time for before it sold out - the 2010 NYC Food Film Festival is hosting a ton of chances to eat delicious food and watch films about that food - what better combination can you imagine? And here's your in: they are in desperate need of lots of volunteers. The festival begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday (July 23 - 27). The Food Bank for New York City receives all the proceeds, and they're coordinating the volunteer efforts - visit their online signup to get involved. The deadline to sign up has passed, but as a volunteer coordinator in a former life, I would bet my student loan money on them taking folks up until the 11th hour (but don't make them wait that long. Sign up now).

See concerts you'd never be able to afford if they were indoors

Okay, this one I selfishly wanted to keep under my hat. There are SO many amazing performers coming to the Prospect Park Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn this summer, and honestly, I want a big old spot on the lawn all for me and my peeps. Back in San Francisco, my husband would rise each summer Sunday at 5 am (no joke), take a cab to Stern Grove (our most beloved summertime free music venue, and where we got married), and reserve a space for us and 20 of our closest friends for the day's concert. (I rolled in around noon, after a busy morning of elaborate picnic treat creation.) He refused to tell people how early he got there for fear someone would beat us to our favorite spot (it only happened once in four years).



The good news: there's plenty of space at the Prospect Park Bandshell, and I'm happy to share the news. We arrived for Allen Toussaint on Saturday only half an hour early, and there was a huge amount of lawn space near two adorable little girls with a hula hoop, which was amusing and also infuriatingly tempting. So the moral of the story: Chelsea, quit being so stingy. There's room for everyone to have fun.

My top picks of the season: Ozomatli on July 9, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings on August 7, and whoa - Sonic Youth on July 31! (Did you know Kim Gordon is also making art now? Random.) The bandshell is at 9th Street & Prospect Park West in Brooklyn. The bad news: you can't bring your own beer - they sell it there for a painful $6 - but I'm pretty sure that the "no cooler" rule is not strictly enforced, so at least you can smuggle in sandwiches.

Wednesday 6/9: Norah Jones
Saturday 6/12: Allen Toussaint; Davell Crawford
Thursday 6/17: Eugene Mirman & Pretty Good Friends
Friday 6/18: JG Thirwell's Steroid Maximus; Dr. Lonnie Smith
Saturday 6/19: Bitches Brew Revisited with Graham Haynes, James Blood Ulmer, DJ Logic, more
Thursday 6/24: Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club featuring Omara Portuondo; Nelida Tirado
Friday 6/25: Kid Koala; Hess is More
Saturday 6/26: Texas Tornados; Red Clay Ramblers
Thursday 7/1: Zoom: Zvi Dance; Son Lux with Lottdance
Friday 7/2: Fab 5; Uzalu
Thursday 7/8: Itutu: Armitage Gone!; Dance featuring Burkina Electric
Friday 7/9: Ozomatli; Fidel Nadal; Toy Selectah
Sunday 7/11: OkayAfrica with The Roots; Talib Kweli, and more
Saturday 7/17: African Festival with Konono No. 1, Omar Pene, Super Diamono, more
Thursday 7/22: The Chaplin Mutuals: Carl Davis; The Two Man Gentlemen Band
Friday 7/23: Bomba Estereo; La Selecta Allstar; Navegante
Saturday 7/24: Field of Dreams (Un Mundo Nuevo): Andres Levin & The Bruce High Quality Foundation
Thursday 7/29: MI21: Mother India 21st Century Remix with DJ Tigerstyle; Falu
Friday 7/30: The Swell Season; The Low Anthem
Saturday 7/31: Sonic Youth; Grass Widow; Talk Normal
Thursday 8/5: Metric; Joan as Police Woman; Holly Miranda
Friday 8/6: House of Usher: Marco Benevento; White Magic
Saturday 8/7: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings; Budos Band, more
Sunday 8/8: Brady Rymer; Elizabeth Mitchell

Take a walk, and learn something too

Ever notice how the weekend feels longer if you make it action-packed? I'm planning a multi-activity Saturday, starting with a walking tour of Central Park at 10 am. My friend Cris gives fantastic tours for the Central Park Conservancy, and this one is the Cross Park Promenade. I've always felt a little embarrassed to take tours of public spaces that are already free - shouldn't I be able to figure this stuff out on my own? The weird facts that you learn make these walks totally worth any lingering feelings of nerdiness, though - like how you can tell exactly where in the Park you are by the lampposts. (I'm not going to give up the secret - you have to go on the tour.) Mike and I recently took the Amble Through the Ramble tour, on which it really is possible to forget that you're in the middle of the world's 4th largest city (by population) - and isn't that one of the most delicious surprises in an urban park, when you momentarily forget where you are?

Tomorrow's tour meets at 10 am inside Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, in front of the statue of Samuel F. B. Morse (who shares my last name, but is no relation to me. My friends did used to prank call me in college, though, frantically shouting, "What's the code??? What's the code???" - and I never understood the joke until they explained it a full decade later.). Visit the Central Park Conservancy's calendar to learn about the many other free tours available all throughout the week, and give your brain some fresh air after a week under fluorescent lights.

You too can afford peace of mind.

The biggest deterrent to mass enlightenment may be the high cost of doing yoga. Doesn't it seem like we'd all be nicer and...calmer...if it wasn't so damn expensive to sweat out our junk and quiet down our heads? I used this as my excuse for not practicing for my first few months in New York, and then realized that not going to class was making me crazy - literally - I was thinking mean, ugly thoughts, and feeling dizzy and spacy. That's when I got serious about investigating free yoga...and not just occasional events, but places where I could practice REGULARLY.

Summertime and warm weather brings with it a ton of options to take your downward dog for a walk in the park. All classes listed below are all levels, but contact the individual studios for details. Here are a few highlights:

TUESDAYS
Lululemon in Bryant Park: every Tuesday, 10-11 am, from May 4 to Sept 30, on the upper terrace. Mats are provided.



WEDNESDAYS
Laughing Lotus in the Park: every Wednesday, 7-8 pm, from June 2 to Sept 1, in the park at 10th Avenue between 14th & 15th Streets. BYO mat, if you have one, but they have a few available too.

THURSDAYS
Lululemon Union Square: Thursdays 8-9am, from June 17 to Aug 12, outside in Union Square Park. BYO mat.

Lululemon Union Square Mommy & Me: Thursdays 10-11am, from June 17 to Aug 12, outside in Union Square Park. Mats are provided.

Lululemon in Bryant Park: every Thursday, 6-7 pm, from May 4 to Sept 30, on the lawn. Mats are provided.

THURSDAYS
Bend and Bloom Yoga in Prospect Park: every third Thursday of the month, 7-8 pm, from July 1 to Sept 19, in Long Meadow (by the Grand Army Plaza entrance). BYO mat.

SATURDAYS
Lululemon Union Square: every Saturday (except some - check their website to be sure), 9-10 am, ongoing, 15 Union Square West (between 14th & 15th Streets). Mats are provided.

SUNDAYS
Yoga Sole in Prospect Park: every Sunday, 10-11 am, from July 11- August 1, under the big oak trees by the 15th Street F stop and the park entrance at Bartel Pritchard Lot. BYO mat.



Bend and Bloom Yoga in Prospect Park: every third Sunday of the month, 10-11 am, from July 1 to Sept 19, in Long Meadow (by the Grand Army Plaza entrance). All levels. BYO mat.

Lululemon Soho: every Sunday, 9:30-10:30 am, ongoing, 481 Broadway (between Broome St and Grand St). They provide mats, and breakfast! Just put on your blinders on your way in and out of the store so you're not tempted to compensate for the free yoga by blowing your rent money on new pants.

Lululemon East 66th: every Sunday, 9:30-10:30 am, ongoing, 1127 Third Avenue @ 66th Street. They provide mats, and breakfast!

ALWAYS DONATION-BASED
Yoga to the People: It's least crowded in the middle of the day but...it's always crowded. You're not the only one who's broke. Three locations: 12 St. Marks Place (between 2nd & 3rd Avenues), 115 W. 27th Street @ 6th Avenue, and 1017 6th Avenue @ 38th Street.

Laughing Lotus Community Class: Teachers in training provide donation-based classes everyday from 2:30 to 3:45 pm, Monday through Friday. 59 West 19th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues).

UPCOMING ONE-TIME EVENTS
Monday, June 21: Mind Over Madness in Times Square, Broadway between 46th & 47th Streets. To celebrate the solstice, there'll be free classes all day. Pre-registration is required.



Tuesday, June 22: Yoga at the Great Lawn:Doors open and performances begin at 5 pm, class 6:45-8 pm. Yeah, okay, you have to sign up for Flavorpill emails to get in, but you could use a little extra culture in your life, right? They're expecting 10,000 people, and are already calling it the world's largest yoga event, ever. Really? This I gotta see. Free mats. Pre-registration required.

Is that enough to get you started?

Thanks to Alex at Yoga City NYC for many of these tips!