Quick link > Visual Art & Film
Arcade Fire
Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Sixth Ave., nr. Broadway; 212-247-4777
Bowie loves them. Heck, he’s even played with them. But this orchestral-rock giant’s show has been sold out for ages so you’re going to have to be crafty if you’re going to see them.
• Wed., May 9; 8 p.m.
• $35.50 (sold out)
Air
The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plz., nr. 32nd St.; 212-465-6741
The sumptuous French electro-pop duo returns to the U.S. after a three-year hiatus. Your flashbacks of The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation are happening for a reason. Air scored those Sofia Coppola movies.
• Thurs., May 10; 8 p.m.
• $46 (sold out)
The Polyphonic Spree
Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-279-7740
If you see roughly a dozen men and women in brightly colored, matching flowing robes carrying various esoteric instruments, it’s safe to bet it’s this many-membered choir of pop revivalism.
• Fri., May 11; 6:30 p.m.
• $35
Daniel Johnston
HighLine Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., nr. Ninth Ave; 212-414-5994
Reclusive, mentally troubled Daniel Johnston thrills the indie cognoscenti, but the Bang on a Can All Stars add a splash of crowd-pleasing revelry while the Legendary Stardust Cowboy sounds like an homage to Ziggy.
• Wed., May 16; 8 p.m.
• $21.50 (sold out)
Ken Nordine
The Kitchen, 512 W. 19th St., nr. Tenth Ave.; 212-255-5793
The “word jazz” pioneer gets fingers snapping and minds bending with his poetry.
• Wed., May 16; 8 p.m.
• $19
Laurie Anderson
HighLine Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 212-414-5994
Lou Reed may have once been Bowie’s BFF, but he’s sent his better half, Laurie Anderson, to show why she’s queen of the unexpected.
• Thurs., May 17; 6 p.m.
• $37
Deerhoof
Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl., at 15th St; 212-777-6800
The idiosyncratic West Coast art-rockers thrill audiences with the little-girl vocals of bassist Satomi Matsuzaki.
• Thurs., May 17; 8 p.m.
• $16.50
Meow Meow
Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel, 371 W. 16th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 212-727-0212
Unsatisfied with his successes with tranny musicals and soft-core-porn art films, downtown legend John Cameron Mitchell now guides an enigmatic cabaret vocalist like a latter-day Svengali.
• Fri., May 18; 7:30 p.m.
• $19
The Secret Machines
HighLine Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., at Ninth Ave; 212-414-5994
Another protégé of the Thin White Duke, this trio proves space-rock is just as magical as Labyrinth.
• Sat., May 19; 8 p.m.
• $26.50 (sold out)
Laurie McLeod
14th St. at Washington St., projected onto a water tower
The artist’s famed Waterhaven Project, which screens her underwater films outdoors, rises to new heights when she projects the nine-minute flick Luo Yong’s Dream on a water tower.
• Wed., May 9–Sat., May 19; sunset–midnight
• Free
High Line Neighborhood Walking Tours
RSVP at rsvp@thehighline.org for meeting location
Architectural historian Matt Postal leads walking tours of the area while speculating on the neighborhood’s future.
• Thurs., May 10, Sun., May 13, Wed., May 16; 5:30 p.m.; May 13, 1 p.m.
• $10 (sold out)
High Line Design Preview
Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St., nr. Third Ave.
High Line landscape architect James Corner discusses the ambitious renovations and offers a sneak preview of the designs.
• Mon., May 14; 6:30 p.m.
• Free with RSVP
Claude Cahun
General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church , 175 Ninth Ave., nr. 21st Ave.; 212-243-5150
The late nineteenth-century French avant-gardist gets his/her due in this exhibition of shocking gender-bending self-portraits.
• Fri., May 18–Sat., May 20; 8 p.m.
• Free
COMEDY
Ricky Gervais
The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plz., nr. 32nd St.; 212-465-6741
The tubby comedy genius rightly revered for the U.K. hit The Office performs his first Stateside stand-up show.• Sat., May 19; 8 p.m.
• $46–$66 (sold out)
Film Festival
David Bowie’s Ten Favorite Latin American and Spanish Films From the Last 100 Years
Clearview Chelsea West, 333 W. 23rd St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-691-5519
This tribute to 100 years of Spanish film includes a Rocky Horror homage to the old silent flick El Automovil Gris.
• Fri., May 11—Thurs., May 17; showtimes vary
• $11