One dark and not-so-stormy night under a waning crescent moon, the streets of Park Slope were quiet. Decorated brownstones lined Sixth Avenue like a Halloween expo, and tucked away on the corner of Fourth Street stood a puppet store full of horror fans. They sat in costumes, popped open a few beers and tried to ignore the lifeless puppet eyes staring at them from the walls as they waited for the brain behind their childhood nightmares, R.L. Stine.
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The Return of Dancorcism Halloween
Before dancing dirty into the dawn of the dead, spend your afternoon exorcising bad spirits while exercising at Dancorcism at Greenpoint’s Park Church Co-op. This monthly 90-minute “practice of living in love” led by Debbie Attias will be having a costumed Halloween edition that advocates self-love while celebrating life together with music and movement. Dancorcism, Oct. 26 from 1:30-3pm, at The Park Church Co-op, 129 Russel St., Greenpoint; tickets $25 advance/$30 at the door. More →

Switch N’ Play puts a high premium on joy, so it isn’t surprising that A Night At Switch N’ Play—the slice-of-performance-life documentary about the group, making its New York premiere at NewFest this Saturday—is such a joyful watch. The film, from director Cody Stickels and producer Chelsea Moore, provides a window into the beloved drag and burlesque collective at work. Over the course of a single evening at Branded Saloon, the Prospect Heights bar Switch N’ Play calls home, we are invited to watch seven queer performers flourishing, almost in real time. And it’s a treat. More →

Pitchfork’s Octfest headed indoors to Maspeth’sKnockdown Center last Saturday after a rainy weekend on Governor’s Island last year. Ten bands headlined by indie powerhouses Mogwai and Parquet Courts shared the venue with over 50 brewers and food vendor Mission Chinese Food. The festival had good luck with the weather this year as over 3,100 attendees filled Knockdown’s expansive interior and rolling backyard. More →

Most coffee shops don’t have a usable bed in them, or allow entire motor vehicles inside, but it’s safe to say Etiquette isn’t your ordinary coffee shop. Vincent Marino, part of Four Happy Men Hospitality and one of Etiquette’s owners, is hesitant to even call the south Williamsburg space a coffee shop. More →

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Brita Filter knows a thing or two about being in costume. The NYC-based drag queen, whose real name is Jesse Havea, has years of experience in theater. Havea grew up as a child performer, went on to book national tours with a theater company and eventually studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. After booking a production of Cinderella (where he played one of the evil step-sisters in drag), Havea knew he wanted to pursue drag full time, and thus Brita Filter was born. More →

It was late on Monday when Allie X called me from a hotel room in Hawaii. She was packing; I could hear the zippers going, quick between her sentences. The up-and-coming pop artist played Boston’s House of Blues on Thursday, and she’ll be in New York tonight, Tuesday, opening for Charli XCX at Terminal 5. But she had to make a brief trip out West first, to headline Honolulu Pride.  More →