Hey Brooklyn. Stop right there. Realize that this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. That precious sign that Summer is here and is going to stay with us for a while. The moment that finally all the trudging through slushy snow and cursing mindlessly at the harsh winds and determinedly not hibernating but hating yourself for going out in it is all worth it. Revel in it by getting out there and doing all the things I’ve planned for you.
It’s Memorial Day weekend, and even if you’re not so keen on our country right now (I feel you), what we can all celebrate is being alive and free.
Get out there.
THURSDAY
Brooklyn Mirage presents Modeselektor, in Bushwick
The party scene in this city is hard to navigate. You have to steer clear of the bullshit meatpacking club scene (which of course the bouncer usually helps you not get involved there), not end up in some post-college murray-hill journey-ridden dance party in the East Village, find the perfect moment to leave once the bridge-and-tunnel crowd shows up anywhere, and not get so deep in a drug-laced warehouse trance party that you can’t tell if your body is moving anymore. Let me help you here. Head east, way east, and look for that bright mirage of promise in the distance. Brooklyn Mirage is the closest thing to an Ibiza party scene this side of the Mediterranean, and it’s where you need to be. Thursday night brings us Modeselektor, and their lineup all summer will be the best scene in town. Start your holiday weekend early. the party goes from 8pm until you do. Tickets, $35 available here. Now go, get there. 8pm-4am, 140 Stewart Ave.
Just Lust Dance Party at Union Hall in Park Slope
Why are so many post-punk new-wave dance parties popping up everywhere? Well, because we’re getting a little older. Yeah, we are. And we’ve stopped believin’ in the cheesy wedding dance hits. And this is the music we want to listen to and dance all night and into the morning with. Head to Union Hall Thursday night and let it all hang out, baby. The Just Lust party is what you’ve been looking for. $5 advance, $10 at the door, Tickets and info here, 10pm-late, 702 Union St.
FRIDAY
The Phantom of the Opera with a live score at Film Noir in Greenpoint
If you don’t know about Greenpoint’s hidden antique cinema, then that’s why you’re here, right? And it’s why I’m here too. To tell you about things like this. Film Noir is a movie shop with a small vintage theater in the back and Friday they’ll be playing Phantom of the Opera with a LIVE SCORE. Get tickets now, bring a date, and woo the fucking socks off of her. Earn extra points by getting 2-for-1 Gin and Tonics at El Born before (and after?) the film. 10pm-1am, 122 Meserole St.
Art Book Fair at Mccarren Park Pool in Greenpoint
It’s Memorial Day weekend and that likely means that come Tuesday youll have nothing to show from this holiday weekend other than a beer-soaked USA bandana and a whimpering bank account and smudgey, ink-stamped wrists that you’ll don proudly like battle scars. #memorialday Want to have something else to show for it? Head to the Art Book Fair at the Mccarren Park Pool. Browse 35 independent artworks, publications, and editions from emerging artists and writers. Find something that speaks to you or for itself. Support local artists. Friday, 6-9pm and Sat noon-6pm. Free entry. Info here.
Rock Hard | The Ultimate Prince Dance Party in Bushwick
This is a dance party put on by The Symbol Life, a group of longtime friends united by a mutual love for Prince’s artistry, with a devotion to keeping his musical legacy alive. So you know exactly what that means. It’s time to get funky and rock out and love hard and wear your raspberry berets and not much more. Do it Friday night at The Deep End. Tickets are only $8 and all the love is free. It’s happening 9pm-2am at 1080 Wyckoff Ave. Afterparty at House of Yes. Info here, see you there.
Roller Disco and Lost at Sea at House of Yes in Bushwick
Disco isn’t dead and neither is yacht rock and neither am i and neither are you. Need proof? Head to roller disco at House of Yes Friday night and don your best, boldest disco getup and try to pull of your best (or worst) disco moves on roller skates. THEN, stay for the Lost at Sea party, a modernized reinterpretation of our city’s obsession woith fleet week. Wear your sea-faring finest and get into the motion of the ocean with all of your mermaid and merman and mer-gender-neutral friends. There will be naughty nautical aerialists, pool boys and swim toys, captains and castaways, and a hottub on the roof. Free before 11pm with RSVP, $30 after that. All available right here. 8pm-4am. 2 Wyckoff Ave.
SATURDAY
North Brooklyn Boat Club Opening Party in Greenpoint
Ahoy mateys!! Do you sometimes get frustrated that we live on an island yet have painful limitations when it comes to experiencing the water around us? The North Brooklyn Boat Club is here to help. Come to the opening party this weekend and learn how you can have the freedom to canoe and kayak and scuba dive (one of those things is a lie…) in our beloved Newtown Creek and learn more about the amazing community here in North Greenpoint. There will be canoe tours with amazing city views, hot food, cold drinks, and plenty of sharing neighborhood gossip around the fire. It’s happening from 1-6pm. Info here. 49 Ash St.
Champions League Final at Banter Bar in South Williamsburg
You’ll never walk alone, Brooklyn. Especially if you are supporting whatever team is playing against Real Madrid… because I’ll be right there beside you screaming MADRIDISTAS HIJOS DE PUTA!! The Champions League final is this Saturday so let’s all go to Banter Bar and get really fucking rowdy and make fun of Cristiano Ronaldo and support bloody Liverpool. Game is at 2:45. 132 Havemeyer St.
Music for the Masses Post-Punk New Wave Dance Party at St. Vitus in Greenpoint
I don’t know if you’ve heard but St. Vitus, everyone’s favorite metal bar that somehow you just can’t really find a reason to go to (other than you don’t like metal) has been throwing these Music for the Masses nights the last Saturday of every month, and really fucking killing it. It’s an 80s party that isn’t cheesy and will have you moving and grooving all night. Free with RSVP here and come to Le Fanfare before you go, let me make you a cocktail. Party starts at 11pm. 1120 Manhattan Ave.
The Opening Makossa Cookout at Our Wicked Lady in Bushwick
Warm weather was made for rooftop parties and frozen drinks and cookouts and bad decisions that feel really fucking good; so good you won’t look back, not once. To kick off the season, head to the opening Makossa Cookout at Our Wicked Lady Saturday. Free before 4pm, then just $5. 2pm-10pm, afterparty at Rose Gold beneath Cape House. Tickets and info here.
Memorial Day Bash at Coney Island Brewery
Celebrate the opening of Summer and being American (whatever that means anymore) at a place made to do exactly those things – a brewery at the beach. Coney Island Brewery will be throwing a Memorial Day Bash Saturday with plenty of local eats, beer-infused treats, lawn games, Empanada Papa, mamacitas, music, dancing, summertime celebrating. It’s free with an RSVP right here. Noon-5pm, 1904 Surf Ave.
SUNDAY
Hosh Yoga in the Park at the new Bushwick Inlet Park Pop-Up in Williamsburg
Brooklyn feels like the land of pop-ups which kind of makes sense. The sky-high demand for a presence and painfully low attention spans of its residents and visitors lends itself to an effervescent atmosphere of expensive, short-lived commitments. Pop-up markets, pop-up concerts, pop-up shops, pop-up dinners… permanent establishments almost seem rigid at this point. Hence the arrival of the massive Bushwick Inlet pop-up park, just down the street from what will be our Bushwick Inlet Park. It’s only open on weekends and aims to get you excited for the planning and eventual opening of Bushwick Inlet Park. Bring all of your energy into the space with Hosh Yoga this Sunday. It’s Pop-Up Yoga in the Park, happening from 10-11am for free. Info here. 50 Kent Ave.
Ribs and Rosé at Rooftops Reds in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Pairings based primarily on alliteration are lame. The very first urban rooftop winery, however, is not so lame. So let’s hold back the eye roll and instead get up, way up, for this event Sunday. It’s a barbecue on a rooftop winery in the Navy Yard with bright rosé’s produced in-house as well as from some friends upstate, and food from Pit-Master Matt Fischer (of Fletcher’s BBQ fame). Come, play corn hole with saucy fingers while sipping on some damn fine rosé’s and taking in all that historic, industrial Brooklyn has left to offer. Tickets, $50 include 2 glasses of rose and a big plate of barbecue. Get yours here now. 4-8pm, 299 Sands St.
Mister Sunday at Nowadays in Ridgewood
A summertime Brooklyn institution. This isn’t what non-brooklynites indulgently refer to as “Sunday Funday”. No no no. This is not for the weak-at-hearts who boast about their residual rosé headaches around the Keurig machine on Monday morning, proudly bouncing slightly on the low pile grey office carpet in their smart ballet flats. This is for you, brave heart. Mister sunday would like to tip his hat slightly and extend his hand to shake yours and then never ever let go. dig? resident DJ’s Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin will be spinning all day from 3-9pm and Nowadays stays open until midnight, Monday be damned! tickets here. 56-06 Cooper Ave. Let’s make bad decisions and call them Sunday.
Tiki Disco at The Well in Bushwick
Disco isn’t dead and neither are tiki parties or dancing ’til dawn on Sundays at really fucking amazing venues in Bushwick. Case in point, everyone’s favorite party group Tiki Disco. They kick off a summertime series that will move you and groove you so long and hard you’ll forget how to complain about the heat. Sunday’s party brings them back to The Well, so you should be there too. Tickets, $10 (such a deal) available here. 2-10pm, 272 Meserole St.
MONDAY
Remember that friend of yours with the backyard space and the grill? Hit that friend up. Show up at their place with meats and beers and overall celebratory spirit. Feel young and wild and free. It’s how America intended it to be.
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