Spring has sprung in NYC and there are a slew of new places to celebrate the amazing weather. Full round-up is below.

Bellweather

Bellweather: Brought to you by the owners of Anella, Calyer, and Saint Vitus is this new American Nouveau eatery that features a menu of “raw-bar platters and dishes like baby artichokes with picholine olives and bottarga, tripe mole poblano with cracklings, and a BBQ black bass with cherry-tomato jam”. After the dishes are cleared off the table, and DJ takes over spinning into the night.
594 Union Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11211 347.529.4906

c/o The Village Voice

Cafe Mogador: Time Out New York says “The popular East Village Moroccan eatery opens a 75-seat outpost, outfitted with colorful tiles and reclaimed wood, in Williamsburg. A back herb garden growing rosemary, thyme and mint supplies the kitchen, which puts out signature dishes like a lamb tagine with dried apricots and prunes, a Greek salad crowned with za’atar croutons, and Middle Eastern eggs (tabouli, hummus, pita and chopped salad with eggs any style).”
133 Wythe Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.486.9222

Frej

Frej: Scandinavian-inspired tasting menus three nights a week in a pop-up restaurant in the back of Williamsburg café-bar Kinfolk Studios.
90 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn NY, 11211 347.286.6241

Tender Trap

Tender Trap: Our favorite new place Tender Trap is owned by Ryan Virag and BMX rider Darryl Nau who opened a space that features six beers and simple cocktails, in addition to revolving DJ’s who starts spinning at 10PM nightly, playing a wide-variety of music.
245 S 1st St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 347. 763.1825

Tradesman

Tradesman: Time Out New York says: “Antique tools decorate this Bushwick tavern, which also features rustic wood walls and a crosshatch-patterned floor in green, gray and white. Twelve taps dispense Northeast brews (Greenport Harbor, Kelso) at the 17-foot-long white oak bar, but drinkers can also sip on local hooch (Comb Honey Gin, Core Applejack) and classic cocktails.”
222 Bushwick Avenue 718.599.4440

billboard.tumblr.com

Billboard just posted a sneak peek of the dual covers for this week’s issue and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was 1999 all over again. The covers declare “We Love Boy Bands” and feature One Direction and The Wanted, two imports from the UK who are bringing back the whole boy band phenomenon from the late ’90s and early ’00s.

Based on the music that gets posted to this blog, I’m guessing many of you are unfamiliar with these two groups, so here’s a rundown:

One Direction placed in third on The X Factor (UK’s American Idol), signed with Columbia Records in the U.S. and debuted their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful” (+76 million YouTube views) this past September. Their first album Up All Night came out in November and became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK in 2011. The boys are between the ages of 18 and 20.

The Wanted has British and Irish members. Their debut single came out in July 2010, followed by an album that October. This past November the group released its second album, which features “Glad You Came” (+27 million views). The members are 18-23 years old.

Time will tell if these two groups will bring back that particular moment in pop music, but at the very least it sure makes for two unique Billboard covers.

We’re excited to see Lower Dens play Glasslands with Air Waves and Twisted Wires on May 2. Here’s two tracks from their new record, Propagation, set to drop May 1.

Aputumpu Festival

It feels more like July in Brooklyn this week, as record highs offer a preview of the summer months to come.  Our very own Aputumpu festival similarly alludes to the warmer months ahead as we kick off the summer concert season with four nights of music from some of the hottest up-and-coming acts in Brooklyn.

We profiled a couple of ‘em last week, Brooklyn-based (via Minneapolis) electro-producer Mux Mool and Brooklyn institutions, Japanther, but they’re not the only acts we managed to book for our weekend of debauchery.  Although, maybe it would not be beyond the conceptual realm of Japanther to attempt to play an entire festival BY THEMSELVES.  But yeah, we’ve booked over twenty bands that should get you psyched for another summer here in Brooklyn.  Oh, and the fun starts TONIGHT.

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photo c/o Mike Thompson

Enjoying the warm weather this week? Well friends, don’t be fooled by global warming- it’s not summer quite yet. Here, in no particular order, are 10 summertime activities to mark in your calendar and start getting pumped for:

10. Kickball- Hardcore kickball fanatics already know that May 6^th is opening day, but here’s a head’s up for all of you newbies out there. Sign up now if you’re interested in joining a team and prepare for a summer full of glory, camaraderie, and frequent Turkey’s Nest runs.

9. Brooklyn Flea- The eclectic shopping mecca will grace the East River Waterfront with its presence once again when it reopens on Sunday, April 8. That weekend also marks the return of Smorgasburg on Saturdays at the waterfront, which promises to be as mouthwatering as ever with favorite vendors including Porchetta and People’s Pops making a comeback.

8. Baseball- The Mets kick off their season on April 5^th, which means those sweaty summer baseball games are just around the corner. It’s only a matter of time before you’ll be dodging stray baseballs in McCarren park.

7. Waterfront Concert Series- The new location is confirmed, and the season kickoff is June 1st. Now all we need is a band line up! (more…)

The whole thing is streaming here.

No cage can hold Ceremony, despite the name of the forward-thinking California punk thrashers’ thrilling new album. Like Fucked Up, No Age, Iceage, Pissed Jeans, and other impressively vital bands in recent years, the men behind 2010 evolutionary leap Rohnert Park masterfully combine mosh-friendly fury with headphones-blasted finesse. Zoo, Ceremony’s debut LP for indie stalwart Matador, takes another leap beyond the pit while still maintaining the visceral energy of the group’s years on the hardcore touring circuit.

We’ve already heard blistering opener “Hysteria,” frenzied call-and-response “World Blue,” and brutally bittersweet “Adult,” the last of which offers some smart coming-of-age advice for any well-meaning genre purists out there: “We have to give up the things we love sometimes.” We’re happy to present the exclusive premiere of the whole, wonderful thing, produced by John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Los Campesinos!, Blonde Redhead, Bikini Kill), right here.

I’ve spent years living in North Brooklyn but I really didn’t know anything about it until I was able to see how it was portrayed by 2 Broke Girls, a hackneyed, LA-filmed sitcom created by the “brain” behind Sex and the City and the “brain” behind Whitney. This column will keep track of all the knowledge dropped and questions answered, like: Why do hipsters wear knit hats? Because of Coldplay…of course (seriously, this was one of the first jokes of the series).

This week I learned…

Gay People Live Here And They’re Gay

What I really like (and by like I mean hate) about 2 Broke Girls is instead of shying away from stereotypes they build episodes around them. Since it’s a demographic yet to be mocked, this is the gay episode. This doesn’t mean the episode is filled with homosexuals – no, the episode’s single gay couple makes a brief appearance and the start and end of the episode, mostly to set-up and comment on an apartment sitting arrangement. I imagine the pitch in the writer’s room went something like this:

Michael Patrick King (showrunner): “Whom haven’t we made fun of yet?”

Writer 1: “Gays?”

Writer 2: “Oh, yeah. Gays!”

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Supporting their new album “Selenelion”, Brooklyn shoegazers Vaura played Death by Audio last night. Watch the band’s new promotional clip and a video edit of the show below.