Review: MIX Fest Opening Night

by riot

Last night I attended the opening event of MIX 23 (mixnyc.org), the annual New York queer experimental film festival.  This year's festival is being held at Theater for the New City, which is a venue that works very well for this event.  After the jump I'll give a brief review of last night's festivities.  I highly recommend checking out some or all of MIX's programs!

SantaCon

Posted by David


One of the keys to living in New York is riding the waves of serendipity. Often it is all about being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time but don't find out until later ("What? Madonna and Cher had a cat fight in front of the Marriott Marquis yesterday? But I was in Times Square yesterday! How did I miss that?") Other times you are in the right place but at the wrong time ("May I take your order? By the way, if you'd been here an hour earlier you'd have seen the Obamas feeding each other creme brulee.")

But sometimes you nail it, and then New York unfolds its magic for you.

I was just finishing my workout at the gym (I'm gay and this is NYC, so it's the law) when my phone buzzed and a friend's text announced: "I'm at SantaCon! Where are you?"

OMG! I'd seen people earlier in the day wandering about in Santa and other related holiday costumes and knew something was up.


Even while I was heading to the gym, I saw groups in Xmas regalia marching past. Yet I couldn't put two and two together.


But as luck would have it, SantaCon was convening at Washington Square Park, a mere ten minute walk from my gym. So I threw on my clothes, grabbed my camera, (which I had brought along because it was 12 of 12 day. More serendipity), and dashed and danced and pranced over to the park.


More photos and video after the jump!

Justin Bond's Christmas Spells - Quick Review

Photograph by Michael Hart

Posted by riot:

Justin Bond's Christmas Spells
December 9 through 12, 8:00pm
Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, 212-598-0400
Buy Tickets

I must admit to my bias right off the bat.  I love Justin Bond.  I learned about him at the end of the Kiki & Herb run, so I'm making up for my tardiness with enthusiasm.  And it isn't difficult--he stole my heart with his cover of Radiohead's "Weird Fishes" at Le Poisson Rouge.  I'm a fan.

NYC Upcoming Events - And where did Autumn go?

Last weekend I felt the first shift out of the mild NYC Fall we've had, and into the colder Winter months.  The radiators are hissing half time.  Wet snow-ish stuff came down with the rain on Saturday.  Forgetting to bring a hat, scarf, or gloves is moving from unfashionable to uncomfortable.  I'm a bit wistful for Autumn.  It is such a transitional time, always gone before I feel I've fully taken it in.

When I tell friends back in the Midwest that my calendar is booked solid through January, they think I'm being hyperbolic or snobby.  New Yorkers know that it's just simple truth.  Parties, shows, art exhibits, fine dining...whatever your fascination, there's more than ever of it out there to distract you from the cold, gray city.

Here's a quick list of upcoming events I recommend, with more details after the jump.

OUTmusic Awards - Tuesday, Dec. 8
Justin Bond's Christmas Spells - Dec. 9 through 12
Raandesk Gallery of Art (ART2Gift) - Dec. 9, 10, 13, 15
The Meeting - Dec. 14
SWEAT - Dec. 18

Discount Theater Review

posted by David

This past weekend, as I sometimes do, I treated myself to a whirlwind attendance of theater productions. Previous commitments had kept me away from the boards for a few weeks so I had a bit of catch-up to do on several recent productions.

Logging into my trusty discount membership with Theatre Development Fund, I managed to catch three very different plays over Saturday and Sunday and I thought I would share my thoughts on each.