Tag: lower east side

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Living

Experimental Cocktail Club

ECC

After success in Paris, London and Ibiza, The Experimental group opened their first New York cocktail bar in May 2012.

The EEC or Experimental Cocktail Club is one of Lower East Side’s hidden gems.

When you reach 191 Chrystie St, you’ll approach an unmarked, dark entrance. At first, you might wonder if you’re in the right place. Inside, however, the bar is cozy and intimate. Dimmed lighting, full-length mirrors, a brick wall and mismatched couches render the ECC relaxing and warm.

The cocktail Menu rotates seasonally, offering between 12 and 14 original cocktails. The ECC focuses on the quality of their handcrafted  drinks, and their featured selections are always prepared with a range of hand-picked  ingredients.

Vintage cocktails are definitely the highlight of this beautiful bar. Liquors dating back to the 1940s are blended in a carefully selected list of cocktails every season. Due the difficulty of finding such rare liquors, the number of Vintage Cocktails is limited to a few per season.

In the fall, the ECC will also offer Mixology lessons. The first class will take place on August 20th, and will focus on Garden Cocktails. The Mixologist will teach participants to create cocktails mixing seasonal vegetables and liquors.

The Master Class: 7-8:30pm , August 20th. Tickets are $65/person and include three cocktails and spirit tasting. 

Reservations: madameandmonsieur@experimentalcocktailclubny.com.

Experimental Cocktail Club is located at 191 Chrystie St.

-Marine Bigand

Experimental cocktail club

Categories
LA News

High Hopes for Lowline Park

There are high hopes for the Lower East Side’s newest park project. In the location of the former Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal just below Delancey Street will go Lowline, New York’s first park built completely underground.

Lowline promises to be innovative by bringing solar energy to one of the least green areas in all of New York. In order for this technology to function, the light from the sun will be collected by a series of glass panels known as a “remote skylight” to channel the energy into the park’s underground location. This will permit the growth of trees and vegetation, and enhance the park experience for those who plan on visiting. The project began back in 2012 after a successful fundraiser allotted a $155,000 budget, and it’s projected for completion in 2018.

New York’s own Lena Dunham and Academy Award-winner Spike Jonze will host an the annual Anti-Gala to raise funds for the ongoing construction of Lowline Park. The event will be held October 8 at Skylight Modern (537 West 27th Street), and it’s sure to be a night of laughs and great fun. Purchase your tickets before it’s too late as we celebrate yet another history making moment in Downtown.

– Kelly Fleming & Alex Falls

Categories
Events

Meghann Wright At the Mercury Lounge

music

Meghann Wright’s music reflects different aspects of her experience. Her powerful vocals point to her overcoming of difficulties growing up and the resulting strength she gained. Her repertoire reflects her musical background and the influence her family members had on her. Based in Brooklyn, she shares her singles through several mediums including her SoundCloud account.

Her single “Can’t Carry Water” begins as a ballad. Listeners may expect the mellow feel to continue throughout the song but will be shocked by the buildup. Wright laments her inability to draw love from her lover before the drums kick in and the beat intensifies. She parallels the frustrations of trying to carry water in her hands or “bring down all the stars in the sky” to the emotion she wants but is not receiving. The buildup following the chorus reflects how emotions that are held in tend to bubble up and spill over. Her ability to convey human emotions in her voice and through the accompaniment points to her skill as a songwriter and singer.

“Can’t Carry Water” is just one of many songs Meghann Wright will be performing on June 22nd at the Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side at 5:30pm. For tickets, follow this link.

– Gabrielle Rejouis

Categories
Culture Events Music

Win 2 Tickets to Watch The Strange Familiar Live in NYC

If you haven’t already, it’s time for you to get acquainted The Strange Familiar.

The Ohio pop-rock band has been prominently featured on such popular shows such as Pretty Little Liars, The Biggest Loser, and The Vampire Diaries.

The band will be performing on April 9 at the Piano’s Lower East Side’s at 158 Ludlow Street and featuring material from their forthcoming album The Day The Light Went Out which is due to be released April 15.

Even better news? We’re giving two free tickets to the person who leaves our favorite Facebook page comment about the band under it’s picture on DOWNTOWN’S wall tomorrow before 3 p.m.

This is the fourth album for the band and it comes  two years after their last release, Chasing Shadows. Take a sneak peek of  the video for the first single, “Rain,” above.

Tickets are $8 through ticketweb or at the door.

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Categories
Business News

Urban Art To Adorn Lower East Side Streets

AsphaltArt
Lower East Side streets will be reborn with colorful sketches like these from artist Kim Sillen this spring.

The streets of the Lower East Side will get a splash of color from Urban Art this Spring in the wake of this week’s announcement that the Lower East SideBusiness Improvement District (LES BID) and artist Kim Sillen have been selected to receive funding from the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) pARTners track in their Urban Art program.

The actual art will be the first example of asphalt art on the Lower East Side and will be installed on a nearly 1,000 square foot triangular section of the street is already closed off to vehicular traffic at the intersection of Ludlow/Division & Canal Streets.

Kim Sillen’s design, ‘Modern Tapestry,’ was selected by a panel of LES community stake-holders and professionals in an open call posted by the LES BID on ArtHere.org, a site that connects artists with opportunities for public art. Sillen, LES resident and community leader, described ‘Modern Tapestry’ in her initial proposal as, “…a response to the beautiful, varied texture that is produced where diverse traditions merge in the face of change. It also murmurs of the modern and the traditional in the same breath, uniting them with color,” it read.

Refrigerator Light
A brilliant sample of the work of artist, Kim Sillen which will be featured on Lower East Side Streets.

“Transforming public space that improves quality of life for residents and merchants alike is and will continue to be a top priority for the LES BID. We are beyond excited to see these initiatives recognized to receive funding by such a competitive selection process as the DOT’s pARTners program,” said Tim Laughlin, Executive Director of the LES BID. “This asphalt art installation is just part of our plans for public art in the coming year,” he continued.

The actual installation of ‘Modern Tapestry’ is slated to take place in spring, 2014. From now until then, the LES BID will be in talks with local schools, such as the New Design High School, and youth community groups to get students involved and excited about the possibilities that can exist in the community-driven public art sphere.

For more information about The Lower East Side Business Improvement District please visit: www.LowerEastSideNY.com

Categories
Culture Events Music

The Montauk Project To Rock The House At Fontana’s

boweryelectric
The Montauk Project is set to rock Fontana’s.

The Montauk Project, the band (not the sketchy U.S. Government psychological, time-traveling experiments of the 1980s), is an up and coming rock group from the distant reaches of Long Island’s East End.

Mark Schiavoni (guitar and lead vocals) and Jasper Conroy (drums and backing vocals) played together in high school, got back together after college, and added Chris Wood (bass) and Jack Marshall (lead guitar) to their crew. The foursome play only original songs, but get inspiration from some of rock’s most influential names including: Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Black Keys, etc.

Their music has elements of nostalgia, but with a fresh spin. The guys are 20something, long-haired surfers, and label their own sound “beach grunge.”

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They’ve become well known throughout The East End, and in the last year they’ve brought their sound and rep to break The Big Apple.  The Montauk Project has performed at Webster Hall, Arlene’s Grocery, the Bowery Electric, and next Thursday, February 6th they’ll be at Fontana’s Bar in the Lower East Side.

Their debut album, Belly of the Beast, comes out in March, and features the hot single “The Beast” which dropped in early January. The press materials describe the song as a “grungy, metaphorical epic that depicts struggles with drug addiction as a fisherman’s quest to kill a mythological monster.” We describe it as…um…good.

To hear “The Beast” visit https://soundcloud.com/jillian-eipr/the-montauk-project-the-beast

Go see The Montauk Project next Thursday, February 6th at Fontana’s Bar http://ow.ly/t3dbF

–Charlotte Bryant