MUSIC: Not long ago we saw the movie Once, and absolutely loved it. Busker meets girl, deep connection through music...you get the idea. Now the two main characters are touring and singing the songs from the soundtrack. The male lead was of course the singer of The Frames, Glen Hansard, and his female counterpoint is Marketa Irglova. Tonight they take the stage at Gramercy, so it's your chance to see them off the big screen......

THEATER: The Summer Play Festival is at full blaze over at the Theater Row complex on 42nd Street. At $10 a ticket it’s your cheapest way to catch new work by playwrights whose heat index is rising. Tonight you have your pick of four plays; insider theater blogger Surplus recommends Cipher, which concerns two clerks stuck in a secret location monitoring the thoughts of suspected terrorists. “When their assignment gets tough, they begin to ask......

THEATER: System of Units, a performance group from Siberia, begin their site-specific collaboration with the local “interventionist performance group” TRYST outside today starting at 12:00pm, when the temperature will transcend 90°. So if you think it’s stinking hot, just wait ‘til you see how the Siberians hold up in this six-hour performance. Called Security Zone, the two groups will create "a mock construction site that plays with perceptions of labor and public space, expectations of......

MOVIE: The L Magazine kicks off their summer movie series, Summerscreen, tonight at McCarren Park Pool. We're pretty sure we'll be attending most of these this summer (even though we feel there is a lack of horror filcks on their schedule). So bring something soft to sit on and head over tonight for the cheerleading film that introduced us all to spirit fingers, Bring It On. In two weeks: Dazed and Confused! Alright, alright, alright.......

MOVIE: By now you've all seen, memorized and lived your own version of neurotic New York love story Annie Hall, the classic Woody Allen film that's stood the test of time. But have you seen it under the open night sky? Didn't think so. Get there early for a seat. Get there even earlier for knitting lessons! In an unrelated event earlier in the day, the folks from Knit New York will be teaching those......

BBQ: Close out Popfest (and the long weekend) today with a BBQ at Union Pool. Served up with your burgers and beer are some bands, of course: The Orange Peels, Finish School, the Gazetteers, the Lil Hopsital, Surefire Broadcast and Titans of Filth. 1pm // Union Pool [484 Union Ave, Williamsburg] // $10 COMEDY: We're not afraid to admit that Over The Top may just be our favorite Sylvester Stallone movie. Well now that movie......

Those music know-it-alls over at The L Magazine have declared the Top 8 NYC Bands to watch for this year. Who's in the class of '07? Here's our Top 4 of their Top 8 (we sort of wish they'd put a rock show on with all of them): • White Rabbits This band played our Movable Hype show in February (video) and nearly rocked the house down, and speaking of houses - all six of......

PARTY: The L Magazine celebrates their fourth year and 100th issue tonight at their Fourth-Annual Centennial Party. There will be complimentary tequila and goodies from Brooklyn Industries and Crumpler. Come, drink, celebrate and don't think about the hangover you'll have tomorrow. 8pm // M1-5 [52 Walker St] // Free THEATER: This weekend concludes Stone Soup Theater Arts’ double bill of Edward Bond’s 1976 short play Stone and The Maguffin, an original farce that imagines a......

THEATER: Playwright Tina Howe delivers the first play of Atlantic Theater’s fall season: “Birth and After Birth”. Though originally conceived in 1972, the comedy has yet to break water in New York City. It details the clash between Sandy and Bill, who were up all night preparing a birthday party for their four year-old son, and their guests Jeffrey and Mia, childless anthropologists who study primitive children in remote cultures. Be sure to capitalize on......

THEATER: A mysterious production is in previews at the DR2 theatre near Union Square. Dubbed “Esoterica”, it is described as a multi-media exploration of matters “philosophical, metaphysical and arcane” by actor, magician and mentalist Eric Walton. On his website, www.ericwalton.com, this description piqued our interest further: “Walton is sort of what you'd guess the devil would be like if he had his own nightclub act." It could be we’re just curious about what a “mentalist”......

READINGS: Brooklyn-based writer and publicist Jennifer Gilmore reads tonight at Coliseum from her buzzy debut novel, Golden Country, which follows the intersecting lives of three Jewish American families from the 1920s through the 1960s. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras 6:30pm // 11 W. 42nd Street [across from Bryant Park] // Free EVENT: Michael Gray, the Duke of Dylanology, will school us in Bob tonight. He "uses a surprising selection of great records and rare video footage......

THEATER: The River to River Festival isn't just about outdoor concerts, and Canadians not only have great indie bands, they also have theatre troupes breaking into the experimental downtown scene. Bluemouth Inc.'s What the River Said, which is in both R2R and the Sitelines series, is a case in point; the play, which evokes "the struggle for acceptance in the calm before the family storm" is the third part of a trilogy originally performed along......

-- The L Magazine sent us this recipe for cold green pea soup with smoked trout-- but why? -- A porch and flowering meadow on the 7th floor? We're dying of envy. -- Ousmane Zongo's family is getting $3m dollars for his wrongful-death. -- When it's a van vs. a bike store, the van usually wins. -- The Apiary has some great photo coverage of the UCB concert in the park. -- A sad......

SummerScreen (you know, like sunscreen) is The L Magazine's addition to the already successful summer of McCarren Park Pool events. The outdoor film series will take place every Tuesday (starting next week) through the end of August. The films start at sundown, and before that...there are bands! Oh, and it's free. Here's the schedule: July 25: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) with the Cold Hands Collective August 1: Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)......

ART: Tonight Dreamland: Coney Island 1905-1925 opens. The exhibit is opened through August 19th and features "original drawings, blueprints, and vintage photographs of New York City’s favorite amusement park, Coney Island." Opening Reception 6 to 8pm // Ricco Maresca Gallery [529 West 20th St] // Free THEATER: The year's not half over, but we'd bet good money that Men Eat Mars Bars While Touching Their Penis, which opens tonight, would win the prize for most......

- A funeral was held today for Amber Sadiq, who died when a bus pinned her to a Crown Heights street - A jury found the man accused of plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station and other NYC areas guilty of conspiracy and other charges - Vampires may be immortal, but Lestat the Musical is 'closing after 30-some performances - The title says it all The East Village Idiot's Guide for......

The L Magazine has a lot of romance-themed articles (once it's a new year, marketing for Valentine's Day starts), including asking cab drivers when their first kisses were (aw) and some bars to get some Valentine's Day drink on. Basic stuff - until we read the article about the worst makeout sessions bartenders have seen. This was particularly frightening:Juliana Where she presides: Rodeo Bar, Murray Hill Favorite Drink: Bourbon, straight up I’ve seen people actually......

Rachel Korowitz, Improv Comedienne...

Jonny Diamond, The L Magazine...