Brokelyn

Vivian Girls, via MySpace

Have you heard about the new showcase at Brooklyn Bowl obsessing over all things local? It kicked off last month with a free Phenomenal Handclap Band show, along with other offerings from local farmers and artists.

The venue just announced its next event for March 28, and it will feature a free show by the Vivian Girls, those lo-fi, noise popsters who shot from being another obscure Brooklyn band to a Pitchfork-lauded sensation doing shows with TV on the Radio in just a few months.

The band German Measles, another Brooklyn catch, will also be performing. More details about the event, like what other local fare will be featured, will be released next week. For now, you can check out the event page, and the Vivian Girls MySpace.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band, via myspace

One of our favorite things about Brooklyn is how much we, in Brooklyn, love bringing attention to our favorite things, in Brooklyn. Enter Brooklyn Bowl, which already gets props for its huge concert area, local beer dedication, and hyper-eco-friendly operations and food choices. Now it’s stepping up its support of all things locally grown with a FREE monthly concert series/arts and culture showcase.

The event, called Local X Local, kicks off this Sunday night, Feb. 21, with locals The Phenomenal Handclap Band, which, true to its name, is quite good and hand-clappy to boot (Check out their jam “You’ll Disappear”).

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE: RSVP via the Facebook and you get a $2 draft special on Brooklyn Brewery lager from 7 to 10 p.m. And then there’s all the other non-music stuff that night to love about Brooklyn too. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing to do on New Year’s Eve still? We get a severe neck cramp just thinking of those $150-a-head all-night club deals, and you probably feel the same, otherwise you’d be reading MoneyToBurnlyn.com.

It’s not too late to get your decadence at the end of the decade on … for free! We have a pair of tickets to the soldout Q-Tip show at Brooklyn Bowl to give away to a lucky reader tomorrow. He’s doing a DJ set under alter ego The Abstract, with other friends in tow. Celebrate at one of our favorite new venues of 2009 with one of our favorite members of A Tribe Called Quest. No word on whether Bonita Applebum will make an appearance, but our tickets—normally $35 a piece if you could actually still buy any—get you in the door from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (or until you “pass out,” according to our friend Justin at BB.) Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Adam Macchia

To bowl or not to bowl… is that ever the question? Well, it should be, and the answer is “bowl, especially on weekday evenings in November.” For the entire month, Brooklyn Bowl is offering “A Very Happy Hour” of free bowling, and free shoes, Monday through Thursday evenings, 6 to 7 p.m. No catch, except a four-person minimum. And… if you happen to take up the offer this week, stay a bit later and watch the remaining World Series game(s) for a chance to win the “Strikes & Pitchers 2 Good 2 Be True” giveaway. Each game night, enter to win a free party with two lanes, for two hours, with two pitchers of beer and two French Bread pizzas.

Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., 718-963-3369

Brooklyn Bowl. Photo by Adam Macchia.

Last night’s opening of the much-hyped new Brooklyn Bowl elevates everything about ten-pin to a new level: the food (courtesy of Blue Ribbon), the music (it’s also a concert venue) and the prices ($50/ hour during premium slots!) The place certainly bucks the trends; two landmark alleys, Mark Lanes and Bedford Bowl, have closed in recent years. So how does the glammy new joint stack up against the remaining Brooklyn lanes, price wise? A comparison. Read the rest of this entry »