Wow wow wow here we go, 4.20 is upon us again! Last year a gay man in his seventies (named Tom) gave me a weed brownie after I befriended him at a bar near my house. I was drinking IPAs, he was drinking vodka sodas and pouring drops of MiO, that weird thing that turns any beverage into a sports drink, into his glass. The weed brownie kicked in at a very inconvenient time, aka when Tom began to tell me about how he lived through the AIDs crisis in NYC. Tom is still my Facebook friend (he wrote happy birthday on my wall when I turned thirty), but I do have a note on my calendar this year that just says “REMEMBER LAST 4.20 AND DO NOT AGAIN.” Anyway, I think it’s fine if you get high tomorrow, but it is NOT 4 URS TRULY. I have to gear up for Stars on Ice on Saturday, anyway, which I am going to by myself because I love figure skating! (This is my way of saying SKATING IS OUR GIF THEME! Adam Rippon to be more specific!)
Before we triple lutz into the details of all of that, here’s some rad stuff you might’ve missed on BYT this week:
- I asked the founder of this weekend’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo how to cure spicy hiccups.
- I also had a chat to Canada’s Dear Rouge about what it’s like to be in a band w/ your spouse!
- We talked to the president of the Congressional Cemetery in DC about how he has a dream job! Okay!
- We interiewed RZA, WHAAAAAT?!
- And here’s our weekly streaming guide in case you just wanna get high and not leave your couch!
THURSDAY, APRIL 19
- For starters, maybe you just wanna fuckin’ UNWINDDD, in which case head to Videology to catch a screening of Professor Marston and the Wonder Women! Tickets are $12.
- Plus Reefer Madness is screening for $4 at Syndicated if you’re after pre-4.20 times!
- But if it’s tunes you’re after, head on over to the Bell House for a $23 Fatai gig!
- You can also hit up Elsewhere for $25 Baths show…
- …or pop on over to Manhattan for a $25 Penguin Prison set at Bowery Ballroom!
- If that ain’t your vibe, hit up Kaufman Music Center for an evening w/ Julianna Barwick! Tickets are $25.
- Meanwhile, Joey Bada$$ is at Terminal 5 for $30.
- Just wanna d-d-d-d-dance? Make a beeline for Union Pool, where you can chill with JD Samson at the latest round of PAT! Free as always!
- Or maybe you want to spend your evening relaxing with James Comey for some reason! In which case get to Town Hall! Tickets are $55+! What a time to be alive!
- But if comedy’s more your speed, head on over to Murmrr Theatre for tonight’s round of Regular Comedy ft. Yedoye Travis, Shane Torres, Kate Willett ‘n special guests! Tickets are $15.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
- For a good old fashioned body high, hit up Van Leeuwen on the LES today – they’ve partnered w/ Buffy to bring you a big ass pile of blankets in which you can snuggle whilst eating a $6 CBD oil hot fudge sundae, which sounds pretty magical.
- If you’re planning on getting mega-high today, I feel like Catland is the place to be – there’s a mystic poets open mic, which I don’t really know what that means, but it sounds very perfect. Free for readers, $5 for spectators.
- For comedy vibes, head on over to Union Hall for an evening with Greg Barris! Tickets are just $8-$10 a pop.
- More into movies? Videology is screening Friday w/ bonus Lagunitas for $20, plus you can catch a midnight screening of Lady Snowblood for $12!
- PLUS you can swing by Syndicated for a midnight screening of Dazed and Confused! Tickets are only $4!
- For tunes, head to Bowery Ballroom for a $25 JD McPherson gig…
- …plus The Darkness and Diarrhea Planet are posting up at Brooklyn Steel for $25!
- You can also catch The Mystery Lights at Market Hotel for $13-$15…
- …Walker Lukens ‘n Teen Commandments at Mercury Lounge for $10-$12…
- …and, provided you don’t mind a trip out to Jersey City, Cults will be at Monty Hall for $18-$20!
- If you’re looking to cut a rug, head to Elsewhere for a $15-$30 Goldroom DJ set!
- Meanwhile, Octo Octa’s got a residency at Good Room, and tickets to THAT set will run you just $10-$15!
- AND you’ve got another opportunity to catch Penguin Prison, this time at Music Hall of Williamsburg! Tickets are still $22-$25 each.
- Of course, you could also just go dance to nu-metal, emo ‘n pop punk at The Kingsland for FREE!
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
- Yesterday was all about weed, today is all about FIGURE SKATING! If you can stand the trip out to Long Island for Stars on Ice, it’ll be WELL WORTH IT to spend your evening with the likes of Adam Rippon, Mirai Nagasu, Karen Chen and MORE! Tickets are $30+.
- Or skip the icy and head for spicy at this year’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo! Tickets are $10+, and the day will feature 50+ artisanal hot sauce vendors, eating competitions and more!
- Or maybe you just wanna chill at a free festival devoted to art, tunes, design and more, in which case hit up the High Line all day long!
- You can also make your life all about beer today at Littlefield, where $30 will get you into Pride of Brooklyn: Homebrewing Competition and Expo!
- PLUS stick around for a new Tinder Live w/ Lane Moore! Tickets are $15!
- (AND, and, there is a Prince dance party after that for $7-$10! Littlefield is where it’s at!)
- Just wanna dance fo’ free? Get to an eighties party at the Bell House!
- For comedy, head on over to Union Hall for 1. The Scientists ($10) ft. Madelyn Freed, Blythe Roberson and MORE, and/or 2. Postmen: An Hour of Sketch Comedy ($8-$10) ft. Matt Barats, Carmen Christopher, Anthony Oberbeck and Ana Fabrega!
- Or if movies are more in your wheelhouse, head to Videology for 1. an $18 Sweeney Todd singalong, and/or 2. a $12 midnight drinking game screening of Clueless!
- Let’s also not forget that it’s Record Store Day, so you’ll want to head on over to Rough Trade for free sets by Titus Andronicus, The Shacks ‘n more!
- Meanwhile, Will Sheff will be at Strand Bookstore for an Okkervil River signing ‘n conversation! Tickets are $22.
- For more live tunes vibes, head to Brooklyn Bazaar for a $10 show from Spanish Love Songs ‘n Early Riser!
- Plus Sofi Tukker will play Brooklyn Steel for $26…
- …and Daedelus will be at The Well for $15-$20!
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
- Wow wow wow are we still even alive after all of these party vibes?! If you’re hanging onto your life by a thread, recover at round two of the NYC Hot Sauce Expo, which’ll feature a Carolina Reaper eating contest today, as well as a chihuahua beauty pageant and MORE! Tickets are still $10+.
- If that’s TOO SPICY, then get to a vegan pop-up at Market Hotel!
- Or if you want to hide your hungover face whilst gettin’ that hair of the dog, hit up Videology for a $24 screening of Casablanca ft. bonus French 75!
- Meanwhile, Syndicated’s screening Westworld (the 1973 classique) for $4!
- Just wanna laugh for cheap? Dad Jokes Only is happening at Union Hall for just $6-$8!
- PLUS the Kondabolu Brothers are doing a podcast recording at Littlefield for $10!
- And C’mon Everybody will host Not Dead Yet ft. Sophia Cleary, Nore Davis and more! Tickets are just $5!
- “BUT WHAT ABOUT TUNES, MEGAN??? YOU KNOW, THE MUSIC YOU REFUSE TO NOT REFER TO AS TUNES???” Oh! That’s at the Gateway! Yeah, go hang out with A Place Both Wonderful and Strange, Bangladeafy, White Rope and Alien Trilogy for $10!
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