The music video for the first single off of the self-titled Evanescence, “What You Want” was recently filmed in Brooklyn. When you think of independent, angry youths with a lot of spunk and character, the only natural location to find them is Brooklyn. Duh.

The stage sequences were filmed off Jefferson Street, but other notable locations include the Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island, and the subway system. The video is a return to form for the band and reminds me much of the stuff from Fallen but more evolved and mature.

Even though Amy Lee sings, “Do what you, what you want,” I find it very hard to believe frantically running through the streets of New York and freaking out in an empty subway station while belting out melodious rhymes at stratospheric octaves are her idea of a good time. That being said,  she’s definitely doing what she wants performing on stage so I’ll give her at least that.

A select group of diehard fans were chosen to be the audience featured in the video. You can see them head bashing, jumping, and yelling in ecstasy in a grungy looking warehouse, which naturally could be found in Brooklyn. This is reminiscent of the band’s 2003 hit “Going Under” where Amy Lee dives into the mosh.

If we want to see them live again, we’ll have to wait until they return to New York on their full-blown tour.

There are a lot of great places to hang out in Park Slope, but these days very few seem to be on the forefront of both hanging out and entertaining like Union Hall. Union Hall is a sprawling space able to facilitate some ornate library like seating areas up front before opening up into a fully functional bocce ball court. The space is being used, it’s often hard to navigate the crowd. The bar staff is workman-like and the selection of brews and booze is sturdy. A more limited bar is downstairs in their performance area.

That’s right a performance area. This spot plays host to a wide array of musical and comedy acts. On top of those shows are also a variety of opportunities for you to take the stage. You can be a participant at upcoming Juice Box 90′s, Under Pressure: The Queen And David Bowie Sing Along, or you can perform every Friday with your hosts Karaoke Killed The Kat. This show is fun every week as anyone in the world gets up and sings in front of the most supportive crowd around. It happens every Friday at midnight.

If you’re just looking to get a drink, play a game or see a show this is the bar to go to.

Brooklyn is known for many, many things. One of the coolest things you can check out this fall are the upcoming art exhibits. Take in a little culture before your night out on the town.There are so many exhibitions going on in New York city you should take at least a gander at some of the impressive work people produce. It could inspire you to try some art of your own.

The MINUS SPACE reductive art gallery at 98 4th Street, Room 204 is showcasing an abstract color painting exhibit entitled Pointing a Telescope at the Sun for approximately one more week. This exhibit contains art from acclaimed New York City artists: Gabriele Evertz, Vincent Longo, Doug Ohlson, Robert Swain, and Sanford Wurmfeld.

The intention of the artists was to create works visually stimulating to the viewers, edging on its visceral and transformative effects. It will be open Fridays and Saturdays, Noon – 6PM, until September 17th.

The upcoming exhibit after that will be the first of many in their new space opening at 111 Front Street, Suite 226. It’s a collection of work by the late New York artist Ted Stamm. this overall comprehensive is an exploration of his body of work from paintings to street interventions and more. If you’re into raw abstraction then this is something you will not want to miss.

It’s Fashion Week in New York but Brooklyn has never really adhered to the whims of the style tyrants over in Manhattan. Instead Brooklyn style circa 2011 is going in a million ways at once. It’s the cut off shorts and bright yellow tank tops on a Williamsburg hipster. It’s the older gentleman in Bay Ridge sporting a sharp looking hat, dress slacks and overalls, with a dirty white undershirt. It’s a Parkslope mom rocking yoga-pants even though she hasn’t gone to yoga in three days. It’s the dude in Bushwick keeping it crispy in all black everything and his Yankee fitted low.

In Brooklyn fashion is everything all of the time and that is because Brooklyn is never just one thing. Every race, culture and sub-culture has a nook in the borough. The economic lines are as blurry as the neighborhood distinctions and the folks on any given block can be moving in a thousand different directions at once.

Clothes are not life in Brooklyn as they are in some sections of Manhattan. There are certainly fashionistas in every neighborhood but they define the way they dress as apposed to letting the way they dress define them. The restless nature of Brooklyn style means that here every week is Fashion Week and everything is always in season.