The DeKalb stop on the L train is getting more and more spotlight thanks to galleries such as Norte Maar, which curate independently minded artists. Tonight they’re having an opening, BUILT: Opening/Holiday Party. It’s free and it starts at 6.

Among the headliners are Anthony Browne, who has created a nine foot badly built cube. Drawing from and reacting to the tradition of Sol LeWitt’s perfect cubes, Mr. Browne finds wood around his studio and crafts it to make structures that are entirely his own, unique and unreproducible — even to move the cube would require its demolition and reconstruction in an entirely different manner and context. Themes such as time, method, construction and entropy lie at the heart of this work. The resulting sculpture encourages the viewer to walk through and around the cube, and encourages her to imagine how it was created, and possibly, how she would design a similar piece.

The other artists in the show include Tyler Considine, Eric Wolfgang Eisenhut and Letha Wilson, all of them concerned with process and material in order to create a finalized, polished product.

There may be a lot of parties in Bushwick tonight, especially around the DeKalb stop; even if you don’t have much time, make sure to visit Norte Maar.

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.

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.

A couple of weeks ago I traversed to the Williamsburg Waterfront for an outdoor concert. I was on my way to see Death Cab for Cutie, a favorite of mine that I hadn’t seen in concert in 6 years. I had never been to the Waterfront. In fact, I had never been to that area of Brooklyn, so taking the L train to Bedford Ave was a new experience for me.

The Waterfront is just a short walk away from the subway, located in the East River Park. Upon arrival I realized the beautiful view we had of Manhattan. It was still day light, but across the water was this epic landscape that made me realize just how big the isle of Manhattan really is. I don’t notice it much when I’m in it, but seeing it from across the way gave me a whole new perspective.

The Waterfront is set up for shows with the stage facing the city and with merchandise  booths lined up on one side and food and drinks on the other. To get alcohol, you need a wrist band  and then to pass through the turnstile to a special area. You couldn’t carry drinks back out to the crowd and that was just fine. It prevented that dreaded general admission experience of a group of people getting into the music and then spilling beer all over your shoes.

The show was awesome, as Death Cab for Cutie always puts on a good live experience. But when it was over and I realized it was now dark out, I looked out at that view again. Wow. The experience of a beautiful venue, enjoying the outdoors and a good band made the Waterfront a place I’d love to go see a show again.

First Round Fridays Happens the last Friday of every month at The Cove in Williamsburg.

Back in the 80′s there was a comedy club on every block. These days comedy is not so wide spread. Still if you look around cool Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope and Williamsburg there are lots of hilarious comedy shows popping up many are as low as $5 and some are completely free. It’s bad for the folks slugging it out on stage but great for you the entertainment starved Brooklynite not looking to drop $40 at a midtown comedy club.

You might think that the bench of talent on these shows would be lacking but you’d be wrong, dead wrong. The Cove an appropriately “cove like” bar on North 6th in Williamsburg plays host to some of the UCB’s brightest improvisers and New York’s best up and coming stand ups regularly at free shows with cheap beer specials. Recent guests have included Sean Patton, Michael Lawrence, SNL writer Colin Jost, Mark Normand and former Chelsea Lately stalwart Arden Myrin.

Myrin herself hosts, along with Lisa deLarios, a monthly show called The Party Machine at Park Slope’s excellent venue Union Hall. True to form the show hosts a mix of up and comers (Erik Bergstrom, John F. O’Donnell, Kate Berlant) and established comedy stars(Jason Sudeikis, Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry).

So if you’re looking to sniff out some funny stuff don’t go to Manhattan, stay in your own neck of the woods. You’ll likely find yourself laughing harder and cheaper.

Red Hook is arguably the most American neighborhood in Brooklyn. And it may also be the hardest to reach (out of all those you’d want to). But there is plenty to do.

There are lots of restaurants on Van Brunt St., from lobster to American bistro style. Hope & Anchor offers tasty Brooklyn style eats at moderate prices and their wait-staff loves wide gesticulations.  Down the block, Baked is a great place to sip a macchiato and eat homemade cookies, or if you prefer something a tad lighter, walk on to Pier 41 for some Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie. Al Roker says it’s the best.

And stroll the antebellum docks to admire the Statue of Liberty from a different point of view. The Holland style warehouses with their iron-wrought doors are also home to a Fairway market, which is a must-visit even if you aren’t doing any food shopping.

How to get there: From the F or G train at the Carroll St. station take the M61 bus. If you’d prefer to walk, steer clear of the largest projects in Brooklyn on Mill St. Instead head south to the Red Hook ballfields where you can find some of the city’s best South American food.

Wyckoff, home to the Jefferson stop, is finally going to offer a rival to Morgantown. Continue Reading

This magical avenue has many of Brooklyn’s shops and boutiques. It holds a diverse array of cultures, West Indian, Hasidic, Russian and more. Beginning at Flushing Avenue, it runs all the way to Sheepshead Bay. Nostrand Avenue takes its name from a Dutch member of the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church, Gerret Noorstrand. Boring, right? I thought it would be a way more epic story, like the original settlers of Brooklyn were so amazed by the size of the borough that they exclaimed, “Aye, there’s no strand in view.” But history continues to disappoint. Maybe we can incorporate this into a Brooklyn mythology… So forget Gerret, my way is the way it really happened.

I work about halfway down the road, in Midwood, just past the ol’ Flatbush Junction. The potholes ’round Newkirk are perty bad, but it ain’t too hard to overcome, I reckon, ‘specially if you’re lookin’ down at the road the while.

This morning there was a typical New Yorker on a little blue mountain bike with tires that needed air. For a while he was keeping up with me, but at every red light, he’d take a left or a right to let the cars pass in front of him, before winding back to Nostrand. As we flew through Crown Heights, he started to put his put down to skid to a slow due to the slope of the hill. Eventually, we were crossing a street with a bunch of pedestrians, and this goober, in his New York baseball cap, his week-length chinstrap, and matching blue coat, again skidded with his feet. Narrowly missing a couple of peds, I cut him off and cruised to the end.

Moral: When in New York, do as the New Yorkers do, on Nostrand or Park Ave.