New York's music scene reflects the city's
diversity. Traditional and contemporary jazz are still in abundance, with
the annual JVC and Knitting Factory's "What Is Jazz?" festivals
bringing top international talent to the city every year.
The downtown avant-garde scene and its
attendant art noise bands -- the most famous being Sonic Youth -- continue
to influence the area's musicians. Spoken-word performers, along with the
current crop of singer/songwriters, are reviving the Beats' poetry scene.
If you travel uptown or to the outer
boroughs, you'll find pockets of Brazilian music, West Indian music,
reggae and hip-hop, but if you stay downtown, indie rock will fill your
ears. Techno, hip-hop, and electronica - and every hybrid form thereof,
from classical violin played over skrawking German beats on the subway to
experiments in mixology at your local bar - are everywhere; dance music
has finally taken New York and New York is playing it in every place it
can.
Remember, though, that the music -- and
especially the club scenes -- change continually. Consult weekly listings
publications. Excellent freebies include the Village Voice, New
York Press, Homo Xtra and the monthly club sheet Flyer
which all contain detailed club, theater and venue listings for the
straight and gay scenes; you can find them in corner self-serve newspaper
boxes and music stores.
From Broadway glitter to Lower East Side
grunge, the range and variety of the performing arts in New York is
exactly what you might expect. Broadway, and even Off-Broadway theater,
is notoriously expensive, but if you know where to look, there are a
variety of ways to get tickets cheaper, and on the Off-Off-Broadway
fringe you can see a play for little more than the price of a movie
ticket.As for dance, music and
opera, the big mainstream events are extremely expensive, but smaller
ones are often equally as interesting and far cheaper. New York gets the
first run of most American films (and many foreign ones before they
reach Europe) and has a very healthy arthouse and revival scene.
Listings for the arts can be found in a
number of places. The most useful sources are the clear and
comprehensive listings in Time Out New York, the free Village
Voice (especially the pull-out "Voice Choices" section), or the
also-free New York Press, all especially useful for things
downtown and vaguely "alternative." For tonier events try the "Cue"
section in the weekly New York Magazine, the "Goings On About
Town" section of the New Yorker, or Friday's "Weekend" or
Sunday's "Arts and Leisure" sections of the New York Times.
Specific Broadway listings can be found in the free Official Broadway
Theater Guide, available in theater and hotel lobbies or at the New
York Convention and Visitors' Bureau.
