Norah! Norah! Norah!!!!

Norah Jones. TODAY, June 9.  Prospect Park Bandshell. 7pm. Free. Or so they say.

Give us the inside line on best seats. When do you actually need to arrive? Best picnic food nearby? Best cheap wine? Best BK brew?

I'm going to buy a lighter for this one, I tell you.

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Go Busk Yourself

Listen up, Park Slope: it's bad enough that everyone thinks we're elitist douchebags with our expensive apartments, stroller mafia, celebrity residents, and "best neighborhood in new york" bragging rights. The least we could do to keep people off our backs is show a little bit of humility when it comes to our subway buskers. But nooooo...we don't have any disgusting, toothless, barefoot homeless guys strumming a guitar, or trios of doo-wop singers who haven't bathed in weeks...or even some crazy person dressed up in an Elmo costume playing the accordion. Nope, Park Slope gets this guy above.

That's Right. Some well-to-do motherfucker playing the glockenspiel. 

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Ask A NY Talent Buyer

If you haven't already guessed (based on the fact that we have virtually EVERY FIPS event there), we love the shit out of the Bell House.

I don't play bocce ball (cause I'm not really sporty like that), BUT I do love the hot dog at Union Hall. And also I have great affection for them since they tried to ban SUV strollers last year (though, of course, that didn't work).

Anyway, so yeah: we love em both (and think you should follow them on twitter, go there often, get drunk-n-buy shit).

This week, the NYT City Room blog is featuring Bell House/Union Hall talent buyer, Jack "Skippy" McFadden, who is standing by ready to answer all of your burning questions about the NYC music scene, clubbing, boozing, or anything else talent buyer-ish.

We thought we'd get the party started with a couple questions for Skippy of our own:

• When you're booking shitty bands (that people dig for some unknown reason), do you pretend like you think they're not shitty?
• Do bands (shitty or otherwise) still bitch about coming to Brooklyn?
• Why does everyone in Brooklyn love Animal Collective and TV on the Radio so fucking much? I mean, yeah they're great, but its getting a little over the top. Do you think its some sort of local genetic cellular mutation?
• Can you make sure that all FIPS readers get free drinks from here on in?

Jus wonderin.

[Leave real questions for Skippy in the comments here].

All The Cool Bands Come From Brooklyn

No. 25 Amazing Baby (photo courtesy of the band for NY Mag)

So yeah: in addition to being the bloggiest borough, the best place to raise kids, the best place to be a celebrity, the best place to write a book lampooning your nabe, the best place to bring your bebe to a bar, and the best place to get laid, Brooklyn also has the best bands.

NY Mag says so.

And here are their picks for the 40 best ones.

Erin McKeown-n-Jill Sobule Rocked My Face Off

FIPS writers get the rep that we're a bunch of dbags who would rather bitch and complain and focus on the negatives of the neighborhood rather than all of the positives.  But come on, that's only HALF true.  Maybe it's because we love the neighborhood SO MUCH that we can't stand it when someone/something shitty rolls up and ruins it. 

Maybe. 

But really, one of my favorite things about Park Slope is that you can live here forever and still discover new spots. Last night was the first time I had ever been to Union Hall (ed note: SERIOUSLY??? We have a Union Hall tag for Christ's sake! :) (702 Union Street at Fifth Ave), and my immediate reaction when I walked in was "WHY HAVE I NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE?"

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