Carnie talent show comes to Coney Island

By Alex Rush

The carnie competition is back!

The second annual Coney Island Talent Show returns to the Boardwalk on July 30, paying homage to the neighborhood’s history as the early 20th century capital for kooky entertainment.

This year’s contest will feature circus freaks and sideshow geeks (hey, it’s what the category’s called), including contortionists and celebrity impersonators; dance troupes; and a costume contest. There’s also a “creative kids” round for pre-teens and teens who think they have what it takes to be the People’s Playground’s next great circus performer.

The show’s host may be just as entertaining as the competing acts: World Famous BOB — a longtime staple on the city’s burlesque and drag queen circuit known for Marilyn Monroe-look and the ability to mix martinis with her cleavage — will lead the annual ode to Coney’s past, when sword-swallowers and men who could blow smoke through their ears were a dime a dozen.

“It’s really great to bring the entertainers together with people from the community to celebrate the tradition,” said Gin Minsky, a Bushwick-based dancer who will be competing with a less-bodily harming, 1940s-style swing routine.

The Coney Island Talent Show on the Boardwalk (between W. 10th and W. 12th streets), July 30 from 4 to 8 pm. Free. For info, visit www.thirstygirlproductions.com.

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One serious play

By Meredith Deliso

It’s no toga party when the Xoregos Performing Company does a free performance of Sophocles’s tragedy “Antigone” this month at Mount Prospect Park.

The July 31 show, at the park near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, marks the company’s first Brooklyn stop for its annual summer show, which travels to various parks and libraries.

And this is a serious play: In the Theban civil war, two brothers who died leading opposite sides of the battle for the thrown. The new king, Creon, decides to honor one, Eteocles, while refusing to honor the other, the rebel Polyneices.

The injustice drives their sister, Antigone, to defy the king, and bury Polyneices herself — even though punishment means being buried alive.

Written more than 1,500 years ago, the play has remained relevant thanks to one central question.

“The whole idea is do you follow your conscious, or do you follow man-made laws that you know are wrong?” said director Shela Xoregos. “The audience has to make up their minds.”

“Antigone” at Mount Prospect Park [enter on Eastern Parkway next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Prospect Heights, (212) 239-8405], July 31 at 6:30 pm. Free. For info, visit www.xoregos.com.

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Arg, matey! Pirates Festival coming to Red Hook this weekend

By Jared Foretek

Calling all Brooklyn buccaneers!

Enviromedia Mobile, a travelling nature and maritime museum in Red Hook, will throw its first ever Treasure Cove Pirates Festival on July 30 — and you won’t have to hand over a single copper piece to be there.

The festival will feature pirate theater, pirate music, pirate “edutainment,” and yes, even a pirate ship, while leaving out all the scurvy, mutiny, and rum binges.

“It’s a fantastic festival,” said Ludger Balan, the museum’s culture director. “It’s as good as any one that goes on around the country.”

Indeed, these maritime celebrations are a common occurrence in places like Northern California, Tampa, Fla., Georgia’s Tybee Island, even Wisconsin.

In what’s sure to be a highlight of the family-friendly event — beyond photo-ops with Jack Sparrow look-alikes — young aspiring sailors can meet a team of seamen who set the record for the most days at sea without seeing land (1,152 days, or three years!). Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad’s record-setting vessel, the Schooner Anne, will be anchored nearby for visits.

Kids will also be able to participate in a catch-and-release fishing tournament, make arts and crafts, and canoe with the organizers, who will all be dressed as “The Pirates of Red Hook” — a team of buccaneers who “plunder for the natural resources of the urban estuary,” said Balan.

So start practicing your “Arg, mateys!” now.

Treasure Cove Pirates Festival at IKEA/Erie Basin Park [Beard Street between Otsego and Dwight streets in Red Hook, (347) 224-5828], July 30, 11 am-5 pm. Free. For info, visit emmredhookpirates.blogspot.com.

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Bueller...Buelller...

By Meredith Deliso

Don’t play hooky on this coming-of-age classic.

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — John Hughes’s much-loved comedy about a popular high school senior who gets away with cutting school — screens at McCarren Park tonight as part of the SummerScreen outdoor film series.

The series’ theme is cool movies — and it wouldn’t be complete without this 1986 film.

The story follows a day in the life of the titular character (a baby-faced Matthew Broderick), who feigns illness to run around Chicago with his girlfriend and neurotic best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck).

It’s the perfect day — the trio takes in a game at Wrigley Field, visits the Sears Tower, browses the Art Institute of Chicago, and even assumes a central role at the Von Steuben Day Parade, where Bueller lip-syncs “Danke Schoen” and “Twist and Shout.”

The movie is great, but if it’s not enough to get you to play hooky for a few hours, there will be food from Pizza Moto, V-Spot, Bark Hog Dogs and Coolhaus, as well as brews from SixPoint.

Bueller himself couldn’t have planned a more perfect outing. 

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” at McCarren Park ballfields (Bedford Avenue and N. 12th Street in Greenpoint, no phone), July 27, movie starts at dusk. Free. For info, visit www.thelmagazine.com.

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Joan Jett plays a free show tonight in Coney Island

By Alex Rush

The Beep loves rock ’n’ roll!

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, known for the 1982 single and jukebox favorite “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll,” will kick off Borough President Markowitz’s free summer concert series tonight.

Jett and her longtime band will bring their guitar-driven, hard rock songs to a new venue this year, as Markowitz begrudgingly changed venues this summer after a lawsuit over noise violations.

The concerts are now in the W. 21 Street lot that used to host the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which can hold more than 2,000 people.

The new location may be about a mile away from the original concert series site, but the spirit of the gigs remains the same.

“While the shows are in a slightly different location, tens of thousands of Brooklynites will still get the same high quality, free concerts,” said Markowitz.

The annual gigs will celebrate the golden oldies every Thursday night through Aug.18. Other classic acts include 1960s pop phenomenon The Monkees, doo-wop group The Spinners and Cheap Trick, famous for the hit record “I Want You to Want Me.

Seaside Summer Concert Series [W. 21 Street between Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk in Coney Island, (718) 222-0600], July 14 through Aug. 18 at 7:30 pm. Free. For info, visit, www.brooklynconcerts.com/seaside.html.

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Your Celebrate Brooklyn Pick of the Week!

By Meredith Deliso

For one day, Brooklyn will be a little bit country.

On June 30, Celebrate Brooklyn brings some of the most celebrated Americana acts around to the Prospect Park band shell, with sets from Justin Townes Earle, Punch Brothers, and The Hackensaw Boys.

“Country’s having a little resurgence in Brooklyn,” said Jack Walsh, producer of the free summer musical festival. “We’ve got American roots music covered really well.”

Headliner Earle (pictured) has quite the lineage to live up to — he’s son of country music’s Steve Earle, and named after songwriter Townes Van Zandt. It’s safe to say he has done both proud with this award-winning honky-tonk. The Nashville native’s most-recent album, “Harlem River Blues,” makes some nods to his current home — New York, including the sweet track, “One More Night In Brooklyn.”

Punch Brothers has been called the string-band version of Radiohead, thanks to its boundary-pushing ways. Founder Chris Thile, a master on the mandolin, is worth paying to see (not that we have to do that in Brooklyn, thanks to Walsh and Co.).

Justin Townes Earle, Punch Brothers and The Hackensaw Boys at Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park band shell [Ninth Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope, (718) 683-5600], June 30 at 7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.

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Mos Def headlines Fort Greene Fest this Saturday

By Meredith Deliso

In just a few short years, Fort Greene has become home to one of the biggest music events around.

The “urban Woodstock” that is the Fort Greene Festival has boasted some big names, including last year’s headliner, Common, and Q-Tip, to bring out more than 15,00 festival goers to Fort Greene Park.

This year’s main event is not lacking in marquee names, as Bedford-Stuyvesant native Mos Def, known as much for his hip hop as his starring turns in such films as “Be Kind Rewind,” headlines the Saturday event.

And, like the best of its ilk, this outdoor concert is free.

“We just want everyone to come out and have a good time,” said Ray Martin, who helps organize with founder Peter Tulloch.

In addition to Mos Def, local performers include Sophia Urista, Paperdoll, Game Rebellion, Nuttin But Stringz.

“You could walk into a restaurant or the park on any given weekend, and one of these individuals may have passed,” said Martin. “This is to give an opportunity to the individuals around Fort Greene. People are just unaware of how good they are."

Also getting some love are the area’s restaurants, as iCi, Madiba, No. 7, and Cornerstone, among others, will be selling their goods.

Kicking things off will be marching bands from area schools, which will parade down Vanderbilt Avenue into the park. So just follow the horns.

Fort Greene Festival at Fort Greene Park (DeKalb and Myrtle avenues in Fort Greene), June 25 from noon to 10 pm. Free. For info, visit www.fortgreenefest.com. 

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Your Celebrate Brooklyn Pick of the Week!

By Meredith Deliso

Hal Willner is almost singularly known for putting together concerts featuring an eclectic mix of artists and musical styles.

In previous Celebrate Brooklyn festivals, we’ve been blessed with his tributes to Leonard Cohen and Neil Young which brought out such artists as Laurie Anderson, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Cat Power and Iron and Wine.

This summer, Willner works his magic again, this time for a cause, rather than a person.

On June 16, Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny), pictured, Geri Allen, Lou Reed, Jason Walker, Toshi Reagon, Steven Bernstein, and more will perform the music of the civil rights movement as part of the producer’s “Freedom Rides Project.”

The concert celebrates the rides’ 50th anniversary through songs that inspired — and then sprang from — them, including spirituals like “We Shall Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine.”

“This is one in a long of events that have always been very special,” said Jack Walsh, festival producer. “I expect there will be some great surprises for this one.”

Hal Willner’s Freedom Rides Project at Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park band shell [Ninth Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope, (718) 855-7882], June 16 at 7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.celebratebrooklyn.org.

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Your Celebrate Brooklyn Pick of the Week!

By Meredith Deliso

Forget the solstice — here, the summer officially starts when Celebrate Brooklyn does. And this year, the annual outdoor festival of music, film and dance kicks off on June 10 with a free performance by Andrew Bird.

The Chicago-based songwriter will be toting along his violin, guitar, glockenspiel and cheery whistling to play his visionary folk at the Prospect Park band shell.

“We wanted to mix things up and try something different,” said Jack Walsh, festival producer and the director of performing arts programs for BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn, which runs Celebrate Brooklyn. “He’s certainly that.”

True, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist is hardly the marquee name like past Celebrate Brooklyn openers, including former headliners Norah Jones and David Byrne, who broke record attendances for the long-running festival. Still, Bird’s a seasoned veteran of such mega-outdoor jams as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, so he knows a thing or too about getting the crowd going.

Andrew Bird at Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park band shell (enter park at Ninth Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope), June 10 at 8 pm. Free. For info, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.

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UPDATE: 'Fela' moved indoors

Due to the rain, the free "Fela!" concert tonight has been moved from the Brooklyn Bridge park indoors to St. Ann's Warehouse at 38 Water St. Doors open at 6 pm, with the concert still starting at 6:30 pm.

Admission is first come, first served, and, this time, capacity is extremely limited. So get there early!

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'Fela' for free!

UPDATE: This concert has moved indoors to St. Ann's Warehouse at 38 Water St. due to the rain.

My Meredith Deliso

Broadway is coming to Brooklyn — but the price will make you think that the fabled theater strip is called the Great Right Way.

The cast and band from the acclaimed musical “Fela!” will set up shop at Brooklyn Bridge Park in a free concert tonight.

“I’ve probably seen it four or five times,” said St. Ann’s Warehouse Artistic Director Susan Feldman, who brought the cast to her DUMBO venue this past spring for its gala and is sponsoring this freebie. “It was so fantastic that I thought it would be a great show to bring to Brooklyn Bridge Park.”

“Fela!” tells the story of Fela Kuti, the inventor of afrobeat, a funk-enthused, complex percussion-based style that he used as a political tool to promote civil rights in his native Nigeria. 

Feldman worked with the show’s producers to bring a pared-down version of the musical to the park, but none of the magic will be lost.

“It’s such an incredible life force, that’s what I love the most,” said Feldman. “Everyone’s on their feet in the show. There’s nothing passive about seeing it.” 

The performance is the last for the season at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1, which has also hosted the Metropolitan Opera, film screenings and other cultural performances this summer.

“Most of the time the park is used for sunbathing, picnicking and frolicking, but it has that wonderful slope to enhance the view,” said Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer. “As soon as we saw that slope, we knew the lawn would be a wonderful location for such events.”

And thanks to the infectious music of Fela, you won’t be missing seats at all.

“Fela!” concert at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 [Old Fulton Street at Furman Street in DUMBO, (718) 254-8779], Oct. 4 at 6:30 pm. Free. For info, visit www.stannswarehouse.org.

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Miss Fairchild back for a good time

By Meredith Deliso

Boston R&B throwback Miss Fairchild had such a positive experience playing the Brooklyn Academy of Music a couple of years back, it was only a matter of time before they returned to the Fort Greene venue.

They do just that this October 30, with a sure to be stellar show at BAMcafé Live.“They really took a shine to us,” says Miss Fairchild instrumentalist Schulyer Dunlap of their first BAM show. “The actual feeling in the room was, ‘Wow, you guys are doing something we haven’t seen here before.’”

That something is their original blend of funk, R&B, soul and pop they call “Modern Good Time Music,” which takes a heavy nod to Tony! Toni! Toné!, Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, and James Brown, while adding their own beats.

In addition to Dunlap, the core of the band is comprised of vocalist Daddy Wrall and producer Sammy Bananas, a Nantucket native like the rest of the band who’s been based in Brooklyn for the past three years. The three recently worked together in the borough on the band’s latest release, the digital download “Won’t Be Your Kept Woman,” out of Sammy Bananas’ Prospect Heights studio.

When the band comes to Brooklyn, it’ll provide the opportunity for the three to reunite once again, as the band’s only regional show for a while will feature guest musicians including a bassist, drummer, and a saxophone section, and, Dunlap hopes, Sammy Bananas, too.

“He used to play live with us all the time, but he hasn’t been coming quite as often,” says Dunlap. “But since we’re going to be playing in his hood, he can’t turn that down. That’s part of the joy of coming down here to play. We get to be all together playing on the same stage.”

In addition to their new sax section, which makes its debut at the Brooklyn show, the band will also be unveiling a few secret weapons, promises Dunlap.

“I’m hesitant to say exactly which ones,” he says. “I think there are people who might sniff that out.”

In addition to those surprises and some new material, the show will feature some new interpretations of Miss Fairchild material, as the band strives to continue to keep it fresh for their Brooklyn fans.

“We love Brooklyn and we love our fans down there. This feels like a special outing for me,” says Dunlap. “I had some good advice once from a friend of mine, who said [to] every show special. We’ve taken that to heart. You can play the same thing every night, but what’s the point?”

Miss Fairchild play BAMcafé Live October 30 at 9:30 p.m. Bar opens at 8 p.m. Free. For more information, call 718-636-4100. BAM is located at 30 Lafayette Ave.

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