Talib Kweli to perform at the NY-Tokyo Music Festival
On Friday: Critical Mass Meets Agora

Tonight – art and political action meet in McCarren Park Pool – The Agora II performance invites Critical Mass Cyclists to ride through the dance performance that reopened McCarren Park to the public. A visual and emotional moment : hundreds of bycicle riders add to the spectacle in the abandonned McCarren park pool. Agora II by site-specific choreographer Noemie Lafrance include 75 performers and invites the audience as players into a choreographic game for 1000 bodies. MORE INFO HERE

Also on Friday: Turntables on the Hudson

From FREENYC: The Turntables on the Hudson crew close out summer with a free event on the pier this evening. Nickodemus & Mariano will spin the best funky dance records you’ve ever heard (for real) while Nappy G & Christian Rogers join in on percussion. If you’ve slept on their usual Friday party all summer then this is a great chance to catch them outdoors before the weather turns. Directions below. MORE INFO HERE

On Saturday: NY-Tokyo Music Festival

via Flavorpill: Today’s New York-Tokyo Music Festival lineup showcases the dazzling talent that’s emerged from decades of Godzilla-like mutations of Western styles. Prog-jazz quintet Pe’z climbed Japan’s indie charts with attention garnered from wild sets on the streets of Shibuya; electronic duo Hifana aren’t your average knob twiddlers, dropping live beats sans sequencers and merging a modern aesthetic with traditional sounds; and four-time World Clash champs Mighty Crown legitimize Japanese dreadheads with 15 strong years in dancehall and reggae. Backpacker hero Talib Kweli and turntablist A-Trak might be the least exciting acts on this bill — but maybe it’s our turn to learn. MORE INFO HERE

And All Weekend: The 44th New York Film Festival

From Market Watch

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said it was on the scene at a subway station in Brooklyn, NY after receiving reports of people feeling ill on the subway.
“We’ve had reports of people ill,” said FDNY spokesman Tony Sclafani. “We’re on the scene,” he added.
Local news channel NY1 said there were also reports of a “suspicious package” being investigated.
The Lorimer Street station in Brooklyn was closed and that the L train line of the New York subway system, which links Brooklyn to Manhattan, has been suspended.
CBS News reported that “some kind of substance in the last car” of an L train had caused “several people to complain of nausea and dizziness.”

Gothamist hears it could have been pepper spray.

From the Daily Mail

Sickening ‘Animal Olympics’ forces kangaroos to box humans
An Australian kangaroo receives a fierce blow to the head by a man dressed in a clown suit (pictured below) in a shameful contest that will further fuel fears over China’s barbaric attitude to animals.
The bizarre marsupial-versus-human bout happened during the so-called Animal Olympics in Shanghai.
Animal rights campaigners say the Chinese have an appalling poor record for animal rights protection and have no laws to protect them.
In the fight, the Australian kangaroo appears to reel backwards after receiving a right hook from its garishly attired opponent. READ IT ALL

Vampire Can’t – “Key Cutter”
(Load)
Worried about the impending apocalypse? Me too. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the coming attractions. When the bombs start dropping, the power cuts out, and my face begins to drip into my lap, I’ll be unfazed having already been exposed to Vampire Can’t's debut full-length “Key Cutter”.
The debut collaboration between guitar and drums duo Vampire Belt and electronic eclectoid Jessica Rylan a.k.a. Can’t, is an exercise in mounting tension in 10 movements. The creepy sonic environments these three northeastern improvisers create hover ominously and tremor with trepidation.
Rylan’s home-built electronics squelch and squeal surreptitiously alongside guitarist Bill Nace’s six-string scraping. United in feedback, the pair provides the perfect backdrop for Chris Corsano to complete the circle of chaos. Corsano tops off the stewing electro-sludge with rhythms that slowly simmer and keep things bubbling.
Alas, the trio’s music rarely boils over, but their stripped-down, free-spazz is intensely focused and deftly executed.
Child Abuse / Miracle of Birth – Split CD
(Lovepump United)
I made a point to track this release down after first hearing Brooklyn trio Child Abuse on a split 7″ single with Octis (Mick Barr of Orthrelm). Their thumping, keyboard-heavy out-punk blew my mind and left me in need of more psychological trauma.
The group’s unclassifiable clamor — a mish mosh of hardcore, death metal, prog-rock, and jazz — is impressive and slightly intimidating but also somewhat comical as their taste for silly synth sounds reveals.
Both “Pre-emptive Priapism” and “Grey Lump” sound like themes from an imaginary giant monster film: distinctly hummable but bewildering and bombastic. “Kalahari” and “God’s Lightning” are more or less Locust-esque thrash tunes, but are no less astounding.
But I have to say Miracle of Birth is the cake taker of the split. The sole musical project of one Jade Larson, Miracle of Birth has again left me desperate for more music, as his contributions are merely twofold.
“Thirst for Hunger”, the split disc’s opening number, is an infectious, futuristic tune that sprints forward with rollicking drums, fuzzed-out guitar, and sharp-edged synths. But just before the word ‘awesome’ can leave your lips, the song segues into a Jungle Book jam replete with psychedelic marimbas. The second track is equally surprising. This release belongs at the top of your shopping list.
— John Rickman

Our friendly neighborhood Film Critic, Dave Thomas, just submitted a hilarious short film to Current TV. You can vote on it here. Now go give him a green light.

This is funny.

Check it out here. Via Brooklyn Vegan

RBally has a great Yo La Tengo concert available for download: Maxwell’s, Hanukkah 2005 (Night 3)
The band’s new record “I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass” is getting stellar reviews. Here’s 2 tracks available for download from the record:
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind
Beanbag Chair

Via The Consumerist, hat tip Noah.

Download Bottom of the World here.
And here’s some info about Tom Waits’ Orphans: [From Anti]

Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards is a wide-ranging collection of 54 songs Рincluding 30 new recordings – equaling over three hours of rare and never-before heard music. The set comes complete with a 94-page booklet.
Each of the three CDs is separately grouped and sub-titled — ‘Brawlers’, ‘Bawlers’ and ‘Bastards’ ‚Äì to capture the full spectrum of Waits’ ranging and roving musical styles. ‘Brawlers’ is chock full of raucous blues and full-throated juke joint stomp; ‘Bawlers’ comprises Celtic and country ballads, waltzes, lullabies, piano and classic lyrical Waits’ songs while ‘Bastards’ is filled with experimental music and strange tales.
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards (Anti Records) is Waits’ first release since 2004′s much-lauded Real Gone. The album was written and produced by Waits with his wife and long-time collaborator Kathleen Brennan and is released on Tuesday 21th November 2006.

Hat tip BrooklynVegan