"In The Heights" Leads Tony Nominations: Breakfast Bites

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Breakfast Bites , Broadway , brooklyn , Concerts , Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , New York , The Cure

Heights

  • Nominations for the Tony Awards were announced this morning, and the NYC-set musical "In The Heights" leads the field with 13 nominations. "South Pacific," "Sunday in the Park With George," "Gypsy" and "August: Osage County" also scored multiple nods. Prizes will be handed out June 15 at Radio City Music Hall.
  • The Cure have posted the single "The Only One" on their web site. The band will post a new single on the 13th of each month ahead of their still-untitled 13th studio album, due September 13. The band will play back-to-back shows at MSG and Radio City next month.
  • The 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge will be celebrated with a week-long party, kicking off May 22, with concerts including a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, a Grucci fireworks show and other family events.
  • New York City might have been the fifth star of the show, but when it came time for the world premiere of the "Sex and the City" movie, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha walked the red carpet in London.

Photo: InTheHeightsTheMusical.com

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Photos: My Chemical Romance Live at The Garden

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Concerts , Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , MSG Arena , My Chemical Romance , New York , Photo Gallery

Click for more photos!
Photo: David Atlas

My Chemical Romance played Madison Square Garden on Friday night, with Taking Back Sunday and Drive By. The show was a big deal for the Jersey boys — they even called it their Super Bowl.

Were you there? Tell us all about it, look for yourself in the crowd shots and come back tomorrow to see if you made the FanCam cut.


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See More Concert Photos
My Chemical Romance Archive 
Nothing But FanCam

Viral Video: N*E*R*D's "Everyone Nose" Preview

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , Kanye West , MSG Arena , N.E.R.D , New York , Pharrell Williams , Viral Video

N*E*R*D are everywhere we look lately. There's the upcoming show at MSG (tomorrow night, with Kanye West, Rihanna and Lupe Fiasco), the signing at Billionaire Boys Club tomorrow afternoon and the hot sneak preview of their "Everyone Nose" video. It's only one minute of the clip (which looks a lot like a Cobrasnake flipbook), and it was just posted on Saturday, but it's already holding #15 on ViralVideoChart.com.

Check out the 60-second peek (which was just enough to make The Monitor really want to play the song on repeat for three hours) right here:

Speaking of viral videos, news broke last week that SuperDeluxe will be no more, with the site's content folding into brother site (and TV experience) Adult Swim. We're sorry to see the comedy video site go, and we certainly hope that gems like this "Mastering the Internet" video (and "Bathing With Bierko") will still have a place to shine:

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Rock On, "Hey Jude" Baby!
"Star Wars" According to a 3-Year-Old
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Breakfast Bites: Jonas Brothers Are Only 89 Days Away!

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Breakfast Bites , brooklyn , Concerts , Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , Jonas Brothers , Kanye West , New York , Only In NY , Speed Racer , TV

Jonas Brothers

  • Hey you guuuyyyss ... "The Electric Company" is returning?! Gawker reports that taping on the revamped children's series will begin in Washington Heights and the Lower East Side this week.
  • David Byrne is turning the Great Hall of the Battery Maritime Building into one huge musical instrument. The temporary installation, called Playing the Building, will make music from the devices installed within the building's architecture and plumbing. It opens later this month.
  • N*E*R*D will be at the Billionaire Boys Club flagship store on Tuesday from 4-6PM, signing their BBC/N*E*R*D shirt before their performance at Madison Square Garden, supporting Kanye West.
  • Rappers Remy Ma and Papoose plan to marry today at Rikers Island, the Daily News reports. Remy Ma is currently incarcerated for her role in a 2007 shooting. She is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow.

MORE:
Backstage With The Jonas Brothers
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Movie Talk With The Fan on The Street

New Yorkers, Are You Rushing to Speed Racer?

Posted on May 9, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , Movies , New York , Speed Racer

Speedracer

It premiered right here at home to close the Tribeca Film Festival, so many New Yorkers can say that they've already seen "Speed Racer," but will the pretty bad reviews (35% fresh isn't awful, but it isn't good) keep the rest away?

Nah. While local critics are split (you can check out their takes below) The Monitor has its money on "Speed Racer" making a ton of cash, and maybe even unseating "Iron Man" for #1 at the box office.

So what about you? Will you see it? Have you seen it? What did you think? Tell us about it!

For now, we'll have to make do with the professionals:

  • A.O. Scott, New York Times
    "' Speed Racer' goes nowhere, and you’d be amazed how long the trip can take."
  • Kyle Smith, New York Post:
    "This adventurously awful film is awful in many ways at once."(1/2 star)
  • Joe Neumaier, Daily News:
    "Remember mixing Pop Rocks candy and Coca-Cola to make little volcanoes inside your head? 'Speed Racer' is the movie equivalent."(3 stars)
  • J. Hoberman, Village Voice
    "Previous Wachowski productions aspired to be something more than mind-less sensation; 'Speed Racer' is thrilled to be less. It's the delusions minus the grandeur."
  • Hank Sartin, Time Out New York
    "As brightly colored as a bag of Skittles and with twice the sugar rush, the Wachowskis’ take on the ’60s animated series is the flip side of The Matrix’s gloom-and-goth philosophizing." (3 stars)

Photo: Warner Bros.

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FanCam: The Jammy Awards

Posted on May 9, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Alex Iglesias , Concerts , Entertainment , Fan Cam , Jam Bands , Jammy Awards , New York , Video

What is the higher honor, a Jammy or a Grammy? Which jam band has the funniest name? And what is a Jammy, anyway?

Alex Iglesias brought the FanCam to the WaMu Theater at MSG on Wednesday for The 7th Annual Jammy Awards and got the answers to these questions while rubbing elbows with the jam scene's greatest asset: music lovers.

Were you at the big show? Which performances were unforgettable? Did you expect Phish to get together for one last jam? Tell us about it!

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Nothing But FanCam

Breakfast Bites: From Siren Song to Snoop on the Soaps

Posted on May 9, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Breakfast Bites , brooklyn , Concerts , Coney Island , Entertainment , festivals , Jane O'Donnell , McCarren Pool , Movies , Siren Festival , Snoop Dogg

2008 Siren Fest

  • McCarren Pool is hosting Jane's Favorite Movies, the SummerScreen festival. If you like watching excellent films (we're talking "Rushmore" and "Desperately Seeking Susan") for free, you can check out the full schedule here.
  • Various commitments have been getting in the way of our "One Life to Live" viewing (a shame, really, as we should support soaps still shot in NYC). Good thing Videogum is there to remind us what we're missing in Llanview, namely Snoop Dogg.

Artwork: Village Voice Siren Fest

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It's TV Finale Season ... Already?

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: 30 Rock , American Idol , Entertainment , How I Met Your Mother , Jane O'Donnell , Lost , On The List , Scrubs , The Office , TV

Scrubs

Though it might feel like TV just came back (it did!) it's already finale season.

"Cold Case" and "Family Guy" have said goodbye for the summer. "30 Rock" and "Scrubs" sign off tonight (in the case of "Scrubs," forever  — at least on that network). And there will be hearts broken, final roses given out and fortunes won next week when "Survivor," "America's Next Top Model," "Beauty and the Geek" and "The Bachelor" all crown their champs.

It's been a strange season of stops and starts, but letting go of our favorite shows is still a big deal.

Here is a list of the five finales we will be watching ... and why we're not sad to say "so long."

5. "Scrubs" (5/8)
Seriously, it's time.

4."How I Met Your Mother" (5/19)
Britney Spears is actually a good comedic actress. Wait, she's on the week before? Oh. Well, we still look forward to Neil Patrick magic.

3. "The Office" (5/15)
We expect an engagement, but even if that doesn't happen, it's time for a reboot.

2. "Lost" (5/29)
We'll need the summer to decode everything we've seen this season.

1. "American Idol" (5/21)
Every year, someone proclaims that this is the worst season ever, but we're starting to believe it this time.

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Save Our Shows

"American Idol" Watch: One Must Go

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: American Idol , Breakfast Bites , Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , Maroon 5 , TV , Video

American Idol Top 4

Who will stand in the final three? Ryan Seacrest says nearly 51 million votes were cast. This crucial elimination show promises heartbreak and total devastation. Plus performances by Maroon 5 and Bo Bice.

And now, the group sing! "Reeling in the Years"? Really? Nice wordy pick for a group that clearly has some issues keeping lyrics straight. So how did they do, anyway? I was afraid to watch. Hey, it's Judge Judy!

Wow, it's already time to start separating the winners from the loser.

David Archuleta ... really wants to stop answering questions. Come ON, Ryan. Of course he is safe.

Before there are more verdicts, let's go on a trip with the Idols. This mainly consists of a fancy plane, a napping Jason, autographs, flashes, crazy fans, dolphins, David Cook's first manicure, "Love" and more autographs.

David Cook ... is on the receiving end of some Seacrest torture. And makes the final three.

Syesha Mercado and Jason Cook, come on out. There is an elimination-announcement fakeout. I'm almost fooled.

The Idols dress as matadors and sing a terrible version of "Ring of Fire." Sorry, that's been done.

Oh no. It's the phone calls from America segment. A Pittsburgh fan tries to hook up with Cook. A little girl asks a good question about overcoming challenges. Yay! No one answers it well. Boo! Simon Cowell sycophants demand that he be knighted, or at least star as James Bond. When will it end?

Maroon 5 performs, and Adam Levine tries to scare the contestants out of pursuing a career in music.

Bo Bice (or Bob Ice) takes the stage and needs a witness, apparently. He also does his part to frighten the "Idol" four.

And now, the greatest moment in "American Idol" history: Jason Castro, while suffering through Ryan Seacrest's comments about how terrible he was, says, "Somebody told me that I shot the Tambourine Man yesterday." That happened at 9:54PM, for your records.

On that note, America has decided that ... Syesha ... you're in the top three.

Jason has been dumped. His reaction? "It's been a pleasure." The best so-long reel in "Idol" history rolls, Ryan asks if Jason's relieved and he says, "A little. There's three songs next week. I don't know what I would've done."

Just when we think we will miss this fantastically entertaining man too much to go on, he reprises "I Shot the Sheriff" and makes the breakup much easier to take.

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Don't Forget The Lyrics, Idols!
Brooke White Is All Cried Out
The Monitor Hearts "American Idol"

Photos: Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z On Stage

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Jane O'Donnell

Filed Under: Concerts , Entertainment , Jane O'Donnell , Jay-Z , Mary J. Blige , MSG Arena , Music News , New York , Photo Gallery

Click for more photos!
Photo: Chad Batka

What does it look like when two superstars share a stage?

See live shots from the May 2 stop on The Heart of the City Tour at Madison Square Garden right here.

Plus share your thoughts on the shows and meet the fans who were so excited to see the show that they broke out in song.

Missed out? You've got one more chance to see Mary J. and Jay-Z at MSG, tonight at 7:30.

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FanCam: Jay-Z and Mary J. Fans Have Heart
Jay-Z's Must-Have Tracks

 FanCam: Chris Brown, We Love You!



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