VAMPIRE WEEKEND @ Bowery Ballroom - 1/29 - 1/30

The kids from Brooklyn are having a short homecoming this week when they swing through lower Manhattan. Although the shows are sold out, there are usually scalpers kicking around the Bowery and of course you can always try Craigslist at the last minute. There has been a good amount of press behind Vampire Weekend for their debut release on XL Recordings and with good cause. It's hard to tell how the public will eventually judge this band, their music is unconventional and yet it is very listenable at the same time. The boys take their music to an interesting level by adding various world instruments and styles such as African drums/percussion and Caribbean sounds. Think about Paul Simon's Graceland if it came out today and was packed full of indie pop goodness.

RIYL: Gogol Bordello, Beirut, The Walkmen

BANKSY @ Vanina Holasek Gallery (502 W 27th St) – 12/02/07 – 12/29/07

Alright, so Banksy isn’t a musician or a band, but the ultra-hip street artist is just as cool as anything coming through New York in the next month. This faceless master is as infamous for his political graffiti-art tagged all across London as he is for his unmistakable gorilla (pun intended) stencil graf style. His Los Angeles exhibit last year featured an actual live elephant walking around and completely painted in the Banksy style...but possibly the funniest part of that exhibit was realizing mega-celebrities like Brad Pitt would go to an abandoned warehouse in the shittiest section of LA just to see it...but, Banksy himself was, of course, nowhere to be found. If you were one of the lucky few who bought his “revamped” (pun intended again) version of Paris Hilton’s landmark CD or saw his artwork hung by the man himself at the MoMA or Brooklyn Museum, you will know what we here at NYCUG are talking about. Love him or hate him, laugh with him or get laughed at by him, the guy stirs controversy. See some of his works all month in Chelsea this December.

NYCUG Fashion: BLING IS THE NEW BLACK

WHO: Rachel Leigh Bravman, former Yves Saint Laurent publicist-turned-jewelry designer. The brainchild of an artist and a doctor, Bravman mixes an innate sense of uptown chic with downtown glam – repeatedly inspired by the runway collections of Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz, Giles Mendel, Philip Lim, and none other than Muiccia Prada.

WHAT: Costume jewelry presented in three annual collections – Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, and Resort/Holiday – introducing approximately 300 new necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings per season. A mix of vintage castings and hand-made bobbles plated with 14k gold, sterling silver, and often iced with a rainbow of Swarovski crystals. To date, all pieces are proudly made in the heart of New York’s garment district off of Seventh Ave. With price points between $60 and $300, there is truly something for everyone.

WHY: When the experts at Lucky Magazine steal the ring off your finger to run a feature entitled “One to Watch,” you don’t ask ‘why’ – you ask ‘how.’ Although if presented this question today, Bravman would likely respond with a mix of aesthetic drive and business-minded ambition – looking to future endeavors that include private label, fine jewelry, and charitable collaborations with key unmentionable Hollywood darlings.

WHEN: Fall ’04, when at the request of buyers, editors, and New York fashionistas, Bravman officially launched Rachel Leigh Jewelry. Having since moved the business from the living room of her Upper East Side apartment, the company now boasts showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Canada – not to mention a customer base including high-end department stores, fashion sites for forum and shopping, and a growing number of privately-owned boutiques across the world.

WHERE: Check it out at the semi-annual sample sale: Tuesday + Wednesday November 13th and 14th from 9am to 6pm. 252 W 38th Street #904 (between 7th and 8th). At up to 80% off, there is no excuse not to make an enormous dent in your holiday gift list. For more information, call 646.290.6034.

JENS LEKMAN @ Webster Hall - Sat. 10/27

Jens Lekman hails from Sweden, bringing with him a really very jazzy, laid back, and swinging assortment of indie music. He has garnered a bit of attention from his Secretly Canadian releases in the past few years, but this year’s Night Falls Over Koertedala may very well be his best effort to date. His music is pleasant enough for pretty much anyone, from checkerboard-chuck hipsters, to their parents and everyone in between. Lekman doesn’t do anything pretentious, just look forward to a night of simple, sweet upbeat tunes.

RIYL: Richard Hawley, Lee Hazelwood, Rufus Wainwright, Todd Rundgren

MAN MAN @ Webster Hall – 10/02/07

This Tuesday, Webster Hall will host Philadelphia/New York’s own Man Man. First noticed by after a South by Southwest show, Man Man combines waltzy timing, a circus-like stage show, experimental indie rock attitude, and lots and lots of shouting. The stage show is out of the ordinary, as the band faces each other and not the crowd for the majority of the time. And it gets much weirder after that. This show will not be for everyone as it gets a little insane at times, but if you’re feeling a change of pace and want to see a real spectacle, give this a shot.

RIYL: Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, O’Death