Welcome to another installment in the weekly New York State of Mind Amoeblog report with an overview of a diverse mix of fun things from music and film to art happening in the Big Apple in the week ahead. Included in this latest Amoeblog report from New York City are such things as the music-inspired Blues for Smoke exhibit at the Whitney, the inspiring documentary You Don't Need Feet To Dance, the photo exhibit celebrating the centennial of the 1913 Armory Exhibition, concerts such as Sigur Rós at MSG, and the slightly confusing tale of two Nick Caves (one horsesuit related and one Bad Seeds related) happening at Grand Central and the Beacon Theater next week.

The fact that two high profile artists in different contemporary art fields with the exact same spelling of the name Nick Cave are performing in the same city on overlapping days is bound to cause confusion to some, so lets clear it up now and distinguish between the two Nicks. Think of it as Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds vs. Nick Cave and the Herd of Soundsuit Horses. One is the well-known Australian musician/sometime actor Nick Cave we all know/love from the Birthday Party,  Bad Seeds, Grinderman, etc. (more on him in NYC a little down further) while the other Nick Cave is the visual artist whose installation/performance piece entitled HEARD•NY (see above & left) will take up residency for a week starting Monday, March 25th inside Grand Central Terminal's main space as part of the historic New York transit hub's big 100 year anniversary celebration.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, a true blue New Yorker who loved his city with a passion - was born here and never left to live anywhere else, had always said he wanted to go out to the song "New York, New York." And on Monday this week the three term mayor of New York City, who passed early last Friday morning at age 88, had that wish fulfilled at his funeral service at the large and packed Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue at 65th Street where, at the end of the long touching series of tribute (including former president Bill Clinton), as his coffin was slowly carried out of of the Upper East Side temple the organist played "New York, New York." And by the time the coffin - held high by six NYPD officers - was exiting the building the organist had segued into "The Lullaby of Broadway" from the musical 42nd Street. Note that Koch himself, in his ever active post-mayoral decades, did a brief acting role on Broadway when he played Daddy Warbucks in Annie the Musical. Many outside New York might recall him as judge/host of The Peoples' Court TV show in the late nineties. No stranger to the big and small screen Koch appeared in over five dozen Hollywood films and television shows including Sex and the City, Spin City, Saturday Night Live, and The Muppets Take Manhattan - playing himself in each production.

     

For this week's installment of the New York State of Mind Amoeblog I interview East Bay to NY transplant and old friend of Amoeba Music Jamie McCormick of renowned East Village coffee mecca Abraço Espresso (including some of Jamie's top five music lists and picks), discuss the new documentary Koch on former NYC mayor Ed Koch, take a look at a transit themed exhibit inside Grand Central Terminal which turns 100 years old in two weeks, and a quick rundown of some of the shows and events in the week ahead in the city of New York. These include the free, all ages NYC Parks Winter Jam this Saturday, Jan 26th from 11am to 3pm in the Bandshell area of Central Park. More info here.

Although her track record for concerts has  been sketchy to put it nicely Cat Power has left all that erratic behavior behind her nowadays reportedly. And the artist born Chan Marshall plays Terminal 5 at 610 W 56th St. next Tuesday (1/29), in support of her current highly recommended album Sun. Angel Haze is the opening act. 8pm show. All ages. Tickets $25. More info.

Meanwhile on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem the Studio Museum, always offers some wonderfully engaging exhibits with an emphasis on art and artists of African descent,  currently on exhibit is the excellent photo show: Gordon Parks: A Harlem Family 1967 that follows one family around on their daily grind and features such shots as the one below. Note that Sundays is free day at the Studio Museum.

Compared to this time last week when the New York State of Mind Post-Hurricane Sandy Blues was posted to the Amoeblog in the devastating couple of days following the unprecedented impact of the storm that hit the region with a vengeance and brought the city that never sleeps to a standstill, things are looking a lot better in New York City (albeit far from back-to-normal in all places, most notably in the hard hit Staten Island and the Rockaways section of Queens).

Now the majority of power has been restored in most parts of NYC and a large percentage of public transit service (about 85%) is back up and running. In most places, NYC is getting back on track as fast as it can. However, the fallout of Sandy will still be felt here for a quite some time, especially in places that need to rebuild and/or tackle the daunting task of major flood damage repair. Plus, there's the nor'easter / second storm coming this week. Despite all of this, New Yorkers have worked together and around the fallout of Sandy to get things running despite the obstacles presented to them.