Weekend Guide: Reggie Watts, David Cross, a Foosball Tournament, The Return of BQ Flea, and More

By Shawn Setaro

Every once in a while, we here at Weekend Guide like to push the envelope and get a little weird. So in addition to our usual selection of live music, DJs, readings, and films, we’ve got a few oddities for you this week. You can learn how to decorate a boozy ice cream cake, help create a live ‘80s slasher film, and even create art with glow-in-the-dark bacteria. Don’t say we didn’t give you options! Check it all out below.

Courtesy of Carhartt WIP

Thursday, April 9

F.C. Real Bristol and Carhartt WIP’s Progress League Foosball Tournament @ Carhartt WIP
7 p.m.

A fictional football team and a very real workwear company are joining forces on, yes, a line of merch, but also this clever little launch event at Carhartt WIP’s Williamsburg outpost, where teams will be selected at random and the winner gets $1,000 in store credit. There will also be drinks courtesy of Peroni, and music provided by Richie Beanz.

Tribute to Randy Weston @ Brooklyn Central Library 
7 p.m.

Weston was one of the all-time great jazz pianists and composers. So a bunch of his collaborators are getting together to celebrate his centennial in the best way possible—with fantastic music.

#SecureTheBag Tour For Life fundraiser in BK ft. ETO @ Starr Bar
8 p.m.

Underground rap hero ETO is headlining this show. The Tour For Life raises money and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention advocacy, and it features top-tier hip-hop talent at each stop: ETO here, Peedi Crakk in Philly, and more.

So.Gay 2nd Birthday Party @ Jolene Sound Room at The Moxy Williamsburg
8 p.m.

Celebrate So.Gay turning two with music from June Ferrari and Gaven Simon. The party is so highly anticipated that advance tickets are already sold out, but you can still get in at the door if you’re there early.

Romance with Eli Escobar and Andi @ Gabriela
9 p.m.

Put a good bounce to your Thursday night with sets from the ever-reliable Eli Escobar and his electric guest, Andi, chief selector of the SYNTHICIDE DJ syndicate.

Courtesy of Green Room

Friday, April 10

Heart-Throb Slasher: A Live Improvised 1980s Horror Movie with Lana Moore @ The Twisted Spine
7 p.m.

Moore, a musician, comedian, actor, and writer, has put together a new horror comedy show that’s heavy on audience participation. You’ll take part in an ’80s horror film made up on the spot: Will Moore fall in love and be the final girl who lives happily ever after, or will whatever scary killer is lurking in the shadows get her and her suitor(s)? It’s up to you.

The Warriors @ BAM Rose Cinemas
7 p.m.

In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, BAM is celebrating 90 years of their local subway station by programming a series called “Hoyt-Schermerhorn: Stand Clear of the Closing Doors.” The entire series is worth watching—check the full slate here—but we’re recommending one of the ultimate NYC subway movies. And yes, the “96th Street Station” in the film is actually our beloved Downtown Brooklyn connection to the A, C, and G lines. 

Debut Novel Night by Sackett Street Writers Workshop @ POWERHOUSE Arena
7 p.m.

Get five book events for the price of one. This one celebrates new novels by Heather Aimee O’Neill, Erin Crosby Eckstine, Justin Feinstein, Sarah G. Pierce, and Ledia Xhoga—all alums of the Sackett Street Writers Workshop, which you can learn more about here.

Daniel Villarreal @ Public Records
7 p.m.

Villarreal is both a virtuosic and adventurous drummer and a DJ who can keep the room moving. Whichever side of his musical personality he brings to Public Records tonight, you’re sure to have a grooving good time.

Golden Record Presents: Raw Like Sushi with Diamond D and Boogie Blind @ Green Room
10 p.m.

Just months after opening up their main space on Morgan Avenue, Green Room is christening a new floor next door on Friday night with two crucial components of two crucial New York production crews—none other than D.I.T.C.’s own Diamond D and the X-Ecutioners’ Boogie Blind.

Courtesy of Market Hotel

Saturday, April 11

BRIC and The Legal Aid Society Present: Community Joy Family Day and Forum @ BRIC House Ballroom
11 a.m.

The Legal Aid Society does incredible work representing countless New Yorkers who can’t afford a lawyer. But it’s not all hard work and legal battling: they also know how to throw a party. This event, meant to “uplift community joy and connection,” will have a DJ, artmaking, children’s book giveaways, zine-making workshops, and more. Plus, you’ll have a chance to talk to L.A.S. folks and elected officials about the kind of Brooklyn you’d like to see in the future during a community forum.

Boozy Ice Cream Cake Decorating Class @ Tipsy Scoop
12 p.m.

Ice cream and booze are, as the old slogan has it, two great tastes that taste great together. You and a friend can learn to combine them (and get yourself a complimentary drink and ice cream cocktail) at this two-hour class.

Red Bull Dance Your Style City Qualifier – New York City @ Brooklyn Museum
6 p.m.

This global all-styles street dance event will have plenty of contestants who are going to wow you with their locking, popping, and other styles we probably don’t even have a name for yet. The winners of the competition will advance to the Midwest Regional Qualifier.

When Doves Skate with Ron Like Hell, Planet B, and Rob Scott @ Xanadu
7 p.m.

If the fact that we’re coming up on a decade since the passing of The Purple One is a little hard to process, perhaps this properly Prince-ed-out skate night at the Bushwick roller rink will ease the blow. There will be a trio of DJs spinning classics and vaulted grails, an eyelash station and beauty mark makeup bar, and fierce fits for sale.

An Evening with Maya Hawke @ Baby’s All Right
7:30 p.m.

You surely know Hawke from Stranger Things, or perhaps from her famous parents. But she’s also a well-regarded singer-songwriter whose fourth album, Maitreya Corso, is dropping next month. If you like what you hear tonight, she’ll be back in NYC on May 2 at the Bowery Ballroom.

Reggie Watts @ Bell House
7:30 p.m.

The multi-instrumentalist, comedian, and elite improviser is returning to the County of Kings for two nights this weekend. Once a regular of the North Brooklyn venue circuit, Watts’ reemergences, no matter how long between them, always feel like a hometown show. Don’t miss them.

David Cross: Shootin’ The Shit, Seein’ What Sticks @ Union Hall
7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Following an off-Broadway run alongside Mathew Broderick in a production of Tartuffe, Cross is back on a more familiar stage, playing two shows on Saturday night, as he works out some new material.

Crash Course with Swami Sound and gum.mp3 @ Market Hotel
11 p.m.

This evening above the mythical Myrtle/Broadway stop is not like most you might encounter at Market Hotel, or really any venue in the city. The latest installment of Swami Sound and gum.mp3’s recurring event welcomes DJ/coding whiz Roxanne Harris, who transmutes blocks of programming into breaks and beds of synthesizers—all live and direct.

Courtesy of Rodeo

Sunday, April 12

BQ Flea Season Opener @ 222 Meeker Avenue
10 a.m.

One of the best thrifting and vintage experiences the borough has to offer is breaking the seal on the season this weekend, with dozens of vendors nestled under the BQE in Williamsburg.

Historic New York: Jackie Robinson’s Brooklyn Legacy @ Prospect Park, Lincoln Road Entrance
11 a.m.

Robinson’s ties to our borough are apparent, given that he began his Major League Baseball career at Ebbets Field. This walk with the Urban Park Rangers begins at Prospect Park and continues to the former site of Ebbets, with plenty of talk about the borough’s role in the history of baseball and Robinson’s importance to the sport, along the way.

Painting with Bioluminescent Bacteria @ Genspace
11 a.m.

We look at a lot of events to bring you the best every week. Rarely do we come across something that seems so unusual and so cool that, no matter how far it departs from our normal fare, we have to recommend it wholeheartedly. At this workshop, you’ll learn all about bioluminescent bacteria and actually use them in art.

Soul Zodiac: Aries with special screening of Coffy @ Rodeo
7 p.m.

Skee is raising money for a friend in need with this edition of his Soul Zodiac series, where you can catch a free screening of the Blaxploitation classic Coffy, and hear him spin the night away once the credits roll.

Jewish Currents Presents: On the Nose live taping @ Littlefield
7:30 p.m.

On the Nose is a fantastic podcast that deals with the Jewish left—a community that, given Israel’s ongoing perpetuation of a genocide in Gaza, obviously has a lot to discuss and figure out. This will be a live taping of an episode.

Deerlady (Mali Obomsawin) @ National Sawdust 
8:30 p.m.

Obomsawin is an Indigenous musician and composer who performs in a variety of projects, primarily in the jazz world. This, though, is her rock band. The music is moody, atmospheric, occasionally heavy, and always worth hearing.