Oh man I'm well jealous... really wanna get over there. I've heard great things about the Mercury Lounge and the Luna Lounge and also Arlenes Grocery - not exactly tiny and well known I think but apparently they're the types of places that the likes of Franz Ferdinand played when they first went over.. and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) The Things played there not so long ago..? Google it, they have a site with listings etc.

Yes it should be great. And I've only got 2days recovery after Glasto before I go! STOKE that jealousy! Fan the flames! Mwah hah ha!! Yeah, checked out Mercury but not da others. Also must pay respects to CBGBs as its facing closure in August unless there's something big done. Deep in debt I heard. Hoped to catch a gig that week but I think I picked the wrong week.

Glasto you f**k! Ah well i'm goin to ..... Oxegen... hmmm. Well the smaller tents aint so bad I guess. Anyway I'll leave this thread alone to bear the fruits (aha geddit!) of NYC's offerings.

The Library Bar down at the start of Avenue A. Great juke box of punk/rock stuff. Cool-but-friendly crowd. 2-for-1 happy hour till 9. Also close to the nexus of the universe. Max Fish, Ludlow st. Spring Lounge, Spring/Mulberry. Bowery Ballroom is cool when there's gigs on. For a more club/dancey type vibe try APT, Cielo or Discotechque. For hipster central have a stroll round Williamsburg, Brooklyn - some great bars&venues there too, North6 probably being my fave. Check out the village voice and othermusic.com to see what gigs etc are going on.

Cheers ishrink. Sounds like the nexus of the universe is where I wanna be.

theres the coolest country bar called Rodeo, 375 third ave at 27th street Its a proper honky tonk, but has live music everynight. Saw Bob Dylans guitarist play there one night, amazing stuff. A school bus drove into it a few years back (well, supposedly..) and they kept it as the bar so even go just to have a look theyve got huge barrel of roasted monkey nuts too, and everyone just opens them and throws em on the floor so youre walkin round on shells. i miss my ny honky tonk. sigh.

Not really into country myself but the place itself sounds mad! Love that school bus/bar idea!

Meat packing district: APT is cool for DJs, and obviously, Hogs and Heifers if you want to see some Coyote Ugly action. Mercury lounge is really good for rock gigs usually and so is the Bowery. if you want good tequila - go to Tortilla Flats. Yum.

on the wacky bar front, also worth a looksee are ... remote, bowery/2nd - cameras all over the place, monitors at each table. switch channels between cameras. weird, but kinda fun. beauty bar, ~14th/3rd - bar laid out as a beauty salon. think they even do manicures and stuff during the day. pressure, near nyu - crazy multicolored neon surreality. brooklyn social - old italian members only(read:mobster) social club, now a cool bar. coyote ugly, ~9th/1st - cheap booze, drunk ladies dancing on the bar, racous country music.

There's this cool record store on Ludlow Street called 'Cake Shop'. It's a small place (only opened a month) that's open until 2 and serves cake & beer. There's even cup holders around the racks for your beer. They have a great collection of vinyl and some rare cd's. Also if you are planning on going to a gig, make sure to get tickets in advance. Ticketweb is your best bet. There are no touts outside venues and the venues rarely release more tickets. I was lucky to get tickets from a couple who decided not to go. But for the other gigs I went to, I got a friend in America to post the tickets out to me before I went over. The best place to go in NYC is B.B. King's Bar & Grill. It's on 8th Ave off Broadway and is the most laid back, coolest joint around. The food is beautiful, the service is friendly, the music is brilliant and the atmosphere is great.

oh, well worth a trip is Sunday Brunch with the Harlem Gospel Choir at BB Kings on Time Square (not sure if its the same place Gar is talking about) you can find more info on his web site, but really enjoyed it myself. Really amazing voices, High Five To The Lord!

make sure u check out NIAGRA on/near tompkins sq park. i think its weds that the best reggae/dub DJ in town spins. Bar co-owned by jessie malin allegedly.

i love new york... :)

You all are breaking my heartstrings... I grew up in NYC (though I'm currently living on the west coast), and most of your suggestions are spot-on. Rodeo bar is owned/part-owned by either Ryan Adams or Jesse Malin. Whoever doesn't own Rodeo owns Niagara, but I always mix who who owns what. For record shops - try Other Music, Sounds, and (if it's reopened) Mondo Kim's. (Kim's was recently "busted" by the police for selling hip-hop mixtapes, which is completely ridiculous and infuriating.) For bars- *I don't like remote lounge. it's a cool concept but ultimately pretty sketchy...most guys keep their cameras, shall we say, below the neckline. Yuck. *Never been to beauty bar or to brooklyn social. *Coyote Ugly is an experience, but can get out of hand. *My two strongest recommendations: 1) Corner Bistro just SW of 14th and 8th ave has quite possibly the best burger in NY, and one of the best jukeboxes around, too. 2) anything between Houston st and 14th on Avenue A. Good, local-NY downtowner feel. Just pick whichever catches your eye. Library Bar is one of these. Max Fish is further south but good as well. Piano's is ever further south, and can be a little too hipster at times, but is mostly really fun (and on a good night you can see an AWESOME gig in the back room.) For Venues - *almost everything mentioned so far is good. * BB's is cool but (it has to be said) very touristy. *Other places to try: Sin-e is very good for lesser known acts. Sidewalk Cafe has a lot of sharp, fun folk/antifolk type stuff. Piano's, as I mentioned, can be very good too. But my strongest additional recommendation is Tonic. It's VERY hit-or-miss, but it's known for being very experimantal, taking lots of risks...tons of NY musicians just turned out to fundraise for them, but they should still be up and running thanks to that support. I could go on, talk about shopping and restaurants (so much good food!)...If you want more info just message back...but if you pick up a copy of that week's Village Voice (Like the Dublin Event Guide, but it's weekly and one or two hundred pages longer) and just start reading! Ah, now I miss Dublin and New York!

I don't know if you've already been and gone on your holiday but I was in New York earlier this month and I saw posters for two deadly gigs that should be on in or around about this week. One was the Roots with support from De La Soul and MF Doom and the other was the Pixies with support from Interpol and LCD Soundsystem. Needless to say I'd recommend going to both of them.

The Village Voice also have a free festival coming up in July I think

Oh and dont forget Summer Stage in Central park - loads of free gigs, check out www.summerstage.org

yes. Village Voice + Coney Island + Free Music. It tends to be a bit hot and sticky, but it's certainly worth exploring for a bit...i recommend going earlier in the day. http://www.villagevoice.com/siren/