Pete's Candy Store Open Mic
A Williamsburg open mic with some rules -- you must be a singer-songwriter performing original material (no covers), and sets should be two songs each -- short and sweet.

Floating Kabarette at Galapagos
Galapagos' Floating Kabaratte is a nod to the huge indoor reflecting pool at the DUMBO performance space, but it could also apply to the gravity-defying aerial act frequently involved in this weekly spectacular, which also includes cabaret, burlesque and variety.

Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen at Littlefield
Comedians Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal host this bubbly mix of music, comedy and general strangeness, where celebrity guest performers aren't uncommon. On a recent night, Schaal dressed up as a Whoopee Cushion and Braunholer sat on her; an audience member was tasked with hitting a moving dancer on stage with a ball and Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari did a surprise comedy set.

The Talent Show Brand Variety Show at Littlefield
This monthly grab-bag of music, comedy, storytelling and oddities from a rotating cast of characters is produced by writer Anaheed Alani. Recent guests have included This American Life's Ira Glass (who happens to be married to Alani), illusionist Alex Stone and the band They Might Be Giants.

The Brooklyn Country Hoedown at Freddys
Brooklyn's transported to Nashville at this monthly country-western night. The first part of the evening features country artists performing twangy ballads of all kinds (something tells us song topics include whiskey and jail time), and the second features “An All-Star Jam” that is open to all musical cowboys and cowgirls.

In 2007, Shapiro stumbled upon an abandoned 1880s-era ironworks foundry in a then-mostly industrial section of Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg. Two painstaking years were spent making the 130-year-old space LEED certified. This included adding green touches like cork floors in the bowling area and cutting down on waste by refusing to sell bottled beers. Throw in an outpost of Blue Ribbon (featuring its out-of-control-delicious fried chicken), an enormous 35-foot-wide stage that features bands seven nights a week, and Brooklyn Bowl has found itself a key player on the city's nightlife scene.

Click through for Shapiro's chat about the bowling alley and the blossoming of Williamsburg, which he likens to “an urban ski town.”

How would you describe Brooklyn Bowl?
People always ask: “Is it a music venue, or a bowling alley?” It's three things: it's a restaurant, it's a bowling alley and it's a full concert venue.

You've had everyone from MIA to Kanye West to Bob Weir play Brooklyn Bowl. What attracts major acts to your space?
We tried to make the stage really big so bands felt like they were a priority and not an afterthought. Bands feel comfortable here. Plus, after they do their soundcheck, they can bowl or eat at Blue Ribbon. They're not stuck upstairs in some room.

What can someone expect when they visit Brooklyn Bowl for the first time?
They can expect to have fun in a lot of different ways. It's multi-sensory. It was important for me to incorporate a visual element, which is why I have 100-foot-wide screens at the end of the bowling lanes. The combination of the bands, the visuals on the screens, the bowling, the food, the old warehouse you're hanging out in – having all of those things together can't happen elsewhere. It's like we put it all in a pot and created this hodgepodge experience. And that feels very Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bowl is located at 61 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (718) 963-3369.

Now known as:
A solo artist, who released her debut album Last Summer -- a collection of intimate, nostalgia-drenched pop gems -- in late July.

Where Friedberger envisions people listening to her album:
“‘Roosevelt Island' is the subway song, ‘One-Month Marathon' is the bedroom song, ‘Heaven' is the beach song, ‘My Mistakes' is the jogging song, ‘Glitter Gold Year' is the getting-drunk-alone song, and ‘I Won't Fall Apart On You Tonight' is the getting-dressed-before-a-date song. Ideally the album works from start to finish for whatever your mood may be.”

On playing alone for the first time:
“Only having to answer to yourself is simultaneously terrifying and liberating.”

When in Brooklyn…
“I love The Commodore: great food, cheap drinks, outdoor patio and good friends are
always found.”

Who:
Amanda Warner

You first heard her:
As the female vocalist on Mark Ronson's insanely catchy 2010 hit song, “Bang Bang Bang.”

You're about to hear a whole lot more from her:
On the electro-pop phenom's upcoming full-length, which she's currently finishing up alongside co-producer and writer Peter Wade. “It sounds like heartbreak, first love, anarchy, politics, and string theory. It sounds like everything and like nothing, but all songs and all pop.”

Most nutty fan moment?
“I once had a fan ask me to be their surrogate during a performance.”

When in Brooklyn…
“I am a huge fan of Tandem Bar in Bushwick. It's my neighborhood watering hole where I can go to a full-on goth-wedding-themed dance party on a Sunday night.”

Why we're creeping on them:
This production-DJ duo create dark, electro-tinged, eerie jams that make us want to don all black, some heavy eyeliner, and give dirty looks to cheerleaders in the Dairy Queen parking lot.

So which Lauren does what?
Since the band formed about a year ago, Flax tells us, “Our roles have become a bit clearer.” She adds: “Dillard is excellent at finding obscure, unique sounds that couple up perfectly with the classical ones that I like to use. Strings are my forte, so when we write together, its classical and contemporary combined. I think we have a unique partnership with this.”

For the girl who has everything.
For Flax's birthday this year, she says, “My mother sent me my Docs from high school, my varsity jacket and my class ring, which, by the way, has a yin-yang on it. Score.”

When in Brooklyn…
“I like getting happy hour margaritas at Vera Cruz on Bedford Avenue because of their backyard with the fountain,” Dillard says. “Also there's a great new bar called The Drink off of the L train Lorimer Street stop -- they've got amazing punch bowls. Really there are so many great places, but none of them can beat a good friend's roof at sunset.”

Journal Gallery
Housed in a former garage that is as effortlessly cool as it is a rough around the edges, Williamsburg's Journal Gallery has showcased a stylish bunch of emerging, young artists-about-town as well as fashion designers like Helmut Lang (whose exhibit featured a fallen disco ball).
168 N. 1st St., Williamsburg; (718) 218-7148