ASmalls and I went to check up on Roc Nation’s Hugo live in NYC at the Rockwood Music Hall. A small but soulful venue, with 2 levels to view live entertainment. I enjoyed his music, song after song. His music is very energetic while maintaining a cool soulful feel. Hugo, is definitely an entertainer, with jokes prior to each song, making faces at the ladies and actually helping himself to a glass of water from a guest sitting in front of him. Hugo packed the building Tuesday night and had a special guest “Jay-Z” to watch his fellow Roc Nation artist perform in NYC.  This place was so cool, you wouldn’t even have known Jay was there. No pictures, no autographs and no groupies. I can’t wait to go back.

Urban Explorers: Hugo @ Rockwood from The Artoholiks on Vimeo.

Who said hard work doesn’t pay off? For weeks we planned, created and dreamed for a great turn out. And, we got what we wanted! The first step of the idea was just thinking of how could we use this space, then we thought… we’re a creative agency so why not host an art gallery? Then giving the event a title came into play, the studio is named “239 Collective”. The name come from our street address and us having a three level building that contains a creative agency, 2 lifestyle blogs, architectural firms and just some awesome creative people. So combining all of that with working together and getting almost any type of job done together creates a “collective”. June 24th was the night, 7pm was the time and at 7:30 we were already packed! The night went into 2am, music still bumping by DJ Andres. A little bit of jazz, hiphop, dance, r&b  and an hour dedicated to MJ (Micheal Jackson). The art was awesome and the crowd was very diverse, cool, and collective. Drinks were provided by Hell’s Kitchen. I enjoyed myself, friends, colleagues, follow artoholiks and esco (the studio dog).  From what I hear everyone utilized the items in the gift bags Jmine and I bust our asses for. Enjoy the photos!

On Tuesday June 8, 2010 we went Urban Exploring in New York City at the 32nd Annual Museum Mile Festival. For those who aren’t familiar, “Museum Mile” is made up of nine museums stretching across 23 blocks along 5th Avenue. Every year for the past 32 years the museums all come together, blocking off 5th Avenue (btwn 82nd-105th) to have a huge block party! Live music, performances, vendors and sidewalk chalk art fills the streets along with about 50, 000 visitors!
Unfortunately our official Urban Explorers camera died, so we only have a few pics to share :-p but believe us when we say it was an amazing event for people of all ages!

Click Here for more info on Museum Mile in NYC!

Last Monday June 7, 2010 the Times Square Alliance hosted their 17th Annual “Taste of Times Square” Food and Entertainment Festival. What an amazing event this was! Most of the Times Square restaurants set up booths/tents on Broadway and 46th Street serving up samples of some of their signature dishes.

We filled our bellies with delicious food, watched awesome performances, listened to great music and met some wonderful people!

Here’s our recap on some of our favorites restaurants and their dishes:

Brasserie 1605: Amazing Short Ribs Slider
Bella Vita: Tasty Brick Oven Pizza & Garlic Knots
O’Lunney’s Times Square Pub: awesome O’Lunney’s Crabcake w/ Cajun Aioli
BBKings: BBQ Spare Ribs w/ Macaroni & Cheese, Cole Slaw and Corn Bread
Junior’s: Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
Pasta Lovers: Rigatoni/tomato sauce
Sangria 46: Curasco de Pollo (Chicken Churaso) & Chicken Empanada

Check out these restaurants and all the others next time you’re in Times Square, and enjoy our pics below!

Check out this video snippet of youth performance from the World Hertitage Cultural Center, tribute to Michael Jackson: