It's been four years since Art Brut released its debut album Bang Bang Rock & Roll, and frontman Eddie Argos's persona remains a perfect blend of irony and disarming sincerity. "I'm not shambolic," he said on Tuesday night between songs, before correcting himself: "Oh, okay, okay, I'm shambolic." (No one had asked whether he was or was not shambolic.) Then Argos abruptly dropped the thought to describe his gleeful visit to DC Comics that afternoon, and Art Brut launched into "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes," a simple and sweetly nostalgic track from Art Brut Vs. Satan.

Autumn De Wilde

"It's kind of the opposite of what you do."

"Brainwave": Miranda July
The Rubin Museum
March 7

The Rubin Museum's Brainwave series asks: "What can science learn from art and meditation in its exploration of the brain?" Compelling at first, the idea can be somewhat clinical and voyeuristically unsettling when put into practice, like a desire to see what happens when an orangutan and a peacock are placed in cage together.

Jed Lipinski

"Just throw your panties up there already!"

Tom Jones
Terminal 5
February 24

Has the term sexagenarian ever been more appropriate? At 68, Tom Jones's sex appeal is staggering, humbling, an embarrassment to young men in the crowd. Jones paws the air and himself, smiles like a cartoon lion, and displays the footwork of an ex-premiere league soccer star. He is an athlete and a sensualist. He clearly turns himself on.

The first pair of panties hit the stage during "Delilah" ("Why, why, WHY, DELILAH?") and continued to rain down on Sir Tom as he prowled through his catalogue of mega-hits: "It's Not Unusual," "What's New Pussycat?," "Sexbomb," "She's a Lady." At least 10% of the female crowd chucked their underwear at him, usually missing the mark by 20 feet, but occasionally grazing Jones's natty head or thigh. He made one half-hearted attempt to catch a well-aimed garter belt. But after forty years of tucking undies into his back pocket, the whole routine must seem depressingly stale.

Credit: Joyce Culver for the 92nd Street Y

The Year Ahead with Arianna Huffington and Bloggers from The Huffington Post
92nd Street Y
January 21

In a recent episode of 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin says toSalma Hayek , "Thank you for telling me what I already know. You should work for The Huffington Post." In real life, of course, Baldwin does. But perhaps to contradict such impressions the first day of Obama's presidency, Arianna Huffington and a group of HuffPo bloggers came to the 92nd Street Y to discuss "The Year Ahead." The all-star panel included Erica Jong, Nora Ephron, Craig Newmark (founder of Craigslist), Trey Ellis (a novelist and screenwriter), and Paul Rieckoff (executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America). Huffington moderated, radiating elegance and financial success.

Credit: Maryanne Ventrice

Vivian Girls and Bones Royal
Living Room
January 11

Kids under 8 make incredible hecklers. Their approach is disarming: a combination of pure curiosity, unwieldy imagination, and a total lack of sarcasm. As Bones Royal, a countrified three-piece from the LES, were tuning up at Sunday afternoon's Kidrockers show at The Living Room, headlined by The Vivian Girls, a bed-headed 6-year-old shrieked: "That's making my heart beat so fast!" It was impossible to tell if he was joking or serious. Guitarist Foley Stewart blushed, and looked confused. "Thanks?" he said.

At Kidrocker gigs, two bands play 4 or 5 originals at low volume, swapping out dirty words, and engage in a Q&A with the children, moderated by hosts Seth Herzog and Craig Baldo. The idea is that hip parents can see their favorite bands with their kids, fostering an appreciation for grown-up music, and ideally replacing The Wiggles with Nada Surf. On Sunday, though, the performances took a backseat to the kids' savage wit. From the Q&A's: