Listings

WEDNESDAY

DECEMBER 31

Film

'MILLENNIUM MAMBO'

How often does a new movie by Hou Hsiao-hsien get a commercial run in New York? (Never.) This technopop-fueled homage to starlet Shu Qi isn't his best—seemingly designed to complement a jumbo tapioca-bubble tea—but the electric palette is a source of wonder, and the lightweight heroine gives the movie a vertiginous spin. It's like a Warhol Edie Sedgwick film, without the angst. HOBERMAN

Opens today, Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, 212.924.3363

Music

DISCO BISCUITS

If heat, sweat, and recreational-chemistry-inspired chaos are on your agenda this evening, look no further than this brawny and oceanic improv-rock quartet—then brace yourself for a marathon. Songs often begin as bittersweet anthems before taking off into techno, dub, breakbeat, blues, and countless other elsewheres—e.g., the improvised soundtrack to Akira that was the highlight of a previous NYE show. GEHR

At 9, Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, 212.485.1534

ROY HARGROVE AND FRIENDS

To hear his phat and furious trumpet let loose in a comparatively tiny room like this is a sure way of getting your joy on. He has absorbed Cuba and lived hip-hop, and he keeps a nasty little band that trades in funk and go-go. That makes for a rather elaborate mélange, but fear not, swing fans: He's always just a step away from the blues. MACNIE

At 8, 10:30, and 1:30 a.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, 212.242.1063

MCCOY TYNER TRIO

Seen those green Hulk Hands being marketed to the kids these days? Strap 'em on and it's clout city. The pianist is all about such vigor. He's responsible for some of jazz's most creative turbulence. Bobby Hutcherson and Joe Lovano (Wednesday and Thursday) turn the brawny band into an even feistier outfit, long on grace and soul. Michael Brecker (Friday through Sunday) conjures a few echoes of you-know-who when he takes the stand in search of spontaneity. MACNIE

At 7:30, 11:15, and 1 a.m., Thursday through Sunday at 8 and 10, Friday and Saturday also at 11:30, Iridium, 1650 Broadway, 212.582.2121

BUDDY & JULIE MILLER

New Year's 2004, they're an act as soulful-smart as mainstream country or edgy Americana Nashville has—as they were when playing lost venues City Limits and the Lone Star, here, unnoticed, in 1980. The rocking Millers, as in-love as George and Gracie, grace this stage at year's turn, annually. Maybe they can channel the power to keep this venue from becoming one more lost one. MAZOR

At 9:30, Bottom Line Cabaret, 15 West 4th Street, 212.502.3471

NORTHERN STATE

New Year's is all about partying, right? Well, what better way to ring in 2004 than with the three sexy ladies behind one of the illest party jams in recent years, Northern State's "At the Party"? Kick out the white-girl hip-hop jams all night with a champagne toast and DJ set by NS backing musicians the Groove Brothers. PHILLIPS

At 10:30, Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, 718.230.0236

YO LA TENGO

Greater Gotham's most beloved band were bohemian pioneers across another river when Williamsburg was the name of a free bridge, and it's in their beloved Hoboken that they throw their best parties. This one comes with a buffet, a champagne toast, and—I'm guessing, but betting—at least one cover you've never heard before. CHRISTGAU

At 10, Maxwell's, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, 201.653.1703

Photo

LARRY GIANETTINO

Gianettino, who died last year at 45, made color portraits of toy animals—an alligator, a chipmunk, a pink panda, a whole gaga menagerie of bug-eyed, fuzzy things. Seen at such close range that they could rub noses with the lens, these critters fairly vibrate with a manic energy that ricochets off their acid-hued backdrops. Full of hilarious, passive-aggressive neediness, Gianettino's toys want to be loved, but, barring that, they might just take over the world. ALETTI

Through January 10, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, 212.627.4819

THURSDAY

JANUARY 1

Photo

RICHARD RENALDI

ICP included Renaldi's portraits of sleek Madison Avenue shoppers in its recent "Strangers" show, but these pictures, taken in Newark and Fresno, would have made an even more arresting point. Posed casually in the center of broad, evocative streetscapes, Renaldi's mostly young, strikingly self-possessed subjects represent a rich range of ethnicities, none of them reduced to types. Like Joel Sternfeld's similarly reserved and equally engaging environmental portraits, these pictures capture the changing face of America without pretending to define it. ALETTI

Through January 10, Debs & Co., 525 West 26th Street, 212.643.2070

FRIDAY

JANUARY 2

Film

'DIAL M FOR MURDER—IN 3-D'

The 3-D craze was over by the time Alfred Hitchcock finished, and the movie was released flat. Seen as it should have been, it's a revelation. While others assaulted audiences with hurtling tomahawks or Jane Russell's bosom, Hitch made actors recede behind a clutter of monumentalized bric-a-brac—a canny restraint allowing the stereo image to assert its own uncanny characteristics. HOBERMAN

Through Thursday, Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, 212.727.8110

SATURDAY

JANUARY 3

Music

THE ROOTS

In about 20 years or so, when they're writing about the ascent of the hip-hop underground, they'll look at this mini-tour as evidence of its potency. Just two years ago, the Roots were backing Jay-Z on his Unplugged expedition, and now they're supporting a who's who of future major-label stars (don't hate—it's true): politico-funkster Mr. Lif, Can Ox refugee Vast Aire, baddest twitch Jean Grae, and schoolteacher J-Live, as well as Aesop Rock, Skillz, Little Brother, and more. With Pete Rock & CL Smooth and Dice Raw. CARAMANICA