WEEKEND EDITION -- MARCH 30 - APRIL 1

This weekend we're keeping it short and sweet. Get enough culture to hold you over for a while tonight at the Whitney. And check out Manhattan's best hidden market tomorrow afternoon on the Lower East Side. Don't miss the best concert tickets with top shows selling out fast today. Van Gogh at the Neue Galerie is still a top pick for this weekend. And last week's comedy pick is still a top contender for tonight.

=FRIDAY=
MUSIC & ART: THE BOOKS @ THE WHITNEY (Madison Ave. @ 75th St.)
Band Site + Reviews + Museum Site + Map
Our Take: We love live music in museums. It lets us cover lots of cultural bases at once. Head over to the Whitney tonight @ 7pm and check out The Books. In museum lingo, you might say their music incorporates mixed media and found objects to challenge the listeners' conceptions of what one can use to make a song. Or you might just say they rock.

Bonus: The Whitney is running some critically acclaimed shows right now that you can check out after (or during) the show. Both of the mixed media exhibitions - Lorna Simpson and Gordon Matta-Clark - are definitely worth checking out.

Details: The Books play @ 7pm. Museum open tonight until 9pm. Admission on Fridays is "pay what you wish." Normally it's $15 or $10 for students. The concert is included with admission. There are no tickets.

=SATURDAY=
FOOD & SHOPPING: ESSEX STREET MARKET (Essex St. b/w Rivington & Delancey)
Site + Map
Our Take: Hidden in an ugly building on the Lower East Side is this great little market that has been a Lower East Side fixture for about 60 years. Way before the hipsters moved in, Essex Market was feeding the neighborhood. Today, the market has two of the city's best cheese shops (Formaggio Essex and Saxelby Cheesemongers), a speciality meat butcher that goes back four generations on the LES and even a kosher wine maker that goes back 100 years in the city.

Our Plan: Stop by the market in the afternoon and remember what a real neighborhood anchor feels like. Check out our cupcake post for the city's best cupcakes right around the corner. And after you eat dessert first, head over to Alias for lunch or an early dinner.

Details: The market is closed Sunday. Open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm.

=ANY TIME=
GEAR UP FOR SUMMER MUSIC: The live music scene for the warm months is starting to unfold. Plan ahead or tickets will be gone. Readers who check our Plan Ahead Section on the website had a heads up about Arcade Fire tickets on sale this morning. They sold out in minutes. Some of the Central Park Summerstage shows have gone on sale. These are summer favorites and the shows sell out. Our pick for must-see Summerstage show this summer is the Decemberists on July 16. Check UrbanDailyReport for details. Also on sale this week are Joss Stone (with Common), Bjork @ Radio City and Arctic Monkeys @ the Hammerstein Ballroom.