7 picks a week: See eerie art, get rocked by a doc, and befriend a lonely storyteller

Welcome to Seven Picks a Week, our newly rebooted guide to what’s worth catching in arts and culture during the week ahead. We’ve moved the guide up a day earlier to make it more useful for planning, and opened up the selection process to include contributors from throughout the WNYC newsroom, as well as colleagues from WQXR and All of It. Let us know what you think.—Steve Smith, Culture & Arts Editor, WNYC/Gothamist

Get creeped out by David Lynch’s visual art

If you’re a fan of the idiosyncratic filmmaker David Lynch, then you’ve got a strong idea of what to anticipate in “Big Bongo Night,” his first exhibition since signing with Pace Gallery. The show includes mixed-media sculptures, paintings, and a work on paper, all infused with the same qualities of creeping dread and disorientation that saturate his cinematic oeuvre. Pace Gallery, through Dec. 17; pacegallery.com (Steve Smith)

Revisit NYC’s early 2000s indie rock scene

The early 2000s in New York City ushered in a new wave of rock bands that included The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and LCD Soundsystem. A new documentary, "Meet Me in the Bathroom," based on the oral history book from writer Lizzy Goodman, tells the story of that moment and those bands. Earlier this week, Goodman joined us along with one of the film's directors, Dylan Southern, and musician Adam Green, whose band The Moldy Peaches also emerged from this scene. "Meet Me in the Bathroom" opens today at the IFC Center, and on Nov. 8 widely, and will be available to stream on Showtime starting Nov. 25. IFC Center, starting Friday, Nov. 4, times vary; ifccenter.com (Simon Close, All of It)

Befriend a lonely up-and-coming storyteller

"I turned 30 and it occurred to me that I don't have any friends." So begins Gabe Mollica’s off-Broadway debut, “Solo,” at the Soho Playhouse. For the next hour, Mollica examines friendships, relationships, and his (occasional) lack thereof. The show has unexpected asides: he was pen pals with Stephen Sondheim, has some funny ideas for how to find a therapist, and offers witty observations about the “bros” in his life, who rank everything from Adam Sandler movies to furniture wood. The show has struck a chord with audiences all over: after a stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Scotsman gave Mollica a four-star review, calling his show “unforgettable” and “beguiling.” SoHo Playhouse, Friday, Nov. 4-Saturday, Nov. 5 and Wednesday, Nov. 9-Saturday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m.; ovationtix.com (Kerry Shaw)

Hear elemental sounds from a band featuring two MacArthur geniuses

Jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Myra Melford has been assembling impressive bands for decades now — but her newest ensemble is a head-turner all the same. The group, called Fire and Water, features two recent recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (a.k.a. “Genius Grant”), guitarist Mary Halvorson and cellist Tomeka Reid. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Lesley Mok complete the lineup when the band comes to Roulette in Brooklyn to celebrate its debut CD, “For the Love of Fire and Water.” Roulette, Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.; roulette.org (Steve Smith)

Get up close and personal with Leven Kali (while you still can)

Williamsburg venue Baby's All Right has made a name for itself as the place to catch artists on the brink of mainstream success, and there’s yet another loaded show coming right up: Leven Kali, with Sebastian Mikael opening. This has been an exciting year for Kali, who’s fresh off the release of his newest EP, “Let It Rain,” as well as major contributions to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” — Kali and two of his high school friends are credited as composers and lyricists on “Virgo’s Groove,” and as background vocalists on other tracks. The California-raised singer, songwriter, and guitarist has also written songs for Jazmine Sullivan and Snoh Aalegra, and featured on Playboi Carti’s self-titled debut project in 2017. Baby’s All Right, Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 9:30 p.m.; seetickets.us (Precious Fondren)

Experience telepathy with the venerable Berlin Philharmonic

The Berlin Philharmonic arrives at Carnegie Hall on November 10, 11 and 12, for the orchestra’s first New York appearances with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko. The programs feature Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 (Nov. 10 and 12) and works by Andrew Norman, Mozart, and Korngold (Nov. 11). Petrenko is one of the most compelling podium artists I have ever encountered in my nearly three decades of working in classical music. He seems to have a musical telepathy with the musicians of the orchestra, and the result is powerful, unified, and out of this world. I have been anticipating Berlin’s first appearances with him since before the pandemic, and now they’re here… not to be missed. Carnegie Hall, Thursday, Nov. 10-Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m.; carnegiehall.org (Ed Yim, WQXR)

Check out the first-ever solo museum show by Theaster Gates

It’s hard to believe that “Young Lords and Their Traces” is the first-ever solo museum survey devoted to the art of Theaster Gates, so widespread and pervasive are the Chicago artist’s work and influence. Active in the fields of sculpture, installation art and collaborative performance, Gates elevates the thinkers who shaped society, in his hometown and in the U.S., through paintings, sculptures, videos, and performances. New Museum, Thursday, Nov. 10–Feb. 5, 2023; newmuseum.org (Steve Smith)