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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Peter Hayes is no stranger to the turbulence synonymous with a long career in rock. The band’s 15-year run seems to have entertained an ever-shifting balance of the good and bad - from great reviews touring the world, to bored critics, substance abuse, and everything between. The band’s most recent hurdle came with the devastating loss of Michael Been, founder of The Call, father of bandmate Robert Levon, touring sound manager, and overall inspiration.

Considering the Sofitel Los Angeles' endless parade of famous faces, even the changing of the color of the valet parking tickets would likely register a media reaction. But the hotel has just unveiled the fiery remake of its intimate cocktail lounge to significant gushing amidst the Hollywood chattering classes. Meant to invoke all the sensual allure of its namesake destination, Kayat Designs' interior for Riviera 31--Lorded over by French Tuesdays founder Gilles Amsallem, as well as nightlife impresarios Jake Saady and Misty Mansouri--is all sexy reds and elegant chocolate leathers. Fifties-era Edward Quinn black-and-white photos add a touch of Grace Kelly glamour.

Good news for any sad-sack caucasians out there who enjoy music that tenderly removes your heart and takes it apart like a pocket watch and leaves the pieces scattered on the floor: Scottish quintet Frightened Rabbit, who had a strong showing with Pedestrian Verse in February, and The National, who drop their new album Trouble Will Find Me later this month, will join forces this fall to make you feel your feelings.

Meet Sugar Factory: Meatpacking's new brasserie/explosive dessert spot where 36oz bubbling cocktail chalices full of lollipops and gummi worms land on the table, and hot fudge-drenched, submarine-sized, red velvet sundaes take up the width of your lap. It's the classy, marble-bar-chandelier American brasserie that refuses to grow up. Meatpacking's first and only outrageous dessert palace where the entire dinner kitchen is open until 4am all weekend long.

Do you drink cider? I'd be lying if I said I was a big cider enthusiast. I have quaffed a few that I enjoyed very much, but tend to order drinks that are dry rather than sweet, and most of the ciders I've tasted have been quite sweet. Enter Stella Artois Cidre, a new, dry, European-style cider from the brewers of the world's most popular Belgian beer. They're doing it because, well, it makes business sense--the alcoholic cider category is growing at a rate of 110%, which is kind of crazy. But they're also doing it because they're good at these things. I got my hands on some Stella Artois Cidre and tasted it this past weekend, and found it crisp, flavorful, refreshing, and--most importantly--not too sweet.

WEDNESDAY: Jeff Mahin's Stella Barra Opens In Hollywood 
ABC's The Taste may have been disappointing, but contestant Jeff Mahin's new pizza joint Stella Barra in Hollywood is redemptive. Expect a bigger menu and plates than his Stella Rossa Pizza Bar in Santa Monica, in addition to handmade pastas. The 120-seat restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While you won't find a wood-fire grill, Chef Mahin is all about perfecting his popular dish: burrata with wood-grilled grapes. That's good enough for us.

Nobody said dating in New York—let alone online dating—would be easy. In fact I think there are probably a couple billion words floating around the Internet on that exact topic. But surely putting out a Craigslist ad for an “Online Dating Surrogate” won’t help. Or will it? (Answer: still no.)

In the beer business, quality and convenience are often at odds with one another. It's universally accepted that the best-tasting beer is draft beer--assuming your draft lines are clean and everyting is in good working order. But a full keg of beer weighs 160 pounds, and that's nothing you'd want to lug to the beach. Your next best bet is beer in bottles, which work great in most scenarios, but still aren't perfect. Bottles are kind of heavy, they break if you drop them, they can be used as deadly weapons, and are often prohibited from places like swimming pools and airplanes for these reasons. So until the beer world makes my dreams come true and starts putting their suds into Tetra Pak-style boxes like my kid's apple juice, that leaves us with cans. I've never had a problem with cans, except that not enough good beers actually come in cans. There are scientific reasons for this, something to do with the beer-to-air ratio, but it's probably a consumer perception issue more than anything. Fortunately, that's changing. Companies like Brooklyn's Sixpoint brewery are putting some of their beers in snazzy, Red Bull-style cans. But Sam Adams is keeping it real by continuing to use the can style we're all familiar with. They've just made a couple tiny tweaks that make a big difference. Pick up a Sam Can of Sam Adams Boston Lager and you'll see what I mean. 

FRIDAY: Rock & LoHo At Downtown Music Festival
The Lower East Side’s music cup runneth over as Downtown Records brings a second year of the Downtown Music Festival. The venues are a greatest-hits package of below-Houston spots. Mercury Lounge hosts Teengirl Fantasy, Cake Shop has Beach Fossils and Trash Talk, and nine different acts will take the stage at Tammany Hall. Even swank event space Capitale is in on the groove, hosting L.A.’s Black Hippy. The spaces are all intimate, so get your tickets quick.

If you wish to remain in the dark about what “twerking” is, stop reading right now. Still here? Okay, well, twerking is a pretty unnecessary word—all it means, in practice, is to dance in such a sexually aggressive way as to make your bottom jiggle. Perhaps the definition should be expanded to include “getting in trouble for the dumbest possible reason,” now that some students at San Diego’s Scripp Ranch High have been banned from prom and walking at graduation for uploading a twerking video to YouTube.