Sick of online dating, NYC singles are looking for love via PowerPoint presentations
At the buzzy new dating event Pitch and Pair, Gothamites try to sell the audience on their single friends with three-to-five minute PowerPoint presentations.
'I have a lot of shy friends who are single who are really great catches, and they kind of don't flourish in the typical dating apps or speed dating because they're introverted,' said the event's founder, Joe Teblum, a 33-year-old who lives in Chelsea and works in tech marketing. 'I also saw that there was this trend of people wanting to meet in person especially after Covid.'
At an event last week at Slate in the Flatiron District, 16 locals gave presentations to a few hundred in the audience. There were bullet points, short videos and tickers.
'He can explain things without making you fall asleep,' Kedar Venkataramani's cousin told the audience of the 30-year-old, 5-foot-8 intellectual property lawyer who lives in NYC. 'He has a sharp mind, a sharp suit, and zero ego.'
The cousin also praised Venkataramani as a soccer enthusiast and tasting menu aficionado. 'He will take you to a Broadway show including 'Hamilton' or 'Book of Mormon',' she said. 'He also Citi Bikes everywhere like it's his personal Tour de France.'
The crowd was especially excited about the presentation for Chris Puch, a 33-year-old firefighter who lives in Staten Island and is a pseudo-celebrity on Tik Tok for being a hunky public servant.
'He will cook healthy for you even though I've seen him eat $50 worth of Taco Bell in one sitting, so you don't have to worry about him being too healthy,' said his matchmaker friend, laughing. 'If you guys like to travel, he loves it. He's a world traveler, and he's been all over the world, and he's looking for someone to go with besides himself.'
Anand Tamirisa, a 33-year-old who lives in Chelsea and works in investment banking, was another one of the singles on offer. He admitted that he had authored much of the presentation himself, even though it was given by a dating guru buddy.
'I'm working in PowerPoint all day so it's easy for me,' he said. 'I made it in two hours. I even have a ticker on the top and stuff.'
His deck included information such as 'Moved to NYC in 2018 after being inspired by Jay-Z,' 'Works in investment banking but doesn't wear a vest,' and, 'Has performed stand-up comedy at world-class dive bars.'
It proved effective. By the time he walked off stage, Tamirisa had five new 'follow' requests on Instagram. (At the end of each presentation the matchmaker friend tells the crowd how to reach the single, whether it's via Instagram, email or text.)
'If I end up with one of them it would be a really good story,' Tamirisa said.
Pitch & Pair takes place twice a month at venues round town, including City Winery in the Meatpacking District and Second City in Brooklyn. It costs $40 to $60 pitch — with two tickets to the event included — and $15 to $25 to sit in the audience. The next event is August 4th at Caveat on the Lower East Side.
Events regularly sell out shortly after being announced — in as little as 34 hours.
When Teblum first came up with the idea about a year ago, interest was limited.
'Only one person wanted to do a presentation,' he said of the first event, which was held at Kilo Bravo bar in Williamsburg and only attracted a few people beyond his friends.
ts some early iterations, people tended to roast their friends in an attempt to be funny. Audiences sometimes erupted into 'boos.'
Now, Teblum tells participants to keep it positive.
'The crowd gets so into it,' he said. 'Like the matchmaker shows a picture of someone's dog or hobby and everyone breaks out cheering.'
Still, Sophia Demetriou, who was the first single presented at last week's event, said the experience was slightly uncomfortable. Her former roommate extolled her virtues, including the fact that she has never lost a game of backgammon, can 'serve looks' and is a Pizza Hut connoisseur.
'It was terrifying,' said Demetriou, a 26-year-old fashion designer. 'But I do think this is how people are going to date in the future. It just makes sense.'
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USA Today
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Yahoo
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Cindy Crawford has some fans 'disappointed' after spending time in Muskoka with Logan Paul. What other celebrities vacation in the Canadian region?
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Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills actress Lisa Rinna, 62, and her Clash of the Titans-starring husband, Harry Hamlin, 73, have been taking getaways to the Muskoka area for years. They've reportedly spent many summers on Governors Island in Lake Joseph, where Hamlin's family has had a cottage for more than a century. View this post on Instagram A post shared by L I S A R I N N A (@lisarinna) In August 2023, Rinna took to Instagram with a carousel of photos from her summer in the region that year. "Some lake life 2023," the star captioned that post, alongside a Canadian flag emoji. Fans back then shared their appreciation for the post in the comments section. "Have the same view! It's the best," wrote New York-based stylist Leslie Fremar. "You rock," a fan added. Summer McIntosh Summer McIntosh might be an Olympic-winning swimmer, but that doesn't mean she can't spend a bit of vacation time on Lake Muskoka. 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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Tom Morello announces full band tour, two NYC shows. Get tickets today
Vivid Seats is the New York Post's official ticketing partner. We may receive revenue from this partnership for sharing this content and/or when you make a purchase. Featured pricing is subject to change. Rock and roll's number one rule breaker is back in the saddle. Tom Morello announced he's touring arts centers, theaters, music halls, plaza rock clubs and casinos all over North America this fall as part of his 'Tom Morello & Friends Electric Full Band Show Tour.' While out and about, the Rage Against The Machine guitarist is slated to headline a trio of New York and New Jersey gigs. Up first, the 61-year-old NYC native hits Brooklyn's Warsaw on Tuesday, Nov. 18. After that, he and the 'full band' are scheduled to rock New York's Irving Plaza on Wednesday, Nov. 19 and Atlantic City's Borgata Casino Music Box on Friday, Nov. 21. 'Coming at you this fall! The last Big Event before they throw us all in jail!,' the subversive shredder jested in his tour announcement via Instagram. Prior to the brief U.S. leg of the run, Morello is lending his talents to the annual Rocklahoma Festival (Aug. 30) and then heading North for a Canadian tour he's billed as 'a night of stories and music.' Over the past few weeks, the anti-establishment Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has played a handful of shows and festival dates in Canada. And, while we don't know what to expect from these upcoming autumnal tours, we found that he delivered 20+ tracks at most of his summer gigs, according to Set List FM. His most recent non-festival concert at the time of publication took place at Toronto's Danforth Hall and was a 21-song affair that included RATM classics along with solo cuts and Nightwatchman favorites as well as surprise covers from artists as varied as Ozzy Osbourne, Woody Guthrie, Audioslave, Bruce Springsteen and John Lennon. To close out the show, he shared the stage with Rush's Alex Lifeson and delivered a blistering interpretation of the legendary Canadian group's epic 'Limelight' followed by a rendition of MC5's punchy 'Kick Out the Jams.' 'The set unfolded like a revolution-in-progress—carefully crafted, loud as hell, and impossible to ignore,' Soundcheck Entertainment raved about another recent gig of his in Edmonton. '…it was a rallying cry, a family celebration, and a musical gut-punch all rolled into one. From Roman's [Morello's son, who plays in the band] scorching opener to Woody Guthrie's Canadian makeover, from RATM fury to acoustic rebellion, this night had it all.' Want to be there? Fans can purchase tickets for all upcoming Tom Morello shows on sites like Vivid Seats; the official on-sale for the 'Tom Morello & Friends Electric Full Band Show Tour' is Friday, July 25. Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand. They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event. Tom Morello tour schedule 2025 A complete calendar including all U.S. and Canada tour/festival dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below. Rocklahoma 2025 Ahead of the forthcoming run, Morello will take part in this year's Rocklahoma, which goes down Aug. 29-31 at Pryor, OK's Fever Music Festival Grounds. Big names joining him atop the bill including Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden among others. Need to be there? In that case, you can scoop up single and multi-day Rocklahoma Festival tickets here. Tom Morello set list For a closer look at Morello's Toronto show described above, here's his complete set list from that evening, courtesy of Set List FM. 01.) 'Soldier in the Army of Love' 02.) 'One Last Dance' 03.) 'Testify / Take the Power Back / Freedom / Snakecharmer' (Rage Against the Machine song) 04.) 'Let's Get the Party Started' 05.) 'Hold the Line' 06.) 'One Man Revolution' (The Nightwatchman song) 07.) 'Secretariat' 08.) 'Cato Stedman & Neptune Frost' 09.) 'It Begins Tonight' (The Nightwatchman song) 10.) 'Keep Going' 11.) 'The Garden of Gethsemane' (The Nightwatchman song) 12.) 'This Land Is Your Land' (Woody Guthrie cover) 13.) 'Pretend You Remember Me' 14.) 'Mr. Crowley' (Ozzy Osbourne cover) 15.) 'Bombtrack / Know Your Enemy / Bulls on Parade / Guerilla Radio / Sleep Now in the Fire / Bullet in the Head / Cochise' (Rage Against the Machine song) 16.) 'Like a Stone' (Audioslave song) 17.) 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' (Bruce Springsteen cover) 18.) 'Killing in the Name' (Rage Against the Machine song) 19.) 'Power to the People' (John Lennon cover) Encore 20.) 'Limelight' (Rush cover) (with Alex Lifeson) 21.) 'Kick Out the Jams' (MC5 cover) (with Alex Lifeson) (Along with Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin and Snotty Nose Rez Kids) Tom Morello new music Most recently, Morello dropped the single 'Pretend You Remember Me' on July 10. The scorching rocker starts with a thrilling electric solo before settling into a melancholy groove complete with brow-beaten, downtrodden lyrics highlighted by the unforgettable refrain 'Pretend you remember me.' If you'd like to hear for yourself, you can find the stirring single here. To dig deeper — and unearth tracks contributed to the 'Last of Us,' 'Arcane' and 'Venom' soundtracks as well as his work with The Nightwatchman — click here to check out Morello's complete discography. Tom Morello band members Once again, we're not 100% certain who will be joining Morello onstage as the 'full band' but here's who he's taken on the road with him this summer as part of the Freedom Fighter Orchestra, based on a recent Instagram post. Carl Restivo Mark Biondi Dave Gibbs Roman Morello Huge rockers on tour in 2025 Need more hard rock in your life right now? If that's the case, here are just five can't-miss heavy acts you won't want to miss live these next few months. • System of a Down • Nine Inch Nails • Zakk Sabbath • My Chemical Romance • Judas Priest with Alice Cooper Who else is out and about? Take a look at this list of all the biggest rockers on tour in 2025 to find the show for you. This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change
