Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, FEB. 16, 2014
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “Notable NYC Events-Feb”, and also “on Broadway”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
Tierney Sutton Band
“A jazz singer of cool poise and effervescent style, Tierney Sutton draws from “American Road,” a broadly defined standards album — Gershwin alongside George Benson, and some Bernstein for good measure — with her longstanding band.” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St and Broadway,
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m./ $40 and $45 cover, with a $10 minimum
212-258-9595, jalc.org;
Harlem Globetrotters
Everyone should see these guys at least once – see sports when it was just fun, not big business. First, watch this incredible shot 5 stories above the basket – nothing but net.
The world famous Harlem Globetrotters have been thrilling families and millions of fans for 88 years, all the while innovating the game in exciting new ways. Last year, the Globetrotters did something unparalleled in the history of sports and entertainment, letting fans vote on new rules to be used in actual games. It was so much fun, they are doing it again on their 2014 “Fans Rule” World Tour.
Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza,
866-858-0008, thegarden.com
DAVE HOLLAND
“Although the bassist Holland was present on some of the most significant early fusion albums (including Miles Davis’s pioneering “Bitches Brew,” from 1970), he has never led a full-throttle jazz-rock unit until now. “Prism” is the name of both his new quartet and its recent début album; with the pianist Craig Taborn,the guitarist Kevin Eubanks, and the drummer Eric Harland in tow, Holland has all the firepower he needs.” (NewYorker listings)
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea,
At 8 p.m.,/ $29.50 in advance, $35 day of show; $55 for V.I.P. seating;
$10 minimum per person at tables.
212-414-5994,highlineballroom.com
Royal New Zealand Ballet performs Andrew Simmons’s Of Days
“Dance fans know Ethan Stiefel as the celebrated former American Ballet Theatre principal; dance-movie fans know him as the jerky choreographer who broke Jody’s heart in Center Stage. These days, he’s the artistic director of the world-renowned Royal New Zealand Ballet, which is making its long-awaited NYC debut at the Joyce.
The company will perform Benjamin Millepied’s elegant 28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Javier De Frutos’s flamenco-inflected Banderillero and Andrew Simmons’s minimalist Of Days.” (TONY mag )
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St
2:00pm & 7:30pm /$10–$75
212-242-0800 / joyce.org
CYRILLE AIMÉE
“The locally based, French-born singer, who is of Dominican descent, was a runner-up in the 2010 Thelonious Monk Vocals Competition and she grabbed the gold two years later in the first Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition. She’s at Birdland celebrating Valentine’s Day all week long.” (NewYorker listings)
Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Clinton,
At 8:30 and 11 p.m./ $40, with a $10 minimum.
212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com
Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
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NYCity This Week
During Fashion Week, photographers all but transformed the media pit at the Creatures of the Wind show at Lincoln Center into a mosh pit.
Yana Paskova for The New York Times / Panorama ==============================================================
A PremierPub / Midtown West.
Russian Vodka Room / 265 W 52nd St (btw 7th/8th ave)
Sure, you could travel to Minsk or even Brighton Beach, for an authentic Russian experience, but why bother. On those days when you feel you must wash down your dish of kasha with a few glasses of icy, cold vodka, the Russian Vodka Room will definitely satisfy your urge.
From the outside this place looks a bit drab, and with no windows, a bit mysterious. Midtown tourists walk right by on their way to see “Jersey Boys”, just down the block.
Those in the know enter a secret hideaway, a dimly lit front room with soft jazz playing – a perfect spot for an illicit late-night rendezvous, or maybe a meet-up with your Russian spy handler, but that’s later in the evening. Early in the evening the large U-shaped bar fills with the after work happy hour crowd, a group made very happy by the much reduced prices.
Their website says: “Welcome Comrades”. Of course, this welcome focuses on dozens of different vodkas, including their own special infusions, which marinate in giant, clear glass jugs visible around the room. The large vodka martinis ensure that you won’t confuse this place with your mother’s Russian Tea Room.
But man does not live by vodka alone. Eat some food, especially the tapa like appetizers. Be decadent and try the cheese blintzes with chocolate, or try a main dish like beef stroganoff with kasha.
Your best bet is to go on a night when the piano man is playing. This guy, who looks like he has eaten a lot of those cheese blintzes, plays five nights a week from 7 to 12 (no Mondays and Thursdays). When the piano man is playing American pop tunes, and you are at the crowded, dimly lit bar testing the horseradish infused vodka, that’s when the RVR shines.
It’s the kind of place where the noise gets louder and the crowd gets happier as the happy hour goes on. I’m generally a beer guy, but I like to come here with a group of friends. We find a table in the back room; we eat, and we drink vodka ‘till it hurts (and it will hurt).
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Website: http://www.russianvodkaroom.com/
Phone #: 212-307-5835
Hours: 4pm-2am; Fri-Sun closes 4am (that could be trouble)
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day
$4 shots infused vodka (2oz), $5 cosmos; $4 czech draft beer
Music: FR-SU; TU-WE / 7pm-12am
Subway: #1 to 50th St.
Walk 2 blk N. on B’way to 52nd St.; 1 blk W. to RVR
Confusingly, the Russian Samovar is right across the street, on the S. side of 52nd St.
The RVR, your destination, is on the N. side of 52nd St.
Update: music some nights includes a sax player with a younger, trimmer piano man.
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 