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.

CAFFE VIVALDI @ RENEE WEILER SERIES
Hillary Gardner with Joe Alterman Jazz Trio
Hillary is one of my fave NYCity jazz singers. And it’s not just me. This is what Terry Teachout, author of “Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong” and ”Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington” has to say:
“…an absolutely first-class singer. She swings effortlessly without making a big deal of it, and she has a knack for hunting down off-center tunes…Yet she’s just as adept at making something fresh and surprising out of an oft-heard chestnut.”
Don’t miss this performance in a wonderful space.
Renee Weiler Recital Hall, Greenwich House Music, 46 Barrow Street (one block west of Caffe Vivaldi)
at 8-10PM / $30 online; $35 at the door

WNYC’s Soundcheck Presents A Soundcheck Smackdown: 
“Beatles vs. Rolling Stones”
With Ophira Eisenberg, Bill Janovitz, Mike Myers, and Paul Myers

WNYC’s Soundcheck, hosted by John Schaefer, is New York City’s on-air and online destination for new music, live performances, and engaging conversations with artists, critics and tastemakers. In 2010 Soundcheck hosted an epic “Smackdown” debate, pitting The Beatles against the Rolling Stones. The Library for the Performing Arts says it’s time for a rematch!

Arguing for The Beatles are comedian, actor, and director Mike Myers (Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, and Shrek); and writer and musician Paul Myers, author of the acclaimed biographies A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren In The Studio, and It Ain’t Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues.

Taking on the Myers brothers on behalf of the Rolling Stones are comedian and writer Ophira Eisenberg, host of NPR and WNYC’s Ask Me Another; and Bill Janovitz, frontman of the alt-rock band Buffalo Tom, and author of Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell The Story of The Rolling Stones, and the 33 1/3 series’ book about Exile on Main Street.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,
Bruno Walter Auditorium, 111 Amsterdam Ave (at 65th Street)
At 6 p.m./ FREE.
Seats are distributed on a first come, first served basis the day of the program. Admission line forms inside The Library for the Performing Arts’ Amsterdam Avenue entrance beginning at 5:00pm.

This event is presented in conjunction with The Library for the Performing Arts’ free exhibition Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles! currently on display in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural Hstory
Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions—times when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out large dinosaurs. And this time around, the cataclysm is us.

Join Elizabeth Kolbert, staff writer for the The New Yorker magazine and author of the new book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, and Michael Novacek, senior vice president and provost of science at the American Museum of Natural History, as they discuss the process of extinction—and the role humanity plays in it. Science writer and video journalist Flora Lichtman will moderate.

The talk will be followed by a book signing with author Elizabeth Kolbert.
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park W. at 79th St. (enter at 77^th St)
at 6:30pm / $15 ($13.50 seniors, students)
212-769-5100

Fred Hersch Trio
“The pianist has a nurturing relationship with the Village Vanguard, as demonstrated on his 2012 release, “Alive at the Vanguard,” the third live album that he has recorded there. He is joined by the same telepathic team assembled for that album: the bassist John Hébert and the drummer Eric McPherson.” (NewYorker mag)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village,
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Celebrate Craft Beer Week 
Now that the Olympics are over it’s time to turn our attention to Craft Beer Week in NYC. Opening night was Friday, Feb. 21, and the closing bash will be on Sunday, Mar. 2 at Houston Hall in the West Village. In between there are many special beer related events taking place around town. Each day I will try to ID a few of the best (gadzooks, some events may not even be on the WestSide).

508 Gastrobrewery is excited to pair up with Clay Gordon, chocolate critic and founder of The Chocolate Life, to host a beer pairing dinner with a chocolate theme. Chocolate will be included as an integral component of every course, and each will be paired with a specific house made craft beer. This is a dinner unlike any other and is not to be missed. Ticket includes 6 courses and 6 beers. Menu coming shortly at 508nyc.com) 40/45

“NY Beer Night and Book Signing With Beer Union One of the best beer week finales will be taking place at Jimmy’s No. 43, where you will not only have the chance to try some fine locally brewed beverages, but you’ll also be able to get your book signed by the authors of Beer Lover’s New York: The Empire State’s Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars. It’s also not insignificant to note that beer will be provided by none other than Brooklyn’s own Kelso Beer Co., whose delectable red rye IPA will surely be one of the most memorable malts of Beer Week.”(Gothamist)
4 p.m. // Jimmy’s No. 43 [43 East 7th Street btwn. 2nd and 3rd Avenue] // Free

Dinosaur Barbque Harlem
3 course Pre fixe menu with beer pairings & a surprise beer line takeover with an adult dessert float

Beer Culture
6-8pm – Keegan Ales ‘Meet The Brewer’

Brickyard Gastropub
5pm – First ever firkin to be tapped at Brickyard will be breached

George Keeley
Victory Brewing Night — tap takeover

Bronx Alehouse
7pm – Bronx Beer Night featuring beer from The Bronx Brewery, City Island Beer Co., Gun Hill Brewing Co., and Jonas Bronck’s Beer Co. Meet the brewers & sampling

To make your beer week experience even easier, download the official brewers guild beer week guide (now conveniently available as an app). This will give you a bit of an advantage on those other hop heads by providing event listings as well as deals on food and beer, among other things.

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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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 3 MUSEUMS (Manhattan’s WestSide)

‘Walker Evans: American Photographs’ (through Mar. 09)
“In 1938, the Museum of Modern Art mounted its first one-person photography exhibition: “American Photographs,” by Walker Evans. This gripping, 75th-anniversary reprise of that show presents more than 50 images from that body of work. It is accompanied by a reissue of the original catalog, which includes a wonderfully insightful essay by Evans’s friend and supporter Lincoln Kirstein. Together, the show and the book reverberate now in a time when the idea of America is subject to debates as fractious and far-reaching as at any time since the Civil War.” (Johnson-NYT)
Isa Genzken: ‘Retrospective’ (through March 10)
‘Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New’ (through April 21)
 ‘Designing Modern Women 1890-1990’(through Oct. 5)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.

Designing Modern Women 1890-1990:

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‘Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital’ (through June 1)
“If you haven’t quite wrapped your head around the concept of 3-D printing, or haven’t yet had a digital scanner wrap itself around you, now you can do both in this survey of computer-assisted art, architecture and design. The show looks at art made since 2005 and fills nearly three floors, including many irresistible interactive projects. Its ideas may not be entirely new; the Museum of Modern Art’s 2008 exhibition “Design and the Elastic Mind” covered much of the same territory, but there’s something to be said for this more down-to-earth, production-focused exhibition.” (Rosenberg-NYT)
Museum of Arts and Design, Columbus Circle,
212-299-7777,madmuseum.org.
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The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit is the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and features brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : … …” dated (02/25) and (02/23).