Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, MAR. 12, 2014.
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “Notable NYC Events-Mar”, 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.
“NYPL BOOKS AT NOON”
The New York Public Library recently inaugurated a new weekly series in Astor Hall (the soaring space just inside the main entry), featuring a writer in conversation with a member of the library’s staff. Today’s featured writer is Sam Lipsyte who has written five books of fiction including most recently the The Fun Parts. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and the recipient of the Believer Book Award.
NYPL, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
12pm / FREE
917-275-6975
Lorde
“It’s a testament to Lorde that her status as a 17-year-old who came up out of nowhere (in New Zealand) stands as only one of many interesting aspects of her story. Her accomplished music is filled with evocative electronics and a range of vocal moods that leaves her lots of space to explore. Her poise and seeming disinterest in pop’s most empty excesses, too, suggests promise beyond her debut album “Pure Heroine,” released last year.
She reportedly passed up a chance to go on tour with Katy Perry, and she posed for the cover of Rolling Stone in a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of antic punk band the Cramps. What she does next is an open question..” (WSJ)
Roseland Ballroom, 239 W. 52nd St.,
At 7 p.m./$42.50 to $55
800-745-3000, roselandballroom.com; (212) 247-0200
Wide World of Rum
Fort Defiance barman Zac Overman offers a crash course on the sugarcane spirit. The workshop features a tasting session, mixology tips, palate-cleansing nibbles of crackers, and a 10% discount to shop the wide selection of wines and spirits afterward.
Chelsea Chelsea Wine Vault
75 Ninth Ave, btw 15th and 16th Sts
6:30pm $75
212-462-4244 / chelseawinevault.com
Brian Charette Trio
“The Hammond B-3 organist Brian Charette has a bright new trio album, “Square One,” featuring the guitarist Yotam Silberstein and the drummer Mark Ferber. Its contemporary spin on soul jazz should resonate here.” (Chinen-NYT)
From 9:30 p.m. to midnight, $20 cover.
Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th Street, West Village, smallsjazzclub.com;
Rufus Reid, ‘Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project’
The veteran bassist has spent most of his 70 years serving with the jazz legends of multiple generations—from Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz on downward. At this point in his career, he’s asserting himself more aggressively as a bandleader and especially as a composer, evidenced by his latest and most ambitious work, “Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project.”
Inspired by the sculptures of the celebrated African-American artist, this is a full-length suite for 20-piece orchestra, in which the six movements take the same kind of unique shapes as Catlett’s iconic figures. Mr. Reid’s lovely second movement, “Mother and Child,” is a particularly ingenious sonic interpretation of Catlett’s 1939 work, with soprano Charenee Wade’s wordless lines making it seem even more warm and maternal.
Jazz Standard , 116 E. 27th St.,
(212) 576-2232 /jazzstandard.net
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.,/ $30
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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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 