Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014.
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “9 Notable NYCity Events-June”, and also “on Broadway”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above. =========================================================================
Anat Cohen (through June 15.)
“The accomplished Israeli-born clarinettist and saxophonist personifies the multicultural and pan-stylistic eclecticism that are hallmarks of the contemporary-jazz scene: she is comfortable flitting from Middle Eastern strains to Brazilian choro to swing, bebop, and modal idioms. The drummer Matt Wilson and the bassist Martin Wind will be Cohen’s support team, and special guests are promised.” (NewYorker)
This is one of NYC’s Jazz treasures playing at an iconic NYCity Jazz Club. You gotta go.
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village,
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com;
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.
Museum Mile Festival
“This annual festival, commonly called New York City’s biggest block party, returns for its 36th year. For three hours, the upper stretches of Fifth Avenue, from 82nd to 105th Streets, will be closed off to traffic, the smell of exhaust fumes and the blaring of horns replaced by pedestrians, sidewalk chalk art and street performers. There will also be musicians, storytellers and clowns providing outdoor entertainment.
Many of the cultural institutions along this particular stretch — including the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum and El Museo del Barrio — will open their doors, free, as well as provide visitors special activities to go along with the exhibitions already on view.” (NYT)
From 6 to 9 p.m., 212-606-2296, museummilefestival.org.
Willie Nelson + Alison Krauss and Union Station
+ Jerry Douglas + Kacey Musgraves
“In this intergenerational gathering of country royalty, the 81-year-old philosopher king of troubadours and the high priestess of bluegrass symbolically pass the torch to Kacey Musgraves, the newest initiate to a club whose membership requires multiple Grammys and the life lessons that earned their stripes.
Nelson and Family have never appeared alongside Alison Krauss and Union Station, her band for three decades, including dobro master Jerry Douglas. Musgraves, a Dolly Parton devotee, has got a lot of living to do before she inherits that mantle. Times have changed since the red-headed stranger penned “Willingly” in 1961, but telling it like it is hasn’t.” (Aidan Levy-VillageVoice)
Radio City Music Hall,
866-858-0008, ticketmaster.com;
At 8 p.m. / $65 to $130.
Fernando Otero and Radio Angel
“Mr. Otero, a resourceful pianist and composer from Buenos Aires, recently released a darkly ravishing album with the plain but connotative title of “Romance.” As on the album, he works here with the vocalist Kristin Norderval, the bandoneón player Juan Pablo Jofre, the clarinetist Ivan Barenboim, the violinist Nick Danielson and the bassist Pablo Aslan.” (Chinen-NYT)
Minton’s, 206 West 118th Street, Harlem,
212-243-2222, mintonsharlem.com;
At 7 p.m. / $20 cover at tables, $10 at the bar; with a one-drink minimum.
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks
“If you haven’t yet checked out the Nighthawks’ new digs, what are you waiting for. “The band (which has just released their second volume of music from HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”) now actually sounds better, audio-wise, and the menu is a vast improvement over the band’s previous venue—overall, it is a step up, to the second floor, rather than a flight down, to the basement.
Although longtime fans are currently referring to the Nighthawks as “The Iguana Troubadours,” they continue to play with the same amazing combination of skin-tight historical authenticity and sheer, relentless energy, plus a tempo that has always characterized Mr. Giordano’s bands.” (WSJ-Will Friedwald)
Iguana, 240 W. 54th St., (Btw 8th/B’way)
8pm-11pm (3 sets) / $15 cover, $20 food/drink minimum
(212) 765-5454 / iguananyc.com
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♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub – West Village
Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.
Sometimes you just need a beer and a burger. If so, Corner Bistro is the place you want. Located just outside the hip Meatpacking district, this corner bar and grill is decidedly unhip, but it’s not uncrowded, especially at night. Seems that everyone knows this place has one of the better burgers in town.
In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town. The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro will be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary next year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.
Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $6.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.
Corner Bistro seems to attract very different groups of patrons depending on time of day. While it’s crowded with locals in the evening, in the afternoon you hear different foreign languages, and watch groups of euro tourists wander in, led by their guidebooks and smartphones.
For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
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Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 