Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 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. =========================================================================
Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins kicks off the 2014 Mad. Sq. Music: Oval Lawn Series. Atkins, a New Jersey native, was recognized shortly after her debut by Rolling Stone as one of the top ten artists to watch in 2006. Known for her “smoky vocals and dishy delivery,” Atkins has been the recipient of three Asbury Music Awards in 2002 for “Top Female Vocalist”, “Best Solo Act”, and “Song of the Year”, as well as an ASCAP award in 2005.
The New York Times aptly states, “Critics began to fall for her darkly laced, almost surrealistic songs and her soaring, dramatically powerful voice,” making her a force to be reckoned with in the blues, rock, and pop scene. Atkins’ newest album Slow Phaser was recently released in January of 2014 and has received critical acclaim from The Daily News, The Boston Globe, American Songwriter, Paste Magazine and many others. –
Madison Square Park, 23rd St to 26th St, Btw Fifth and Madison Aves,
At 7pm / FREE
Word for Word: Jenny Mollen & Jason Biggs
The actress and Twitter star discusses her brand new hysterical memoir “I Like You Just the Way I Am: Stories About Me and Some Other People” with her husband and fellow actor Jason Biggs (Orange is the New Black, American Pie). Mollen is writer who tells it like it is, and refuses to acknowledge boundaries of any kind.
“Word for Word Author” is an outdoor reading series that features bestselling authors, celebrity writers, and expert-panelists sharing anecdotes, answering questions from the audience, and signing copies of their latest books.
The Bryant Park Reading Room located on the 42nd Street side of the park – under the trees – between the back of the NYPL on 5th Avenue & 6th Avenue. Look for the burgundy and white umbrellas. In case of rain, events are held under a tent at the Reading Room. In case of severe weather, please check bryantpark.org for the indoor location.
The Bryant Park Reading Room, 1065 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd Street Side of the Park between 5th and 6th Avenues
212-768-4242
Paquito D’Rivera (through June 22)
“This clarinetist, alto saxophonist and longtime Cuban exile favors bright extroversion in his music, which usually incorporates Latin rhythm. In this club engagement, bearing the subtitle “Jazz Meets the Classics,” he will interpret themes from the classical canon, with an adaptable band made up of the trumpeter and valve trombonist Diego Urcola, the pianist Alex Brown, the percussionist Pernell Saturnino and the drummer Mark Walker.” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and Broadway,
212-258-9595, jalc.org
7:30 and 9:30 p.m. / $40 and $45 cover, with a $10 minimum
AN EVENING WITH REGGIE WATTS
Reggie Watts, internationally renowned vocalist/ beatboxer/ musician/ comedian/ improvisor, amazes audiences with his unpredictable performances, which are created on-the-spot using only his formidable voice and looping pedals. Blending and blurring the lines between comedy and music with his unique lyrical style, LA Weekly calls Reggie ”the most wildly inventive new talent of the past five years.”
The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street
at 8:00 PM / $42, $47, $57
Michael Hastings: The Last Magazine: A Novel
Friends and colleagues of Michael Hastings pay tribute to the writer and reporter, reading excerpts from his posthumously published book, The Last Magazine: A Novel. Participants include BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith; Anderson Cooper 360 producer Jack Gray; Hastings’s widow, Elise Jordan; and others.” (TONY)
Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E 17th St. btw Broadway and Park Ave South
212-253-0810 / bn.com
PlusOne
Jane Lynch (through June 21)
“You’ve loved to hate her as coach Sue Sylvester on Glee these many moons. When she played Miss Hannigan in the recent Annie revival on Broadway, you loved to hate her then, too. Now she’s offering another chance to love to hate her. Or perhaps in an as-herself switch, she’s offering the opportunity to love to love her. When Lynch was younger, she worked on her comedy technique in Chicago area church basements. See how she does in this much swankier NYC basement.” (David Finkle- VillageVoice)
54 Below, 254 West 54th St.
646-476-3551, 54below.com
at 7pm / $75 to $145 in advance; $80 to $150 at the door, with a $25 minimum.
(Friday & Saturday @ 8PM)
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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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The Week That Was in NYCity
(courtesy NYPost, with the most unique front/back pages anywhere)
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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 