Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “9 Notable NYCity Events-July”, 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. =========================================================================
The Birdland Big Band
With Guest Conductor Rob Middleton
Founded by drummer and musical director Tommy Igoe, the Birdland Big Band features the finest musicians in New York! The BBB roars into action every Friday, playing the finest Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music from the world’s best arrangers. After work or before a show, drinks or a great dinner, come hear one of the world’s best drummers driving the hardest swinging band in New York. Experience why the BBB is the must-see weekly jazz event in New York and kick off your weekend with what critics are calling “the best live music bargain in all of NYC!”
Birdland, 315 West 44th St., (btw 8th/9th Ave)
212-581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com
at 5:00PM / All seats $30, $10 food/drink minimum
Pilobolus (through Aug. 10)
“In keeping with a summer tradition at the Joyce Theater, the dancers of Pilobolus return with two programs, each featuring a New York premiere. The first, “On the Nature of Things,” is a balancing act created and performed by three company members. “The Inconsistent Pedaler” (Program B) is a collaboration with the Israeli fiction writer Etgar Keret and the filmmaker Shira Geffen, revolving around a girl and her time-bending bicycle.” (Burke-NYT)
Mondays through Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.,
with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.,
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th St., Chelsea,
212-242-0800 / joyce.org / $10 to $69.
LILLIAS WHITE, THE BIRTHDAY SHOW
After taking 54 Below by storm this spring, Lillias White returns with a brand new show. This ultimate Broadway diva will celebrate her birthday week at 54 Below by sharing songs about the ups & downs, the ins & outs of love. Expect show stopping numbers from Cy Coleman, Nina Simone, Alan & Marilyn Bergman… and songs ranging from brand new rock covers to oldies to hits from the Studio 54 heyday.
Tony Award & Emmy Award winner Lillias White (The Life, Dreamgirls, Fela, Hercules) is a force of nature, and her 54 Below performance is one that you will never forget.
54 Below, 254 W 54th St., (btw Broadway/Eighth Ave)
July 18 at 8PM & July 19 at 8PM & 11PM
$40-50 cover charge for 8PM shows. $30-40 cover charge for 11PM show.
$25 food & beverage minimum.
(646) 476-3551 / 866-468-7619 / 54below.com
Ben Allison Group (through July 19)
“For about 15 years the bassist Ben Allison has been a bandleader-composer of reliable intelligence and modest but meaningful surprises. Most of the musicians he has assembled here — the multireedist Ted Nash, the guitarist Steve Cardenas and the drummer Rudy Royston — are regular partners. One, the trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, is a more recent collaborator, and an all-around compelling addition.” (Nate Chinen-NYT)
Birdland, 315 West 44th St., (btw 8th/9th Ave)
212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com
At 8:30 and 11 p.m. / $40 cover, with a $10 minimum.
Elsewhere, but worth the detour:
Come Out and Play Festival
Whether one is maneuvering a bicycle through traffic, snagging a seat on a crowded subway train, or dodging tourists in Times Square, life in New York often feels like a game. This festival of street games ups the ante.
Beginning on the evening of July 18, “After Dark” turns Dumbo’s cobblestoned streets into a stage for PG-rated play. Activities include smartphone laser tag and an anti-gentrification game that transports players to 1979 to save Dumbo’s buildings from redevelopment.
On July 19, the action moves to Governors Island, where “Field Day” features new sports and field games such as Full-Contact Catan, in which the popular board game of territory and resource acquisition becomes a physical contest of slides and tackles. There’s also Kill the Kraken, which utilizes pool noodles, socks, and hula hoops; Stepball, which combines handball and rock-paper-scissors; and Hoot Pootooter, which involves throwing and catching vegetables.
Dumbo and Governors Island
comeoutandplay.org.
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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 / 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 