Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “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. =========================================================================
Zvuloon Dub System
“On the one hand, Zvuloon Dub System is quite possibly the most wide-ranging multicultural musical act since Sammy Davis Jr. This eight-piece band plays a unique brand of reggae that is equally informed by the music’s traditional homeland of Jamaica as well as the folkloric traditions of Ethiopian Jews and the pentatonic music from the Middle East and Tel Aviv, where the band is based.
On the other hand, Zvuloon Dub System prides itself on being an old-school traditional reggae band (what Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are to 1960s soul music) using acoustic instruments, including a full horn section, and, eschewing digital recording and computerized production on their albums (like the latest, “Anbessa Dub”). Even with unabashedly Zionist lyrics (often delivered in Hebrew), this isn’t necessarily your Bubbe or your Zayda’s reggae band—or is it?” (WSJ)
Meridian 23, 161 W. 23rd St.
(212) 645-0649 / meridian23.com
The Aaron Neville Duo (also Aug. 17)
“The Grammy-winning soul and R&B singer Aaron Neville yearned to make a doo-wop album for 30 years, yet he was turned down by record labels despite his celebrated R&B and soul career. He finally released the passion project, titled “My True Story,” last year. Don Was and Keith Richards helped produce the pleasant, unhurried outing. Mr. Neville begins his summer residency at City Winery, during which he’ll play from his decades-long catalog.” (Anderson-NYT)
City Winery, 155 Varick Street, near Spring Street, South Village,
212-608-0555, citywinery.com;
At 8 p.m. / $55 to $65.
Lincoln Center Out of Doors (through Aug. 10)
Paul Taylor Dance Company / Pablo Ziegler’s New Tango Ensemble
Piazzolla Caldera, Paul Taylor’s poetic masterwork exploring tango’s sultry, raging essence, springs back to life thanks to a unique treatment with live music provided by Argentine pianist and composer Pablo Ziegler. For the company’s Diamond 60th Anniversary, several other seminal works including the just-revived Schoenberg-scored Fibers (1961) and 1962’s classical masterpiece Aureole will celebrate this titan of modern dance.
Pablo Ziegler’s New Tango Ensemble toured the world with tango grand-maestro Astor Piazzolla’s quintet for over a decade before realizing his own globally inflected tango visions. Ziegler’s New Tango Ensemble moves the nuevo tango tradition into fertile fresh territory in their opening set.
7PM / FREE
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center,
212-721-6500, lcoutofdoors.org.
Freddie Hendrix Quintet (also Saturday)
“A hard-bop trumpeter with a strong tone and an alert style, Freddie Hendrix spearheads a group with Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, Brandon McCune on piano, Yasushi Nakamura on bass and E.J. Strickland on drums.” (Chinen-NYT)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th St.
212-864-6662, smokejazz.com
At 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m. / $38 cover, with a variable minimum.
Elsewhere, but worth the detour:
Ziggy Marley
Bob’s eldest son and his family band, the Melody Makers, scored a Top 40 hit with the knockout single “Tomorrow People” in 1988 — and a subsequent Grammy for the album that it appeared on, “Conscious Party.” He continues making bright, lissome reggae on solo albums like “Wild and Free” (2011) and the newly released “Fly Rasta.” (Anderson-NYT)
At 8 p.m. / $33.50
Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan,
800-745-3000 / irvingplaza.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 / 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 