Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events –WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “9 Notable Events-August”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. ==================================================================================
¡Arriba! Dance Parties at the High Line
Grab your friends and bring your dancing shoes – evenings of live Latin music and dancing have returned to the High Line this summer! Friends of the High Line is pleased to partner with HAI and Hudson Guild to host some of New York City’s best Latin bands at the High Line, transforming the park into an open-air dance floor at sunset.
Part of High Line Live! – a performance series at the High Line – ¡Arriba! nights in June, July, and August featured different live acts bringing their own energy, musical style, and flavor to our community dance parties. Tonight: Inspired by the guajiro musical rhythms of Cuba, Nu D’Lux of New York City offers a mix of son montuno, rumba, danzon, and timba styles to close out the ¡Arriba! series.
Enjoy dinner and dessert after dancing under the stars. On the High Line between West 15th and West 16th Streets you will find tacos, gelato, ice pops, and more seasonal treats from our food vendors, as well as Terroir at The Porch, a full-service, open-air café serving beer, wine, and small plates with sweeping views of the Hudson River.
LOCATION: Chelsea Market Passage, On the High Line at West 16th St.
This High Line Program is FREE and open to visitors of all ages. No RSVP required.
Author @ the Library:
Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America
This illustrated lecture is the story of Manhattan’s growth and transformation in the 1920s and the brilliant people behind it. Nearly all of the makers of modern Manhattan came from elsewhere. It transports the audience to that time and to the city which outsiders embraced.
Donald L. Miller, the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and a prominent biographer and historian.
Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 5th Ave (btw 40th/39th St.)
6:30 p.m. / FREE
www.nypl.org/locations/mid-manhattan-library
Carmina Burana – Julian Wachner, Conductor
Are you a choral music buff but don’t have time to belong to a chorus? Join others in raising the roof with song. Blow away your vocal cobwebs and experience the great fun and satisfaction of singing as part of a group.
Keep your passion for singing alive by joining the New York Choral Society for its 54th annual celebration of summer. It’s easy: we lend you the scores for the evening, (or bring your own), provide accompaniment and soloists in the comfortable air-conditioned surroundings at Peter Norton Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia, and YOU are the chorus.
Rollicking fun will be had during Carmina Burana as we sing these 23 songs of defrocked, and frequently inebriated, monks. The rhythmic music is catchy and the vocal lines so expressive and dramatic they beg for your attention. A favorite of singers and audiences.
Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia, 2537 Broadway, at 95th St.
(212) 864-5400 / symphonyspace.org
7:30pm / $20
Launching Your Career on Broadway
Join us for an informative panel discussion with industry professionals who attended New York City schools—and hear how they got to where they are and what their journey was like. Panelists include Brig Berney, company manager for Cinderella; composer and lyricist Steven Lutvak (“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”); and actor Nik Walker (“Motown the Musical”). Moderated by Joe Giardina.
Apple Store, SoHo, 103 Prince Street
6PM / FREE
(212) 226-3126 / apple.com/retail/soho/
Trio da Paz and Friends (through Aug. 31)
“Officially billed as “Trio da Paz and Friends Play Jobim, Getz, and Other Brazilian Classics,” this engagement augments that excellent trio with the singer Maucha Adnet, the trumpeter Claudio Roditi and the tenor saxophonist Harry Allen.” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and Broadway,
212-258-9595, jalc.org
at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. / $35 to $45 cover, with a $10 minimum
Elsewhere, but absolutely worth the detour:
U.S. TENNIS OPEN (Day 3) / TODAY’S PREMIER EVENT
The U.S. Open continues today (11AM) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens (about 45 min. from Times Square) and runs through Sept. 8. This is the fourth and final tennis tournament which culminates the Grand Slam each year. It consists of five event championships: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players.
subway: #1-2-3 to Times Square; transfer to #7 to Mets-Willets Point
Forget the Big House (Arthur Ashe Stadium) during the first few days where most matches are mismatches. Get a grounds pass and once inside check out one of the electronic scoreboards listing current matches. Find a match or players that interest you. Head over to their court for some great competitive tennis, because in this tournament even the qualifiers are great players.
There is no other major sporting event where you can get so close to world class athletes as at the U.S. Open – on the outer courts, the Grandstand court, or even Louis Armstrong stadium. Courts where you can get a real sense of the pace of the game.
Matches to watch today in Louis Armstrong stadium (LA), the grandstand court (GS) & the outside courts (predictions per Matt Cronin):
♣(LA) #7 seed Grigor Dimitrov vs. Ryan Harrison
American Harrison has faced a lot of tough draws in the Slams. It seems like every time he sees his bracket, he’s going up against one of the top players. Now he draws Grigor Dimitrov, who is ranked No. 7 and just beat him in Wimbledon’s first round in June.
The 22-year-old Harrison is not as dominant as the game’s big guns, but he is a keen student of the game and is working hard to develop an effective attack. That’s what he’ll need to do against Dimitrov; he cannot hope that the Bulgarian will play sloppy and go away. The American will need to rip his shots and hope they go in because Dimitrov has a lot of variety, and during the past two years, he has come to understand the intricacies of shot-making better.
Harrison does have a chance, but he has to serve huge and use his forehand because his backhand isn’t strong enough to out-stroke Dimitrov. Grigor is fast, smart and plays with a lot of confidence. Harrison will push his opponent, but his game isn’t big enough yet to pull off a shocker. Dimitrov will win in four sets.
♣(GS) In 2009, #10 seed Caroline Wozniacki looked like a real deal and reached the final here. But while she ended the year as No. 1 in 2010 and 2011, she has been unable to reach a final at a Slam. However, she has played well during the past six weeks and should be able to take the unknown Aliaksandra Sasnovich easily.
♣(LA) #4 seed Aga Radwanska played very well in the first round and looks sharp. Shuai Peng can move quickly and go for her shots, but she is up and down. Radwanska will win in straight sets.
♣(LA) #2 seed Simona Halep vs Jana Cepelova, to see if Halep is on her game.
♣Ct #17 to watch the #1 seed Bryan brothers give a lesson in doubles play.
Maria Watch: # 5 seed Maria Sharapova plays the last match today in the BigHouse vs Alexandra Dulgheru
Today’s tip: arrive early. Security screening seemed to have been ratcheted up last week during qualifying, which may cause delays to enter. The best, most comprehensive review of the tournament and the current state of tennis can be found at the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com
Finally, these places around the grounds provide special fan experiences, a place to beat the heat, and are open to the public:
Heineken House – big screen tv’s, quality photo booth op, various sporting challenges, sandwiches & beer available for purchase.
American Express Fan Experience – swing analysis, 180 degree photo op, charging lockers. Second level of the lounge is only open to card members, where food and drinks are available for purchase.
Time Warner Cable Studios – photo ops, prizes, charging stations.
And only for Chase Bank customers:
Chaise Lounge – snacks and light refreshments (requires pre-registration).
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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 