Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events –SUNDAY, SEPT. 07, 2014

Grand Band – Rite of Summer 2013 on Governors Island
Governors island’s fourth annual rite of summer classical-contemporary music festival ends the season with Grand Band.

New York’s piano sextet Grand Band presents “A Bigger Picture” – performed by Vicky Chow, David Friend, Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore, and Isabelle O’Connell. The New York Times calls Grand Band “the Traveling Wilburys of the city’s new-music piano scene.” They will present a program of recent works by Philip Glass, Kate Moore, Steve Reich, and two New York premieres by Michael Gordon and Paul Kerekes.

“Six of the finest, busiest pianists active in New York’s contemporary-classical scene.” – The New York Times
“Though not your average rock band, the six of them play so tightly in sync together that they appear as one musical beast, moving and breathing as one.”FDRMX
Governors Island, Colonel’s Row
2pm and 4pm / FREE
Directions: Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Bldg., 10 South St., adjacent to the SI Ferry in Lower Manhattan. schedule for ferry service ($2 r/t): govisland.com, governorsislandalliance.org / 212-825-3045

Summer on the Hudson: West Side County Fair
Enjoy county fair magic in Manhattan with carnival rides and games, live bands, sideshow performers, aerialists, reptile shows, a greenmarket and more!

Mainstage line-up: The Willies, PitchBlak Brass Band, Frets on Fire, and an open jam session led by Ernie Vega (BYOB – bring your own banjo). There will also be a sideshow of stiltwalkers and aerialists by House of Yes. Don’t miss this!
68th Street Entrance at Riverside Park South
Riverside Boulevard and 68th Street
1:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. / FREE

NYC Century Bike Tour
The annual NYC Century Bike Tour brings together over 6,000 New York City cyclists for an epic ride, as challenging or relaxing as you want it to be. There are 35, 55, 75 and 100-mile rides departing, with the routes designed to show riders the diversity of New York’s neighborhoods and how to navigate them safely.

There are two start locations for the tour: Central Park and Prospect Park with the rides ending with music and massages in Central Park. $80/$50.

Celebrating Joe Temperley
“Lochgelly, Scotland’s gift to the jazz world proved himself to be one of the giants of the baritone saxophone well before he even arrived in the U.S. and joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra and, for the past 25 years or so, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Although Mr. Temperley has made a few albums of his own, his gigs as a leader and featured star have been surprisingly few—one suspects he only consented to do this one because this month will mark his 85th birthday. Combining Mr. Temperley with such young crowd pleasers as singer Brianna Thomas and piano-playing roof-raiser Jon Batiste, both under 30, is what Dizzy’s “Generations” festival is all about.” (WSJ)
Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor
(212) 258-9595

Elsewhere, but seems worth the detour:
Taste Willamsburg – Greenpoint
“This waterfront event introduces visitors to the treats of these neighborhoods while raising money for community projects. There will be more than 40 of the neighborhood’s best restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries as well as live music.” (NYT)
Williamsburg Waterfront at East River State Park,
5 North 11th Street, at Kent Avenue,
tastewg.com
From 1 to 5 p.m. / $25 for four tastes to $50 for eight tastes

Elsewhere, but absolutely worth the detour:
U.S. TENNIS OPEN (Day 14) / 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). This is the fourth and final tournament, which culminates the tennis Grand Slam each year.

After two grueling weeks and upsets galore, there are two women left standing for the women’s singles championship. #1 seed Serena Williams was expected to be in the finals, but for #10 seed Caroline Wozniacki, this is her first return to a grand slam final in 5 years. Too bad for her that the very hot and humid weather has left town. During the tournament Caro seemed better able to handle the heat than Serena.
subway: #1-2-3 to Times Square; transfer to #7 to Mets-Willets Point

Championship Match analysis (per Matt Cronin – usopen.org):

Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki (4:30PM)
Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have become good friends through the years. But this is the final of the US Open, and both want it very badly, so even if the two are planning on grabbing ice cream after the match, don’t expect either to give an inch during it. Williams has been playing better with each match through this tournament, and if she plays her best, she is going to win, regardless of what Wozniacki does.

But “Caro” has become much more confident, is perhaps faster than Serena is and has displayed superb movement throughout this tournament. Serena has a much better serve, a devastating forehand that she can use to knock out opponents, and she owns one of the heaviest returns in the women’s game. Plus, Williams has been to this dance many times before, owning 17 Grand Slam singles titles while Wozniacki has won zero.

The Dane should be able to win a Slam sometime, and maybe she already should have, given that she was the world No. 1 for two years in 2010 and 2011. But even during that stretch, she never captured a major because she was a bit scared and was still maturing on court. Certainly, Wozniacki never gets tired. She works hard off court so she can go the distance on it. But it has taken a long time for her to grow into a huge hitter who can rip the ball.

The most aggressive, accurate players are those who have earned the highest number of Slams: Serena owns 17 majors, Venus Williams has 7, and Maria Sharapova has 5. If Wozniacki wants to win a few, she had better begin to swing away and hope her shots will go in, win or lose. The good thing is that Wozniacki has played fantastic over this tournament (even overcoming Sharapova in a classic in the fourth round), and she has played very well during the summer, nearly besting Serena in Montreal and Cincinnati. Wozniacki tried everything she had and played as well as she has in years – but still lost.

Serena is the favorite, but here is one thing: on Saturday during the men’s semis, two all-time greats who have won the US Open before and were favored, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, lost to younger guys, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori. Neither of those guys had reached a final before, much less won a Slam title. But they believed in themselves and never faded. Wozniacki, 24, can do it, too. She reached the US Open final in 2009 and looked pretty good then but lost her match, and it has taken her five years to get back into a major final again. So if she goes all out and plays her best, she could stun Serena.

But Serena is going after history, wanting to win her 18th Slam, which would tie her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in major titles. Serena will be 33 years old at the end of September and wants to make sure that she ends 2014 with another Slam to her credit. She knows she can’t win forever, so she will want to make the most of this opportunity. Serena will win in three sets. And then the two friends will have a big hug, which should put smiles on the faces of tennis fans everywhere.

Today’s Tips:
There are a few places around the grounds open to the public that provide special fan experiences, and a place to beat the heat:
Heineken House – big screen tv’s, quality photo booth op, various sporting challenges, sandwiches & beer available for purchase. Say Hi to my fave Heineken girl – Missy.
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.
Emirates Airlines – big screen TV, light refreshments available for purchase.

If you are a Chase Bank customer:
Chaise Lounge – snacks and light refreshments (requires pre-registration).

And don’t forget to stop by the Chia Pod booth behind court 11 for free samples.

Bryant Park: U.S. Open (through Monday) If you can’t make it out to Flushing Meadows, the tournament’s final weekend of matches can be viewed, weather permitting, on the park’s Southwest Porch.
Sunday at noon; Monday at 5 p.m.;
Avenue of the Americas, at 40th Street, 212-768-4242, bryantpark.org; FREE

The best review of the tournament and the current state of tennis can be found at the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.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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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 3 MUSEUMS (Manhattan’s WestSide)

Museum of Modern Art:
‘Robert Heinecken: Object Matter’ (LAST DAY)
‘A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio’ (through Oct. 5)
‘Designing Modern Women 1890-1990’(through Oct. 5)
Here’s what the NYT said about ‘A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio’
“This mostly lively if repetitive overview traces the history of photography as the Modern never has — with images taken in the studio rather than out in the world. Its roughly 180 works span 160 years and represent some 90 portraitists, commercial photographers, lovers of still life, darkroom experimenters, Conceptual artists and several generations of postmodernists. Including film and video, it offers much to look at but dwells too much in the past, becoming increasingly blinkered and cautious as it approaches the present. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Smith-NYT)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.

Designing Modern Women 1890-1990:

International Center of Photography: ‘Urbes Mutantes: Latin American Photography 1944-2013’ and ‘Caio Reisewitz’ (LAST DAY)
It’s a Latin American summer at New York City art museums, with a high number of shows of work from South America and the Caribbean. This institution, as usual one step ahead of the curve, has two. The larger, “Urbes Mutantes: Latin American Photography 1944-2013,” is a roomy survey of some 200 small, mostly black-and-white pictures that fit, with trimming and squeezing, into the genre of “street photography.” The second is a solo devoted to a single artist, the contemporary Brazilian photographer Caio Reisewitz, whose big color images of threatened tropical rain forests offer a lush antidote to urban grit — Manhattan’s included.
International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at 43rd Street, 212-857-0000, icp.org. (Cotter-NYT)

Museum of Arts and Design: ‘NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial’ (through Oct. 12) This plunge into the biennial format makes a big, messy splash sampling the visual culture across the city — whether opera set design, art or new technologies. An expansive, invigorating move, it still contains too much that is fun, cute, clutter-making or useless, aimed at those with plenty of disposable income and homes to decorate.
Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle,
212-299-7777, madmuseum.org. (Smith-NYT)

The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit is the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and features brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (09/05) and (09/03).