Today’s “TOP 3″/ Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, OCT. 16, 2014
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”
Kuumba Collective: The South African Songbook
“Nicky Schrire, an ambitious young jazz singer who spent her formative years in South Africa, anchors this engagement in collaboration with the saxophonist T.K. Blue, as part of the Ubunto Festival, presented by Carnegie Hall.” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St./Broadway,
212-258-9595 / jalc.org
at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m./$ 35 cover, with a $10 minimum
Drama in Beethoven / A Theatrical Concert
Caffe Vivaldi @ Renee Weiler Concert Series presents
Ege Maltepe, narrator
Emir Gamsizoglu, piano
Stan Lacy, baritone
& actors from the New Yorker Ensemble
Drama in Beethoven is a fun experiment to connect stories with Beethoven’s music that was developed as a CLASSICAL 4 ALL project. The show suggests a different approach to the listeners, to connect with classical music.
Emir Gamsizoglu is a unique type of virtuoso, who started to play the piano at the age of 20, after quitting his career as a basketball player. He believes that the stories about music and also our own stories that we make up while listening or playing open an exciting imaginary world!
Ege Maltepe is an actress and playwright who came to New York on a Fulbright scholarship to have her MA in Acting under the guidance of director Mike Nichols. She’s a big fan of classical music. With pianist Emir Gamsizoglu, they created several projects with the aim of reaching out to multiple demographics with classical music.Join Ege and Emir in this fun show and dive into the world of Ludwig VanBeethoven.
Greenwich House Music, 46 Barrow St.
at 8:00 pm / $15
Archtober / October 1–31
“To New York City’s architects and building buffs, October is Archtober, or Architecture and Design Month. For 31 days, the City’s design community opens its doors for more than 150 tours, lectures, films and celebrations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the buildings that give this metropolis its distinct character.” (nycgo.com)
For a complete calendar see: archtober.org/2014-calendar
For “20 Great Events to Check out at 2014 Archtober Festival in NYC” see:untappedcities.com
Highlight’s from Today’s Events:
Building of the Day: Post-Disaster Urban Interim Housing / 12:00
Developed for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, Garrison Architects was hired by American Manufactured Structures and Services (AMSS) to design a modular post-disaster housing prototype for displaced city residents in the event of a catastrophic natural or manmade disaster. The multi-story, multi-family units can be deployed in less than 15 hours, in […]
American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter
Central Park Tour: Historic Preservation Through Innovative Design / 3:00pm-5:00pm
Tour will focus on both the history of landscape architecture in the Park, and the restoration that has taken place over the last 25 years, led by Central Park Conservancy, looking at the unique challenges of designing this highly-used historic landmark.
Bard Graduate Center
Nessim on Nessim / 6:00pm-7:30pm
New York based artist, Barbara Nessim, has a diverse portfolio from creating illustrations for American magazines including Time, Rolling Stone and Esquire to teaching in the MFA Computer Arts Program at the School of Visual Arts. Take an intimate tour of Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life led by the artist herself, and accompanied by BGC Chief Curator Marianne Lamonaca.
Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College of New York
Judith Rohrer Fall 2014 Sciame Lecture Series on Gaudí’s Unfinished Masterpiece: The Sagrada Família Church / 6:30pm-8:30pm
A lecture series on Gaudí’s work. Gaudí’s masterwork, The Sagrada Família Church in Barcelona is a design across time. Gaudí redesigned the church & oversaw the construction through the late 1920’s. The work both by Antoni Gaudí & the current team have produced an astonishing level of design.
editor’s note: a 2nd hard drive failure in 7 months (what’s going on here Apple!) requires a reduction in daily event info on this site until the hardware issues have been resolved. while we use borrowed equipment and until further notice, the daily “Fab 5” is now the “Top 3”. we look forward to restoring full service soon.
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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 