Today’s “FAB 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, DEC. 04, 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.”

The Daptone Super Soul Revue with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings –
Soul Music

A Celebration of Bertolt Brecht’s Love Poems – SmartStuff/ Literary Reading

El Greco at the Met  – SmartStuff/ Museum Talk

Wesley Stace with Strings – Pop/Rock

Jeff Madrick on “Seven Bad Ideas” – SmartStuff/ Book Talk

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The Daptone Super Soul Revue with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings 
“Ms. Jones and the Dap-Kings, the finest soul-funk revivalists in town, deliver a spectacle to rival James Brown on “The T.A.M.I. Show” each time they take the stage. After undergoing treatment for cancer, Ms. Jones has resumed blazing her way across stages to support the release of the group’s most recent album, “Give the People What They Want.” The band headlines all three nights of this celebration of the venerable soul imprint Daptone Records, with supporting sets from Antibalas, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires and others.” (NYT-Anderson)
Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, Harlem,
800-745-3000/ apollotheater.org
8PM / $35 to $80.

A Celebration of Bertolt Brecht’s Love Poems
Tony Kushner directs a program in honor of the publication of Brecht’s “Love Poems,” which were written between 1918 and 1955

In a stunning 1956 New Yorker piece, Hannah Arendt declared that Brecht “staked his life and art as few poets have ever done.” For this evening, writer and director Tony Kushner, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Angels in America and a National Medal of the Arts Award by President Obama, gathers actors for a riveting performance of the Brecht’s love poems, representing work between 1918 and 1955 that often scandalized the German reading public with the force of Eros. Like Goethe, Brecht was always in love with various women, and as his daughter, Barbara Brecht-Schall, who will be present, writes in her preface to the collection this evening celebrates, “he was faithful to each of them.” Presented by the Poetry Society of America.
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium, 111 Amsterdam Ave., between 64th and 65th Sts.
poetrysociety.org.
at 6 PM / A limited number of tickets are available by advanced reservation. The remaining tickets will be distributed, first-come-first-serve, one hour before the program.

El Greco at the Met
Walter Liedtke, Curator, European Paintings, MMA
The Metropolitan Museum’s European paintings collection is rich in works by El Greco, ranging from the artist’s early years in Venice to his last projects in Toledo. This lecture considers all of the Museum’s El Grecos, including famous works such as View of Toledo and The Vision of St. John, with particular attention to new research.

This program is in conjunction with the exhibition El Greco in New York, on view November 4, 2014–February 1, 2015.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
6:00 pm / $30 / 212-535-7710

Wesley Stace with Strings
Formerly known by his stage name John Wesley Harding, under which he performed and recorded for the past 25 years, Wesley Stace chose to step out from behind his well-established pseudonym for the album Self-Titled in honor of the increasingly personal nature of his new material. Since his critically acclaimed 1988 debut It Happened One Night, Wesley has recorded 19 records for both major (Sire, Hollywood) and independent (Mammoth, Rhino, Appleseed, Yep Roc) labels alike.

“Novels seem to take care of the intellectual business for me these days, and my songs have become a lot more intimate and autobiographical, requiring a different musical treatment entirely. It seemed ridiculous to sing them under any name but my own,” notes Stace, adding, “It’s time to bring everything under one roof.” Stace co-wrote two of the tracks from Self-Titled—“Stare at the Sun” and “When I Knew”— with the Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger. Both songs appear in alternate versions on Friedberger’s critically acclaimed new album Personal Record, which was entirely co-written by Stace.
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Frieda and Roy Furman Stage
at 7:30pm / Target Free Thursdays

JEFF MADRICK ON “SEVEN BAD IDEAS”
Jeff Madrick, author of the new book “Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World” (Knopf) and adjunct professor of economics in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences will discuss his new book in a free, public lecture. In the book Madrick takes seven widely accepted principles of economics and outlines precisely how each fails the test of real world markets.

Jeff Madrick is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, and a former economics columnist for The New York Times and editor of Challenge magazine. He is director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative at the Century Foundation, where he is a Senior Fellow. His previous books include The Age of Greed and The End of Affluence.
The Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, at 41 Cooper Square (on Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets)
6:30PM – 8:00PM / FREE

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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 (pop. 8.4 million) had 54 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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Holiday Windows in New York City 2014

Do me a favor, arrange your day so that you check out these windows after dark. They are so much more impressive at night.

Barneys holiday windows
This year, the Madison Avenue shop incorporates video, light installations and more forward-thinking concepts into its holiday displays. The theme is “A New York Holiday,” and elements include an interactive scene with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a “floating city” created with 3-D mapping and light projections.
Barneys New York 660 Madison Ave, at 61st St.
Thu Dec 4 – Wed Dec 31

Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows
Bergdorf Goodman was inspired by ice this year: The shop’s holiday windows all present variations on the theme “Holidays on Ice,” with displays devoted to Halloween (with a masquerade party), Valentine’s Day and even Arbor Day. (Ice-skating trees? One can hope.)
Bergdorf Goodman 754 Fifth Ave, at 58th St.
Until Wed Jan 7

Bloomingdale’s holiday windows
This year’s holiday windows at Bloomie’s puts the famous brown shopping bags into different shopping scenes around the world—everywhere from China and France to Great Britain and Italy (and, of course, Bloomingdale’s right here in New York City).
Bloomingdale’s 1000 Third Ave, at 59th St,
Thu Dec 4 – Wed Dec 31

Henri Bendel holiday windows
Henri Bendel has partnered with the estate of Al Hirschfeld to create window displays inspired by the celebrated cartoonist’s work. In one window, you’ll see 3-D depictions of celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker, Liza Minnelli and Woody Allen; in the store itself, Bendel’s giant tree becomes a playhouse for a model of Charlie Chaplin.
Henri Bendel 712 Fifth Ave, at 56th St.
Wed Dec 3 – Wed Dec 31

Lord & Taylor holiday windows
Children from NYC schools and Women in Need shelters were asked to create drawings based on the theme “What Is Christmas Made Of?” Those works, 125 of which are featured here, inspired the scenes in this year’s display.
Lord & Taylor 424 Fifth Ave, between 38th and 39th Sts.
Thu Dec 4 – Thu Jan 1

Macy’s holiday windows
Boasting a “Dream…and Believe” theme, Macy’s 2013 holiday windows depict a young boy’s journey through a magical dreamland. The six windows on the Broadway side of the store—Dream, Giving & Sharing, Joy, Beauty, Magic and Believe—use technology and LED lights to tell the story. Visiting families can also view the classic “Yes, Virginia…” windows on the 34th street side of the store.
Macy’s Herald Square 151 W 34th St, between Sixth and Seventh Aves.
Wed Dec 10 – Wed Dec 31

Saks Fifth Avenue holiday windows
This year, Saks debuted a new Snowflake Spectacular, a 3-D light show that plays out across the department store’s exterior each evening. The dazzling display is just one element of the shop’s holiday celebration: Window displays tell the story of the Saks Yeti, and also include an interactive window where visitors can display their own Yeti name (visit saks.com/snow for more details).
Saks Fifth Avenue 611 Fifth Ave, at 49th St.
Thu Dec 4 – Wed Dec 31

Tiffany & Co. holiday windows
Behind the windows into which Holly Golightly once gazed so admiringly, Tiffany’s conjures an image of a yuppie wintertime fantasia: the Upper East Side on Christmas Eve. The miniature brownstone scenes are replete with tiny chandeliers and garlands, and those well-known baby-blue boxes are strewn beneath the trees.
Tiffany & Co. 727 Fifth Ave, between 56th and 57th Sts.
Thu Dec 4 – Wed Dec 31

This comprehensive description and much more useful holiday info, including a holiday windows slide show, can be found at TONY magazine’s Christmas in NewYork Guide.

For more holiday windows photos, try the slideshows at the NYT and Refinery 29.