Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, MAR. 17, 2015
“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.”
St. Patrick’s Day — Special Event (starts 11am)
Maceo Parker — Jazz (8pm) (10:30pm)
Scenes through the Cinema Lens — SmartStuff/ Film (7:30pm) [FREE]
Barney Frank — SmartStuff/ Book Talk (7pm) [FREE]
Jazz Age Manhattan — SmartStuff/ Lecture (6:30pm)
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:
♦ “9 Notable Events-Mar.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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St. Patrick’s Day
Of course, there is the parade.
The world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade may also be the oldest civilian parade in the world. From 11 a.m to 5 p.m., on Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street.
But you may prefer these other options today (see ThoughtGallery.org)
Get a sense of the Irish gift of gab at Too Ra Loo Ra Loo, a gathering of gossip, storytelling and song—much of it improvised on the spot—by the talents of the Peoples Improv Theater.
Catch up on your reading, courtesy of the Irish Arts Center. They’ll be distributing free books by Irish and American-Irish authors and playwrights—from Samuel Beckett to Maeve Binchy, from Pete Hamill to Edna O’Brien—all around town, near major subway stations and transit hubs, all day.…Or, head to the IAC itself: Two artists—one Irish, one of Irish heritage—meet in the middle in Trasatlantacha, an art exhibit that explores the themes of immigration and diaspora, through April.
Two Irish expat colleens teach you all about Irish cheese and the unique way it goes with—well, everything, at this class sponsored by the Bedford Cheese Shop. We’d be surprised if samples were not served. The Homestead.
See the Thought Gallery for a comprehensive discussion of St. Pat Day alternatives, including some events happening after Mar 17. They always do an excellent job alerting us to cultural events happening in NYCity. I am especially interested in the April 2 lecture on James Joyce, and the intrinsic “Irishness” of his stream-of-consciousness style at the Glucksman Ireland House NYU.
If you’re looking to taste a pint of Guinness it won’t be hard to find today, but this may be one of the better spots – A St. Patrick’s Day feast at the Dead Rabbit downtown, featuring absinthe cocktails, $1 oysters and three floors of Irish music. All day.
All Three Floors! Starting from 11am in the Taproom. Specialty Jameson Black Barrel Cocktail Menu, Our Famous Irish Coffee, Complimentary Corned Beef Sandwiches and Irish Stew.
Today doesn’t have to be all Irish, all day.
Tonight is the first night of the NCAA tournament and the local Manhattan Jaspers play the Hampton Pirates in Dayton, OH at 6:40 pm (Tru TV). Go Jaspers!
Maceo Parker (through March 22)
“Mr. Parker, the alto saxophonist best known for his longtime service with James Brown, has soldiered on in the name of funk, and his live show never fails to connect. His most recent album, “Soul Classics,” features him in the company of a spit-and-polish big band; he works here with a smaller but still potent crew.” (Chinen-NYT)
At 8 and 10:30 p.m.,
Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village,
212-475-8592 bluenote.net.
Scenes through the Cinema Lens – Kubrick’s Music
Few filmmakers have been as sensitive to the power of music as Stanley Kubrick. He changed cinema forever when he rejected the music that film composer Alex North had written for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and used pre-existing recordings of classical music. He continued to make striking use of new and specially commissioned music in A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut. We will go back to earlier films such as Paths of Glory and Dr. Strangelove to hear how he was already taking chances with music, even before he made 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St.
7:30PM / FREE
Barney Frank
Mr. Frank, the longtime Democratic representative from Massachusetts, discusses his autobiography, “Frank: A Life in Politics From the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage.” In the book, Mr. Frank writes about how he managed to have a long, effective career in politics while reconciling his homosexuality and navigating combative relationships in Washington.
Barnes & Noble, Union Square, 33 East 17th St.
7pm / FREE
212-253-0810, barnesandnoble.com.
Jazz Age Manhattan
“Get jazzed learning about the structures that grew up in Jazz Era Manhattan in this talk by an architectural historian and Cooper Union prof. From the Chanin to the Chrysler Building to Rockefeller Center, join Barry Lewis for a vividly illustrated look at “Jazz Age” Manhattan and the German Expressionist origins of many of the city’s beloved icons.” (ThoughtGallery.org)
I have taken two semester long classes with Barry and I can assure you that this guy knows his stuff and is very entertaining.
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West,
at 6:30 pm / $38
212-873-3400
BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:
Greenwich Village:
Village Vanguard – 178 7th Ave. South — villagevanguard.com / 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. — bluenotejazz.com / 212-475-8592
55 Bar – 55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. — 55bar.com / 212-929-9883
Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662
Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
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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, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. 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 near the piano man; 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 now includes a sax player with a younger, trimmer piano man. “tiny” we miss you.
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 