Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, MAR. 27, 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.”
The Tempest Songbook — Multidisciplinary Project (7pm)
‘Maciste all’inferno’ — Film + Live Music (7:30pm)
Trio 3 — Jazz (8:30pm) (10:30pm)
Affordable Art Fair — Art (11am)
Matsuri 2015 – Columbia Japan Society — Special Event (4pm) [FREE]
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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The Tempest Songbook (through March 29)
Singing and dancing up a storm.
“The Gotham Chamber Opera, the Martha Graham Dance Company and Shakespeare — the mix of ingredients alone is enough to make culture lovers drool over their programs. Add in the location (the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and The Tempest Songbook has the makings of a delectable piece of performance art.
This multidisciplinary project integrates two musical pieces on the same Shakespearean theme: “incidental music” composed in 1695 and attributed to Henry Purcell and Kaija Saariaho’s 2004 Tempest Songbook for soprano, baritone and period instrument ensemble. Creating a lyrical vision through dance, movement and song, The Tempest Songbook explores Shakespeare’s final, brilliantly ambiguous play. Be there for this exciting world premiere at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.” (goldstar.com)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
at 82nd St. 1000 Fifth Avenue
212-535-7710 /
7pm / $30-$125
goldstar.com: “get tickets to the tempest songbook, a premiere from gotham chamber opera + martha graham dance co. at the metropolitan museum of art for $18-40 (plus ticket fees, reg. $30-125).”
‘Maciste all’inferno’ (Maciste in Hell)
“How many movies made 90 years ago still have the power to shock and disturb us? Guido Brignone’s “Maciste all’inferno” (1926) is a silent Italian masterpiece of good and evil, flesh and the devil, heaven and hell that puts everything up on the screen and makes Dante’s “Inferno” look like a Disney cartoon.
Trumpeter and composer Steven Bernstein will premiere his original score to that silent film on Friday evening, with his quartet Sex Mob, co-starring saxophonist Briggan Krauss, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. This new project makes for a copacetic counterpart to the group’s latest album, “Sex Mob Plays Fellini,” since “Maciste all’inferno” is the film that inspired the young Fellini to become a director.” (WSJ)
Symphony Space, Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, 2537 Broadway at 95th St.
7:30pm /
(212) 864-5400
Trio 3 (through Sunday)
“The alto saxophonist Oliver Lake, the bassist Reggie Workman and the drummer Andrew Cyrille are esteemed veterans of the avant-garde, and as the collective Trio 3, they share an agenda of rugged epiphany. They have released recent albums featuring an array of impressive pianists, but this run at the Village Vanguard has no billed guests, which isn’t at all a problem.” (Chinen-NYT)
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $30
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com.
Affordable Art Fair (through Mar 29)
“Upgrade your apartment without downgrading your wallet at this year’s Affordable Art Fair, which, as the title confirms, allows you to check out (and possibly buy) fine art from more than 70 different galleries. For an $18 ticket, you can shop original paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from more than 50 galleries, priced at $100 to $10,000. Now you can upgrade your flat without downgrading your wallet.” (TONY)
Metropolitan Pavillion, 125 W 18th St.,(btw 6/7 ave) Chelsea,
11am. $18, after dark $30
Senior and students $10
212-463-0200 / affordableartfair.com
Matsuri 2015 – Columbia Japan Society
Matsuri is CJS’s largest annual event, and it is meant to reflect the tradition of holding a Japanese spring festival. The event is open to both the Columbia community and the surrounding neighborhood. There will be a variety of food vendors and crafts booths, as well as several stage performances, that will represent various aspects of Japanese culture.
Columbia University, Low Plaza
4pm-8pm / FREE
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 was 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 / 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 celebrated it’s 50th anniversary last 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 