Today’s TOP 10 – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.”
We make it as easy as 1-2-3. (click on links for complete event info)
Music, Dance, Performing Arts
Blue Note Jazz Festival
> Ginger Baker ft. Pee Wee Ellis, Alec Dankworth & Abass Dodoo (also June 18)
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 42nd St. (btw 7/8ave) / 8PM, $42.50-$80
“what’s remarkable is just how consistently recognisable Baker’s style is: whether he’s playing jazz, Afrobeat or psychedelic blues rock…there’s never really been another drummer quite like him.”- Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise
> Chelsea Music Festival: Santa Diver Trio
Norwood Club, 241 West 14th St. / 10PM, $25
The Chelsea Music Festival celebrates the sounds of Finland and Hungary this year.
“Jazz violinist extraordinaire Luca Kézdy leads her trio of musicians to explore the limitand the role of the violin in jazz.” I’ll be there.
> Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series 2015
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Harbor View Lawn / 7PM, FREE
recitals starring leading Met artists, as well as rising young stars of the opera world.
tonight; soprano Janai Brugger, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, and baritone Nathan Gunn, joined by pianist Dan Saunders
> New York Philharmonic: Concerts in the Parks
Central Park, Great Lawn / 8PM, FREE.
Their two nights of free performances here include songs from Gershwin, Bernstein and Rodgers.
> Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (through June 21)
NYS Theater (DHK Theater), 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (at W. 63rd St.) / 7PM, tkts $25+
“artistic director Robert Battle continues to present Ailey classics while introducing new choreography to the company repertory.” (TONY)
Smart Stuff / Other
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)
> 3-D Summer / Today: “Hondo,” starring John Wayne.
The Museum of Modern Art, Theater 2, 11 West 53 St. / 4PM, $12
One hundred years ago this week, the Astor Theater in Times Square presented the first screening of three-dimensional motion pictures. To celebrate the occasion, MoMA is launching 3-D Summer, focusing on 1953 to 1955, when an advance in technology (clear polarized lenses replaced the red and green filters of the first 3-D glasses) aligned with the desperate need of the studios to offer spectacles beyond the reach of the movies’ new rival, television.” (dnainfo.com)
> Word for Word:
Real Characters with Sasheer Zamata, David Crabb and Kate Bolick
Bryant Park, Avenue of the Americas, at 40th St. / 12:30PM, FREE
“this monthly storytelling/reading series combines some of New York’s best storytellers, humor writers, memoirists, and character performers.”
> Zig Zag Zen
Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W17th St. / 7PM, $15
Three speakers discuss the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelic exploration on the occasion of a new edition of the landmark anthology Zig Zag Zen.
> Walk & Talk: “City Dreams & “Epic Fails”
The High Line / 6PM, FREE, RSVP required
“New York has always been a changing city, but you wouldn’t believe some ideas urban planners have proposed. Join Emily Gallagher, social history educator, and Charles Chawalko, from 596 Acres, for a conversation about the New York landscapes that never happened.”
> Inaugural Exhibition: AMERICA IS HARD TO SEE
Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St. / 10:30AM-6PM, $22.
“it’s finally here! the new improved Whitney home in MePa that’s supposed to finally put to rest the museum’s rep as the also-ran of New York’s major art institutions. as designed by international starchitect Renzo Piano, the building is certainly big, with 63,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibition space.” (TONY)
Bonus – Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s 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 / 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 