Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ JANUARY 08, 2020
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For future NYC Events, check the tab above: “January NYC Events”
It’s the most comprehensive list of top events this month that you will find anywhere.
Carefully curated from “Only the Best” NYC event info on the the web, it’s a simply superb resource that will help you plan your NYC visit all over town, all through the month.
OR to make your own after dinner plans TONIGHT, see the tab above; “LiveMusic.”
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Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do This:
The Metropolitan Opera
Porgy and Bess (next Jan.11,7:30PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $85+
(Has proved so popular that the Met has added three performances to this second run of the season.)
“One of America’s favorite operas returns to the Met for the first time in nearly 30 years. James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row on the Charleston waterfront, vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants. “If you’re going to stage Gershwin’s opera, this is how,” raved the Guardian when the new production premiered in London in 2018. David Robertson conducts a dynamic cast, featuring the sympathetic duo of Eric Owens and Angel Blue in the title roles and an all-star ensemble that includes Golda Schultz, Latonia Moore, Denyce Graves, Frederick Ballentine, Alfred Walker, and Ryan Speedo Green.”
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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> MARÍA GRAND
>> DARIUS JONES QUARTET
>> American Dance Platform
>> MAURICE BROWN
>> The Iconic Flatiron Building
>> Escher and the Droste Effect
>> Generator Series: Generator X Mother Jones with Eric Holder
You may want to look at previous days posts for events that continue through today.
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts
MARÍA GRAND (Jan. 7-11)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m.; $20
“Grand plays the tenor saxophone in a leery, elusive tone, sometimes using short, terse phrases, sometimes wriggling like a snake in the grass. At 27, she has already become an integral player on New York’s contemporary jazz scene — a fact borne out by the rich cast of collaborators who will join her at the Stone. Highlights will include her trio performance on Tuesday, featuring Mary Halvorson on guitar and Anaïs Maviel on voice and percussion; and her show on Jan. 9 with Amirtha Kidambi on voice, Joel Ross on vibraphone, Nick Dunston on bass and Savannah Harris on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)
DARIUS JONES QUARTET (Jan. 7-8)
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $15-$25
Darius Jones’s alto saxophone sound is bulbous and bawling, but it’s also sharp enough to cut deep, lodging itself in your mind. Expanding on a tradition set down by improvisers like Ornette Coleman and James Blood Ulmer, he shows how blues, Southern gospel and German experimentalism can all be folded together in the increasingly esoteric language of avant-garde jazz, giving the music a sense of grounding and physicality. These concerts at the Jazz Gallery will be recorded by the group Giant Step Arts, presumably for release as a live album. Jones appears here in a new quartet, featuring Joel Ross on vibraphone, Dezron Douglas on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. (Sean Conly will take Douglas’s place on Wednesday.)” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)
American Dance Platform (Jan. 7-12)
Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave. / 7:30PM, $
“Early January is the season for dance showcases, timed to coincide with conferences for dance theatres from around the world who come to New York to find new work to present. For the general public, this offers a chance to consume a tasting menu of dance in a short period of time. This series at the Joyce is made up of four programs, each featuring two ensembles. Of particular note are the modern-dance troupe Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (Jan. 7 and Jan. 12), the innovative and socially engaged ODC/Dance, from San Francisco (Jan. 9 and Jan. 11), and the excellent Brooklyn-based hip-hop company Rennie Harris Puremovement (Jan. 10-11), all showing recent work.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)
MAURICE BROWN (Jan. 6-8)
at the Blue Note / 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $25-$35, tough ticket, may need to try another night, or late set
“Brown’s music is a cross-pollination between the slicked electric textures of 1980s R&B, the warm grooves of Golden Era hip-hop, the thrashing power of rock and the effortless virtuosity of jazz. A trumpeter who goes by the name Mobetta, Brown has performed and recorded with a laundry list of pop and jazz stars; during this Blue Note run he will convene some top-flight talents from both worlds. His core band will include Isaiah Sharkey on guitar, Ben Williams on bass, James Francies on keyboards and Mike Mitchell on drums. On Monday, the Grammy-winning crossover star Anderson .Paak will handle drums and contribute vocals (Mitchell has the night off); on Tuesday, the rapper Talib Kweli will sit in.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)
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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)
The Iconic Flatiron Building
The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park S./ 8PM, FREE
When the Flatiron Building was erected in 1902, critics savaged it. But this oddly shaped building at the intersection of 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue immediately won New Yorkers’ hearts. In later years, as the surrounding neighborhood turned shabby, the Flatiron remained a beloved symbol of New York.
Journalist Alice Sparberg Alexiou, author of The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Extraordinary City That Arose With It, will talk about what this iconic structure means to the city, the world, and to her.”
Escher and the Droste Effect
Simons Foundation, 160 Fifth Ave., 2nd Fl./ 5PM, FREE
“In 1956, the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher made an unusual lithograph. Titled “Prentententoonstelling” (or, “Print Gallery”), the piece shows a young man standing in an exhibition gallery viewing a print of a Mediterranean seaport. Among the buildings depicted in the twisting print, the man paradoxically sees the very same gallery in which he is standing. Curiously, Escher left the middle of the lithograph blank, filling it with only his monogram and signature.
In this lecture, Hendrik W. Lenstra will discuss interactions between mathematics and M.C. Escher’s artwork. A mathematical analysis of the methods used by Escher leads to a series of hallucinating computer animations that show, among others, what’s in the blurry blank hole in the middle of the piece.” (ThoughtGallery)
Generator Series: Generator X Mother Jones with Eric Holder
The Greene Space, 44 Charlton St./ 7PM, $10
“Join Ilana Glazer, Generator Collective & Mother Jones for a night of conversation with Former Attorney General Eric Holder and Mother Jones senior reporter Ari Berman to understand what–exactly–is gerrymandering and what we can do to help protect voting rights in America this Election cycle and beyond.” (ThoughtGallery)
Continuing Events
Holiday windows in NYC you won’t want to miss
“‘Tis the season! As Thanksgiving draws near, New York City’s department stores are unveiling their holiday windows. Macy’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, American Girl and others are each putting their festive foot forward for the holidays.” (amNY)
Here is the extensive Holiday Windows rundown from amNY.
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COMING SOON (WFUV)
1/8 Yola, Music Hall of Williamsburg
1/8 Motion City Soundtrack, Webster Hall
Fall Concerts (nycgo.com)
David Byrne’s American Utopia on Broadway
October 4, 2019–January 19, 2020
Hudson Theatre
“The Talking Heads frontman hits Broadway with a show based on his latest album—but you can expect some old favorites as well.”
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, plus dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.6 million, had a record 65 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2019 – the ninth consecutive year. BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the 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 55th 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 $9.75, 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: 1 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:
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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge (except for certain jazz clubs).
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 