NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/30) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 04/30/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ APRIL 30, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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 Ring Cycle (Apr.29-May11)
Tonight; Wagner’s Die Walküre
Metropolitan Opera House (at Lincoln Center) / 7:30PM, $50+
“In what is expected to be a Wagnerian event for the ages, soprano Christine Goerke plays Brünnhilde, Wotan’s willful warrior daughter, who loses her immortality in opera’s most famous act of filial defiance. Tenor Stuart Skelton and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek play the incestuous twins Siegmund and Sieglinde. Greer Grimsley and Michael Volle sing Wotan. Philippe Jordan conducts.”

“Wagner’s operatic tetralogy returns to the Met for the first time in six seasons. Show up to witness one of opera’s grandest works—and Robert Lepage’s equally grand production, which features a 45-ton mechanical set.” (TONY)

If tonight becomes a tough ticket – try one of the other performances, or the secondary market. Do whatever you have to do –  this is “The Ring” and it may be six years before you can experience this again.

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> KARRIEM RIGGINS
>> NEW YORK CITY BALLET 
>> An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt with special guest Thom Chacon
>> Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Trio
>> Australia Festival
>> Bruce Hornsby
Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

KARRIEM RIGGINS (April 30-May 1)
at the Blue Note / 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $15-$25
“Riggins, a drummer and producer, has dual citizenship in the worlds of straight-ahead jazz (he has been a sideman for Mulgrew Miller and Diana Krall, among others) and left-wing hip-hop. His two albums, 2012’s “Alone Together” and last year’s “Headnod Suite,” attest to the strong influence of J. Dilla — the game-changing rap producer who mentored Riggins — but have a heavy swing vibe reflective of Riggins’s drumming. He recently served as one-third of the crossover supergroup August Greene, which also features the keyboardist Robert Glasper and the rapper Common. Here he presents a band of his own, one likely to toggle between hip-hop, dub reggae and jazz.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

NEW YORK CITY BALLET   (through June 2).
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30Pm, $35+
“City Ballet begins its spring season with work by living choreographers. A program appearing in two parts, “21st Century Choreographers” includes dances by William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, Matthew Neenan, Gianna Reisen and Justin Peck, the company’s resident choreographer and artistic adviser. For the Spring Gala, on Thursday, Peck introduces a new piece, as does the shrewd and much-in-demand contemporary choreographer Pam Tanowitz — her first for City Ballet. Their works are paired with a Balanchine classic, and those looking for more of him can check out “All Balanchine” on Tuesday.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt with special guest Thom Chacon
City Winery / 8PM, $65+
“You know how writing goes for me,” John Hiatt says, offering a glimpse into his creative process. “I get a couple of lines going, and then I just tag along as the songs start to reveal themselves. You’ve just gotta jump inside and take the ride.”

Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Trio
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $30
“You’re hard-pressed to find rising talents more exciting than Camille Thurman.” – The New York Times

“Vocally, she is equally adept at scatting breezily with just the right amount of surprise and soulfully expressing the most minute detail of a ballad in such a way that you can’t imagine any other direction the lyric might go. When she picks up the sax, it’s another vibe altogether: hearty, gutsy, fervid, sensual.” – JazzTimes

Australia Festival (April 29-May 12)
Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave./ 7:30PM, $30+
“Based on the selections for the Australia Festival, at the Joyce April 29–May 12, the search for what’s new in dance Down Under leads to the atavistic. First, Dancenorth and Lucy Guerin Inc. perform “Attractor,” a modern ritual by two of the country’s leading lights, Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek. The music—the Indonesian duo Senyawa reinterpreting Javanese tradition by way of Black Sabbath—sets the tone, and the action thrashes accordingly, sucking some audience members into the free-for-all. “The Beginning of Nature,” by Australian Dance Theatre, is even more forthright in its stab at a primal state: athletic dancers in green wield sticks and shrubbery. Last and largest, the Australian Ballet stays sleekly contemporary rather than au naturel, but the dancemakers in its triple bill do include a too rare species: a female dancer in the company. Her name is Alice Topp, and you can see how her elegant “Aurum” cinched her the job of resident choreographer.” (Brian Seibert-NewYorker)

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Bruce Hornsby
@ National Sawdust / 7:30PM, $45+
“’80s Lite FM balladeer (and onetime Grateful Dead member) Bruce Hornsby has been in the process of reinventing himself as an indie rock-approved artist, partially thanks to Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon who’s collaborated with him a few times over the past few years and contributed to his new album Absolute Zero (alongside Vernon associates Brad Cook, S. Carey, Rob Moose, The Staves and yMusic). Hornsby brings his new songs to Williamsburg venue National Sawdust tonight and tomorrow.” (brooklynvegan)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

More Smart Stuff coming soon.

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Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

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♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(4 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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WHAT’S ON VIEW
These are My Fave Special Exhibitions @ MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museum exhibitions,
and also see the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

New-York Historical Society

‘BETYE SAAR: KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN’  (through May 27).

“Saar has been making important and influential work for nearly 60 years. Yet no big New York museum has given her a full retrospective, or even a significant one-person show, since a 1975 solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art. As this exhibition demonstrates, the institutional oversight is baffling, as her primary themes — racial justice and feminism (her 1972 breakthrough piece, “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” merges the two by transforming the racist stereotype of the smiling black mammy into an armed freedom fighter) — are exactly attuned to the present.” (Cotter-NYT)
212-873-3400, nyhistory.org

Morgan Library & Museum

‘TOLKIEN: MAKER OF MIDDLE-EARTH’ (through May 12).

“J. R. R. Tolkien did more than write books like “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy; he invented an alternate reality, complete with its own geography, languages, religion and an era-spanning history. This exhibition of his artwork, letters, drafts and other material reminds visitors that the stories Tolkien wrote, however impressive, represent only a fraction of his efforts, and it highlights his unparalleled ability to create an immersive experience using only words and pictures. After a visit you, too, may find yourself believing in Middle-earth and the hobbits, elves, dwarves, orcs and wizards that live there. (NYT-Peter Libbey)
212-685-0008, themorgan.org

Jewish Museum

‘SCENES FROM THE COLLECTION’

“After a surgical renovation to its grand pile on Fifth Avenue, the Jewish Museum has reopened its third-floor galleries with a rethought and refreshed display of its permanent collection, which intermingles modern and contemporary art, by Jews and gentiles alike — Mark Rothko, Lee Krasner, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, and the excellent young Nigerian draftswoman Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze — with 4,000 years of Judaica. The works are shown in a nimble, non-chronological suite of galleries, and some of its century-spanning juxtapositions are bracing; others feel reductive, even dilletantish. But always, the Jewish Museum conceives of art and religion as interlocking elements of a story of civilization, commendably open to new influences and new interpretations.” (Farago) 212-423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org

Museum of the City of New York

NY AT ITS CORE (ongoing)
“Ten years in the making, New York at Its Core tells the compelling story of New York’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World.” The exhibition captures the human energy that drove New York to become a city like no other and a subject of fascination the world over. Entertaining, inspiring, important, and at times bemusing, New York City “big personalities,” including Alexander Hamilton, Walt Whitman, Boss Tweed, Emma Goldman, JP Morgan, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, Jay-Z, and dozens more, parade through the exhibition. Visitors will also learn the stories of lesser-known New York personalities, like Lenape chieftain Penhawitz and Italian immigrant Susie Rocco. Even animals like the horse, the pig, the beaver, and the oyster, which played pivotal roles in the economy and daily life of New York, get their moment in the historical spotlight. Occupying the entire first floor in three interactive galleries (Port City, 1609-1898, World City, 1898-2012, and Future City Lab) New York at Its Core is shaped by four themes: money, density, diversity, and creativity. Together, they provide a lens for examining the character of the city, and underlie the modern global metropolis we know today. mcny.org” (NYCity Guide)

and you should be sure to check out these special exhibitions at that little museum on Fifth Ave., The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(open 7 days /week, AND always Pay What You Wish for NewYorkers)

“The Tale of Genji” (Through June 16)

“To detail the rich history of a Japanese literary epic, this stunning exhibition assembles artifacts and art works spanning nearly a millennium. Written in the early eleventh century by the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, the fifty-four-chapter tale—a mix of entertainment, social commentary, and Buddhist philosophy—recounts the misadventures of an emperor’s son, who, excluded from the line of succession, seeks restitution through romantic liaisons. Colorful episodes describe the opulence of the Heian period and introduce iconic female characters. The fascinating objects on view include paired calligraphic texts and paintings drawn from the oldest-known complete “Genji” album, from 1510; an ornate, portable lacquered-wood cabinet, from the Edo period, made to house the tale’s many volumes; and a wedding palanquin (or covered litter), from the same era, whose exquisitely painted interior features motifs from the story. The visual literary tradition instigated by Murasaki’s classic was not just for the élite: modern translations, as well as books and popular prints, disseminated it to a wide audience. The show concludes with original drawings by the contemporary manga artist Yamato Waki, from his updated adaptation “Asaki Yume Mishi” (thirteen years in the making)—a testament to the saga’s enduring legacy.” (Johanna Fateman, NewYorker)

‘THE WORLD BETWEEN EMPIRES: ART AND IDENTITY IN THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST’ (through June 23).

“The Met excels at epic-scale archaeological exhibitions, and this is a prime example. It brings together work made between 100 B.C. and A.D. 250 in what we now know as Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. In the ancient world, all were in the sphere of two competing superpowers — Rome to the west and Parthia to the east — and though imperial influence was strong, it was far from all-determining. Each of the subject territories selectively grafted it onto local traditions to create distinctive new grass-roots cultural blends. Equally important, the show addresses the fate of art from the past in a politically fraught present.” (NYT-Cotter)

“In Praise of Painting” (thru Oct.4, 2020)

“How great are the Met’s holdings in the Dutch golden age? Very. This long-term installation rings the lower level of the Lehman Wing with scores of lesser-known gems from the mid-seventeenth century, many of them rarely on view before, amid masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Ruisdael. The period, vivified here, began in 1648, when the end of the Eighty Years’ War with Spain brought a boom in wealth and morale, expressed by genre paintings that exalt the national ideal of gezelligheid—social warmth, comfort, belonging. A key figure was Gerard ter Borch, who had travelled widely and worked at the court of Philip IV, in company with Velázquez. Ter Borch’s lustrous, ineffably witty domestic scenes inspired a generation of masters, notably Vermeer, whose genius rather eclipsed his elder’s. The pictures often star ter Borch’s younger sister Gesina, preening in satins or enigmatically musing. Herself a painter, she is cutely funny-looking—pointy nose, weak chin—and desperately lovable. There’s much to be said for a world with such a family in it.”

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Eight museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio (closed Sun-Mon)*
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York (open 7 days /week)
•  92nd Street – The Jewish Museum (closed Wed) (Sat FREE) (Thu 5-8 PWYW)
•  91st Street  –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (open 7 days /week)
•  89th Street –  National Academy Museum (closed Mon-Tue)
•  88th Street –  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (closed Thu) (Sat 6-8 PWYW)
•  86th Street –  Neue Galerie New York (closed Tue-Wed) (Fri 6-8 FREE)
Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
•  82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (open 7 days /week)*
*always Pay What You Wish (PWYW) for NewYorkers

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (Wed 2-6pm PWYW; First Friday each month (exc Jan+Sep) 6-9pm FREE) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/28 and 04/26.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/29) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 04/29/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > MONDAY/ APRIL 29, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

Kicks: The Great American Story of Sneakers – Nicholas K. Smith
Book Culture on Columbus, 450 Columbus Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“A cultural history of sneakers, tracing the footprint of one of our most iconic fashions across sports, business, pop culture, and American identity.

When the athletic shoe graduated from the beaches and croquet courts of the wealthy elite to streetwear ubiquity, its journey through the heart of American life was just getting started. In this rollicking narrative, Nicholas K. Smith carries us through the long twentieth century as sneakers became the totem of subcultures from California skateboarders to New York rappers, the cause of gang violence and riots, the heart of a global economic controversy, the lynchpin in a quest to turn big sports into big business, and the muse of high fashion.”

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Bach Plus One Concert
>> Australia Festival
>> The New York Pops – 36th Birthday Gala: Hat Full of Stars
>> Bruce Hornsby
>> The Ring Cycle
>> Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> Walking: One Step at a Time
Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/29-30 John Hiatt, City Winery
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Bach Plus One Concert
St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway and Fulton St./ 1PM, FREE
“The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor:
Johann Sebastian Bach Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?, BWV 8
Georg Philipp Telemann Concerto in E minor for Flute and Recorder, TWV 52:e1
“This season, Bach at One evolves into Bach + One: featuring one Bach cantata each week paired with a complementary work from composers early to modern. Trinity’s presentation of Bach’s entire monumental output of vocal sacred music has been praised by The New York Times for its “dramatic vigor.”

Australia Festival (April 29-May 12)
Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave./ 7:30PM, $30+
“Based on the selections for the Australia Festival, at the Joyce April 29–May 12, the search for what’s new in dance Down Under leads to the atavistic. First, Dancenorth and Lucy Guerin Inc. perform “Attractor,” a modern ritual by two of the country’s leading lights, Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek. The music—the Indonesian duo Senyawa reinterpreting Javanese tradition by way of Black Sabbath—sets the tone, and the action thrashes accordingly, sucking some audience members into the free-for-all. “The Beginning of Nature,” by Australian Dance Theatre, is even more forthright in its stab at a primal state: athletic dancers in green wield sticks and shrubbery. Last and largest, the Australian Ballet stays sleekly contemporary rather than au naturel, but the dancemakers in its triple bill do include a too rare species: a female dancer in the company. Her name is Alice Topp, and you can see how her elegant “Aurum” cinched her the job of resident choreographer.” (Brian Seibert-NewYorker)

The New York Pops – 36th Birthday Gala: Hat Full of Stars
Carnegie Hall / 7PM, $49+
“Steven Reineke leads The New York Pops in a celebration of its 36th Anniversary, honoring Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning music icon Cyndi Lauper and media executive Ken Lowe, former CEO of Scripps Networks and the mastermind behind HGTV, the Food Network, and more. Proceeds support the orchestra and its PopsEd music education programs throughout all five boroughs of NYC.”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Bruce Hornsby
@ National Sawdust / 7:30PM, $45+
“’80s Lite FM balladeer (and onetime Grateful Dead member) Bruce Hornsby has been in the process of reinventing himself as an indie rock-approved artist, partially thanks to Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon who’s collaborated with him a few times over the past few years and contributed to his new album Absolute Zero (alongside Vernon associates Brad Cook, S. Carey, Rob Moose, The Staves and yMusic). Hornsby brings his new songs to Williamsburg venue National Sawdust tonight and tomorrow.” (brooklynvegan)

The Ring Cycle (Apr.29-May11)
Tonight; Wagner’s Das Rheingold
Metropolitan Opera House (at Lincoln Center) / 7:30PM, $188+
tonight may be a tough ticket – try one of the other performances, or the secondary market.
“The first installment of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle returns to the stage in Robert Lepage’s “sweeping and evocative” (New York Times) production, featuring a cast of leading Wagnerians and maestro Philippe Jordan on the podium.”

“Wagner’s operatic tetralogy returns to the Met for the first time in six seasons. Show up to witness one of opera’s grandest works—and Robert Lepage’s equally grand production, which features a 45-ton mechanical set.” (TONY)

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
Birdland, / 9:30PM, $30
Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It’s a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars, backed by Steve Doyle on bass, Billy Stritch on piano and Daniel Glass on drums, hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.” (broadwayworld)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Walking: One Step at a Time
Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, 58 Park Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“Erling Kagge, the bestselling author of Silence in the Age of Noise, returns to Scandinavia House for a discussion on his new book Walking: One Step at a Time, an illuminating examination of the joy of walking. From those perilous first steps as a toddler, to great expeditions, from walking to work to trekking to the North Pole, Erling Kagge explains that he who walks goes further and lives better. Walking is a book about the love of exploration, the delight of discovery and the equilibrium that can be found in this most simple of activities.”

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Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

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♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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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Bonus NYC Events – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Hit the Hot Link and check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St. (btw 6/7), thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
Sony Hall – 235 W 46th St. (btw 7/8), sonyhall.com, 212-997-5123
and one more, not exactly WestSide:
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi / 32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker St./W4th St.)

Café Vivaldi is a classic, intimate club located in Greenwich Village on Jones Street, the street featured on the cover of Bob Dylan’s second album, “Freewheelin’. ”

maxresdefaultEach night Ishrat, the long time proprietor and impresario, carefully curates and schedules an eclectic series of musicians. You can often see him at his table in the corner, hard at work reviewing music videos and listening to cd demos on his laptop, scouting out future bookings. Musicians come from all over to play and sing in a club in Greenwich Village. Some are local New Yorkers, others are just passing through, in town for a few days.

There is a small bar, seating maybe 10. It’s close to the stage and I find it’s a perfect spot to sip a glass of red wine while listening to the music. The room itself has the performance area at one end and a cozy fireplace at the other. The performance area here is small, dominated by a large black Yamaha Grand piano. Tables are bunched together and most people at the tables are eating lite meals or sampling the wonderful desserts.

There is also a good selection of fairly priced wines,  but you are here because of the music. You can never be quite sure what you’re going to find, and that’s half the charm of this place. It’s not a home run every night, but many nights it’s pretty special.

I remember the night I saw the most talented bossa nova group, just in from San Paulo. As I listened, I wondered if there was any better music playing anywhere else in New York City that night. And at Caffé Vivaldi there is never a cover charge. Their recently redesigned web site does give you a better idea of the type of music playing each night.

At one time Greenwich Village was filled with clubs just like this, but times change. Real estate interests have impacted the village, and not for the better. Even Caffé Vivaldi had a rough time recently, when a new landlord raised the rent exorbitantly. Fortunately, Ishrat has built a loyal following over the years, and a fund raiser and slightly more reasonable rent has kept Café Vivaldi in business.

When Woody Allen and Al Pacino wanted to make movies featuring the timeless quality of Greenwich Village they came to Vivaldi. It’s important that we keep this special place alive, for if we lose Cafe Vivaldi, NYCity will have lost a piece of it’s soul.

CAFFE VIVALDI HAS CLOSED, VERY SAD.
I HAVE LEFT THIS REVIEW ON MY SITE AS A KIND OF MEMORIAL.
As reported in the “Gothamist”:
“Caffe Vivaldi, one of the last bohemian bastions of the West Village, is set to close this weekend. During its 35 years on Jones Street, the casual cafe won the hearts of locals and celebs alike, including Oscar Isaac, Bette Midler, and Al Pacino.

Despite that friendly communal atmosphere, the owners ultimately struggled to survive under their notorious vulture landlord Steve Croman, who they say waged a harassment campaign against the restaurant, and eventually tripled their rent.”
==============================================================
“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.

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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3 Good Eating places

It’s not difficult to find a place to eat in Manhattan.
Finding a good, inexpensive place to eat is a bit harder.
Here are a few of my faves in this neighborhood:

Fish – 280 Bleecker St. (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $9 gets you 6 of the freshest oysters or clams + a glass of wine or beer. Don’t know how they can do it, but I tell everyone I know about this place. And it’s located right in the heart of some of the best no cover music in town.

Bleecker Street Pizza – 69 7th ave S. (corner of Bleecker St.)
The place is tiny and not much to look at, but this is one good slice. They like to brag that they have been voted “Best pizza in NY” 3 years in a row by the Food Network. I believe them. I would have voted for them.

Num Pang – 21 E 12th St. (btw. University Place/5th ave.)
This is a Cambodian banh mi sandwich shop that kept me well fed while I was in class nearby recently. It’s cramped, even for NYCity, but usually there is room up the spiral staircase to sit down and eat. In good weather carry your sandwich a few blocks to Union Square park. You may have to wait a few minutes, because everything is freshly made, but it’s worth it. Can you believe – an unheard of 26 food rating by Zagat.

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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”
No reservations needed.
========================================================
NYCity is the most diverse and interesting place to find a meal anywhere in the world. With more than 24,000 eating establishments you might welcome some advice.

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available FALL 2019).
◊ Order before NOV. 30, 2019 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/28) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/28/2019 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ APRIL 28, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

Kenny Barron Quartet
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $35-$45
“NEA Jazz Master and nine-time Grammy Award–nominated pianist Kenny Barron is one of the most important pianists of the last several decades, known both for his solo work and for his projects with Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef, and many more. His exquisite repertoire of original music includes recent compositions and modern classics that span his work with the aforementioned artists as well as more recent contemporaries. Praised endlessly for both his sensitivity and his virtuosity, Barron is undisputedly one of the top jazz pianists in the world, and we are thrilled to welcome him back to Dizzy’s Club.”

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> “Works & Process”
>> ‘DANCING THE GODS’
>> WADADA LEO SMITH
>> Ted Koppel in Conversation
>> Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival
>> Sunday Platform – Curt Collier: The Biology of Political Conflicts
Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/29 The New York Pops 36th Birthday Gala honoring Cyndi Lauper, Carnegie Hall
4/29-30 John Hiatt, City Winery
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

==================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Art

“Works & Process” (April 28-29)
Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave./ 7:30PM, $30+
“The performance-and-discussion series presents an evening of dances created in response to the show “Hymn to Apollo,” which explores the influence of classical art on Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. (The show is at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World through June 2.) The two works, choreographed by Christopher Williams and Netta Yerushalmy and designed by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung, take as their point of departure the 1911 ballet “Daphnis and Chloe,” set in a verdant glade on the isle of Lesbos. Similarly, Bartelme and Jung’s costumes are derived from details in Ballets Russes designs.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)

‘DANCING THE GODS’ (April 27-28)
at Symphony Space / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This program of classical Indian dancing offers two separate programs on back-to-back evenings. On Saturday, the Maryland-based Kalanidhi Dance presents “Rasa,” a work inspired by the Sanskrit epic “Ramayana”; it embodies a range of emotions from disgust to wonderment through the South Indian Kuchipudi style. On Sunday, Sujata Mohapatra will perform in the Odissi style, accompanied by live music. The two styles, while sharing similarities, are distinguished by their music, costumes and contrasting physical emphases. Together they provide a look at two facets of classical Indian dance as interpreted by skilled artists.” (Brian Schaefer-NYT)

WADADA LEO SMITH (April 26-28)
at the Kitchen / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This trumpeter, composer and farsighted musical thinker has only ripened with age; at 77, he’s making some of the most affecting music of his career, and he is as prolific as ever. His most recent album is “Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs,” on which he blends brass, electronics and a string quartet to make slow, glassy music that’s often as faint as a memory, yet as urgent as a protester’s chant. He presents the 15-part work here alongside a deep cast of collaborators: The Diamond Voices trio, the RedKoral string quartet, the BlueTrumpet Quartet and the Janus Duo (Pheeroan akLaff on drums and Hardedge on electronics) will all be onstage with him. Jesse Gilbert will present a video component, and the butoh dancer Oguri will also perform.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

=========================================================

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Ted Koppel in Conversation
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 8PM, $40
“Jeff Greenfield is joined by one of America’s most honored, highly regarded news journalists: Ted Koppel, the legendary anchor of ABC News’ Nightline, for a conversation about 50-plus years as an eyewitness to history and the role of the press then and now.

This broad-ranging discussion will cover key events from Koppel’s career: JFK’s funeral; the march from Selma; Nixon’s visit to China; the day the Soviet Union ended; Nelson Mandela’s release from prison; to top stories in today’s political, economic, tech, and environmental news.”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival (April 27-28)
Brooklyn Botanic Garden / 10AM-6PM, $30
“Rise and shine for Sakura Matsuri — the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual spring soirée and weekend of cherry blossom appreciation. Taiko drummers, martial arts masters, and live bands will grace the stage; origami and bonsai experts will demonstrate their skills; and vendors will offer Raaka chocolate, hand-crafted Kokeshi Dolls, and vintage kimonos.” (Thrillist)

Sunday Platform – Curt Collier: The Biology of Political Conflicts
New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th St./ 11AM, FREE
Could the current division in our country have more to do with innate survival impulses than any battle of ideas? Curt Collier, National Youth Programs Director for Groundwork USA, looks at the ways we can re-channel our drives in a talk on the biology of political conflict.” (ThoughtGallery)

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Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

——————————————————————————————–

STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

==========================================================================
♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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.

=====================================================
Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

===============================================================================

WHAT’S ON VIEW
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s WestSide
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museums,
and also to see their expanded reviews of exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art

“The Value of Good Design”  (through June 15)

“The simple flask of the Chemex coffeemaker, the austere fan of aluminum tines on a garden rake, and the airtight allure of first-generation Tupperware exemplify the democratic promise of the Good Design movement in this edifying survey, which highlights (although not exclusively) the museum’s role in its history. Also on view—and among the winners of MOMA’s first design competition, held in 1940-41—is a molded plywood chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen; it’s a classic design, but, owing to technological limitations in its day, it wasn’t mass-produced until 2006. Starting in 1938, MOMA mounted an annual exhibition called “Useful Objects,” which championed the inexpensive and doubled as recommendations for holiday gifts. No item had a value of more than five dollars the first year; a decade later, the limit was a hundred dollars. By the fifties, the museum had established partnerships with national retailers for the exhibited products, from textiles to appliances, and, in the eighties, it opened its own design store. In the current show, the most compelling items are the everyday gems: Timo Sarpaneva’s cast-iron and teak casserole, from 1959; the original Slinky, from 1945; and a collapsible wire basket, from 1953, as graceful as a Ruth Asawa sculpture.” (

“Joan Miró”  (through June 15)

“This enchanting show draws on the museum’s immense holdings of Miró’s work, along with a few loans. Its star attraction is “The Birth of the World,” painted in 1925, while the artist was under the spell of the Surrealist circle of André Breton. It presents drifting pictographic elements—a black triangle, a red disk, a white disk, an odd black hook shape, and some skittery lines—on an amorphous ground of thinned grayish paint that soaks here and there into the unevenly primed canvas. It’s large—more than eight feet high by more than six feet wide—but feels larger: cosmic. There had never been anything quite like it in painting, and it stood far apart from the formally conservative, lurid fantasizing of the other Surrealist painters. Today, we are ever less apt to base valuations on precedence—who did what first. Art of the past seems not so much a parade as a convocation, subject to case-by-case assessments. Never unsettling in the ways of, say, Matisse or, for heaven’s sake, Picasso, Miró is a modernist for everybody. He earns and will keep his place in our hearts.” (

American Museum of Natural History

‘T. REX: THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR’  (through Aug. 9, 2020).
“Everyone’s favorite 18,000-pound prehistoric killer gets the star treatment in this eye-opening exhibition, which presents the latest scientific research on T. rex and also introduces many other tyrannosaurs, some discovered only this century in China and Mongolia. T. rex evolved mainly during the Cretaceous Period to have keen eyes, spindly arms and massive conical teeth, which could bear down on prey with the force of a U-Haul truck; the dinosaur could even swallow whole bones, as affirmed here by a kid-friendly display of fossilized excrement. The show mixes 66-million-year-old teeth with the latest 3-D prints of dino bones, and also presents new models of T. rex as a baby, a juvenile and a full-grown annihilator. Turns out this most savage beast was covered with — believe it! — a soft coat of beige or white feathers.” (Farago-NYT)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/26 and 04/24.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/27) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 04/27/2019 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ APRIL 27, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
Creole Food Festival
DL Rooftop Lounge, 95 Delancey St./ $25-$75, 3-8 p.m.
“The best Creole chefs are gathering for the second annual Creole Food Festival, where you can taste food and drinks from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and North America.”

“Harlem resident Fabrice Armand has been eating Creole food since he was “literally out of the womb,” and the Haitian-born marketing specialist is sharing his lifelong love for the flavorful cuisine as founder of New York City’s Creole Food Festival.

In its second year, the April 27 festival at the Lower East Side’s DL rooftop lounge is bringing together six chefs from around the world who will serve Creole cuisine based on their own upbringings and experiences.

Creole food blends spices and techniques from French, Spanish, West and North African, Haitian, Portuguese and Native American cuisines, among others.

Many of the chefs have major accolades, including Kelvin Fernandez, who won Best Young Chef in Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Food and Wine list and “beat” Bobby Flay on the Food Network; chef Stephan Berrouet Durand, who founded the Taste of Haiti and Haiti Food and Spirits festivals; and Daniel Pontes-Macedo, who was a finalist on Fox’s “MasterChef,” among others.” (amNY)

=========================================================

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> ‘DANCING THE GODS’
>> ‘A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD’
>> DIG DANCE
>> WADADA LEO SMITH
>> Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival
>> Independent Bookstore Day
Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/27 Django A Go Go, Town Hall
4/27 Roger McGuinn, Concert Hall at the New York Society For Ethical Culture
4/29 The New York Pops 36th Birthday Gala honoring Cyndi Lauper, Carnegie Hall
4/29-30 John Hiatt, City Winery
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

==================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Art

‘DANCING THE GODS’ (April 27-28)
at Symphony Space / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This program of classical Indian dancing offers two separate programs on back-to-back evenings. On Saturday, the Maryland-based Kalanidhi Dance presents “Rasa,” a work inspired by the Sanskrit epic “Ramayana”; it embodies a range of emotions from disgust to wonderment through the South Indian Kuchipudi style. On Sunday, Sujata Mohapatra will perform in the Odissi style, accompanied by live music. The two styles, while sharing similarities, are distinguished by their music, costumes and contrasting physical emphases. Together they provide a look at two facets of classical Indian dance as interpreted by skilled artists.” (Brian Schaefer-NYT)

‘A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD’ (April 26-27)
at Smoke / 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.; $38
“The vocalists Charenée Wade and Brianna Thomas both root themselves snugly within the bluesier realms of jazz’s vocal tradition, and though neither sounds much like Ella Fitzgerald, there is no escaping the influence of the First Lady of Song. Wade’s clear but forceful voice will lead the way on Friday; the next evening, Thomas — whose singing is laden with rousing, youthful energy — will take the helm.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

DIG DANCE (April 26-27)
at the 92nd Street Y / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This recurring dance series travels to the Emerald Isle this week with “New Dance Ireland: Choreographers of Nowness,” featuring a handful of choreographers, each of whom explore Irish identity and dance from a different angle. Participants include Jean Butler, Darrah Carr, Sean Curran and John Scott, among others, who are mixed and matched over three programs. For this week’s installment of Fridays at Noon, Scott also curates excerpts from many of these choreographers alongside a panel discussion moderated by Siobhan Burke, a dance critic for The New York Times.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

WADADA LEO SMITH (April 26-28)
at the Kitchen / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This trumpeter, composer and farsighted musical thinker has only ripened with age; at 77, he’s making some of the most affecting music of his career, and he is as prolific as ever. His most recent album is “Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs,” on which he blends brass, electronics and a string quartet to make slow, glassy music that’s often as faint as a memory, yet as urgent as a protester’s chant. He presents the 15-part work here alongside a deep cast of collaborators: The Diamond Voices trio, the RedKoral string quartet, the BlueTrumpet Quartet and the Janus Duo (Pheeroan akLaff on drums and Hardedge on electronics) will all be onstage with him. Jesse Gilbert will present a video component, and the butoh dancer Oguri will also perform.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

=========================================================

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival (April 27-28)
Brooklyn Botanic Garden / 10AM-6PM, $30
“Rise and shine for Sakura Matsuri — the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual spring soirée and weekend of cherry blossom appreciation. Taiko drummers, martial arts masters, and live bands will grace the stage; origami and bonsai experts will demonstrate their skills; and vendors will offer Raaka chocolate, hand-crafted Kokeshi Dolls, and vintage kimonos.” (Thrillist)

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day
“To celebrate indie bookstores, local shops are throwing parties and offering discounts on Saturday for Independent Bookstore Day, including stores like Bluestockings, Books Are Magic, Word Brooklyn, Book Culture, Greenlight Bookstore, Astoria Bookshop and many more. To find out where your nearest shop is, we’ve gathered a healthy listing of bookstores for your perusal and even a map to help you locate them.” (amNY)

=======================================================

Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

——————————————————————————————–

STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

==========================================================================
♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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.

===========================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(4 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.

=====================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

================================================================================

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.

kac_120405_phude_corner_bistro_bar_1000-600x450In 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).
=========================================================
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:
==============================================================
“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).

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/26) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/26/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ APRIL 26, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

WADADA LEO SMITH (April 26-28)
at the Kitchen / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This trumpeter, composer and farsighted musical thinker has only ripened with age; at 77, he’s making some of the most affecting music of his career, and he is as prolific as ever. His most recent album is “Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs,” on which he blends brass, electronics and a string quartet to make slow, glassy music that’s often as faint as a memory, yet as urgent as a protester’s chant. He presents the 15-part work here alongside a deep cast of collaborators: The Diamond Voices trio, the RedKoral string quartet, the BlueTrumpet Quartet and the Janus Duo (Pheeroan akLaff on drums and Hardedge on electronics) will all be onstage with him. Jesse Gilbert will present a video component, and the butoh dancer Oguri will also perform.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

=========================================================

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>‘A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD’
>> RENEE ROSNES QUARTET
>> DIG DANCE
>> Zila Khan’s Rumi Yatra
>> TOMEKA REID
>> Marsalis and Burns: Country Music
>> New York City Ballet
>> National Pretzel Day
Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/26 The Hot Sardines, Joe’s Pub
4/27 Django A Go Go, Town Hall
4/27 Roger McGuinn, Concert Hall at the New York Society For Ethical Culture
4/29 The New York Pops 36th Birthday Gala honoring Cyndi Lauper, Carnegie Hall
4/29-30 John Hiatt, City Winery
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

==================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Art

‘A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD’ (April 26-27)
at Smoke / 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.; $38
“The vocalists Charenée Wade and Brianna Thomas both root themselves snugly within the bluesier realms of jazz’s vocal tradition, and though neither sounds much like Ella Fitzgerald, there is no escaping the influence of the First Lady of Song. Wade’s clear but forceful voice will lead the way on Friday; the next evening, Thomas — whose singing is laden with rousing, youthful energy — will take the helm.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

RENEE ROSNES QUARTET
at Flushing Town Hall / 8 p.m.; $25
“Rosnes, a pianist, is still riding high on the success of last year’s “Beloved of the Sky,” an album of original compositions inspired by the paintings of Emily Carr. Its original pieces range from tangled melodic webs to coolly meditative exhalations. Taken together, they amount to a reckoning with the legacy of post-bop’s piano heroes: The ghosts of Cedar Walton, Andrew Hill and Geri Allen are alive in Rosnes’s playing. In Queens, Ms. Rosnes appears with two members of the band from the album — the vibraphonist Steve Nelson and the bassist Peter Washington — as well as the drummer Lewis Nash.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

DIG DANCE (April 26-27)
at the 92nd Street Y / 8 p.m.; $25+
“This recurring dance series travels to the Emerald Isle this week with “New Dance Ireland: Choreographers of Nowness,” featuring a handful of choreographers, each of whom explore Irish identity and dance from a different angle. Participants include Jean Butler, Darrah Carr, Sean Curran and John Scott, among others, who are mixed and matched over three programs. For this week’s installment of Fridays at Noon, Scott also curates excerpts from many of these choreographers alongside a panel discussion moderated by Siobhan Burke, a dance critic for The New York Times.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

Zila Khan’s Rumi Yatra
Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Ave./ 8PM, $30
“Singer Zila Khan’s repertoire ranges from Indian Classical to Indo-Jazz Fusion to traditional Ghazal and Sufi. She’ll lead an ensemble through India’s rich musical landscape, as informed by the philosophy of Rumi.” (ThoughtGallery)

TOMEKA REID
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $20+
Among the rising stars on jazz’s avant-garde, few are busier or more widely praised than Reid. The cellist — who recently released an album of duets, “The Mouser,” with the drummer Filippo Monico — enjoys the empowerment and open possibility of free improvisation, but she also seeks the firm foundation of a steady groove. Her clearly articulated, lyrically imaginative cello playing can fulfill a range of roles in quick succession: melodist, beat maker, textural accompanist. At the Jazz Gallery she will perform in two separate formations: a duo with the drummer Tomas Fujiwara (nodding to her new album) and a longstanding quartet featuring Fujiwara, the guitarist Mary Halvorson and the bassist Jason Roebke.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Marsalis and Burns: Country Music (April 25-27)
Rose Theatre, 60th St. at Broadway / 8PM, $60+
[this looks like a tough ticket, may need to try another night, or go secondary market.]
“Having tackled jazz, Ken Burns has now turned his sights to country music. In a preview of his forthcoming series, the ambitious documentarian joins forces with the famed trumpeter (and Burns’s favored talking head) Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, to illustrate the shared roots of the two durable genres. Among the other guests at the swinging hoedown are Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, and Rhiannon Giddens.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

New York City Ballet (thru June 2)
NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $35+
“In the first week of the season, the company dances two alternating programs of works created for it in the twenty-first century, in addition to William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” from 1992. Forsythe’s subversion of balletic conventions—courtly manners, gender roles, hierarchy—began a conversation that is still very much alive in the world of ballet. “Herman” shares a program with Alexei Ratmansky’s “Concerto DSCH,” a witty and stylish romp to Shostakovich. Two distinguished works from the past five years, Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Justin Peck’s “Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes,” bookend the other program. Both are set to excitingly descriptive scores, the former by Mussorgsky and the latter by Copland.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)

=========================================================

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

National Pretzel Day
Twist with joy over pretzels and beer
Loreley Beer Garden / HH 6-8PM
“It may be news to you that April 26 is National Pretzel Day. Not exactly a Federal Holiday, but a cause for celebration nonetheless. Pretzels come in all shapes, sizes, and textures, and it’s about time we appreciate them all. Loreley Beer Garden will serve up a variety, including soft baked German pretzels, New York-style pretzels, giant Bavarian pretzels, and burgers, sandwiches, and sausages on pretzel buns. Dip ‘em in a rainbow of sauces and wash it all down with craft beer and seasonal cocktails.” (thrillist)
Happy Hour from 6pm-8pm, take $2 off Select Drafts & Wines, $15 Select Liter Steins, and $25 Select Bottled Wine.

=======================================================

Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

——————————————————————————————–

STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

============================================================================
♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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.

=====================================================

Bonus NYC Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not quite WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
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 discovery and enjoyment.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
===========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

================================================================================

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world. Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues. Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art.

Here are two exhibitions the New Yorker likes:

And from New York Magazine:

Nadav Kander
A dark line.
“Known for his landscapes, the British photographer’s latest work brings the viewer to a particular point in the U.K.: the Thames Estuary, where the river meets the North Sea. The results are visually arresting and somewhat haunting.” (NYMag)
Flowers Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, through May 25.

===========================================================================

For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com) Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view.

*Now plan your own gallery crawl, but better to plan your visits for Tuesday through Saturday; most galleries are closed Sunday and Monday.

TIP: After your gallery tour, stop in Ovest at 513W27th St. for Aperitivo Italiano (Happy Hour on steroids). Discuss all the great art you have viewed over a drink and a very tasty selection of FREE appetizers (M-F, 5-8pm). OR try this NYT recommendation: “When you’re done, adjourn to the newly renovated Bottino , the Chelsea art world’s unofficial canteen on 10th Avenue (btw 24/25 St.) “

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 04/24 and 04/22.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/25) + Today’s Featured Pub (Midtown West)

Posted on 04/25/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ APRIL 25, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

LAURENCE HOBGOOD
at the Rubin Museum of Art / 7 p.m.; $35
“As a pianist and arranger, Hobgood may be best known for his two-decade collaboration with the vocalist Kurt Elling, which came to an end a few years ago. On “tesseterra,” Mr. Hobgood’s new album, he draws upon the textural and stylistic breadth he long deployed as Elling’s musical director; the album finds him combining a jazz trio with a string quartet, playing a mix of thoroughly rearranged classic-rock tunes, jazz standards and a Chopin waltz. Two impressive things stand out: how enormous his arrangements make the string quartet sound, and how fluidly these seven musicians blend together. He will play material from the disc at the Rubin with that hybrid ensemble: Leonor Falcon and Tomoko Omura on violin, Jen Herman on viola, Brian Sanders on cello, Matt Clohesy on bass and Jared Schonig on drums.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

=========================================================

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Songs of Kenneth D. Laub with Clint Holmes, Veronica Swift and Nicolas King
>> Marsalis and Burns: Country Music
>> A Thousand Thoughts
>> OH LAND
>> KASSA OVERALL AND KRIS DAVIS
>> GIRLPOOL
>> New York City Ballet

Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/26 The Hot Sardines, Joe’s Pub
4/27 Django A Go Go, Town Hall
4/27 Roger McGuinn, Concert Hall at the New York Society For Ethical Culture
4/29 The New York Pops 36th Birthday Gala honoring Cyndi Lauper, Carnegie Hall
4/29-30 John Hiatt, City Winery
4/30 Deer Tick, Rough Trade
4/30 The Mountain Goats, Brooklyn Steel
5/01 Patti Smith, Webster Hall
5/01 Joan Baez, Beacon Theatre

==================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Art

“New York, Old Friend”: Songs of Kenneth D. Laub with Clint Holmes, Veronica Swift and Nicolas King
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $40
“New York, Old Friend is a unique cabaret program with music and lyrics written by famed New Yorker Kenneth D. Laub. Featuring vocalists Clint Holmes, Veronica Swift, and Nicolas King, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and pianist/music director Tedd Firth, New York, Old Friend is a romantic series of stories that address the relationships New Yorkers have with the city and with each other. Together, these original songs remind us that what makes New York special is “not the streets and skyscrapers, but the relationships within.” No other jazz club has a view of New York City like Dizzy’s Club, so make sure to catch this show in the most fitting setting imaginable.”

Marsalis and Burns: Country Music (April 25-27)
Rose Theatre, 60th St. at Broadway / 8PM, $60+
[this looks like a tough ticket, may need to try another night, or go secondary market.]
“Having tackled jazz, Ken Burns has now turned his sights to country music. In a preview of his forthcoming series, the ambitious documentarian joins forces with the famed trumpeter (and Burns’s favored talking head) Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, to illustrate the shared roots of the two durable genres. Among the other guests at the swinging hoedown are Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, and Rhiannon Giddens.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

A Thousand Thoughts
@ Town Hall, 123 West 43rd St./ 8PM, $47+
“Check out a live multimedia performance that’s pushing the boundaries of documentary filmmaking. A Thousand Thoughts tells the story of the Grammy-winning, groundbreaking Kronos Quartet, which has played everything from Stravinski to Jimi Hendrix over their multi-decade career. The film combines archival footage, narration, and filmed interviews with luminaries from Philip Glass to Tanya Tagaq—and during the screening, the Kronos Quartet will be there on stage, playing the soundtrack live and interacting with the cinematic imagery. Newsweek called the performance “the most mind-blowing experience” at this year’s Sundance Festival.” (gothamist)

OH LAND
at Le Poisson Rouge / 9 p.m.; $30
“This Danish polymath, born Nanna Oland Fabricius, started her performing career as a student at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Sidelined by an injury, she later turned to music, building rich vocal textures and orchestral synths into quirky electropop songs like “Heavy Eyes” and “White Nights.” Lately, Fabricius has been composing and arranging for ballet, multimedia art installations and the screen, but her return to solo music is imminent. Oh Land’s fifth studio album — her first since 2014’s “Earth Sick” — is due out in May.” (OLIVIA HORN- NYT)

KASSA OVERALL AND KRIS DAVIS
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $25
“Once a month since December, Overall — a drummer, producer and contemporary-music syncretist who recently released a solid album merging jazz and hip-hop — has brought a prominent piano innovator to the Jazz Gallery for a one-night collaboration as part of his continuing “Time Capsule” project. Davis is among the most radical pianists of her generation, a sharply articulate and ruggedly uncompromising improviser; joined by the bassist Stephan Crump, she’ll almost certainly take Overall — who strikes the drums in measured, deliberate gestures, despite his zesty demeanor as a performer — into fresh territory.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

GIRLPOOL
Bowery Ballroom / 7 p.m.; $22
“After appearing at this Brooklyn concert hall for a Tidal showcase last month, this duo of Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker return to play cuts from their latest record, “What Chaos Is Imaginary.” For about five years, the pair have transformed quandaries in love, friendship and growing up into cathartic singalongs like “123.” On this release, their formerly unison vocals are bifurcated, as Tucker — who recently came out as transgender — sings in a new tenor range across songs that traverse rock, punk and dream pop. The latter is the genre favored by the Australian singer Hatchie, who will open both shows.” (OLIVIA HORN- NYT)

New York City Ballet (thru June 2)
NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $35+
“In the first week of the season, the company dances two alternating programs of works created for it in the twenty-first century, in addition to William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” from 1992. Forsythe’s subversion of balletic conventions—courtly manners, gender roles, hierarchy—began a conversation that is still very much alive in the world of ballet. “Herman” shares a program with Alexei Ratmansky’s “Concerto DSCH,” a witty and stylish romp to Shostakovich. Two distinguished works from the past five years, Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Justin Peck’s “Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes,” bookend the other program. Both are set to excitingly descriptive scores, the former by Mussorgsky and the latter by Copland.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)

=========================================================

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

More smart stuff coming soon.

=======================================================

Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

——————————————————————————————–

STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

============================================================================
♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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.

=====================================================
Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.

==========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

=============================================================================

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.
(Alas, no more. After 10 years, “Jersey Boys” finally closed, now it’s “Mean Girls.”)

lThose 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).
=======================================================
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 younger, trimmer piano man. “Tiny” we miss you.

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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).
If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/24) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 04/24/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ APRIL 24, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

EVAN CHRISTOPHER
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $35
“A New Orleans-based clarinetist, Christopher dedicates himself to uplifting the jazz legacy of his hometown, while situating it within the context of other traditional black music of the Caribbean. He has a strong and clear tone, and an ebullient stage presence. He performs here with the pianist David Torkanowsky, the bassist Neal Caine and the drummer Darrian Douglas.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG
>> Mahalia
>> Cerrone
>> New York City Ballet
>> Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
>> This Is Cuba: David Ariosto with Cynthia Carris Alonso
>> Tony Gale | Alabama to Wyoming: Moments Across the 50 States

Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/24 Girlpool, Hatchie, Music Hall of Williamsburg

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG
at Merkin Hall / 8 p.m.; $20+
“A mainstay of the New York scene overseen by the pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, this series brings a well-thought-through, thematic approach to concerts. This one looks at the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca through music by composers as diverse as Poulenc and de Falla, William Bolcom and Leonard Cohen. Corinne Winters and Efraín Solís are the singers.” David Allen.” (David Allen-NYT)

Mahalia
S.O.B.’s, 204 Varick St., at W. Houston St./ 8PM, $22
“There is no shortage of songs pining for the familiar touch of a past lover, but the British singer Mahalia takes another approach: “I Wish I Missed My Ex,” one of her best-known singles, finds her more concerned with her lack of desire for further contact or for closure. Her soulful, unhurried vocals bathe her candid lyrics—whether untroubled or downhearted—in a warmth that lands feather soft on the ear. Here, she’s supported by the singer and rapper Ivy Sole, whose piercing hip-hop and R. & B. is tinted with a rosy spirituality.” (Briana Younger, NewYorker)

Cerrone
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St./ 8PM, $25
“Few figures sum up the lavish sonic excesses of seventies Euro disco like Marc Cerrone. The Parisian drummer and producer’s classic albums, “Love in C Minor” and “Supernature,” displayed his facility for airy grooves and carnal themes—the side-long title track of the LP “Love in C Minor,” for example, is about Cerrone being seduced by a trio of women. He’s since eased up on such overt libertinism, but a pair of recent EPs, “Afro” and “Afro II,” retain his lithe bounciness of old.” (Michaelangelo Matos, NewYorker)

New York City Ballet (thru June 2)
NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $35+
“In the first week of the season, the company dances two alternating programs of works created for it in the twenty-first century, in addition to William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” from 1992. Forsythe’s subversion of balletic conventions—courtly manners, gender roles, hierarchy—began a conversation that is still very much alive in the world of ballet. “Herman” shares a program with Alexei Ratmansky’s “Concerto DSCH,” a witty and stylish romp to Shostakovich. Two distinguished works from the past five years, Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Justin Peck’s “Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes,” bookend the other program. Both are set to excitingly descriptive scores, the former by Mussorgsky and the latter by Copland.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society (April 23-24)
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $30
“Ever since the demise of the swing era, in the late forties, maintaining a large jazz orchestra has primarily been the province of the aesthetically obsessed—those who dream in terms of the myriad tonal colors that only a lush ensemble can afford. Continually traversing the intersection where orchestral girth meets new jazz, the adventurous composer and arranger Darcy James Argue has kept his Secret Society aggregate alive for more than a decade, helping to kick-start the slow but steady rebirth of the contemporary big band.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

This Is Cuba: David Ariosto with Cynthia Carris Alonso
New York Public Library—Mid-Manhattan Library
476 Fifth Ave. (42nd St. Entrance) / 6:30PM, FREE
“Beyond the classic cars, salsa, and cigars lies a country where black markets reign, free speech and privacy are restricted, sanctions wreak havoc, and Soviet-style bureaucracy still slows the gears of a burgeoning economy. Life in Cuba is changing, as satellite dishes and internet hotspots blossom and American tourism flows. But it’s not that simple. In This Is Cuba, Havana-based journalist David Ariosto looks at Cuba over the course of nine years, showing us what’s in store for the island as it transforms.”

Tony Gale | Alabama to Wyoming: Moments Across the 50 States
Metropolitan Opera Guild, 165 W. 65th St./ 6:30PM, $7
“Sierra Photo NYC, part of the Sierra Club’s New York City chapter, is proud to present award-winning photographer Tony Gale. He will be showing work from his travels across the United States, sharing the highs and lows of his adventures, and will go into the details on how you could pursue similar projects, efficiently and cost-effectively.”

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Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival (April 24 to May 5)

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:
IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc.
CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest.

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

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♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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.

===========================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(4 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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WHAT’S ON VIEW
These are My Fave Special Exhibitions @ MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museum exhibitions,
and also see the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

New-York Historical Society

‘BETYE SAAR: KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN’  (through May 27).

“Saar has been making important and influential work for nearly 60 years. Yet no big New York museum has given her a full retrospective, or even a significant one-person show, since a 1975 solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art. As this exhibition demonstrates, the institutional oversight is baffling, as her primary themes — racial justice and feminism (her 1972 breakthrough piece, “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” merges the two by transforming the racist stereotype of the smiling black mammy into an armed freedom fighter) — are exactly attuned to the present.” (Cotter-NYT)
212-873-3400, nyhistory.org

Morgan Library & Museum

‘TOLKIEN: MAKER OF MIDDLE-EARTH’ (through May 12).

“J. R. R. Tolkien did more than write books like “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy; he invented an alternate reality, complete with its own geography, languages, religion and an era-spanning history. This exhibition of his artwork, letters, drafts and other material reminds visitors that the stories Tolkien wrote, however impressive, represent only a fraction of his efforts, and it highlights his unparalleled ability to create an immersive experience using only words and pictures. After a visit you, too, may find yourself believing in Middle-earth and the hobbits, elves, dwarves, orcs and wizards that live there. (NYT-Peter Libbey)
212-685-0008, themorgan.org

Jewish Museum

‘SCENES FROM THE COLLECTION’

“After a surgical renovation to its grand pile on Fifth Avenue, the Jewish Museum has reopened its third-floor galleries with a rethought and refreshed display of its permanent collection, which intermingles modern and contemporary art, by Jews and gentiles alike — Mark Rothko, Lee Krasner, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, and the excellent young Nigerian draftswoman Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze — with 4,000 years of Judaica. The works are shown in a nimble, non-chronological suite of galleries, and some of its century-spanning juxtapositions are bracing; others feel reductive, even dilletantish. But always, the Jewish Museum conceives of art and religion as interlocking elements of a story of civilization, commendably open to new influences and new interpretations.” (Farago) 212-423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org

Museum of the City of New York

NY AT ITS CORE (ongoing)
“Ten years in the making, New York at Its Core tells the compelling story of New York’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World.” The exhibition captures the human energy that drove New York to become a city like no other and a subject of fascination the world over. Entertaining, inspiring, important, and at times bemusing, New York City “big personalities,” including Alexander Hamilton, Walt Whitman, Boss Tweed, Emma Goldman, JP Morgan, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, Jay-Z, and dozens more, parade through the exhibition. Visitors will also learn the stories of lesser-known New York personalities, like Lenape chieftain Penhawitz and Italian immigrant Susie Rocco. Even animals like the horse, the pig, the beaver, and the oyster, which played pivotal roles in the economy and daily life of New York, get their moment in the historical spotlight. Occupying the entire first floor in three interactive galleries (Port City, 1609-1898, World City, 1898-2012, and Future City Lab) New York at Its Core is shaped by four themes: money, density, diversity, and creativity. Together, they provide a lens for examining the character of the city, and underlie the modern global metropolis we know today. mcny.org” (NYCity Guide)

and you should be sure to check out these special exhibitions at that little museum on Fifth Ave., The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(open 7 days /week, AND always Pay What You Wish for NewYorkers)

‘THE WORLD BETWEEN EMPIRES: ART AND IDENTITY IN THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST’ (through June 23).

“The Met excels at epic-scale archaeological exhibitions, and this is a prime example. It brings together work made between 100 B.C. and A.D. 250 in what we now know as Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. In the ancient world, all were in the sphere of two competing superpowers — Rome to the west and Parthia to the east — and though imperial influence was strong, it was far from all-determining. Each of the subject territories selectively grafted it onto local traditions to create distinctive new grass-roots cultural blends. Equally important, the show addresses the fate of art from the past in a politically fraught present.” (NYT-Cotter)

“In Praise of Painting” (thru Oct.4, 2020)

“How great are the Met’s holdings in the Dutch golden age? Very. This long-term installation rings the lower level of the Lehman Wing with scores of lesser-known gems from the mid-seventeenth century, many of them rarely on view before, amid masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Ruisdael. The period, vivified here, began in 1648, when the end of the Eighty Years’ War with Spain brought a boom in wealth and morale, expressed by genre paintings that exalt the national ideal of gezelligheid—social warmth, comfort, belonging. A key figure was Gerard ter Borch, who had travelled widely and worked at the court of Philip IV, in company with Velázquez. Ter Borch’s lustrous, ineffably witty domestic scenes inspired a generation of masters, notably Vermeer, whose genius rather eclipsed his elder’s. The pictures often star ter Borch’s younger sister Gesina, preening in satins or enigmatically musing. Herself a painter, she is cutely funny-looking—pointy nose, weak chin—and desperately lovable. There’s much to be said for a world with such a family in it.”

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Eight museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio (closed Sun-Mon)*
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York (open 7 days /week)
•  92nd Street – The Jewish Museum (closed Wed) (Sat FREE) (Thu 5-8 PWYW)
•  91st Street  –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (open 7 days /week)
•  89th Street –  National Academy Museum (closed Mon-Tue)
•  88th Street –  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (closed Thu) (Sat 6-8 PWYW)
•  86th Street –  Neue Galerie New York (closed Tue-Wed) (Fri 6-8 FREE)
Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
•  82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (open 7 days /week)*
*always Pay What You Wish (PWYW) for NewYorkers

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (Wed 2-6pm PWYW; First Friday each month (exc Jan+Sep) 6-9pm FREE) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/22 and 04/20.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/23) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 04/23/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ APRIL 23, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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:

New York City Ballet (thru June 2)
NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $35+
“In the first week of the season, the company dances two alternating programs of works created for it in the twenty-first century, in addition to William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” from 1992. Forsythe’s subversion of balletic conventions—courtly manners, gender roles, hierarchy—began a conversation that is still very much alive in the world of ballet. “Herman” shares a program with Alexei Ratmansky’s “Concerto DSCH,” a witty and stylish romp to Shostakovich. Two distinguished works from the past five years, Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Justin Peck’s “Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes,” bookend the other program. Both are set to excitingly descriptive scores, the former by Mussorgsky and the latter by Copland.” (Marina Harss, NewYorker)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Sam Reider & Human Hands
>> Project Broadway: Lady Lyricists
>> 54 Sings Lady Gaga
>> Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
>>The Lineup with Susie Mosher
>> One Book, One New York: Author Event
>> France in the World: A New Global History

Continuing Events
>> Tribeca Film Festival
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/23 Bailen, Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/24 Girlpool, Hatchie, Music Hall of Williamsburg

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Sam Reider & Human Hands
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $35
“[a] staggeringly virtuosic band” RnR Magazine

“Accordionist, pianist, and composer Sam Reider leads the Brooklyn-based crew of bluegrass and jazz musicians known as the Human Hands. Riding high from their critically acclaimed debut record in 2018, Too Hot to Sleep, Human Hands has recently appeared at major festivals and venues throughout the U.S. and UK and performed live on the BBC. With an expansive repertoire that’s technically thrilling and yet infectiously melodic and enjoyable, Human Hands approaches each performance with an exuberance and sense of fun-loving comradery that guarantees a good time for fans of folk, bluegrass, or jazz.”

Project Broadway: Lady Lyricists
Symphony Space / 7:30PM, $30
“Join us for this celebration of musical theater’s finest female wordsmiths, from yesterday’s greats to today’s pioneers. Delight in an evening celebrating lyricists from Betty Comden (On the Town) and Dorothy Fields (Sweet Charity) to Lynn Ahrens (Once on This Island), Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), Mindi Dickstein (Little Women), Marcy Heisler (Ever After), and Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden). Performers include Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!), Ellie Fishman (Finding Neverland), Jason Gotay (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark), Drew Gehling (Waitress), Bre Jackson (The Color Purple), Kennedy Kanagawa, Michael Maliakel (Monsoon Wedding), and Alli Mauzey (Hello, Dolly!), with music direction by Leo Munby.”

54 Sings Lady Gaga
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 9:30PM, $45+
“Annie Golden, F. Michael Haynie, Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Marcus, Brian Charles Rooney, Carrie St. Louis and Talia Suskauer are among the roughly two dozen artists saluting the oeuvre of born star Lady Gaga in this one-night concert. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Born This Way Foundation.” (TONY)

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society (April 23-24)
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $30
“Ever since the demise of the swing era, in the late forties, maintaining a large jazz orchestra has primarily been the province of the aesthetically obsessed—those who dream in terms of the myriad tonal colors that only a lush ensemble can afford. Continually traversing the intersection where orchestral girth meets new jazz, the adventurous composer and arranger Darcy James Argue has kept his Secret Society aggregate alive for more than a decade, helping to kick-start the slow but steady rebirth of the contemporary big band.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

The Lineup with Susie Mosher
Birdland / 9:30PM, $25
“Mosher is one of those talents you need to see to believe: warm, funny, biting, ferociously committed. In her biweekly series at the brand-new Birdland Theater, she invites a gaggle of performers from Broadway and beyond to show their talents. Guests at the March 26 edition include BETTY, Nicolas King, Amy Toporek, Mark William, Gene Reed, Gracie and Rachel, Andrew Swackhamer and Kristi Ambrosetti.” (TONY)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

One Book, One New York: Author Event
NY Public Library—Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 476 Fifth Ave. / 6:30PM, FREE
“Meet the incredible group of women authors who wrote this year’s five nominated titles and prepare to cast your vote! Patti Smith is just one of the illustrious authors appearing at a One Book, One New York panel.

FEATURING
Fatima Farheen Mirza, A Place for Us
Nicholasa Mohr (David Mohr), Nilda
Min Jin Lee, Free Food for Millionaires
Patti Smith, Just Kids
Jacqueline Woodson, Another Brooklyn
Arianna Rebolini, Books editor, Buzzfeed News

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the BuzzFeed Book Club introduce all five nominated books and authors for One Book, One New York in a special evening of conversation at The New York Public Library. Hear what inspired the authors to write these celebrated titles, check-out the books and then cast your vote for the One Book we should read altogether.”

France in the World: A New Global History
Albertine, 972 Fifth Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“Join us for a panel discussion to celebrate the release of “France in the World,” the English-Language translation of the bestselling Histoire mondiale de la France, a volume conceived and mastered by leading French academic and Collège de France professor, Patrick Boucheron.

France in the World combines the intellectual rigor of an academic work with the liveliness and readability of popular history. This dynamic collection presents a new way of writing national and global histories while developing our understanding of France in the world through short, provocative essays that range from prehistoric frescoes to Coco Chanel to the terrorist attacks of 2015.”

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Continuing Events

Tribeca Film Festival

“Robert De Niro and Co.’s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers.

TimeOutNY has got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: their personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and much more.”

See Also:

IndieWire – Tribeca 2019: 12 Must-See Films at This Year’s Festival, From Danny Boyle to a Wild ‘Showgirls’ Doc

CBS News – 15 highlights at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC

vulture.com (NYMag) – Tribeca Film Festival What to see at the independent film fest April 24 to May 5.

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

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♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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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Bonus NYC Events – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Hit the Hot Link and check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St. (btw 6/7), thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
Sony Hall – 235 W 46th St. (btw 7/8), sonyhall.com, 212-997-5123
and one more, not exactly WestSide:
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi / 32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker St./W4th St.)

Café Vivaldi is a classic, intimate club located in Greenwich Village on Jones Street, the street featured on the cover of Bob Dylan’s second album, “Freewheelin’. ”

maxresdefaultEach night Ishrat, the long time proprietor and impresario, carefully curates and schedules an eclectic series of musicians. You can often see him at his table in the corner, hard at work reviewing music videos and listening to cd demos on his laptop, scouting out future bookings. Musicians come from all over to play and sing in a club in Greenwich Village. Some are local New Yorkers, others are just passing through, in town for a few days.

There is a small bar, seating maybe 10. It’s close to the stage and I find it’s a perfect spot to sip a glass of red wine while listening to the music. The room itself has the performance area at one end and a cozy fireplace at the other. The performance area here is small, dominated by a large black Yamaha Grand piano. Tables are bunched together and most people at the tables are eating lite meals or sampling the wonderful desserts.

There is also a good selection of fairly priced wines,  but you are here because of the music. You can never be quite sure what you’re going to find, and that’s half the charm of this place. It’s not a home run every night, but many nights it’s pretty special.

I remember the night I saw the most talented bossa nova group, just in from San Paulo. As I listened, I wondered if there was any better music playing anywhere else in New York City that night. And at Caffé Vivaldi there is never a cover charge. Their recently redesigned web site does give you a better idea of the type of music playing each night.

At one time Greenwich Village was filled with clubs just like this, but times change. Real estate interests have impacted the village, and not for the better. Even Caffé Vivaldi had a rough time recently, when a new landlord raised the rent exorbitantly. Fortunately, Ishrat has built a loyal following over the years, and a fund raiser and slightly more reasonable rent has kept Café Vivaldi in business.

When Woody Allen and Al Pacino wanted to make movies featuring the timeless quality of Greenwich Village they came to Vivaldi. It’s important that we keep this special place alive, for if we lose Cafe Vivaldi, NYCity will have lost a piece of it’s soul.

CAFFE VIVALDI HAS CLOSED, VERY SAD.
I HAVE LEFT THIS REVIEW ON MY SITE AS A KIND OF MEMORIAL.
As reported in the “Gothamist”:
“Caffe Vivaldi, one of the last bohemian bastions of the West Village, is set to close this weekend. During its 35 years on Jones Street, the casual cafe won the hearts of locals and celebs alike, including Oscar Isaac, Bette Midler, and Al Pacino.

Despite that friendly communal atmosphere, the owners ultimately struggled to survive under their notorious vulture landlord Steve Croman, who they say waged a harassment campaign against the restaurant, and eventually tripled their rent.”
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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.

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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3 Good Eating places

It’s not difficult to find a place to eat in Manhattan.
Finding a good, inexpensive place to eat is a bit harder.
Here are a few of my faves in this neighborhood:

Fish – 280 Bleecker St. (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $9 gets you 6 of the freshest oysters or clams + a glass of wine or beer. Don’t know how they can do it, but I tell everyone I know about this place. And it’s located right in the heart of some of the best no cover music in town.

Bleecker Street Pizza – 69 7th ave S. (corner of Bleecker St.)
The place is tiny and not much to look at, but this is one good slice. They like to brag that they have been voted “Best pizza in NY” 3 years in a row by the Food Network. I believe them. I would have voted for them.

Num Pang – 21 E 12th St. (btw. University Place/5th ave.)
This is a Cambodian banh mi sandwich shop that kept me well fed while I was in class nearby recently. It’s cramped, even for NYCity, but usually there is room up the spiral staircase to sit down and eat. In good weather carry your sandwich a few blocks to Union Square park. You may have to wait a few minutes, because everything is freshly made, but it’s worth it. Can you believe – an unheard of 26 food rating by Zagat.

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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”
No reservations needed.
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NYCity is the most diverse and interesting place to find a meal anywhere in the world. With more than 24,000 eating establishments you might welcome some advice.

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available FALL 2019).
◊ Order before NOV. 30, 2019 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/22) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/22/2019 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > MONDAY/ APRIL 22, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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:

Always celebrate the ancient ones.

Roy Haynes 94th Birthday (April 22-24)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, 10:30PM, $30-$45
“What’s more amazing: that the master drummer Roy Haynes has played with nearly every major figure from Lester Young to Pat Metheny or that, at the age of ninety-four, he’s still gigging? An irrepressible force of nature behind his kit, he can drive a band with an undiminished spirit that’s as sharp as his legendary sartorial flair. One of few remaining links in the chain of foundational jazz, Haynes is history incarnate.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Judy Kuhn Sings: Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel
>> Lea Anderson
>> Mingus Big Band: 97th Charles Mingus Birthday Celebration
>> Bill McKibben: Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
>> Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the Royal Household
>> Monday Night Magic
>> Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution

Continuing Events
>>more coming soon
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/22 The National, Beacon Theatre
4/22 Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados, Brooklyn Bowl
4/23 Bailen, Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/24 Girlpool, Hatchie, Music Hall of Williamsburg

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Judy Kuhn Sings: Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel
Symphony Space / 8PM, $30+
“One of the most gifted musical actors of her generation, four-time Tony nominee Kuhn has originated roles in the Broadway productions of Les Misérables, Chess and Fun Home. In this concert, she celebrates the music of a three-generation lineage of musical-theater composers: Richard Rodgers (South Pacific), Mary Rodgers (Once Upon a Mattress) and Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza).” (TONY)

Lea Anderson
​Joe’s Pub / 9:30PM, $15
“Categorized as real R&B, it is without a doubt that Lea Anderson has what the music industry has been waiting for. Through her own rhythm and blues, Lea Anderson aims to create an intimate connection between herself and anyone who has come in contact with her fluid soprano sound. Versatile, she can be acoustic, with a piano, supplemented with tracks, or with her four piece band. No matter the set up, Lea Anderson is always equipped with her flute, which was handed down by her Mother. Lea Anderson’s music is a timeless entity providing us with sounds enlaced with heartfelt melodies, strong vocals and lyrics that tell the story of her past heartbreaks, current happiness, new found self-love, and hopes for equality.”

Mingus Big Band: 97th Charles Mingus Birthday Celebration
@ Jazz Standard / 7:30PM, 9:30PM; $30
Jazz Standard’s annual birth celebration of Mingus with the 14-piece group led by artistic director Sue Mingus.
“…No composer–bandleader–instrumentalist since Ellington encompassed more of jazz’s accomplish­ment and promise. Mingus was the black music experience in the United States – in its hybridization, its questing after form, its improvisation, competitiveness, impertinence, outrage, intellectualization, joy, emotionalism, bitterness, comedy, parody, and frustration.” (Gary Giddins, Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Bill McKibben: Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? with Naomi Klein
The Strand, 828 Broadway / 7PM, $28
“It’s hard to imagine better company for Earth Day than author and activist Bill McKibben. A pioneer in drawing attention to climate change, McKibben’s latest goes deeper to question the impact of modern innovations like AI and robotics on our very humanity.” (ThoughtGallery)
Price: $28 Admission & Signed Copy grants you admission for one, plus one signed copy of the book. $15 Admission & gift card grants you admission for one, plus one $15 gift card to the store.

Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the Royal Household
The General Society Library, 20 W. 44th St./ 6:15PM, $40
“Although royals may have the same troubles as we commoners, there is a key difference in their lives: Elizabeth II has a staff of 1,200. Join historian Adrian Tinniswood as he reveals the reality of five centuries of life at the English court—and behind the scenes.” (ThoughtGallery)

Monday Night Magic
Players Theatre, West Village / 8PM, $42.50
“For 21 years, this proudly old-school series has offered a different lineup of professional magicians every week: opening acts, a headliner and a host, plus two or three close-up magicians to wow the audience at intermission. Housed for the past seven years at the unprepossessing Players Theatre, it is an heir to the vaudeville tradition.

Many of the acts incorporate comedic elements, and audience participation is common. (If you have young children, bring them; they make especially adorable assistants.) Shows cost just $37.50 in advance and typically last well over two hours, so you get a lot of value and variety for your magic dollar. In contrast to some fancier magic shows, this one feels like comfort food: an all-you-can eat buffet to which you’re encouraged to return until you’re as stuffed as a hat full of rabbits.” (TONY)

Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 6:30PM, $29
“Nothing is as elemental, as essential to human life, as the air we breathe. Yet around the world, in rich countries and poor ones, it is quietly poisoning us.

Air pollution prematurely kills seven million people every year, including more than one hundred thousand Americans. It is strongly linked to strokes, heart attacks, many kinds of cancer, dementia, and premature birth, among other ailments. Join author, Beth Gardiner, as she exposes the political decisions and economic forces that have kept so many of us breathing dirty air. Discover the scientists who have transformed our understanding of pollution’s effects on the body and the ordinary people fighting for a cleaner future.”

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Continuing Events

mm

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

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♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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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Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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WHAT’S ON VIEW
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s WestSide
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museums,
and also to see their expanded reviews of exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art

“The Value of Good Design”  (through June 15)

“The simple flask of the Chemex coffeemaker, the austere fan of aluminum tines on a garden rake, and the airtight allure of first-generation Tupperware exemplify the democratic promise of the Good Design movement in this edifying survey, which highlights (although not exclusively) the museum’s role in its history. Also on view—and among the winners of MOMA’s first design competition, held in 1940-41—is a molded plywood chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen; it’s a classic design, but, owing to technological limitations in its day, it wasn’t mass-produced until 2006. Starting in 1938, MOMA mounted an annual exhibition called “Useful Objects,” which championed the inexpensive and doubled as recommendations for holiday gifts. No item had a value of more than five dollars the first year; a decade later, the limit was a hundred dollars. By the fifties, the museum had established partnerships with national retailers for the exhibited products, from textiles to appliances, and, in the eighties, it opened its own design store. In the current show, the most compelling items are the everyday gems: Timo Sarpaneva’s cast-iron and teak casserole, from 1959; the original Slinky, from 1945; and a collapsible wire basket, from 1953, as graceful as a Ruth Asawa sculpture.” (

“Joan Miró”  (through June 15)

“This enchanting show draws on the museum’s immense holdings of Miró’s work, along with a few loans. Its star attraction is “The Birth of the World,” painted in 1925, while the artist was under the spell of the Surrealist circle of André Breton. It presents drifting pictographic elements—a black triangle, a red disk, a white disk, an odd black hook shape, and some skittery lines—on an amorphous ground of thinned grayish paint that soaks here and there into the unevenly primed canvas. It’s large—more than eight feet high by more than six feet wide—but feels larger: cosmic. There had never been anything quite like it in painting, and it stood far apart from the formally conservative, lurid fantasizing of the other Surrealist painters. Today, we are ever less apt to base valuations on precedence—who did what first. Art of the past seems not so much a parade as a convocation, subject to case-by-case assessments. Never unsettling in the ways of, say, Matisse or, for heaven’s sake, Picasso, Miró is a modernist for everybody. He earns and will keep his place in our hearts.” (

American Museum of Natural History

‘T. REX: THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR’  (through Aug. 9, 2020).
“Everyone’s favorite 18,000-pound prehistoric killer gets the star treatment in this eye-opening exhibition, which presents the latest scientific research on T. rex and also introduces many other tyrannosaurs, some discovered only this century in China and Mongolia. T. rex evolved mainly during the Cretaceous Period to have keen eyes, spindly arms and massive conical teeth, which could bear down on prey with the force of a U-Haul truck; the dinosaur could even swallow whole bones, as affirmed here by a kid-friendly display of fossilized excrement. The show mixes 66-million-year-old teeth with the latest 3-D prints of dino bones, and also presents new models of T. rex as a baby, a juvenile and a full-grown annihilator. Turns out this most savage beast was covered with — believe it! — a soft coat of beige or white feathers.” (Farago-NYT)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/20 and 04/18.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/21) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square / Theater District)

Posted on 04/21/2019 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ APRIL 21, 2019

“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.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL 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.”

==========================================================

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

TERENCE BLANCHARD AND THE E-COLLECTIVE (April 18-21)
at the Blue Note / 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $20-$35
“Since his arrival in the 1980s as a member of the Young Lions scene, Blanchard has become one of jazz’s most effortlessly flexible trumpeters and inquisitive bandleaders. He is known for scoring most of Spike Lee’s movies (his music for “BlacKkKlansman” was nominated for an Oscar this year), but his most consistent concern over the past few years has been the E-Collective, a quintet of Blanchard and spry young improvisers who play his explosive original music — often guided by social concerns — and currently include the guitarist Charles Altura, the pianist Fabian Almazan, the bassist David Ginyard Jr. and the drummer Oscar Seaton.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Merce Cunningham Celebration
>> LARRY GOLDINGS, PETER BERNSTEIN AND BILL STEWART
>> Monty Alexander Trio
>> Indulge in an Easter nosh
>> Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival,
>> Science Fair

Continuing Events
>>more coming soon
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/21 Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados, Sony Hall
4/22 The National, Beacon Theatre
4/22 Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados, Brooklyn Bowl
4/23 Bailen, Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/24 Girlpool, Hatchie, Music Hall of Williamsburg

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Merce Cunningham Celebration (LAST DAY)
Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St./ 2PM, $85+, may be a tough ticket, may need to try secondary market.
“One of the sorrows of the closure of the Merce Cunningham company, in 2011, was the loss of a beloved seasonal marker. Every spring, like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the Cunningham troupe opened its New York season, and your brain suddenly felt young and clean again. This year, in tribute to the centennial of the choreographer’s birth, the ritual will be reënacted, at the Joyce, April 17-21, in a program of revivals by three companies. Ballet West, from Salt Lake City, will perform the tranquil “Summerspace” (1958), with its famous dappled costumes. (Robert Rauschenberg, the company’s art director, stood the dancers up in front of him and sprayed Day-Glo dots on them.) The Centre National de Danse Contemporaine, from Angers, France, will do the very classical “Suite for Five” (1956), and Washington Ballet will close the show with the bang-up “Duets” (1980), for six couples, to recordings of traditional Irish drumming.” (Joan Acocella, NewYorker)

LARRY GOLDINGS, PETER BERNSTEIN AND BILL STEWART (April 19-21)
at Jazz Standard / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $30
“Over the past three decades, this trio has been one of jazz’s quiet stalwarts. Goldings’s organ is sometimes frisky, sometimes smoldering; Bernstein plays the guitar more crisply and adroitly than almost anyone in the game; and Stewart’s drum work balances the influences of Tony Williams and Paul Motian into an attack that’s buoyant and tonally sensitive and complex. The group released a charming album last year, “Toy Tunes,” and will likely draw from that material during this weekend run.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Monty Alexander Trio (Apr.18-21)
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $35-$45
“In a career spanning six decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation by exploring and bridging the worlds of American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica. In the process, he has performed and recorded with artists from every corner of the musical universe and entertainment world, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare. Combining classic, swinging jazz with the rhythms and vibrations of Jamaica, Alexander always makes good on his promise to “get everybody moving below the waist.”

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Indulge in an Easter nosh
Citywide
“Whether it’s before, after, or instead of mass, Easter brunch can’t be passed over. Our picks for the best brunches have bunny-hopped the extra mile to offer special Easter menus and promotions for your mid-day satisfaction. We’re talking lamb dishes of all kinds, bacon egg and cheese dumplings, chocolate pancakes with candy eggs and Peeps, and plenty of cocktails. The family drama can wait till later.
Cost: Options range from cheap to exorbitant. How festive are you willing to get?” (Thrillist)

Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival, FREE
Play dress up in one of the city’s most fanciful parades
“New Yorkers love to see and be seen, whether dressed up at a gala or sporting the latest kicks on the L train Monday morning. Easter is no different. The Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival began in the 19th century and was cemented into pop culture by a 1948 film. Today, revelers will don imaginative hats decked out with ribbons, tulle, and bows, congregate around St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and march up Fifth Avenue.” (Thrillist)

“Starting at about 10am and continuing until 4pm, the parade marches north on Fifth Avenue, from 49th Street to 57th Street. The best place to watch is from the area around St. Patrick’s Cathedral; better yet, bring your bonnet and join the parade.”

Elsewhere, but this is in the good old Bronx and looks worth the detour:

Science Fair
Bronx Brewery, 856 E136th St. / 1-4PM, FREE
“To kick-off this year’s taste of science festival, we will be hosting an old-school event with a novel, tasty, twist: A science fair… in a brewery!

Scientists will be competing for a cash prize by conducting live demonstrations and experiments, the most entertaining, intriguing and interesting of which will win. If a sunny spring day in a beer garden waxing lyrical about all things science isn’t enough to entice you, this is event is also FREE, but we do ask that you RSVP.”

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Continuing Events

mm

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

==========================================================================
♦ 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 2018 – awesome! 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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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(4 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub

Jimmy’s Corner / 140 W 44th St (btw B’way & 7th ave)

IMG_2083Jimmy’s Corner is right in the heart of Times Square, but you won’t find it on the corner, it’s mid-block. Enter this long narrow bar and you are struck by the walls covered with mostly black-and-white boxing photographs, and memorabilia. Soon enough you learn that “Corner” refers to proprietor Jimmy Glenn’s long career as a corner man for some of boxing greats – Liston, Tyson, even “the greatest,” Ali.

Jimmy’s is a sort of time machine, taking you back to a time and place that no longer exists. All around you Times Square has cleaned up, grown up, assumed a new identity. Jimmy’s probably hasn’t changed a bit since it first opened in 1971. Certainly the bar itself looks original and the prices haven’t changed much either. When I brought a friend, who owns her own bar, she was surprised when she got the small tab for a round of drinks. Figured there must be a mistake, that maybe they forgot to charge for all the drinks.

Times Square today is filled with neon glitz and wandering tourists from Dubuque, but not Jimmy’s. You’ll likely find some old timer’s at the bar nursing their drinks, some younger locals at tables in the back, and maybe a few adventuresome tourists clutching their trusty guidebooks. There’s no food served here because this is just a bar, and sometimes that’s all you need.

On nights when no local team is playing, it’s a fine place to sip some drafts and listen to a great old time jukebox, with a great selection of  40s& 50s R&B and soul. On sports nights this very narrow bar can get a bit claustrophobic, filled with excited fans watching their team on the TVs. Either way, Jimmy’s is the place to be if you are looking for an old time bar in the new Times Square.
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Website: are you kidding !
(although there is a facebook page with lots of photos –
facebook.com/jimmyscornernyc)
Phone #: 212-221-9510
Hours: 11am – 4 am, except Sunday they open 12 noon
Happy Hour: not necessary, low prices all day, every day
Subway: #1,2,3 to TimesSquare 42nd st
walk 2 blks N on 7th ave to 44th st; ½ blk E to Jimmy’s

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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).
If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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