NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/19) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 02/19/2019 by GregD

“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: “February 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.
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:

SAXOPHONE SUMMIT: JOE LOVANO, DAVE LIEBMAN AND GREG OSBY (Feb.19-23)
at Birdland / 8:30 and 11 p.m.; $30-$40
“Three of the best saxophonists in straight-ahead jazz and its affiliated territories, Lovano (tenor saxophone), Liebman (soprano) and Osby (alto) join up this week with a trio of all-star side musicians: the pianist Phil Markowitz, the bassist Cecil McBee and the drummer Billy Hart. All six of these players have been among jazz’s most respected figures since at least the 1980s, and all continue to barrel forward creatively.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET
>> Dayna Stephens Quartet
>> Rigoletto
>> Michelle Collins: Strong Monster
>> MIRO MAGLOIRE’S NEW CHAMBER BALLET
>> Nationalism in the Modern Era
>> Russia and the US: Here We Go Again
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>>NEW YORK CITY BALLET
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET (Feb. 19-20)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30 p.m.; $45+
“To mark its 25th anniversary, Complexions presents three programs over two weeks that highlight its brand of sharp, sultry ballet. The programs comprise new, revived and repurposed works by Dwight Rhoden, who founded and directs the troupe with the dancer Desmond Richardson. Program A features the New York premiere of “Bach 25,” set to music by both J. S. Bach and his son C. P. E. Bach, as well as the return of “Star Dust,” a tribute to David Bowie. Program B pairs the premiere of “Woke,” a response to current politics, with “From Then to Now,” a greatest-hits compilation from the company’s repertory. A separate matinee program combines the compilation with the Bach piece.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

Dayna Stephens Quartet (Feb.19-24)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; $35
“The riveting post-bop saxophonist Dayna Stephens has already proved his worth on this bandstand as a trusted associate in the ensembles of Kenny Barron and others. For this critical engagement, though, he débuts at the helm of a topnotch quartet, featuring the pianist Aaron Parks, the bassist Ben Street, and the drummer Gregory Hutchinson.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Rigoletto (next Feb.23, 1PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 8PM, $20+
“Verdi’s tragic jester returns in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked, Las Vegas–themed production. Baritones Roberto Frontali and George Gagnidze share the title role, and soprano Nadine Sierra reprises her portrayal of Gilda, the role that helped launch her now-blossoming Met career. Tenors Vittorio Grigolo and Bryan Hymel share the role of the lascivious Duke, and Nicola Luisotti conducts.”

Michelle Collins: Strong Monster
Joe’s Pub / 9:30PM, $15
“Michelle Collins is the friend you never knew you had (and aren’t sure you wanted). In her new show Strong Monster, we go on a long-legged journey through Michelle’s giant life — a sort of “Lady Costanza” existence, where every blessing is met with an equal-if-not-greater curse. Through her off-the-cuff improvised stories, pictures, song, and absolutely no dance, accompanied by the piano stylings of Kenny Mellman of Kiki & Herb fame, her show is a one-of-a-kind experience.”

Time Out New York has called Michelle Collins “the fastest mind in comedy,” and Dr. Phil once said “I know this woman… this is a safe bet right here.”

MIRO MAGLOIRE’S NEW CHAMBER BALLET (Feb. 18-19)
at New York City Center Studio 5 / 7:30 p.m.
“In an upstairs studio that is part of the City Center complex, Magloire has long presented thoughtful, intimate ballets that he creates for live contemporary music. For this presentation, he introduces “Sanctum,” a new work for six dancers that is meant to be viewed in the round and is set to music by Kaija Saariaho and Karin Rehnqvist. Two vocal sections, sung live by three members of the Ekmeles vocal ensemble, bookend instrumental selections from both composers. Preceding this work is a solo called “Morning Song” set to John Cage’s “Cheap Imitation.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Nationalism in the Modern Era
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West / 6:30P, $38
Looking at historic nationalist movements from the 16th-century all the way up to Brexit, Israeli philosopher and conservative political theorist Yoram Hazony talks about the positive role of love of country and self-rule, as outlined in his new book, The Virtue of Nationalism.” (ThoughtGallery)

Russia and the US: Here We Go Again
NYU, 15 Barclay Street, Rm 430 / 6:30PM, FREE RSVP required
“The US and Russia are revisiting some of the flashpoints of the old US-Soviet rivalry—influence over the direction of Europe, security in the Middle East—and antagonizing each other in Ukraine and Georgia, creating a new conflict corridor in Russia’s own backyard. What do these new/old disagreements tell us about the players? And what do they and the many other points of contention between the two tell us about the global setting nearly 30 years since the disappearance of the Soviet Union?”

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Continuing Events
NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through March 3)
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM
“In the coming week, City Ballet’s winter season belongs to Princess Aurora. Through Feb. 24, the company presents “The Sleeping Beauty” in a 1991 version by the former director Peter Martins, who followed a blueprint from the 19th-century master Marius Petipa (a section by George Balanchine made the cut, too). Over the next 10 days, several of City Ballet’s top ballerinas embody the titular character in this streamlined, two-act production. Lilac Fairy aside, the true fairy godfather here is Tchaikovsky, whose enduring score many consider ballet’s best.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)
212-496-0600, nycballet.com

Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
Midtown Manhattan’s winter wonderland.
Bryant Park (btw 5th/6th Ave. @42nd St.) / shops to 8PM, rink to 10PM
Enjoy The Lodge by Urbanspace, and The Rink, the centerpiece of Winter Village and New York City’s only free admission ice skating rink.
The Rink
This 17,000 square foot rink features free admission ice skating, high quality rental skates, and free skating shows, special events, and activities.
October 27, 2018 – March 3, 2019
Daily, 8am-10pm (Rink hours are weather permitting and Rink may be closed for events – check here)

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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 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.”

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. caffevivaldi.com, 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening 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.
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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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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 is one exhibition the New Yorker likes:

Dana Schutz (Through Feb. 23. Closing soon)

“Painting wet-in-wet with oils, building thick and eventful surfaces, Schutz creates allegories of uncertain but torrid, gnashing implication, a bit like the enigmatic narratives of the German modern master Max Beckmann, but less solemn. She does this with almost preposterously extraordinary gifts for composition, paint handling, and, in particular, color, suffusing clashes of hue and tone with ghostly essences of a chromatic unity that you feel rather than quite see. “Mountain Group” (from 2018, like almost all the works here), which measures ten feet high by thirteen feet wide, pictures a heap of busy, cartoonish figures in reds, blues, and blacks that somehow generate the sensation of an almost—or wholly—absent color. (I thought, not very confidently, of lavender.) “Washing Monsters” shows an animal-skulled creature clutching a human character who appears to be cleansing it, with consequent soap bubbles. This painting shares its subject with one of five bronzes—cast from energetically finger-worked clay—which are Schutz’s first exhibited sculptures. Though her style can suggest Expressionism, it is detached from mere personal emotion. She objectifies anxious states of mind—or of soul—which should surprise no one these days.” (Peter Schjeldahl) / Petzel , 456 W. 18th St.

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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.) “

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 02/17 and 02/15.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Complexions Contemporary Ballet, DAVE LIEBMAN AND GREG OSBY, Dayna Stephens Quartet, Joe Lovano, Michelle Collins: Strong Monster, Nationalism in the Modern Era, NYC Events, NYC Events Today, Russia and the US: Here We Go Again… | Leave a comment

NYC Events, “Only the Best” (02/18) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 02/18/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

Juilliard Jazz Ensembles
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $30
“The Juilliard School has been a destination for world-class music education since it was founded, and these incredible young musicians will exemplify that legacy in this performance. The Juilliard School Jazz Ensemble features some of the world’s most talented emerging jazz artists, many of whom are already professional musicians. No stranger to Dizzy’s Club, the ensemble has also performed at noted venues such as the Blue Note and Alice Tully Hall. These gifted young musicians are proof of jazz’s bright future, and tonight they will explore jazz music from the early-1970s and late-1980s that reflects the civil rights and social justice movements of their times, including pieces by Rashaan Roland Kirk, Eddie Harris, and Wes Montgomery.”

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Derek Klena
>> MERCE CUNNINGHAM CENTENNIAL
>> La Fille du Régiment
>> John Doe (of X) w/ Jeff Slate
>> MIRO MAGLOIRE’S NEW CHAMBER BALLET
>> Presidents’ Day Open House
>> Drink like a founding father.
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>>NEW YORK CITY BALLET
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Derek Klena
Feinstein’s/54 Below, / 7PM, $55+
“The handsome and polished Klena took to the F/54 stage five years ago opposite Lindsay Mendez, with whom he had shared two awkward girl–jerky guy musical-theater romances (first in Dogfight, then in Wicked). Now the star of Anastasia and the upcoming Jagged Little Pill—to say nothing of his turn as a dimwitted DJ on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt—returns for a solo show that looks back on his California childhood, his reality-TV history and his backstage adventures.” (TONY)

MERCE CUNNINGHAM CENTENNIAL
at Anthology Film Archives / 7:30 p.m.
“For the past six weeks, as part of this year’s extensive celebrations of the centennial of Cunningham’s birth (he died in 2009), the Anthology Film Archives has presented weekly screenings of his works. The final screening on Monday focuses on a 2005 film of “Biped,” a 1999 piece that made imaginative use of computer-generated imagery and that Cunningham likened to “the feeling of switching channels on the TV.” Alastair Macaulay, the former chief dance critic at The New York Times, called it “a triumphant outpouring of pure dance invention and a masterpiece of theatrical poetry,” and will be on hand to introduce the film and participate in a post-screening Q. and A.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

La Fille du Régiment (next Feb.23, 8PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $30+
“Tenor Javier Camarena and soprano Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks—including the show-stopping tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis … Pour mon âme,” with its nine high Cs. Alessandro Corbelli and Maurizio Muraro trade off as the comic Sergeant Sulpice, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. And in an exciting piece of casting, stage and screen icon Kathleen Turner makes her Met debut in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Enrique Mazzola conducts.”

John Doe (of X) w/ Jeff Slate
City Winery / 8PM, $22-$28
“Doe beautifully balances a rocker’s heart and a poet’s soul.” – The LA Times
“One of the warmest, most welcome voices in pop music.” – NPR Music

“John Doe calls his new album, The Westerner, “psychedelic soul music from the Arizona desert.” In addition to being a founding member of the ground-breaking LA band, X, he has recorded 8 solo records and acted in over 50 films and television productions.”

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Presidents’ Day Open House (Feb.16-18)
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 11AM-5PM, $1
Celebrate George Washington’s birthday and Presidents’ Day at Fraunces Tavern Museum with dollar admission!

Can’t get enough Washington? Make sure to check out our Scott Gallery featuring A Stoic Countenance: Portraits of George Washington exhibition. Then, head up to the McEntee Gallery to sneak a peek at a lock of Washington’s hair and a fragment of his tooth!”

Drink like a founding father.
Fraunces Tavern, Porterhouse Brew Co. /
“To really drink like a founding father you’d basically have to give up your liver: James Madison was said to have a pint of whiskey a day, John Adams started every day with cider and once tried to import 500 bottles of Bordeaux tax-free, and during George Washington’s lifetime, he became the largest distiller of spirits in America. He and his buddies also racked up a $17,253 bar tab just before the signing of the Constitution, in today’s currency, but still impressive!

This Presidents Day weekend (with Mr. Washington’s birthday on Monday), pay homage to the old chap by sampling an old-timey fave of his, the Hot Ale Flip, at Porterhouse Brew Co., the sister establishment to his actual old haunt Fraunces Tavern. In the colonial preparation, brandy or rum is mixed with molasses or sugar and beer and frothed up with a hot poker right out of the fireplace. Porterhouse’s version, which you can get starting on Friday, takes their Irish Red Ale, Lemon Hart & Son 151, and demerara sugar, and heats it table-side with a blowtorched loggerhead. Or you can just have a glass of Madeira, also a Washington fave.” (grubstreet)

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Continuing Events
NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through March 3, next performance Tue. Feb.19, 7:30PM)
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center
“In the coming week, City Ballet’s winter season belongs to Princess Aurora. Through Feb. 24, the company presents “The Sleeping Beauty” in a 1991 version by the former director Peter Martins, who followed a blueprint from the 19th-century master Marius Petipa (a section by George Balanchine made the cut, too). Over the next 10 days, several of City Ballet’s top ballerinas embody the titular character in this streamlined, two-act production. Lilac Fairy aside, the true fairy godfather here is Tchaikovsky, whose enduring score many consider ballet’s best.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)
212-496-0600, nycballet.com

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

♦ 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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A PremierPub / Tribeca

B-Flat / 277 Church St. (btw Franklin/White St)

There are some places that are tough to find, then add a layer of mystery when you do find them. B-Flat has a nondescript, almost unmarked door at street level – today’s speakeasy vibe. Open this door and you face a dimly lit stairway down to their basement location. It almost takes a leap of faith to follow the stairs down to their interior door.
But open that door and a pleasant surprise awaits you.

It’s a basement jazz spot all right, but not like any traditional jazz joint you may have been to before. This place looks as fresh as today, probably because it’s only been open for 6 years. Even though it hasn’t had a chance to age gracefully, the cherry wood accents and low lighting make this small space very inviting.

There is always jazz, often progressive jazz, playing over their very discrete, stylish bose speakers, setting just the right tone as you find a seat at the bar, or one of the small tables. There is wine and beer available, but this place has some expert mixologists making some very creative cocktails, which I’m told change seasonally, a nice touch.

Come at happy hour and tasty cocktails like the el Diablo or the lychee martini are $8 – not bad. I am a sucker for any drink made with lychee and how can you not try a tequila drink named el Diablo. There is also nice selection of small bites available at happy hour and a food menu that is as innovative as the cocktail menu, so this does not have to be a happy hour only stop.

It wasn’t surprising to find a tasty prosciutto and arugula salad with yuzu dressing, but I did not expect to find such a good version of fried chicken breast on the apps menu. Here it’s called “Tatsuta.” Best bet is to sample happy hour, then dinner on a Monday or Wednesday night, when you can finish with no cover live jazz that starts around 8.

This place is tough to find (look for a small slate sandwich board on the sidewalk out front advertising happy hour) and on some nights when there is no live music it may be a little too quiet for some. But I think it’s worth searching out if you want a place with good music, food, and especially drinks, away from the maddening crowd.

Website: http://http://www.bflat.info/index.html
Phone #: 212-219-2970
Hours: Mo-Wed 5pm-2am; Th-Sat 5pm-3am; no Sun
Happy Hour: 5-7pm every day; $8 cocktails + special prices on apps
Music: Mon/Wed 8pm
Subway: #1 to Franklin; walk E 1 blk to Church; N 1 blk to bFlat

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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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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Derek Klena, John Doe (of X) w/ Jeff Slate, Juilliard Jazz Ensembles, La Fille du Régiment, MERCE CUNNINGHAM CENTENNIAL, MIRO MAGLOIRE’S NEW CHAMBER BALLET, New York City Ballet, NYC Events, NYC Events Today | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/17) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 02/17/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

Parade for Lunar New Year
Watch NYC’s biggest Lunar New Year parade in person.
“The Lunar New Year is celebrated with large public events in Brooklyn and Queens, but the largest parade is still the procession that takes place in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Winding along Mott and Canal Streets, the show moves down East Broadway toward the Manhattan Bridge before swinging up between Eldridge and Forsyth streets toward Grand Street (next to Sara D. Roosevelt Park). Expect thousands of people to line the streets as performers, people in festive costumes, marching bands and, of course, lots of colorful lion and dragon dancers, which tradition holds will bring luck while frightening away evil spirits.” (Newsday)
WHEN | WHERE 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17; Chinatown
INFO FREE; betterchinatown.com

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Kim Nalley: Love Songs
>> Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart
>> Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process
>> Presidents’ Day Open House
>> Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> NEW YORK CITY BALLET
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Kim Nalley: Love Songs
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $45
“The incomparable vocalist Kim Nalley sings jazz’s greatest love songs on Valentine’s Day. Treat yourself and your valentine with an unforgettable night of live jazz in front of a glittering New York skyline and a special prix-fixe menu. Returning to Jazz at Lincoln Center after sold-out runs in Dizzy’s Club and The Appel Room, Nalley packs an expansive vocal range that can go from operatic to gritty blues on a dime, channeling real emotion into blistering scat solos, hushed ballads, and everything in between. Jazz vocalists have long been a favorite source of romance on Valentine’s Day, and Kim Nalley takes it to the highest level.”

Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart (Feb.14-17)
Iridium / 8PM, $45+
“Maye’s stellar past includes a string of classy RCA albums in the ’60s and a nearly unequaled number of Tonight Show appearances, but this husky-voiced, earthy belter has never sounded better than she does now. Beyond her remarkable energy and musical acuity, the astonishing Maye has a bone-deep comfort that imbues familiar songs with fresh simplicity, truthfulness and power. Her Valentine’s Day set centers on love songs from the Great American Songbook.” (TONY)

Thundercat / Kamasi Washington (LAST CHANCE)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“In 2015, Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed album “To Pimp a Butterfly” flung open a portal to new jazz for audiences previously unaware of or uninterested in the genre’s offerings. But the bassist and vocalist Thundercat and the saxophonist Kamasi Washington, both of whom appeared on that record, had already long been mainstays of L.A.’s bustling modern-jazz scene and members of the influential collective West Coast Get Down. On the 2017 album “Drunk,” Thundercat injects his sharp and freewheeling musicianship with whimsical flourishes, while “Heaven and Earth,” Washington’s ambitious double release from last year, is a transcendent meditation on jazz music’s past and present. This pair of Brainfeeder labelmates—each brilliant in his own right—are leaders of a charge that is reshaping the genre and triumphantly returning it to mainstream consciousness. Thundercat embarks on a six-night, fourteen-show residency at the Blue Note on Feb. 12.” (Briana Younger, NewYorker)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Elsewhere, but if you like to drink beer better make a detour for this one:
What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process
Caveat, 21 Clinton St./ 7PM, $12
“How does beer stack up as a recovery drink? The truth about foam rolling: if it hurts, does that mean it’s helping? What is up with Tom Brady’s pajamas? Join acclaimed FiveThirtyEight science writer Christie Aschwanden and Nature editor Brendan Maher for a fascinating and humorous investigation of the science of sports recovery.” (ThoughtGallery)

Guided Tours are included with regular Museum admission and are offered at the following times: Sunday, February 17 – 3:00pm – Museum Tour

Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census
New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th St./ 11AM, FREE
“Jeff Behler, New York Regional Director for the U.S. Census Bureau, joins us to discuss challenges and opportunities for the upcoming 2020 Census, including partnership opportunities to help ensure a complete count of our communities. He’ll also discuss the census’ importance to our democracy, and explain the changes and improvements from the previous census in 2010.”

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Continuing Events

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through March 3)
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center
“In the coming week, City Ballet’s winter season belongs to Princess Aurora. Through Feb. 24, the company presents “The Sleeping Beauty” in a 1991 version by the former director Peter Martins, who followed a blueprint from the 19th-century master Marius Petipa (a section by George Balanchine made the cut, too). Over the next 10 days, several of City Ballet’s top ballerinas embody the titular character in this streamlined, two-act production. Lilac Fairy aside, the true fairy godfather here is Tchaikovsky, whose enduring score many consider ballet’s best.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)
212-496-0600, nycballet.com

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

♦ 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.”

Special Mention:
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):

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

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)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Hilma af Klint : Paintings for the Future (thru 04/23/19)

“Convinced that the world was not ready for her artistry in 1906, particularly as an underrepresented female in her field, af Klint of Sweden kept her work private. Her paintings anticipated by years “breakthroughs” by Kandinsky, Mondrian and others and were unseen before 1986. The Guggenheim rediscovers her.”

“Recognized as one of the art world’s earliest abstract painters, Hilma af Klint was a steadfast believer that her work was inspired by the spiritual. The new Guggenheim exhibition, “Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future,” showcases the work of this groundbreaking Swedish artist (1862-1944), whose work was rarely seen until the 1980s.” (Newsday)

See our art critic’s top pick of the year.
“Luckily, the number-one pick in Jerry Saltz’s best art shows of 2018 is still running. Hilma af Klint’s Paintings for the Future at the Guggenheim Museum examines the work of the unacknowledged Swedish visionary and makes a case for her being the first modernist abstract painter. Saltz is especially enamored with the first gallery, so make sure you spend some time there.” (NYMagazine)

GD: Definitely worth a visit. af Klint was like the original Kandinsky and it’s interesting to see both of their works in the same museum, even if not side-by-side.

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

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)

“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.” (Peter Schjeldahl, NewYorker)

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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 02/15 and 02/13.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Jeff Behler: The 2020 US Census, Kim Nalley: Love Songs, Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart, NYC Events, NYC Events Today, Parade for Lunar New Year, What Beer and Running Can Teach Us About the Scientific Process | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/16) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 02/16/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

THE ’70S SOUL JAM VALENTINE’S CONCERT
at the Beacon Theater / 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; $49+
“It’s hard to think of a genre more explicitly associated with romance than the R&B and soul of the 1970s, with the lush arrangements and seductively slow tempos. Fittingly, some of the artists behind the era’s date-night-appropriate hits will gather for two Valentine’s Day-themed shows on the Upper West Side. Featured artists include the Philadelphia-based soul groups the Stylistics (“You Are Everything”), the Delfonics (“La-La Means I Love You”) and Blue Magic (“Sideshow”); the funk-inflected band Bloodstone (“Natural High”); and the quiet storm pioneers the Manhattans (“Kiss and Say Goodbye”).” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> EL GRAN COMBO AND LA SONORA PONCEÑA
>> Rigoletto
>> Joe Jackson
>> Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart
>> DIANNE REEVES
>> Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> Presidents’ Day Open House
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

EL GRAN COMBO AND LA SONORA PONCEÑA
at Radio City Music Hall / 8 p.m.; $136+
“That two of the world’s most enduring and renowned salsa bands are booked at a theater with permanent seats is a bit of a head scratcher, but few performance spaces are large enough to accommodate the legions of fans both El Gran Combo and La Sonora Ponceña have accrued during their decades of performance. Both bands hail from Puerto Rico; the former was founded in 1962 by Rafael Ithier, who still leads it today, while the latter was established in 1954 — eight years after its current leader, Enrique Lucca Jr., was born. Expect plenty of dancing in the aisles.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

Rigoletto (next Feb.19, 7:30PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 8PM, $20+
“Verdi’s tragic jester returns in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked, Las Vegas–themed production. Baritones Roberto Frontali and George Gagnidze share the title role, and soprano Nadine Sierra reprises her portrayal of Gilda, the role that helped launch her now-blossoming Met career. Tenors Vittorio Grigolo and Bryan Hymel share the role of the lascivious Duke, and Nicola Luisotti conducts.”

Joe Jackson (Feb.15-16)
Look sharp at Joe Jackson’s Town Hall show.
“The still-stylish singer-songwriter Joe Jackson is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his breakthrough debut “Look Sharp!” and the hit “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” with a tour setlist that spans his entire career, including his new album, “Fool.” New songs such as “Strange Land” still show off Jackson’s ability to tell poignant stories with memorable melodies.” (Newsday)
WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15 and 16, Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., Manhattan
INFO $49.50 to $99; 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com

DIANNE REEVES (Feb.15-16)
at the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center/ 8 p.m.; $40+
“For the eighth year in a row, Reeves will headline Jazz at Lincoln Center’s main stage during Valentine’s Day weekend. She became a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master last year, adding a punctuation mark to a career already known to be one of the most distinguished in jazz. Her voice has the power and clarity of Sarah Vaughan’s, and her repertoire only continues to expand: Her most recent album, “Beautiful Life,” from 2014, which won a Grammy, included riveting, personalized renditions of tunes by Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley and Esperanza Spalding, as well as some Reeves originals.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Thundercat / Kamasi Washington (Feb.12-17)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“In 2015, Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed album “To Pimp a Butterfly” flung open a portal to new jazz for audiences previously unaware of or uninterested in the genre’s offerings. But the bassist and vocalist Thundercat and the saxophonist Kamasi Washington, both of whom appeared on that record, had already long been mainstays of L.A.’s bustling modern-jazz scene and members of the influential collective West Coast Get Down. On the 2017 album “Drunk,” Thundercat injects his sharp and freewheeling musicianship with whimsical flourishes, while “Heaven and Earth,” Washington’s ambitious double release from last year, is a transcendent meditation on jazz music’s past and present. This pair of Brainfeeder labelmates—each brilliant in his own right—are leaders of a charge that is reshaping the genre and triumphantly returning it to mainstream consciousness. Thundercat embarks on a six-night, fourteen-show residency at the Blue Note on Feb. 12.” (Briana Younger, NewYorker)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Guided Tours are included with regular Museum admission and are offered at the following times:

Saturday, February 16
1:00pm – Fighting for Freedom
2:00pm – Fighting for Freedom
3:00pm- Museum Tour

Sunday, February 17
3:00pm – Museum Tour

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

Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

“Twice a week, after closing time, 20 people crowd into the city’s oldest magic shop, Tannen’s, for a cozy evening of prestidigitation by the young and engaging Noah Levine. The shelves are crammed with quirky devices; there’s a file cabinet behind the counter, a mock elephant in the corner and bins of individual trick instructions in plastic covers, like comic books or sheet music. The charm of Levine’s show is in how well it fits the environment of this magic-geek chamber of secrets. As he maneuvers cards, eggs, cups and balls with aplomb, he talks shop, larding his patter with tributes to routines like the Stencel Aces and the Vernon Boat Trick—heirlooms of his trade that he gently polishes and displays for our amazement.” (TONY)

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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 – 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.”

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.

See Below.
———————————————————————————————————-

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’. ”

Each 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.”

Website: http://caffevivaldi.com/
Phone #: (212) 691-7538
Hours: Music generally 7:30PM – 11PM, but varies
Lunch/Dinner 11AM-on
Subway: #1 to Christopher St.
Walk 1 blk S. on 7th ave S. to Bleecker St., 1 blk left on Bleecker to Jones St., 50 yards left on Jones St. to Caffe V.
==============================================================
“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.
========================================================

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 SUMMER 2019).
◊ Order before AUG. 31, 2019 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘Rigoletto’, Dianne Reeves, EL GRAN COMBO AND LA SONORA PONCEÑA, Joe Jackson, Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart, NYC Events, NYC Events Today, Presidents’ Day Open House, The 70s Soul Jam Valentine's Concert | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/15) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 02/15/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

DIANNE REEVES (Feb.15-16)
at the Rose Theater / 8 p.m.; $40+
“For the eighth year in a row, Reeves will headline Jazz at Lincoln Center’s main stage during Valentine’s Day weekend. She became a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master last year, adding a punctuation mark to a career already known to be one of the most distinguished in jazz. Her voice has the power and clarity of Sarah Vaughan’s, and her repertoire only continues to expand: Her most recent album, “Beautiful Life,” from 2014, which won a Grammy, included riveting, personalized renditions of tunes by Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley and Esperanza Spalding, as well as some Reeves originals.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Joe Jackson
>> Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart
>> Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> Ladysmith Black Mambazo
>> Remember Stonewall.
>> Friendship Over Romance
>> Drink like a founding father.
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Sony Hall / 8PM, $45+
“South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded in the early 1960s by Joseph Shabalala, then a teenage farm boy living on the lands just outside the small town of Ladysmith, in the province of kwaZulu Natal, half way between Johannesburg and Durban. Joseph used his hometown’s name to honor his family’s history. Joseph added to his group’s name the word Black in reference to the black oxen, the strongest of all farm animals. Mambazo is the Zulu word for chopping axe, a symbol of the group’s vocal ability to clear the path to success.” (WFUV)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Remember Stonewall.
NYPL / 7PM, $15
“Celebrate the opening of the NYPL’s new Stonewall exhibition with the ”Library After Hours: Love & Resistance” event, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday at the Stephen A. Schwarzman building. Prepurchase your tickets for $15, which gains you entry at 7 p.m. and 10 percent off at the bar and library shop, or show up after 8 p.m. and pay what you wish for a night including talks, a drag queen story hour — their very first time doing it for adults — trivia with the host of the Making Gay History podcast, and more, including access to the exhibition of rare photos, publications, documents and ephemera, like invitations to Mardi Gras balls and “Phallic Festivals” from the Mattachine Society of New York. Sounds informative.” (grubstreet)

Friendship Over Romance
The Strand, 828 Broadway / 7PM, $20
“Spend the day after Valentine’s with philosophy educator Jeanne Proust, who talks about love and friendship, and how the latter may be the more important state of connection for us to be seeking out.” (ThoughtGallery)

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

Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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

♦ 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.

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):

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

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)

Whitney Museum of American Art

‘ANDY WARHOL — FROM A TO B AND BACK AGAIN’ (through March 31) “Although this is the artist’s first full American retrospective in 31 years, he’s been so much with us — in museums, galleries, auctions — as to make him, like wallpaper, like the atmosphere, only half-noticed. The Whitney show restores him to a full, commanding view, but does so in a carefully shaped and edited way, with an emphasis on very early and late work. Despite the show’s monumentalizing size, supplemented by an off-site display of the enormous multipanel painting called “Shadows,” it’s a human-scale Warhol we see. Largely absent is the artist-entrepreneur who is taken as a prophet of our market-addled present. What we have instead is Warhol for whom art, whatever else it was, was an expression of personal hopes and fears.” (Cotter)

Museum of Modern Art

‘BRUCE NAUMAN: DISAPPEARING ACTS’ (through Feb. 18)
“If art isn’t basically about life and death, and the emotions and ethics they inspire, what is it about? Style? Taste? Auction results? The most interesting artists go right for the big, uncool existential stuff, which is what Bruce Nauman does in a transfixing half-century retrospective that fills the entire sixth floor of the MoMA and much of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. The MoMA installation is tightly paced and high decibel; the one at PS1, which includes a trove of works on paper, is comparatively mellow and mournful. Each location offers a rough chronological overview of his career, but catching both parts of the show is imperative. Nauman has changed the way we define what art is and what is art, and made work prescient of the morally wrenching American moment we’re in. He deserves to be seen in full.” (Cotter)

‘CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI SCULPTURE: THE FILMS’ (through Feb. 18).
“This show is built around works by the Romanian modernist (1876-1957) that have been longtime highlights of the museum’s own collection. But in 2018, can Brancusi still release our inner poet? The answer may lie in paying less attention to the sculptures themselves and more to Brancusi’s little-known and quite amazing films, projected at the entrance to the gallery throughout the duration of the exhibition. MoMA borrowed the series of video clips from the Pompidou Center in Paris. They give the feeling that Brancusi was less interested in making fancy museum objects than in putting new kinds of almost-living things into the world, and convey the vital energy his sculptures were meant to capture.”(Blake Gopnik)

Museum of Art and Design

‘STERLING RUBY: CERAMICS’ (through March 17).
“Adept at most art mediums, this artist is at his best in ceramics, especially in the outsize, awkwardly hand-built, resplendently glazed baskets, ashtrays and plates and the objects that verge on sculpture in this show. These works actively incorporate accident and aspects of the ready-made, have precedents in the large-scale ceramics of Peter Voulkos and Viola Frey, but may be closest in spirit to the Neo-Expressionism of Julian Schnabel — rehabilitated, of course.” (Smith – NYT)

American Folk Art Museum

‘PAA JOE: GATES OF NO RETURN’ (through Feb. 24).

“Joseph Tetteh Ashong, better known as Paa Joe, is Ghana’s pre-eminent funerary carpenter, turning out thousands of brightly colored lions, soda bottles and automobiles for people to be buried in. Most of his exuberant pieces enjoy the light of day for only a few hours before they disappear into the ground. But in 2004, Paa Joe was commissioned by the art dealer and gallerist Claude Simard to make casket-size hardwood models of 13 former Gold Coast slave forts, and seven of them are now at AFAM. Thanks to Paa Joe’s gift for transmuting even the most complex and brutal material into a cheerful expression of his own artistic temperament, the works’ undeniable conceptual weight doesn’t hamper the overwhelming visual pleasure.” (Will Heinrich-NYT)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/13 and 02/11.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dianne Reeves, Drink like a founding father., Friendship Over Romance, Joe Jackson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Remember Stonewall. | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/14) + Today’s Featured Pub (Upper West Side)

Posted on 02/14/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

Valentine’s Day with Dee Dee Bridgewater
at 92nd Street Y / 7:30 p.m.; $30+
“A recently minted National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, Bridgewater is one of jazz’s most beloved straight-ahead veterans of the 1970s and ’80s, with a style that’s rooted in theater; she carries forth the storytelling legacies of Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. Her most recent album, “Memphis,” is a homage to the soul music of the city where she was born, but at this Valentine’s Day concert — joined by her typical backing trio of the pianist Carmen Staaf, the bassist Tabari Lake and the drummer Tyson Jackson — expect a more standard serving of romantic jazz fare.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart
>> Tcheka
>> UPTOWN NIGHTS: Mo Beasley’s UrbanErotika
>> SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS
>> ANITA BAKER
>> Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> VICKY CHOW
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart (Feb.14-17)
Iridium / 7PM, +9:30PM, $45+
“Maye’s stellar past includes a string of classy RCA albums in the ’60s and a nearly unequaled number of Tonight Show appearances, but this husky-voiced, earthy belter has never sounded better than she does now. Beyond her remarkable energy and musical acuity, the astonishing Maye has a bone-deep comfort that imbues familiar songs with fresh simplicity, truthfulness and power. Her Valentine’s Day set centers on love songs from the Great American Songbook.” (TONY)

Tcheka
Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“Part of a growing group of post-colonial Cape Verdean artists reclaiming traditional musical styles, Tcheka is building a distinctly 21st-century catalog of songs influenced by batuku and other indigenous genres, Brazilian music, Afropop, jazz, blues, and rock. With expressive vocals and dynamic guitar style, the songwriter and guitarist draws audiences into universal themes of love, loss, beauty, social justice, and what it means to be home.”

UPTOWN NIGHTS: Mo Beasley’s UrbanErotika
Harlem Stage / 7:30PM, $25
UrbanErotika is a live neo-burlesque variety show celebrating erotic love through poetry, spoken word, music, dance, and multimedia arts. “The house that Lust built, and Love saved from damnation…” will feature works that range from the soft and sensual to the bold and audacious; reflecting the full spectrum of romantic and sensual love in a healthy journey of fantasy and desire. Featuring: Regie Cabico, The SoulFolk Experience, Nemiss ChiYork, Peter ‘Rainmaker’ Seaton, Shannon Lower, Zyra Lee Vanity, Shye Poet and delicious surprises.”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS
at the Knitting Factory / 8 p.m.; $18
“With a rare combination of deft, classic country sounds and plain-spoken storytelling, Shook bucks both Nashville’s mainstream and the overly self-aware Americana scene. The twist comes from Shook’s unconventionally compelling voice, which is low, steady and a little nasal, recalling Appalachian yodeling but with a grungy edge. Plentiful slide guitar and a reliance on barn-dance-ready shuffle rhythms ground the songs in tradition, and the execution is sharp enough that the band’s old-school approach is convincing, a believable transformation of country’s vintage melancholy.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

ANITA BAKER
at Radio City Music Hall / 8 p.m.; $100+
“At 61, this R&B legend concluded what was billed as her farewell tour in 2018 with a star-studded finale in September that included appearances by Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway and Kelly Rowland. Thankfully for fans, she’s back with this two-night run at Radio City. The “Giving You the Best That I Got” singer’s roster of hits may have helped define the quiet storm era, which started in the 1970s, but at recent live shows, she has sounded as vital and captivating as ever.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

VICKY CHOW (Feb.12-16)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m.; $20
“An extraordinary new-music pianist appears in a five-concert residency, which includes a concert on Tuesday that features new works by Felipe Lara and Caroline Shaw, among others. On Wednesday Chow is joined by the composers Andy Akiho and Ian David Rosenbaum to play their pieces. And perhaps most enticingly of all, Philip Glass’s Études are spread over two nights on Thursday and Feb. 15.” (NYT-David Allen)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

More smart stuff coming soon.

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

Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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

♦ 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.

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 / Upper West Side

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que / 700 W125th St. @ 12th ave.

Walk only five minutes from the 125th St. station on the #1 line to find this authentic honky-tonk barbecue joint. Some folks think Dinosaur is just a place to eat ribs. Au contraire. With 24 carefully selected taps, this is a place to drink beer, and eat ribs.

No food goes better with American craft ales than American barbecue. Dinosaur may be the best combo of good beer drinking and hearty eating in town, which makes the trip uptown to West Harlem totally worthwhile.

This second incarnation of Dinosaur in Harlem is in a two story, old brick warehouse near the Hudson River. Don’t let that run down exterior fool you. Inside it’s a large space with huge, rough wooden columns and unfinished wooden floors and brick walls – just right for a bbq joint. As soon as you open the front door you are hit with that tantalizing aroma of barbecue coming from the large open kitchen. Reminds me of those great rib joints I frequented when stationed in North Carolina all those years ago. If your stomach wasn’t grumbling before, it is now.

Head to the bar, sit down and try to decide on a beer. It’s not an easy decision – a good problem to have. This is a pretty damn good beer list to choose from, one that most beer bars should be jealous of. I love that they feature NY craft beers. You may want to try the four beer sampler, which is always fun, and in this place may be necessary.

The blues music playing in the background will get you in the mood for their North Carolina style barbecue, and even when it’s a full house your order shouldn’t take too long (assuming you snagged a table). The food is all slow smoked, so it’s already mostly done and ready to go. I always start with an order of their giant, spice rubbed wings, so good they may make you give up Buffalo wings.

Unfortunately, a place this good does not fly under the radar. There can be some long waits for a table at dinnertime. So you need a strategy – avoid prime time, and try not to arrive with your entire posse, which will limit your seating options.

A seat at the bar, a small table in the bar area, or in the summer, an outside table underneath what’s left of the elevated West Side Highway, all may open before a table inside the main dining room. Otherwise, try Dinosaur for lunch, or come very late for dinner, maybe after a show at the nearby Cotton Club nightclub.

Website: http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/
Phone #: 212-694-1777
Hours: Mo-Th 11:30am-11:00pm; Fr-Sa 11:30am-12:00am;
Su 12:00pm-10:00pm
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day; $1 off all drinks
Music: Fri / Sat 10:30pm
Subway: #1 to 125th St.
Walk 2 blk W on 125th St. to Dinosaur Bar-B-Q,
just past the elevated highway.
========================================================
“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 ANITA BAKER, Marilyn Maye: Always from the Heart, NYC Events, SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS, Tcheka, UPTOWN NIGHTS: Mo Beasley’s UrbanErotika, Valentine’s Day with Dee Dee Bridgewater, VICKY CHOW | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/13) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 02/13/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

ANITA BAKER (Feb.13-14)
at Radio City Music Hall / 8 p.m.; $100+
“At 61, this R&B legend concluded what was billed as her farewell tour in 2018 with a star-studded finale in September that included appearances by Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway and Kelly Rowland. Thankfully for fans, she’s back with this two-night run at Radio City. The “Giving You the Best That I Got” singer’s roster of hits may have helped define the quiet storm era, which started in the 1970s, but at recent live shows, she has sounded as vital and captivating as ever.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

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

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
>> Brian Charette: Music for Organ Sextette
>> Don Giovanni
>> VICKY CHOW
>>Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe
>>Thundercat / Kamasi Washington
>> Selected Shorts: Dynamic Duos
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
(Le) Poisson Rouge / 8PM, $25+
“Seductive, nuanced, and in-your-face powerful.” – Latina
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana brings the pride, power and passion of flamenco to (Le) Poisson Rouge with a dynamic cast of world-renowned artists. Experience this uniquely expressive art form in its most authentic setting as dancers and musicians come together in highly improvisational and virtuosic solos and duets in an intimate tablao (cafe-style) setting.”

Brian Charette: Music for Organ Sextette
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $30
“The Brian Charette Organ Sextette is a funky take on the jazz organ band. Charette’s emphasis on creating music “more compositional, less soloistic, even though there are lots of solos” makes for a fast-paced performance, with a healthy balance of compositional intricacies and short, energetic solos. The Grammy Award–nominated Charette has worked with artists from Chaka Khan to Joni Mitchell, and he says this instrumental, woodwind-heavy sextet is “more informed by rock and hip hop than jazz.” Combined with Charette’s distinct and textural use of the organ, the Sextette has a tight, accessible, and highly danceable sound, while maintaining the subtlety and sophistication expected of jazz musicians.”

Don Giovanni (next Feb.16, 1PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $20+
“Baritone Peter Mattei and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni star as opera’s most notorious seducer in Mozart’s masterpiece of dark comedy. Cornelius Meister makes his Met debut conducting performances that also include sopranos Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Guanqun Yu as Donna Anna, sopranos Federica Lombardi and Susanna Phillips as Donna Elvira, and basses Ildar Abdrazakov and Adam Plachetka as Leporello.”

Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe
at Rose Studio / 6:30 PM, $25
“Join distinguished composer and radio personality Bruce Adolphe for investigations and insights into masterworks performed during the Alice Tully Hall season. Inside Chamber Music lectures are beloved by regulars and a revelation to first-timers for their depth, accessibility, and brilliance. Each lecture is supported by excerpts from the featured piece, performed live by CMS artists.”
Program
Beethoven Sonata in G major for Violin and Piano, Op. 96 (1812)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Selected Shorts: Dynamic Duos
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (at Symphony Space) / 7:30PM, $32+
“The popular public radio show and podcast returns to the Upper West Side for another evening of top-notch short fiction. At this edition, Joan Allen, Kyle MacLachlan, Lilli Cooper, Ethan Slater and others read tales featuring two characters.” (TONY)

“Lennon & McCartney, Laverne & Shirley, Thelma & Louise: some pairs were just meant to be. Join Selected Shorts as we celebrate great stories with a few of the best and brightest partnerships we know. Mutual admirers Joan Allen (Room, The Waverly Gallery) & Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks), SpongeBob SquarePants stars Lilli Cooper & Ethan Slater, and Tootsie stars Santino Fontana & Julie Halston perform compelling yarns featuring two characters. Married couple and comedic duo Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper) & Laura Grey (RePlay, Rough Night) co-host and read a story. “

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

Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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

♦ 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:

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

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*

Here is one exhibition the New Yorker likes:

“God Made My Face” (Through Feb. 16)

“This beautifully calibrated group exhibition, organized by Hilton Als, a staff writer at this magazine, is subtitled “A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin.” The thesis of the stirring visual essay is that Baldwin has become a stock character—a civil-rights prophet—and that this, however powerful, is a diminishment of the man. Als fleshes out his portrait with a daringly eclectic assortment of art works and documents, which shift in tone from rapturous (paintings by Beauford Delaney and Alice Neel) to harrowing (a fever-dream animation about the antebellum South by Kara Walker). Portraits of the writer by his lifelong friend Richard Avedon hang on the walls, along with a stark one of Michael Jackson dwarfed by his shadow, shot by Anthony Barboza—a prescient portrait of a black man subsumed by his legacy. Photographs of buildings in Belle Époque Paris, by Eugene Atget, establish Baldwin the boulevardier; photographs of the piers in Manhattan, taken by Alvin Baltrop during the pre-AIDS heyday of gay liberation, convey carnal desire. Each choice by Als eloquently amplifies the polyphony of Baldwin’s voice.” (Andrea K. Scott)

Zwirner, 533 W. 19th St.

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

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 02/11 and 02/09.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ANITA BAKER, Brian Charette: Music for Organ Sextette, Don Giovanni Don Giovanni, FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA, Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe, Selected Shorts: Dynamic Duos, VICKY CHOW | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/12) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 02/12/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

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

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> SUSANA BACA
>> The Lineup with Susie Mosher
>> Xavier and Friends: Ladies of Soul Tribute 2019-Special Aretha Edition
>> Rigoletto
>> GALLIM DANCE
>> Brussels Jazz Orchestra: We Have A Dream
>> Press Freedom in a “Post-Truth” Era
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

SUSANA BACA
at Sony Hall / 8 p.m.; $45
“This 74-year-old Peruvian singer-songwriter started her career as an ethnomusicologist, specifically focusing on Afro-Peruvian culture. But when David Byrne featured her recording “Maria Lando” on his 1995 compilation “Soul of Black Peru,” she was thrust upon the international stage. Since, she has recorded six albums for his Luaka Bop label and won two Latin Grammys. Baca’s repertoire includes both traditional Peruvian songs and her own originals, but the sound is consistent thanks to her ensemble’s elegant acoustic instrumentation and her superlative, powerful voice.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

The Lineup with Susie Mosher
Birdland Theater / 9:45PM, $20+
“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 January 29 edition include Alice Ripley, Amy Lynn, Sean Bernardi, Natalie Douglas, Leanne Borghesi, Michael Winther, BariToned and Kira Goi.” (TONY)

Xavier and Friends: Ladies of Soul Tribute 2019-Special Aretha Edition
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater / 9:30PM, $25
“In honor of V-Day, swoon-worthy singer Xavier returns to Joe’s Pub with his annual homage to the great ladies of classic soul. This edition is devoted to giving the late Aretha Franklin her propers. Guest performers include Asa Lovechild, Bright Light Bright Light, Cassondra James, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Laura Newman, Nicki B and Sheherazade Holman.” (TONY)

Rigoletto (next Feb.16, 8PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $20+
“Verdi’s tragic jester returns in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked, Las Vegas–themed production. Baritones Roberto Frontali and George Gagnidze share the title role, and soprano Nadine Sierra reprises her portrayal of Gilda, the role that helped launch her now-blossoming Met career. Tenors Vittorio Grigolo and Bryan Hymel share the role of the lascivious Duke, and Nicola Luisotti conducts.”

GALLIM DANCE (Feb.12-17)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $35+
“After a year spent as the choreographer in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrea Miller takes the lessons she learned and puts them into her latest work, “To Create a World,” which features an original score by Will Epstein. In the piece, Gallim explores the need to survive with movement that blends the virtuosic with the vulnerable and taps into internal sensations of pleasure and pain, regret and love, and control and abandon.” (Gia Kourlas-NYT)

Brussels Jazz Orchestra: We Have A Dream (Feb.11-12)
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $20-$35
“Blessed with an alluring, piercing soprano—reminiscent of soul and gospel singer Denise Williams—Puoane delivers deft makeovers of socially conscious songs associated with Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Sting, Joni Mitchell, and others.” – DownBeat

The world-renowned Brussels Jazz Orchestra brings a heartfelt new program to Dizzy’s Club along with singer extraordinaire Tutu Puoane. Through a rich, genre-crossing re-examination of popular protest music, the show celebrates human rights as well as the strength and comfort that music provides in the face of adversity.

Bandleader Frank Vaganée and vocalist Tutu Puoane each selected their favorite protest songs from their own record collections, and the resulting repertoire is an eclectic assortment of pop, rock, soul, and jazz essentials with universal messages, all arranged anew for jazz orchestra. This powerful project has been touring Europe extensively, and these are the only dates currently scheduled for the United States, so catch this concert at Dizzy’s Club while you have the chance!”

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Press Freedom in a “Post-Truth” Era | The Alliance Series
With Steve Coll and Bruno Patino
Albertine, 972 Fifth Ave./ 6:30PM, FREE
“Opinion is cheaper than fact, one reason it now saturates our airwaves (the rise of social media and concurrent fall of old-line journalism is another). As part of the Alliance Series at Albertine, Steve Coll, Dean of Journalism at Columbia University, and Bruno Patino, PhD, Dean of Sciences Po School of Journalism, will discuss the present state of the news and the prospects for recovering truth.” (ThoughtGallery)

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

Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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

♦ 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.

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 / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

Sometimes you just need a beer and a burger. If so, Corner Bistro is the place you want. Located just outside the hip Meatpacking district, this corner bar and grill is decidedly unhip, but it’s not uncrowded, especially at night. Seems that everyone knows this place has one of the better burgers in town.

In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town.

The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro celebrated it’s 55th anniversary last year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.

Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $9.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.

Corner Bistro seems to attract very different groups of patrons depending on time of day. While it’s crowded with locals in the evening, in the afternoon you hear different foreign languages, and watch groups of euro tourists wander in, led by their guidebooks and smartphones.

For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
=========================================================
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.
=================================================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘Rigoletto’, GALLIM DANCE, Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Press Freedom in a “Post-Truth” Era, SUSANA BACA, Thundercat / Kamasi Washington, Xavier and Friends: Ladies of Soul Tribute 2019-Special Aretha Edition | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/11) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 02/11/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

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

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> La Fille du Régiment
>> Shaw Songs! A Festive Cabaret Evening
>> The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
>> Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> Managing an Exit: The End of the Merkel Era
>> Merce Cunningham: Life and Art
>> Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen and Susan Cheever
Continuing Events
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
===================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

La Fille du Régiment (next Feb.15, 8PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $30+
“Tenor Javier Camarena and soprano Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks—including the show-stopping tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis,” with its nine high Cs. Alessandro Corbelli and Maurizio Muraro trade off as the comic Sergeant Sulpice, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. Enrique Mazzola conducts.”

Shaw Songs! A Festive Cabaret Evening
The Players Club / 7PM, $40-$55
“Gingold Theatrical Group’s beloved Project Shaw series departs from its usual mandate—staged readings of every play by George Bernard Shaw—for an evening of songs that the Bearded One might have enjoyed. Expect to hear Gilbert and Sullivan, Rodgers and Hart, Noel Coward and Cole Porter. Directed by David Staller and music directed by Henry Aronson, the show features Jim Brochu, Mara Davi, Cady Huffman, Howard McGillin, Jon Weber, Sally Wilfert, Karen Ziemba and violin virtuoso Aaron Weinstein.” (TONY)

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Ave. South (btw W11th/Perry St.) / 8:30Pm +10:30PM, $35
World class big band with 16 members on that small stage, a monday night institution.
“Almost exactly half a century ago, the trumpeter-composer-arranger Thad Jones and the drummer Mel Lewis began their Monday-night big band residency at the Village Vanguard, establishing what became a hallowed tradition.” (NYT)

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party (Cabaret)
Birdland, 315 West 44th St. (btw 8/9 ave) / 9:30PM, $30
the witty host attracts broadway stars on their night off, along with up and comers.
“Part cabaret, part piano bar and part social set, Cast Party offers a chance to hear rising and established talents step up to the microphone (backed by the slap and tickle of Steve Doyle on bass and Billy Stritch at the ivories, plus the bang of Daniel Glass on drums). The waggish Caruso presides as host.” (TONY)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Managing an Exit: The End of the Merkel Era
Deutsches Haus at NYU, 42 Washington Mews / 6PM, FREE
“As the end of the tenure of Angela Merkel, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union for the last 18 years and de facto head of the E.U., comes closer (before Germany’s next federal elections, due in 2021), a panel looks at her legacy and potential repercussions for her departure.” (ThoughtGallery)

Merce Cunningham: Life and Art
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
40 Lincoln Center Plaza / 6PM, FREE
“Alastair Macaulay, outgoing chief dance critic of The New York Times, returns to the Library to celebrate the centennial of one of America’s most influential dance artists, Merce Cunningham. Marvel at Cunningham’s innovation and expressive brilliance, as Macaulay, with signature insight and charm, unpacks a treasure trove of rarely seen Merce Cunningham performances from the Library’s Dance Division.”

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen and Susan Cheever
The New York Society Library, 53 E. 79th St./ 6:30PM, $20
“Person Place Thing is an interview show based on this idea: people are particularly engaging when they speak not directly about themselves but about something they care about. Guests talk about one person, one place, and one thing that are important to them. The result? Surprising stories from great talkers. Learn more at personplacething.org.

In this live podcast recording, Person Place Thing host Randy Cohen chats with bestselling author and lifelong Library member Susan Cheever, with music by guitarist Tomas Rodriguez.”

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Continuing Events

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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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.

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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Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Hilma af Klint : Paintings for the Future (thru 04/23/19)

GD: Definitely worth a visit. af Klint was like the original Kandinsky and it’s interesting to see both of their works in the same museum, even if not side-by-side.

New-York Historical Society

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

Jewish Museum

Museum of the City of New York

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)

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

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 02/09 and 02/07.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brussels Jazz Orchestra: We Have A Dream, La Fille du Régiment, Managing an Exit: The End of the Merkel Era, Merce Cunningham: Life and Art, Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen and Susan Cheever, Shaw Songs! A Festive Cabaret Evening | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (02/10) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 02/10/2019 by GregD

“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.

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

54 Celebrates the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, +9:30PM, $30+
“Behind the Curtain podcaster Robert W. Schneider hosts a double header of shows celebrating the musical-theater history of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, the current home of Hamilton and the past digs of such classics as Chicago, Guys and Dolls and 1776. Guests at the 7pm show include Mark Blum, Jim Brochu, Shelly Burch, Kristy Cates, Scott Ellis, Ann Harada, Cady Huffman, Michael McCormick and Raisin star Ernestine Jackson. The 9:30 roster includes Clyde Alves, Ed Dixon, Tyler Hanes, Eddie Korbich, Jeremy Kushnier, Janine LaManna, David Sabella, Maury Yeston and The Bad Seed child star Patty McCormack.” (TONY)

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4 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> New Combinations
>> Declan O’Rourke: Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine
>> Freddy Cole Quintet: Songs for Lovers
>> BAM Black Comix Expo
>> more coming soon
>> more coming soon
Continuing Events
>> Restaurant Week
>> Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
>> Magic After Hours
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (thru March 3)
New Combinations
at the NYS Theater, Lincoln Center / 3PM, $35+
“The Sleeping Beauty” begins performances on Wednesday, but before spells are cast and Aurora falls asleep for 100 years, there are several mixed-repertory programs up for grabs, including, on Friday, a one-time-only evening featuring the George Balanchine works “Agon” and “Orpheus,” followed by Jerome Robbins’s infectious and endlessly cool 1958 sneaker ballet “N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz.” Other picks include William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” Kyle Abraham’s “The Runaway” and Justin Peck’s latest, “Principia.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

Declan O’Rourke: Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine
Explore history through performance.
Irish Arts Center / $60
“Through Sunday, the Irish Arts Center presents singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke’s song cycle Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine, which won a 2018 RTÉ Radio One Folk Award, by combining true and fictional stories of history and O’Rourke’s life.” (grubstreet)

Freddy Cole Quintet: Songs for Lovers (Feb.7-10)
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $25-$45
“Freddy has an impeccable sense of swing… the most maturely expressive male jazz singer of his generation, if not the best alive.” – The New York Times

“Whatever the accompaniment, Cole extracts the maximum from each tune asserting his stature as our greatest living jazz singer.” – DownBeat

Referred to as a “national treasure” by the Huffington Post, jazz pianist and singer Freddy Cole is a prolific artist of undisputed pedigree. Building his career at the same time as his brother, the iconic Nat “King” Cole, it was never going to be easy for Cole to establish his own musical identity. However, with 20 albums released in just the last 25 years, three of which were nominated for Grammy Awards, Cole has carved out a reputation as an individual and prolific force in the jazz world. Amongst the greatest contemporary crooners, Cole’s sensitivity and effortlessly powerful delivery make him an enduring favorite in our most intimate venue and a perfect artist to enjoy this Valentine’s Day week.

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Elsewhere, but for comic book fans this is surely worth the detour:

BAM Black Comix Expo
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), 30 Lafayette Ave./ 11AM-5PM, FREE
“Comic book nerds, graphic novel aficionados, fantasy lovers, and all-around fans of the art form are invited to the BAM Black Comix Expo. This fun-filled day—co-presented by BAM and the Black Comics Collective—is back for year two, celebrating comic writers, illustrators, and creators of color. Meet the next generation of black superheroes, hear a panel discussion about women and Afrofuturism, participate in a children’s art workshop, take part in a superhero cosplay showcase, and so much more.”

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Continuing Events

Restaurant Week (LAST CHANCE)
“Some of New York’s best known “deal holidays,” including NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Broadway Week, are joining forces this winter to create, wait for it… NYC Winter Outing.

From January 21 to February 10, NYC Broadway Week, NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Must-See Week will all be running simultaneously offering full nights out for drastically reduced rates. During this time, a selection of Broadway shows, museums, attractions and tours will be available at two-for-one prices and almost 400 restaurants across the city will be offering prix-fixe menus. As in previous years, that means $26 prix-fix lunches and $42, three-course dinners.

For more information on Restaurant Week, including our recommendations for the best deals to take advantage of this season, check out our NYC Restaurant Week page.” (TONY)

Magic After Hours
Tannen’s Magic, Midtown West (Until Dec 31 2019)

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

♦ 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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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.”

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.

See Below.
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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’. ”

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:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 54 Celebrates the Richard Rodgers Theatre, BAM Black Comix Expo, Freddy Cole Quintet: Songs for Lovers, NEW COMBINATIONS, NYC Events | Leave a comment

	Darin on October NYC Events + NYC Weeke…
	Darin on Selected Events (10/13) + Toda…

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ FEBRUARY 19, 2019

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > MONDAY/ FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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):

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A PremierPub / Tribeca

B-Flat / 277 Church St. (btw Franklin/White St)

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ FEBRUARY 17, 2019

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):

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Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ FEBRUARY 16, 2019

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.)

3 Good Eating places

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ FEBRUARY 15, 2019

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):

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Whitney Museum of American Art

Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Art and Design

American Folk Art Museum

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ FEBRUARY 14, 2019

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):

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A PremierPub / Upper West Side

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que / 700 W125th St. @ 12th ave.

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

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ FEBRUARY 13, 2019

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Zwirner, 533 W. 19th St.

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ FEBRUARY 12, 2019

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):

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A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

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

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > MONDAY/ FEBRUARY 11, 2019

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):

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Today’s Fab 5 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ FEBRUARY 10, 2019

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.)

3 Good Eating places

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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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