NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/24) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square / Theater District)

Posted on 08/24/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ AUGUST 24, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

Buster Poindexter (Summer Residency)
City Winery / 8PM, $25+
“Today, the words “blues” and “shouting” are, alas, inextricably linked, but what about the tradition of mellow blues crooners that extended through Charles Brown, Nat King Cole and, in their more romantic moments, Joe Williams and Ray Charles? “Buster Poindexter” (nee David Johansen) first attracted attention as a glam rock pioneer (in the New York Dolls, with whom he still tours) and then as an early MTV idol (with “Hot Hot Hot”). Yet with his big, deep, resonant voice, Buster Poindexter is most impressive as a crooner and occasional belter of ballads in the classic R&B tradition. His ongoing run affirms the point that however you know him, the artist known as Buster Poindexter, complete with his one-liners and longer comic monologues (not to mention his signature pompadour), is one of the most endearing and enduring entertainers currently trodding the boards in New York.”

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Stanley Jordan Trio
>> Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin
>> Karrin Allyson
>> CHARLES ALTURA
>> FISHBONE
>> Harold Mabern
>>  Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole:
Continuing Events
>> 2018 U.S. Open Fan Week
>> Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
>> Candytopia
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Stanley Jordan Trio (Aug.23-25)
Iridium, 1650Broadway / 8PM, +10PM, $30
“Way back in the ’80s, when he arrived on the scene to help resuscitate the Blue Note jazz label, Jordan’s slick brand of guitaristics was all about showing off his “magic touch.” These days he can get awful gritty when the feeling hits, in the manner of a modern-day Wes Montgomery. This weekend, Jordan heads a solo show (Aug 23) and two nights in a trio format (Aug 24, 25).” (TONY)

Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin (almost forever: opening night Aug.24- Oct.28)
59E59 Theaters/ 7PM, $25
“Felder has made a career out of solo tributes to famous composers, including Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt and Leonard Bernstein. His latest is devoted to Great American Songbook legend Irving Berlin.” (TONY)

“Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin brings the man behind the iconic music to life in an evening reflecting Berlin’s remarkable journey from child immigrant to America’s most beloved and prolific songwriter, and featuring the some of the composer’s most popular and enduring songs including “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “God Bless America,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and “White Christmas.”

Karrin Allyson (Aug. 24-26.)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, between 105th and 106th Sts./ 7, 9, +10:30PM, $40
“In her search for repertoire that fits her like a glove, this veteran singer has lighted on touchstones from, among a small universe of disparate sources, Joni Mitchell, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and John Coltrane. With her new album, “Some of That Sunshine,” Allyson presents her first recording of all-original material. She will sprinkle some shiny new tunes throughout her sets.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

CHARLES ALTURA (Aug. 24-25,
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $25
“Mr. Altura is a virtuoso guitarist who seems unfazed in almost any context. He came up on the Los Angeles scene in the mid-2000s, playing blazing fusion alongside Thundercat, and now he’s a central part of projects led by Terence Blanchard, Chick Corea and Ambrose Akinmusire — all jazz luminaries. This weekend Mr. Altura presents a new work of his own, commissioned by the Jazz Gallery, titled “Portraits of Resonance.” His top-flight band will include Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Aaron Parks on piano, Joe Martin on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

OK, this is not Manhattan’s WestSide but it might just be worth the detour:
FISHBONE
at Brooklyn Bowl / 7:30 p.m., $25
“According to the Roots drummer and music scholar Questlove, this pioneering ska, funk and rock band is “the greatest band that the world ignored.” Despite their influence on bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt, they have long been relegated to cult-classic status. Now, for the first time in almost two decades, the original lineup (except for guitarist Kendall Jones) is back — and their politically charged, deeply funky music has rarely felt more timely.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

Harold Mabern (Aug. 21-26.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM +10:30PM, $35
“This fluent and eminently soulful pianist is no stranger to New York clubs, but it’s always an event when he appears at this hallowed venue. A Memphis transplant who carried his deep blues roots up North with him in the early sixties, Mabern will be supported by two trusted associates: the bassist John Webber and the drummer Joe Farnsworth.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Count Basie Orchestra (Aug.23-25)
Birdland / 8:30PM, +11PM, $40+
“2015 marked the 80th Anniversary of The Count Basie Orchestra. William J. “Count” Basie (1904-1984) started his orchestra in Kansas City in 1935 and proceeded to develop one of the greatest jazz groups in history.

Under Basie’s leadership — with a strong commitment to making sure every tune was danceable — the orchestra featured many of the greatest instrumentalists and vocalists in jazz including Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Joe Jones, Joe Williams, Snooky Young, Frank Foster, Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Clark Terry, and many more. They played for Kings and Queens, appeared in movies and television shows, and won 18 Grammy® Awards, the most for any orchestra. Today, under the leadership of director, Scotty Barnhart, The Count Basie Orchestra is traveling the world, swinging and shouting the blues with precision, in Count Basie’s unmistakable style of Kansas City swing.”

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

More Smart Stuff coming soon.

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Continuing Events

2018 U.S. Open Fan Week (Aug.21-26)
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park /
“There’s going to be a lot of racket (swinging) at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park come August 27 during the U.S. Open, a two-week tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Tickets for the usually star-studded matches (Bey and Jay-Z attended in recent years) tend to be steep ($65 to $100 for the cheap seats), but you can attend free of charge during U.S. Open Fan Week.

Just one week before the professional matches begin, head to the National Tennis Center to watch a qualifying tournament, where 128 women and 128 men compete. You can also check out the top dogs in tennis practice on the grounds (think Serena and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal), and be just a few feet away from your favorite players. There’s even more tennis-related activities scheduled off the court, too. Get pumped for New York’s major summer sporting showdown during the U.S. Open Experience on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 at Brookfield Place. Players and special guests will make appearances and pose for selfies, and there will be food sampling and more sponsor-related activities at the scene. The event promises to be more fun than you can shake a racket at!” (TONY)

For a wonderful guide to the U.S. Open, try TimeOutNewYork’s guide.

Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, $7
“We may not like paying taxes, but we would never think to tar and feather the tax collector. Yet as many of the colonists prepared for what would be the American Revolution, there was an organized group who opposed the government through violent resistance. Come see objects preserved from pivotal moments relating to the New York Sons of Liberty, like the tearing down of the King George statue in Bowling Green Park, and throwing chests of tea into the New York Harbor.”

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.com)

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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 63 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:
(5 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)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

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)

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 surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s 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.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub

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

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

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

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

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

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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge (except for certain jazz clubs).
If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/23) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 08/23/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ AUGUST 23, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

Count Basie Orchestra (Aug.23-25)
Birdland / 8:30PM, +11PM, $40+
“2015 marked the 80th Anniversary of The Count Basie Orchestra. William J. “Count” Basie (1904-1984) started his orchestra in Kansas City in 1935 and proceeded to develop one of the greatest jazz groups in history.

Under Basie’s leadership — with a strong commitment to making sure every tune was danceable — the orchestra featured many of the greatest instrumentalists and vocalists in jazz including Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Joe Jones, Joe Williams, Snooky Young, Frank Foster, Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Clark Terry, and many more. They played for Kings and Queens, appeared in movies and television shows, and won 18 Grammy® Awards, the most for any orchestra. Today, under the leadership of director, Scotty Barnhart, The Count Basie Orchestra is traveling the world, swinging and shouting the blues with precision, in Count Basie’s unmistakable style of Kansas City swing.”

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Soukous All Stars – Music Stars of the Congo Basin
>> Zenizen
>> Daniel Reichard: Summer Playlist
>> Harold Mabern
>>  Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole:
>> Bill Frisell
>> Indie Beauty Expo
Continuing Events
>> 2018 U.S. Open Fan Week
>> Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Soukous All Stars – Music Stars of the Congo Basin
Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“Join several generations of music stars from the Congo basin for a night of soukous, the fast-paced, highly danceable fusion of traditional Congolese melodies and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With guitars, percussion, vocals, and dancers, this 12-piece band shakes up the Atrium with the infectious dance music that has thrilled revelers from Kinshasa to Nairobi to Paris.”

Summer Thursdays: Zenizen
The Museum of Modern Art, Sculpture Garden
Free with Museum admission / 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Live music begins at 6:30 p.m.
“Pitchfork describes Zenizen as “a Brooklyn-based band that fuses soul, jazz, R&B, and rock into songs that celebrate both hedonism and mindfulness.” Band leader and songwriter Opal Hoyt sees the project as one “where I’m in control of a lot of elements but can bring in badass musicians to take the helm and make this their own too.”

Hoyt is invested in all things soulful and counts Minnie Riperton, Mariah Carey, and London nu-jazz as major influences. After a sojourn in Australia to write and record a debut EP, she is back in New York playing shows and working on the band’s first album.”

Daniel Reichard: Summer Playlist (Aug.23-25)
Birdland / 7PM, $40
“The sleek original costar of Broadway’s Jersey Boys—who has been touring the country with his erstwhile bandmates from that show, in a group called the Midtown Men—helps cure the summertime blues with a new set that ranges from Broadway and 1960s rock to contemporary radio hits. Musical director Jesse Vargas leads the backup band.” (TONY)

Harold Mabern (Aug. 21-26.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM +10:30PM, $35
“This fluent and eminently soulful pianist is no stranger to New York clubs, but it’s always an event when he appears at this hallowed venue. A Memphis transplant who carried his deep blues roots up North with him in the early sixties, Mabern will be supported by two trusted associates: the bassist John Webber and the drummer Joe Farnsworth.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

 Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole: Two For the Road (Aug.21-31)
54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Feinstein, the popular and polished standard-bearer of American song, returns to the club that bears his name for a long run that teams him with one of the best cabaret performers out there: Broadway leading lady Ebersole (Grey Gardens), who is equally skilled at comedy and sentiment and who moves with ease between her lustrous belt and legit soprano. Among the selections in their Great American Songbook–centered set are “Stormy Weather,” “Time After Time” and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” (TONY)

Bill Frisell (Aug.21-25)
The Stone / 8:30PM, $20
“Guitarist Bill Frisell, the cowlick on the towhead of jazzy Americana, begins a five-night residency devoted to duets with drummers. It’s a smart move: His floating, twanging, looping, and harmonically allusive style provides the perfect background for percussive pageantry. Frisell begins Tuesday alongside Gerald Cleaver, a drummer rooted in Detroit’s hard-bop heritage who can go just about anywhere. Kenny Wollesen, Frisell’s exquisitely laid-back drummer in a longtime trio with bassist Tony Scherr, joins him Wednesday for a set that may include some of Wollesen’s own percussion inventions. Expect fireworks August 23, when Andrew Cyrille brings his pioneering outside handiwork to the table. Johnathan Blake, who’s played with everyone from Robert Glasper and Oliver Lake to rapper Q-Tip and singer Monday Michiru, and man-machine Mark Guiliana, who played on Bowie’s Blackstar, fill out this ingenious week of strings and things that go bump in the night.” (Richard Gehr, Village Voice)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

Indie Beauty Expo
Pier 36, 299 South St./ $39 to $195, 5 to 9 p.m.
“Beauty gurus, listen up. More than 240 indie beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands from all around the world are going to be in one place this week (O’o Hawaii, Julie Mollo!, Moon Bath, Ikoo and Plant Apothecary among others). The expo, which will have exclusive show specials such as gifts with purchase, upgrades and discounts, will give shoppers an opportunity meet brand founders and other beauty lovers while getting a first look at the newest products.” (amNY)

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

Continuing Events

2018 U.S. Open Fan Week (Aug.21-26)
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park /
“There’s going to be a lot of racket (swinging) at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park come August 27 during the U.S. Open, a two-week tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Tickets for the usually star-studded matches (Bey and Jay-Z attended in recent years) tend to be steep ($65 to $100 for the cheap seats), but you can attend free of charge during U.S. Open Fan Week.

Just one week before the professional matches begin, head to the National Tennis Center to watch a qualifying tournament, where 128 women and 128 men compete. You can also check out the top dogs in tennis practice on the grounds (think Serena and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal), and be just a few feet away from your favorite players. There’s even more tennis-related activities scheduled off the court, too. Get pumped for New York’s major summer sporting showdown during the U.S. Open Experience on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 at Brookfield Place. Players and special guests will make appearances and pose for selfies, and there will be food sampling and more sponsor-related activities at the scene. The event promises to be more fun than you can shake a racket at!” (TONY)

For a wonderful guide to the U.S. Open, try TimeOutNewYork’s guide.

Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, $7
“We may not like paying taxes, but we would never think to tar and feather the tax collector. Yet as many of the colonists prepared for what would be the American Revolution, there was an organized group who opposed the government through violent resistance. Come see objects preserved from pivotal moments relating to the New York Sons of Liberty, like the tearing down of the King George statue in Bowling Green Park, and throwing chests of tea into the New York Harbor.”

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

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

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

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.
===========================================================

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 are two exhibitions you may like:

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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 08/21 and 08/19.

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

NYC Events, “Only the Best” (08/22) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 08/22/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ AUGUST 22, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band
Birdland, 315 W 44th St./ 5:30PM, $30
“Inspired by the noble jazz pioneers Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and their colleagues, David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band breathes life and passion into America’s own great art form. Legendary record producer George Avakian describes the band in this way:

“There has never been a band quite like this one. Most groups, past and present, stick to one style. Some current groups attempt to recreate early recordings in their entirety. These guys do neither. Inspired by divergent bands of the 1920s and 30s, you’ll hear them swing a variety of styles in music by a wide range of composers, always true to the joy and heart of the music.”

Now in its 14th year of residency at Birdland, the weekly post-workday engagement is the city’s best musical bargain! Tuba player David Ostwald leads a rotating lineup that features talents such as clarinetist Anat Cohen, trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon, pianist Ehud Asherie, drummer Marion Felder and more!”

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> ‘MR. GAGA’ WITH GALLIM
>> Harold Mabern
>> BRANDEE YOUNGER QUINTET
>>  Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole:
>> Bill Frisell
>> Fly Girls: Keith O’Brien with Siobhan O’Connor
>> Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
Continuing Events
>> 2018 U.S. Open Fan Week
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

‘MR. GAGA’ WITH GALLIM
at Rumsey Playfield / 8 p.m., FREE
“Andrea Miller spent several years in Tel Aviv as a member of Batsheva — the Young Ensemble, the junior wing of Israel’s premier contemporary dance troupe. There she was immersed in Gaga, the movement research of Batsheva’s renowned director Ohad Naharin; it imbues his work with an almost paradoxical sense of intensity and delicacy. Ms. Miller is now a respected choreographer in her own right with her New York-based company Gallim, who will perform at SummerStage in Central Park before a screening of the excellent documentary “Mr. Gaga.” The film explores little-known aspects of Mr. Naharin’s biography and features gorgeous excerpts from his work.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

Harold Mabern (Aug. 21-26.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM +10:30PM, $35
“This fluent and eminently soulful pianist is no stranger to New York clubs, but it’s always an event when he appears at this hallowed venue. A Memphis transplant who carried his deep blues roots up North with him in the early sixties, Mabern will be supported by two trusted associates: the bassist John Webber and the drummer Joe Farnsworth.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

BRANDEE YOUNGER QUINTET (Aug. 21-22)
at Jazz Standard / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $
“Ms. Younger’s harp playing can be airy or imagistic, but it’s usually grounded in a groove. Over the past decade, she’s proven adept at bringing the instrument into contexts where it had rarely gone: jazz infused with neo-soul; springy post-bop; experiments alongside Afro-Cuban improvisers. On Night 1 of her brief run at Jazz Standard, the classically trained harpist will appear in an electrified quintet with some of her most accomplished contemporaries: Keyon Harrold on trumpet, Chelsea Baratz on tenor saxophone, Rashaan Carter on electric bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums. On Night 2, a different but equally impressive group joins her in an acoustic format: Mr. Harrold, as well as Anne Drummond on flute, Dezron Douglas on upright bass and E. J. Strickland on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

 Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole: Two For the Road (Aug.21-31)
54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Feinstein, the popular and polished standard-bearer of American song, returns to the club that bears his name for a long run that teams him with one of the best cabaret performers out there: Broadway leading lady Ebersole (Grey Gardens), who is equally skilled at comedy and sentiment and who moves with ease between her lustrous belt and legit soprano. Among the selections in their Great American Songbook–centered set are “Stormy Weather,” “Time After Time” and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” (TONY)

Bill Frisell (Aug.21-25)
The Stone / 8:30PM, $20
“Guitarist Bill Frisell, the cowlick on the towhead of jazzy Americana, begins a five-night residency devoted to duets with drummers. It’s a smart move: His floating, twanging, looping, and harmonically allusive style provides the perfect background for percussive pageantry. Frisell begins Tuesday alongside Gerald Cleaver, a drummer rooted in Detroit’s hard-bop heritage who can go just about anywhere. Kenny Wollesen, Frisell’s exquisitely laid-back drummer in a longtime trio with bassist Tony Scherr, joins him Wednesday for a set that may include some of Wollesen’s own percussion inventions. Expect fireworks August 23, when Andrew Cyrille brings his pioneering outside handiwork to the table. Johnathan Blake, who’s played with everyone from Robert Glasper and Oliver Lake to rapper Q-Tip and singer Monday Michiru, and man-machine Mark Guiliana, who played on Bowie’s Blackstar, fill out this ingenious week of strings and things that go bump in the night.” (Richard Gehr, Village Voice)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

Fly Girls: Keith O’Brien with Siobhan O’Connor
New York Public Library—Mid-Manhattan Library, 476 Fifth Ave. (42nd St. Entrance)/ 6:30PM, FREE
“In the 1920s and ’30s airplane racing was a dangerous and popular new sport. Fans flocked to multi-day events, and cities vied to host them. Many of the pilots themselves were admired and respected as heroes—unless they were women. The press and popular opinion considered female pilots ridiculous and foolish to attempt such a masculine and dangerous sport. In Fly Girls, Keith O’Brien tells the stories of five remarkable women of varied backgrounds who joined forces for the chance to compete against men, so that in 1936 one of them could triumph in the toughest race of all.

Keith O’Brien, the author of Outside Shot: Big Dreams, Hard Times, and One County’s Quest for Basketball Greatness, as well as a former reporter for the Boston Globe and contributor to National Public Radio, will be joined in conversation with Siobhan O’Connor, vice president of editorial at Medium and former executive editor at Time. Q&A to follow.”

Exhibition Opening | Fear & Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, $7
“We may not like paying taxes, but we would never think to tar and feather the tax collector. Yet as many of the colonists prepared for what would be the American Revolution, there was an organized group who opposed the government through violent resistance. Come see objects preserved from pivotal moments relating to the New York Sons of Liberty, like the tearing down of the King George statue in Bowling Green Park, and throwing chests of tea into the New York Harbor.”

Indie Beauty Expo
Pier 36, 299 South St./ $39 to $195, 5 to 9 p.m.
“Beauty gurus, listen up. More than 240 indie beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands from all around the world are going to be in one place this week (O’o Hawaii, Julie Mollo!, Moon Bath, Ikoo and Plant Apothecary among others). The expo, which will have exclusive show specials such as gifts with purchase, upgrades and discounts, will give shoppers an opportunity meet brand founders and other beauty lovers while getting a first look at the newest products.” (amNY)

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

Continuing Events

2018 U.S. Open Fan Week (Aug.21-26)
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park /
“There’s going to be a lot of racket (swinging) at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park come August 27 during the U.S. Open, a two-week tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Tickets for the usually star-studded matches (Bey and Jay-Z attended in recent years) tend to be steep ($65 to $100 for the cheap seats), but you can attend free of charge during U.S. Open Fan Week.

Just one week before the professional matches begin, head to the National Tennis Center to watch a qualifying tournament, where 128 women and 128 men compete. You can also check out the top dogs in tennis practice on the grounds (think Serena and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal), and be just a few feet away from your favorite players. There’s even more tennis-related activities scheduled off the court, too. Get pumped for New York’s major summer sporting showdown during the U.S. Open Experience on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 at Brookfield Place. Players and special guests will make appearances and pose for selfies, and there will be food sampling and more sponsor-related activities at the scene. The event promises to be more fun than you can shake a racket at!” (TONY)

For a wonderful guide to the U.S. Open, try TimeOutNewYork’s guide.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

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

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

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

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

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

b_flat4There 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

==================================================================================
“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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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/21) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 08/21/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ AUGUST 21, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

MICHAEL MCDONALD
at the Rooftop at Pier 17 / 8 p.m., $95
“To the uninitiated, this Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan alumnus might not seem like a hip-hop mainstay; yet, through his career as a soft rock and R&B innovator, he helped create the bedrock for tracks from Warren G’s classic “Regulate” to more recent songs by everyone from Meek Mill to Madlib. These citations have helped fuel something of a late-career renaissance for the singer, songwriter and keyboardist, who in 2017 released “Wide Open,” his first album of original music in 17 years. Last year, he performed at Coachella alongside the similarly virtuosic Thundercat, with whom he and Kenny Loggins collaborated on the single “Show You the Way.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

=========================================================
6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Harold Mabern
>> BRANDEE YOUNGER QUINTET
>>  Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole:
>> Bill Frisell
>> The Lineup with Susie Mosher
>> GILAD HEKSELMAN TRIO
Continuing Events
>> 2018 U.S. Open Fan Week
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Harold Mabern (Aug. 21-26.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM +10:30PM, $35
“This fluent and eminently soulful pianist is no stranger to New York clubs, but it’s always an event when he appears at this hallowed venue. A Memphis transplant who carried his deep blues roots up North with him in the early sixties, Mabern will be supported by two trusted associates: the bassist John Webber and the drummer Joe Farnsworth.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

BRANDEE YOUNGER QUINTET (Aug. 21-22)
at Jazz Standard / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $
“Ms. Younger’s harp playing can be airy or imagistic, but it’s usually grounded in a groove. Over the past decade, she’s proven adept at bringing the instrument into contexts where it had rarely gone: jazz infused with neo-soul; springy post-bop; experiments alongside Afro-Cuban improvisers. On Night 1 of her brief run at Jazz Standard, the classically trained harpist will appear in an electrified quintet with some of her most accomplished contemporaries: Keyon Harrold on trumpet, Chelsea Baratz on tenor saxophone, Rashaan Carter on electric bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums. On Night 2, a different but equally impressive group joins her in an acoustic format: Mr. Harrold, as well as Anne Drummond on flute, Dezron Douglas on upright bass and E. J. Strickland on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

 Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole: Two For the Road (Aug.21-31, no Aug.27)
54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Feinstein, the popular and polished standard-bearer of American song, returns to the club that bears his name for a long run that teams him with one of the best cabaret performers out there: Broadway leading lady Ebersole (Grey Gardens), who is equally skilled at comedy and sentiment and who moves with ease between her lustrous belt and legit soprano. Among the selections in their Great American Songbook–centered set are “Stormy Weather,” “Time After Time” and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” (TONY)

Bill Frisell (Aug.21-25)
The Stone / 8:30PM, $20
“Guitarist Bill Frisell, the cowlick on the towhead of jazzy Americana, begins a five-night residency devoted to duets with drummers. It’s a smart move: His floating, twanging, looping, and harmonically allusive style provides the perfect background for percussive pageantry. Frisell begins Tuesday alongside Gerald Cleaver, a drummer rooted in Detroit’s hard-bop heritage who can go just about anywhere. Kenny Wollesen, Frisell’s exquisitely laid-back drummer in a longtime trio with bassist Tony Scherr, joins him Wednesday for a set that may include some of Wollesen’s own percussion inventions. Expect fireworks August 23, when Andrew Cyrille brings his pioneering outside handiwork to the table. Johnathan Blake, who’s played with everyone from Robert Glasper and Oliver Lake to rapper Q-Tip and singer Monday Michiru, and man-machine Mark Guiliana, who played on Bowie’s Blackstar, fill out this ingenious week of strings and things that go bump in the night.” (Richard Gehr, Village Voice)

The Lineup with Susie Mosher
Birdland / 9:15PM, $25
“Mosher is one of those talents you need to see to believe: warm, funny, biting, ferociously committed. In her biweekly series at the brand-new Birdland Theater, she invites a gaggle of performers from Broadway and beyond to show off their talents. Guests at the August 21 edition include Naturi Naughton, Amy Lynn Hamlin, Telly Leung, Erin Maguire, Anya Marina, Eric Gilliland, Constantine Rousouli, Alex Ellis, Kevin Chamberlin and Time Out’s own Adam Feldman.” (TONY)

GILAD HEKSELMAN TRIO (also Aug.21)
at Smalls / 7:30 and 9 p.m., $
“This guitarist doesn’t need to be slick to sound commanding. When he starts to scamper in a single-note line, he’s usually quick to cut himself off — interrupting his own train of thought and grabbing your ear. A strong new album of original tunes, “Ask for Chaos,” is out next month. He appears at Smalls alongside the bassist Rick Rosato and the drummer Jonathan Pinson, who form one of two trios featured on the record.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

More smart stuff coming soon.

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

Continuing Events

2018 U.S. Open Fan Week (Aug.21-26)
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park /
“There’s going to be a lot of racket (swinging) at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park come August 27 during the U.S. Open, a two-week tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Tickets for the usually star-studded matches (Bey and Jay-Z attended in recent years) tend to be steep ($65 to $100 for the cheap seats), but you can attend free of charge during U.S. Open Fan Week.

Just one week before the professional matches begin, head to the National Tennis Center to watch a qualifying tournament, where 128 women and 128 men compete. You can also check out the top dogs in tennis practice on the grounds (think Serena and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal), and be just a few feet away from your favorite players. There’s even more tennis-related activities scheduled off the court, too. Get pumped for New York’s major summer sporting showdown during the U.S. Open Experience on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 at Brookfield Place. Players and special guests will make appearances and pose for selfies, and there will be food sampling and more sponsor-related activities at the scene. The event promises to be more fun than you can shake a racket at!” (TONY)

For a wonderful guide to the U.S. Open, try TimeOutNewYork’s guide.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 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:
(5 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)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

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)

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 surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s 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.

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

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)

Jewish Museum

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

Museum of the City of New York

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

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

‘THE FACE OF DYNASTY: ROYAL CRESTS FROM WESTERN CAMEROON’ (through Sept. 3). “Upstairs, the Michelangelos continue to knock ‘em dead; downstairs, in the African wing, a show of just four commanding wooden crowns constitutes a blockbuster of its own. These massive wooden crests — in the form of stylized human faces with vast vertical brows — served as markers of royal power among the Bamileke peoples of the Cameroonian grasslands, and the Met’s recent acquisition of an 18th-century specimen is joined here by three later examples, each featuring sharply protruding cheeks, broadly smiling mouths, and brows incised with involute geometric patterns. Ritual objects like these were decisive for the development of western modernist painting, and a Cameroonian crest was even shown at MoMA in the 1930s, as a “sculpture” divorced from ethnography. But these crests had legal and diplomatic significance as well as aesthetic appeal, and their anonymous African creators had a political understanding of art not so far from our own.” (Farago)

‘HEAVENLY BODIES: FASHION AND THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION’  (through Oct. 8). “Let us pray. After last year’s stark exhibition of Rei Kawakubo’s irregular apparel, the Met Costume Institute is back in blockbuster mode with this three-part blowout on the influence of Catholicism on haute couture of the last century. The trinity of fashion begins downstairs at the Met with the exceptional loans of vestments from the Vatican; upstairs are gowns fit for angels in heaven (by Lanvin, Thierry Mugler, Rodarte) or angels fallen to earth (such as slinky Versace sheaths garlanded with crosses). The scenography at the Met is willfully operatic — spotlights, choir music — which militates against serious thinking about fashion and religion, but up at the Cloisters, by far the strongest third of the show, you can commune more peacefully with an immaculate Balenciaga wedding gown or a divine Valentino gown embroidered with Cranac’s Adam and Eve.” (Farago)

===========================================================
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 08/19 and 08/17.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/20) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 08/20/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > MONDAY/ AUGUST 20, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

MEG OKURA AND THE PAN ASIAN CHAMBER JAZZ ENSEMBLE
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $35
“Ima Ima” is the new album from this impressive violinist and bandleader, and her fourth with the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble. It’s a record of grandiloquent beauty that transitions easily from grooves to big cascades to buoyant swing. She composed it with syncretism in mind: Ima means “now” in Japanese and “mom” in Hebrew, the language of Ms. Okura’s recently adopted Jewish faith. Here she is joined by her 10-piece ensemble, which includes the eminent trumpeter Tom Harrell, a featured guest on the album as well as at the show.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Alejandro Escovedo
>> Natalie Douglas: Tributes—Ella
>> Broadway Sings Alanis Morissette
>> GILAD HEKSELMAN TRIO
>> Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> The Presidents’ Book Club: Books that shaped Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and others.
>> Archive Dive: The Research Behind Show Time! The First 100 Years of the American Musical
Continuing Events
>> 2018 U.S. Open Fan Week
>> Candytopia
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Alejandro Escovedo
City Winery, 155 Varick St./ 8PM, $35+
“This Mexican-American punk veteran will play songs from his new album “The Crossing,” which is about the American immigrant experience and his own journey. Don Antonio, the all-instrumental Italian group that also played on the record and MC5’s Wayne Kramer, The Stooges’ James Williamson, Joe Ely, The Only Ones and others will join him.” (amNY)

Natalie Douglas: Tributes—Ella
Birdland / 7:30PM, $35
“In her ongoing Tributes series, dectuple MAC Award winner Douglas has previously plumbed the catalogs of Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday and Cher, among many others. Now she reprises her homage to scat queen and Great American Songbook master Ella Fitzgerald, joined by Billy Stritch at the piano.” (TONY)

Broadway Sings Alanis Morissette
Highline Ballroom / 8PM, $30
“As Broadway prepares for the likely arrival of the Alanis jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill later this season, the Broadway Sings series gets a leg up with a concert of her biggest hits, arranged by Joshua Stephen Kartes for a 14-piece jazz orchestra. Isn’t that ironic? (No? Are you sure?) Vocalists include married American Idol finalists turned stage stars Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, as well as Derek Klena, Wesley Taylor, Alysha Deslorieux, Lauren Patten, Ben Thompson, Krystina Alabado, Crystal Monee Hall, Corey Mach, Jillian Mueller, Laurissa Romain, Joey Taranto, Stephanie Jean Umoh and American Idol Season 7 winner David Cook.” (TONY)

GILAD HEKSELMAN TRIO (also Aug.21)
at Smalls / 7:30 and 9 p.m., $
“This guitarist doesn’t need to be slick to sound commanding. When he starts to scamper in a single-note line, he’s usually quick to cut himself off — interrupting his own train of thought and grabbing your ear. A strong new album of original tunes, “Ask for Chaos,” is out next month. He appears at Smalls alongside the bassist Rick Rosato and the drummer Jonathan Pinson, who form one of two trios featured on the record.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

The Presidents’ Book Club: Books that shaped Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and others.
Joseph Luzzi / Bard College
SUNY Global Center – Global Classroom, 116 E 55th St./ 7-9PM, $95
“All of us at One Day U who love books wondered about the reading habits of past presidents, and what we found led us to offer this new brand new course.”
Bard’s Joseph Luzzi explores leadership and literature with close looks at the libraries of six Presidents. Luzzi will discuss JFK and a favorite spy novelist, Abraham Lincoln’s obsession with Shakespeare, and “how Barack Obama came to understand his American identity and spirit through two favorite authors.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Archive Dive: The Research Behind Show Time! The First 100 Years of the American Musical
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza / 6PM, FREE
“Writer-performer Ben West offers a live-demo and discussion of the research process behind his upcoming documentary musical, SHOW TIME! THE FIRST 100 YEARS OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, which premieres Sept. 13 at the Theatre at Saint Peter’s as part of a three-year partnership with the York Theatre Company. SHOW TIME! charts the evolution of the American musical from the mid-1800s thru 1999, and features more than two dozen songs that shaped the canon.”

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Continuing Events

2018 U.S. Open Fan Week (Aug.21-26)
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park /
“There’s going to be a lot of racket (swinging) at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park come August 27 during the U.S. Open, a two-week tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Tickets for the usually star-studded matches (Bey and Jay-Z attended in recent years) tend to be steep ($65 to $100 for the cheap seats), but you can attend free of charge during U.S. Open Fan Week.

Just one week before the professional matches begin, head to the National Tennis Center to watch a qualifying tournament, where 128 women and 128 men compete. You can also check out the top dogs in tennis practice on the grounds (think Serena and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal), and be just a few feet away from your favorite players. There’s even more tennis-related activities scheduled off the court, too. Get pumped for New York’s major summer sporting showdown during the U.S. Open Experience on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 at Brookfield Place. Players and special guests will make appearances and pose for selfies, and there will be food sampling and more sponsor-related activities at the scene. The event promises to be more fun than you can shake a racket at!” (TONY)

For a wonderful guide to the U.S. Open, try TimeOutNewYork’s guide.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.com)

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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 63 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,

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.

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’. ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

CAFFE VIVALDI HAS CLOSED,  JUNE 23 WAS THE FINAL NIGHT. VERY SAD.
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.
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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

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

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

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

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

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

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

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available FALL 2018).
◊ Order before NOV.30, 2018 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/19) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 08/19/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ AUGUST 19, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

SARASOTA BALLET   (LAST DAY)
at the Joyce Theater / 2PM, $45+
“Under the artistic direction of Iain Webb, this respected company returns to the Joyce with two programs highlighting ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Ricardo Graziano — the group’s resident choreographer and one of its principal dancers — and Frederick Ashton, the great British choreographer, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his death. The season includes a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes, who recently resigned from American Ballet Theater after an allegation of sexual misconduct. In the final pas de deux from Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons,” Mr. Gomes partners with another Sarasota principal dancer, Victoria Hulland.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Kurt Rosenwinkel
>> India Day Parade
>> West Side Story: The Evolution of Lincoln Center
>> NYC Cocktail Expo
>> Spread the Vote
>> “Curator’s Choice: Bernstein”
Continuing Events
>> Twelfth Night
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Kurt Rosenwinkel (LAST DAY)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“Last week, the adroit guitarist Rosenwinkel kept the setting sparse, appearing with just a bassist and a drummer for support; this week, he adds harmonic muscle and an interactive jolt to his ensemble in the form of the acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks. Shakeups in the rhythm section include Eric Revis on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

India Day Parade
Madison Ave. between 25 and 38th streets / 12PM, FREE
“With such a proud Asian-American population, it should come as no surprise that the world’s largest India Day Parade takes place right here in New York. This Sunday, it’s free to watch the colorful, cultural, celebrity-decked floats gliding down Madison Avenue, plus live music and dance performances both in the parade and along the route, and a food court with authentic cuisine” (Metro)

West Side Story: The Evolution of Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts / 11AM, $20
Meet at the fountain in the plaza of Lincoln Center.

“Discover the evolution of this pioneering midcentury cultural complex. On this tour we explore Lincoln Center’s origins as an urban renewal project by the infamous Robert Moses, announced in 1956. We begin with the Center’s design and construction by some of  our most iconic Modern architects in the turbulent 1960s, and conclude with its reimagining by Diller Scofidio and Renfro in this past decade for 21st century New York.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
NYC Cocktail Expo
Melrose Ballroom, 36-08 33rd St., Queens / 3-7PM, $65+
“Consider yourself a cocktail connoisseur? Staying on top of the latest trends at the fifth annual New York Cocktail Expo this Sunday at the Melrose Ballroom in LIC. Sample the latest flavor combos from the city’s top mixologists (plus cider and beer), with over 60 participants. This year’s competition includes the largest-ever Tiki Throwdown and a new Rum Room. VIPs can add early entry or a rooftop after-party. PLUS: Save 50% with code “cocktailfest” while tickets last.” (Metro)

Spread the Vote
An island party for a good cause
Governor’s Island / 3-6:30 p.m., $40
“Join Women to the Front as they get the word out about voter registration and today’s most pressing social issues ahead of midterm elections. They’re hosting a fundraiser party at Governors Island’s waterfront bar Island Oyster with food and drinks for sale, as well as games and live music from bands like Train Brass Band, Fleur Seule and Bon Temps. Your ticket includes a free cocktail, children attend free, and all proceeds go to Spread the Vote.” (Metro)

“Curator’s Choice: Bernstein”
Paley Center for Media, 25 W. 52nd St./ 12:15PM, +2:15PM
“Eleven months into the yearlong celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s hundredth birthday, there are no more gems still to polish or curios left to unearth in his œuvre. The Paley Center, though, is devoting every Sunday in August to a hitherto underexamined aspect of his legacy: his famous television appearances.

12:15 pm
American Masters: Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note
This acclaimed documentary, directed by Susan Lacy, examines the life and career of the composer and conductor using still photos; footage of stage, screen, and concert performances (and the Bernstein family’s home movies); and interviews with colleagues and family, as well as his own words. (1998; PBS, 120 min.)

2:15 pm
Candide
John Mauceri conducts the Scottish Opera production of Bernstein’s musical theater work, based on Voltaire’s classic satire and directed by Jonathan Miller and John Wells. Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, and Bernstein. The cast includes Mark Beudert, Nickolas Grace, Marilyn Hill Smith, and Ann Howard. (1989; BBC; 160 min.)

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Continuing Events

Twelfth Night (LAST DAY)
Shakespeare Delacorte Theater, Central Park / 8PM, FREE*
“This musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy began in 2016 as a one-weekend run under the auspices of the Public’s civically ambitious Public Works program, which collaborates with NYC communities to create large-scale theater. Director Kwame Kwei-Armah is joined by Public honcho Oskar Eustis to helm the production’s return engagement; Shuler Hensley and  Ato Blankson-Wood joins original cast members Nikki M. James, Andrew Kober and Shaina Taub—who also wrote the songs—alongside less seasoned actors and local residents.” (TONY)

*tickets are free (two per person) and may be picked up after noon on the day of performance (be prepared for long lines.) Some tickets are also distributed via online lottery.
See TONY’s complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

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

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

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

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

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Museum of Modern Art:

A special pat on the back to MOMA, who is now displaying art from the seven countries affected by Trump’s travel ban.

“Trump’s ban against refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations has sparked acts of defiance in NYC, from demonstrations across town, to striking taxicab drivers at JFK to Middle Eastern bodega owners closing their shops in protest. Recently, the Museum Of Modern added its two cents by bringing out artworks it owns from the affected countries, and hanging them prominently within the galleries usually reserved for 19th- and 20th-century artworks from Europe and the United States. Paintings by Picasso and Matisse, for example, were removed to make way for pieces by Tala Madani (from Iran), Ibrahim El-Salahi (from Sudan) and architect Zaha Hadid (from Iraq). The rehanging, which was unannounced, aims to create a symbolic welcome that repudiates Trump by creating a visual dialog between the newly added works and the more familiar objects from MoMA’s permanent collection.” (TONY)

‘BODYS ISEK KINGELEZ: CITY DREAMS’ (through Jan. 1). “The first comprehensive survey of the Congolese artist is a euphoric exhibition as utopian wonderland featuring his fantasy architectural models and cities — works strong in color, eccentric in shape, loaded with enthralling details and futuristic aura. Mr. Kingelez (1948-2015) was convinced that the world had never seen a vision like his, and this beautifully designed show bears him out.” (NYT-Smith)
212-708-9400, moma.org

‘THE LONG RUN’ (through Nov. 4). “The museum upends its cherished Modern narrative of ceaseless progress by mostly young (white) men. Instead we see works by artists 45 and older who have just kept on keeping on, regardless of attention or reward, sometimes saving the best for last. Art here is an older person’s game, a pursuit of a deepening personal vision over innovation. Winding through 17 galleries, the installation is alternatively visually or thematically acute and altogether inspiring.” (NYT-Smith)
212-708-9400, moma.org

Rubin Museum of Art

Chitra Ganesh: The Scorpion Gesture (Through Jan. 7)
“The Brooklyn artist’s new animations ingeniously combine her own drawings and watercolors with historical imagery, peppering the journeys of bodhisattvas with contemporary pop-culture references. Five of these pieces are installed on the museum’s second and third floors amid its collection of Himalayan art, elements of which appear in her psychedelic sequences of spinning mandalas and falling lotus flowers. (Ganesh’s works are activated, as if by magic, when viewers approach.) In “Rainbow Body,” a cave, which also appears in a nearby painting of Mandarava, is filled with people in 3-D glasses, watching as the guru-deity attains enlightenment. “Silhouette in the Graveyard” is projected behind a glass case containing a small sculpture of Maitreya, from late-eighteenth-century Mongolia, for a cleverly dioramalike effect. Prophesied to arrive during an apocalyptic crisis, the bodhisattva is seen here against Ganesh’s montage, which includes footage of global catastrophes and political protests, from the Women’s March to Black Lives Matter.” (

New-York Historical Society 

“Celebrating Bill Cunningham (thru 9/9)
marks the New-York Historical Society‘s recent acquisition of objects, personal correspondence, ephemera, and photographs that reflect the life and work of Bill Cunningham. One of the late 20th century’s most influential trend-spotters and style authorities, the legendary New York Times journalist and photographer was frequently spied on the city’s streets, at fashion shows, and elegant soirées capturing images of New York’s fashion innovators and cultural glitterati. Among the highlights of Celebrating Bill Cunningham are a bicycle that he rode around the city; his first camera, an Olympus Pen-D, 35mm; signature blue jacket; personal photographs of Cunningham at home and with friends; correspondence, including a few of the hand-made Valentines he frequently sent to friends; and a New York City street sign, “Bill Cunningham Corner,” that was temporarily installed at 5th Avenue and 57th Street in his honor, following his death. Soon after he arrived in New York, Cunningham worked as a milliner, and items on view from his millinery line, William J., include an innovative beach hat, along with other hats and fascinators; and a press release written for the William J. spring 1960 millinery show. Also on display are selections from Cunningham’s Facades, his eight-year photographic project documenting New York City’s architectural and fashion history, which was shown at the museum in 2014.” (cityguideny.com)

Also now open at NY Historical Society, Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection. (thru Sept.16)

SPECIAL MENTION (not Manhattan’s WestSide, but let’s show some love to da Bronx)
at the New York (Bronx) Botanical Garden:

‘GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: VISIONS OF HAWAI‘I’ (through Oct. 28). “Finding out Georgia O’Keeffe had a Hawaiian period is kind of like finding out Brian Wilson had a desert period. But here it is: 17 eye-popping paradisal paintings, produced in a nine-week visit in 1939. The paintings, and their almost psychedelic palette, are as fleshlike and physical as O’Keeffe’s New Mexican work is stripped and metaphysical. The other star of the show, fittingly, is Hawaii, and the garden has mounted a living display of the subjects depicted in the artwork. As much as they might look like the products of an artist’s imagination, the plants and flowers in the Enid Haupt Conservatory are boastfully real. On Aloha Nights every Saturday in June and every other Saturday in July and August, the garden is staging a cultural complement of activities, including lei making, hula lessons and ukulele performances.” (NYT – William L. Hamilton)
718-817-8700, nybg.org / easy 20 minute ride from Grand Central on Metro North.

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 08/17 and 08/15.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/18) + Today’s Featured Pub (Upper West Side)

Posted on 08/18/2018 by GregD

Today’s Nifty 9 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ AUGUST 18, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

West Fest | Let’s Talk About Mae—A Series of Talks About Mae West
Jefferson Market Library, 425 Ave. of the Americas / 12PM-5PM, FREE
“The day after the 125th anniversary of Mae West’s birth, catch a series of talks that range from “Rebel Mae West” to “Mae and Race” and “Mae and Spiritualism.” (At 2pm on Sunday there’s a double feature of 1933’s She Done Him Wrong and 1934’s Belle of the Nineties.)” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Come to one session or come to them all!
12:00 pm: Mae’s Early Life, Career, and Vaudeville by Trav S.D., writer and performer; best known for critically acclaimed “No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous” and the blog “Travalanche.”
1:00 pm: Mae and Broadway by John Calhoun, librarian, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
2:00 pm: Mae and Race by Chicava Honeychild, scholar, actress, proprietress of Brown Girls Burlesque, and artist in residence at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater.
3:00 pm: Mae and Spiritualism by Kathy Biehl, scholar, actress, freelance writer, and certified, award-winning psychic and astrologer.
4:00 pm: Rebel Mae West, a panel discussion moderated by Grady Turner, curator of “Bare! True Stories of Sex Desire and Romance;” featuring Dirty Martini, the international burlesque sensation; Elyse Singer, CUNY teaching fellow, artistic director of Hourglass Group, and director of the critically-acclaimed 1999 revival of West’s “Sex;” as well as speakers Trav S.D., John Calhoun, Chicava Honeychild, and Kathy Biehl.

=========================================================
8 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Emerging Music Festival
>> JULIAN LAGE
>> BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
>> Kurt Rosenwinkel
>> Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano,
>> SARASOTA BALLET  
>> Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival
>> Soundscape of Fear
Continuing Events
>> Twelfth Night
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Emerging Music Festival (Aug. 17-18)
Bryant Park / starts 5PM, FREE
“Ten rising indie rock, pop, blues and soul bands from the New York City area are performing at Bryant Park for the Emerging Music Festival: Evolfo, Ohmme, Palmas, Underground System, EZTV on Aug. 17 and Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton & Terry Waldo Rum House Jass Band, Madison McFerrin, Katie von Schleicher, Plastic Picnic and Native Sun on Aug. 18.” (amNY)

JULIAN LAGE (LAST DAY)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m., $20
“Mr. Lage seeks communion freely and easily; his playing is elegant and refined, but he’s also happy in the company of rougher improvisers. He starts a five-night run at the Stone on Tuesday, in duet with the spiky guitarist Mary Halvorson. On Wednesday he is joined by the vocalist Margaret Glaspy; on Thursday he appears with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums; on Aug. 17, the saxophonist and Stone proprietor John Zorn joins that trio; then on Aug. 18, Mr. Lage closes with a trio featuring Mr. King on drums and Kris Davis on piano.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park / 6 p.m., FREE
“With a breathtaking backdrop of the New York Harbor, this festival returns to Battery Park City (the closing event on Aug. 18 will be at the Schimmel Center) with eclectic programming by the artistic director of Battery Dance, Jonathan Hollander. Along with his company, participants include Ariel Rivka Dance and Douglas Dunn & Dancers, as well as out-of-town groups like Damir Tasmagambetov (Kazakhstan), Skopje Dance Theater (Macedonia) and Mophato Dance Theater (Botswana). The breeze is nice, too.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

Kurt Rosenwinkel (Aug. 14-19)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“Last week, the adroit guitarist Rosenwinkel kept the setting sparse, appearing with just a bassist and a drummer for support; this week, he adds harmonic muscle and an interactive jolt to his ensemble in the form of the acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks. Shakeups in the rhythm section include Eric Revis on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano, #1 (LAST DAY)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $80+
“Bebe Neuwirth lives on deadpan: In her best roles—including her Tony-winning turns in Chicago and Sweet Charity, and her Emmy-winning stretch as Lilith Sternin on Cheers—she has presented herself as a kind of human icicle, pale and stiff and dripping with wit. Tonight she slices her distinctive contralto into story songs by Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Edith Piaf and Tom Waits.” (TONY)

SARASOTA BALLET  (Aug.18, 2PM +8PM) (Aug.19, 2PM)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Under the artistic direction of Iain Webb, this respected company returns to the Joyce with two programs highlighting ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Ricardo Graziano — the group’s resident choreographer and one of its principal dancers — and Frederick Ashton, the great British choreographer, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his death. The season includes a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes, who recently resigned from American Ballet Theater after an allegation of sexual misconduct. In the final pas de deux from Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons,” Mr. Gomes partners with another Sarasota principal dancer, Victoria Hulland.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival
Pier 97, W 59th St./ 2PM, free admission
“Sink your teeth into some Brother Jimmy’s, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Mighty Quinn’s, and Pig Beach as you listen to the bluesy tunes of the Slam Allen Band, Danielle Nicole, Vieux Farka Touré, and more at Saturday’s free annual Hudson River Park Blues BBQ.” (grubstreet.com)

Scary Movies XI: Soundscape of Fear
Film Society of Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza/ 3PM, FREE
At the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater.

“Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive), Emily Milling (Impossible Horror), and Andréa Winter (Blood Paradise) weren’t just musical composers for their films screening in Scary Movies XI—they also served as, variously, actors, producers, writers, editors, and beyond. Here, they discuss being multi-hyphenate talents in the challenging landscape of independent genre filmmaking and how they’ve used their experiences to craft aural experiences of anxiety and dread. The conversation will be moderated by film, TV, and music writer Karen Han, whose work has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, New York magazine, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, Vox, and Slate.”

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

Continuing Events

Twelfth Night (LAST WEEKEND)
Shakespeare Delacorte Theater, Central Park / 8PM, FREE* (the Bard is off on Mondays)
“This musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy began in 2016 as a one-weekend run under the auspices of the Public’s civically ambitious Public Works program, which collaborates with NYC communities to create large-scale theater. Director Kwame Kwei-Armah is joined by Public honcho Oskar Eustis to helm the production’s return engagement; Shuler Hensley and  Ato Blankson-Wood joins original cast members Nikki M. James, Andrew Kober and Shaina Taub—who also wrote the songs—alongside less seasoned actors and local residents.” (TONY)

*tickets are free (two per person) and may be picked up after noon on the day of performance (be prepared for long lines.) Some tickets are also distributed via online lottery.
See TONY’s complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 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:
(5 are underground (UG), 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)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

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)

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 surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s 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.

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

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.

HarlHostStandNo 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 , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/17) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 08/17/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ AUGUST 17, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

SARASOTA BALLET (Aug.17, 8 p.m.) (Aug.18, 2PM +8PM) (Aug.19, 2PM)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Under the artistic direction of Iain Webb, this respected company returns to the Joyce with two programs highlighting ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Ricardo Graziano — the group’s resident choreographer and one of its principal dancers — and Frederick Ashton, the great British choreographer, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his death. The season includes a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes, who recently resigned from American Ballet Theater after an allegation of sexual misconduct. In the final pas de deux from Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons,” Mr. Gomes partners with another Sarasota principal dancer, Victoria Hulland.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Pere Ubu
>> Emerging Music Festival
>> JULIAN LAGE
>> BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
>> Kurt Rosenwinkel
>> Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano,
>> Asahi Super Dry Experience
Continuing Events
>> NYC Restaurant Week 
>> Twelfth Night
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Pere Ubu
Le Poisson Rouge / 7PM, $30
“David Thomas, the founder of the venerable rock band Pere Ubu, began his music career in Cleveland as a pre-punk-era journalist who decided to put his own apocalyptic visions onstage. Since 1975—when the astonishing, riff-conscious singles “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” and “Final Solution” appeared—the band’s on-again, off-again existence and shifting lineups have generated a remarkably cohesive catalogue that weds Thomas’s warbly croak with otherworldly sonic textures and lyrics that can be humanistic, eco-friendly, and (in the case of the 1988 single “We Have the Technology”) presciently world-weary. Pere Ubu’s latest disk, “20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo,” sounds less like a prophecy than like a sensible reaction to the current political climate. The closing song’s lyrics are a cry for connection: “Hold me close / I feel the time running out / I know you must feel it, too.” (NewYorker-K. Leander Williams)

Emerging Music Festival (Aug. 17-18)
Bryant Park / starts 5PM, FREE
“Ten rising indie rock, pop, blues and soul bands from the New York City area are performing at Bryant Park for the Emerging Music Festival: Evolfo, Ohmme, Palmas, Underground System, EZTV on Aug. 17 and Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton & Terry Waldo Rum House Jass Band, Madison McFerrin, Katie von Schleicher, Plastic Picnic and Native Sun on Aug. 18.” (amNY)

JULIAN LAGE (Aug. 14-18)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m., $20
“Mr. Lage seeks communion freely and easily; his playing is elegant and refined, but he’s also happy in the company of rougher improvisers. He starts a five-night run at the Stone on Tuesday, in duet with the spiky guitarist Mary Halvorson. On Wednesday he is joined by the vocalist Margaret Glaspy; on Thursday he appears with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums; on Aug. 17, the saxophonist and Stone proprietor John Zorn joins that trio; then on Aug. 18, Mr. Lage closes with a trio featuring Mr. King on drums and Kris Davis on piano.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL (also Aug.18 6PM)
at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park / 7 p.m., FREE
“With a breathtaking backdrop of the New York Harbor, this festival returns to Battery Park City (the closing event on Aug. 18 will be at the Schimmel Center) with eclectic programming by the artistic director of Battery Dance, Jonathan Hollander. Along with his company, participants include Ariel Rivka Dance and Douglas Dunn & Dancers, as well as out-of-town groups like Damir Tasmagambetov (Kazakhstan), Skopje Dance Theater (Macedonia) and Mophato Dance Theater (Botswana). The breeze is nice, too.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

Kurt Rosenwinkel (Aug. 14-19)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“Last week, the adroit guitarist Rosenwinkel kept the setting sparse, appearing with just a bassist and a drummer for support; this week, he adds harmonic muscle and an interactive jolt to his ensemble in the form of the acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks. Shakeups in the rhythm section include Eric Revis on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano, #1 (Aug.15-18)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $80+
“Bebe Neuwirth lives on deadpan: In her best roles—including her Tony-winning turns in Chicago and Sweet Charity, and her Emmy-winning stretch as Lilith Sternin on Cheers—she has presented herself as a kind of human icicle, pale and stiff and dripping with wit. Tonight she slices her distinctive contralto into story songs by Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Edith Piaf and Tom Waits.” (TONY)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

Asahi Super Dry Experience
P.S. Kitchen, 246 W. 48th St./ 5PM-12AM, FREE
“This pop-up bar offers flowing Asahi beer, a fun virtual reality area where guests tour though Asahi’s future state-of-the-art brewery and cruise the night sky and the city’s nightlife.” (amNY)

“All the way from Japan, Asahi Super Dry beer is taking over P.S. Kitchen in Midtown. The pop-up experience will not only have plenty of Asahi and light bites, but there will also be a virtual reality experience that’ll take guests through Tokyo skies. And don’t forget to be on the lookout for prizes throughout the evening.” (bestproducts.com)

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

Continuing Events

NYC Restaurant Week  (LAST DAY)
“The summer edition of NYC Restaurant Week has arrived. You can make reservations now for deals at 386 participating restaurants through August 17th. How can a ravenous New Yorker whittle down the choices? Depends on what you like. Among this year’s offerings are nearly a hundred American Traditional spots, followed by 86 Italian restaurants, dozens of steakhouses and French bistros and brasseries, nearly as many Mexican joints, a smattering of Chinese, Greek, Indian, seafood, soul food, vegetarian, and Vietnamese options, and two places with the nerve to identify as “eclectic.”

Weekday lunch specials are down a few dollars and a few calories. Twenty-six bucks now buys a two-course midday meal — nobody has time for dessert on a work day, anyway. Three-course dinners still run $42. These four weeks in the throes of summer are like a culinary leap year — free celestial time to be bold, take a risk and try something new. Realistically though, you’ve maybe got the time and money to try, what, like five of these places? And remember the bi-annual NYC Restaurant Week refrain: tax, tip, and drinks not included.’ (Thrillist)
Here are the best of the best.

Twelfth Night (LAST WEEKEND)
Shakespeare Delacorte Theater, Central Park / 8PM, FREE* (the Bard is off on Mondays)
“This musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy began in 2016 as a one-weekend run under the auspices of the Public’s civically ambitious Public Works program, which collaborates with NYC communities to create large-scale theater. Director Kwame Kwei-Armah is joined by Public honcho Oskar Eustis to helm the production’s return engagement; Shuler Hensley and  Ato Blankson-Wood joins original cast members Nikki M. James, Andrew Kober and Shaina Taub—who also wrote the songs—alongside less seasoned actors and local residents.” (TONY)

*tickets are free (two per person) and may be picked up after noon on the day of performance (be prepared for long lines.) Some tickets are also distributed via online lottery.
See TONY’s complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)
DIVE INTO A HUGE MARSHMALLOW PIT AT CANDYTOPIA
“First it was in Los Angeles, and now it’s made its way to the east coast. Candytopia is officially open in NYC! Just like many other pop-ups, this one has uniquely designed rooms — except this one is all about candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to snag a ticket and enjoy the marshmallow pit and candy-filled rooms.” (bestproducts.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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

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

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

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.
===========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

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

Here are two exhibitions you may like:

Dime-Store Alchemy (LAST DAY)
“Drawing inspiration from the boxes of Joseph Cornell, this group show gathers artworks that array ordinary objects within cabinets or other types of containers. The theme is simple, but applied liberally and intelligently by the curator Jonathan Rider, it brims with reminders of the feats of transmutation that artists can perform.” (NYT-JILLIAN STEINHAUER)  Flag Art Foundation, 545 West 25th St.

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

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

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

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

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 08/15 and 08/13.

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

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/16) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 08/16/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ AUGUST 16, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

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

Roy Hargrove (LAST DAY)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“Cuba has long held a special place in the musical soul of the trumpeter Hargrove, who first professed his passion on the 1997 recording “Habana.” Here he hooks up with a fellow-virtuoso, the saxophonist and clarinet player Paquito D’Rivera, who firmly established his Stateside reputation after defecting from Cuba, in 1981.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> BIG HEART MACHINE
>> Jorge Glem
>> SARASOTA BALLET
>> JULIAN LAGE
>> BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
>> Kurt Rosenwinkel
>> Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano,
Continuing Events
>> NYC Restaurant Week 
>> Twelfth Night
>> Candytopia
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

BIG HEART MACHINE
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30PM and 9:30PM, $15-$20
“Led by the versatile reedist Brian Krock and conducted by Miho Hazama, this 18-piece ensemble works by stealth and swarm and accrual. The suspenseful, layered music can sound like migration in motion or a wisp of twisting smoke. And if you’re looking for musical-historical references, there are plenty — from progressive metal to Carnatic music to late-20th-century Western classical. At this show, Big Heart Machine celebrates the release of a self-titled debut album, which was produced by the esteemed big-band leader Darcy James Argue.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Jorge Glem
Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“Using unconventional techniques, Grammy-nominated cuatro player, mandolinist, producer, and composer Jorge Glem draws a seemingly limitless array of sounds from the cuatro, a four-stringed Venezuelan folk instrument. Glem, who has shared the stage with artists like Paquito D’Rivera, Jordan Rudess, Rubén Blades, Carlos Vives, and Calle 13, is an unwavering champion of the instrument both on stage and through his #4CuatroMusic movement on social media. Experience the full power of Glem’s cuatro revolution at this free show.”

SARASOTA BALLET (Aug. 16-17, 8 p.m.)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Under the artistic direction of Iain Webb, this respected company returns to the Joyce with two programs highlighting ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Ricardo Graziano — the group’s resident choreographer and one of its principal dancers — and Frederick Ashton, the great British choreographer, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his death. The season includes a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes, who recently resigned from American Ballet Theater after an allegation of sexual misconduct. In the final pas de deux from Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons,” Mr. Gomes partners with another Sarasota principal dancer, Victoria Hulland.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

JULIAN LAGE (Aug. 14-18)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m., $20
“Mr. Lage seeks communion freely and easily; his playing is elegant and refined, but he’s also happy in the company of rougher improvisers. He starts a five-night run at the Stone on Tuesday, in duet with the spiky guitarist Mary Halvorson. On Wednesday he is joined by the vocalist Margaret Glaspy; on Thursday he appears with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums; on Aug. 17, the saxophonist and Stone proprietor John Zorn joins that trio; then on Aug. 18, Mr. Lage closes with a trio featuring Mr. King on drums and Kris Davis on piano.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL (Aug. 12-17)
at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park / 7 p.m., FREE
“With a breathtaking backdrop of the New York Harbor, this festival returns to Battery Park City (the closing event on Aug. 18 will be at the Schimmel Center) with eclectic programming by the artistic director of Battery Dance, Jonathan Hollander. Along with his company, participants include Ariel Rivka Dance and Douglas Dunn & Dancers, as well as out-of-town groups like Damir Tasmagambetov (Kazakhstan), Skopje Dance Theater (Macedonia) and Mophato Dance Theater (Botswana). The breeze is nice, too.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

Kurt Rosenwinkel (Aug. 14-19)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“Last week, the adroit guitarist Rosenwinkel kept the setting sparse, appearing with just a bassist and a drummer for support; this week, he adds harmonic muscle and an interactive jolt to his ensemble in the form of the acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks. Shakeups in the rhythm section include Eric Revis on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano, #1 (Aug.15-18)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $80+
“Bebe Neuwirth lives on deadpan: In her best roles—including her Tony-winning turns in Chicago and Sweet Charity, and her Emmy-winning stretch as Lilith Sternin on Cheers—she has presented herself as a kind of human icicle, pale and stiff and dripping with wit. Tonight she slices her distinctive contralto into story songs by Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Edith Piaf and Tom Waits.” (TONY)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

More smart stuff coming soon.

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

Continuing Events

NYC Restaurant Week  (July 23-August 17)
“The summer edition of NYC Restaurant Week has arrived. You can make reservations now for deals at 386 participating restaurants through August 17th. How can a ravenous New Yorker whittle down the choices? Depends on what you like. Among this year’s offerings are nearly a hundred American Traditional spots, followed by 86 Italian restaurants, dozens of steakhouses and French bistros and brasseries, nearly as many Mexican joints, a smattering of Chinese, Greek, Indian, seafood, soul food, vegetarian, and Vietnamese options, and two places with the nerve to identify as “eclectic.”

Weekday lunch specials are down a few dollars and a few calories. Twenty-six bucks now buys a two-course midday meal — nobody has time for dessert on a work day, anyway. Three-course dinners still run $42. These four weeks in the throes of summer are like a culinary leap year — free celestial time to be bold, take a risk and try something new. Realistically though, you’ve maybe got the time and money to try, what, like five of these places? And remember the bi-annual NYC Restaurant Week refrain: tax, tip, and drinks not included.’ (Thrillist)
Here are the best of the best.

Twelfth Night (July 17 – August 19)
Shakespeare Delacorte Theater, Central Park / 8PM, FREE* (the Bard is off on Mondays)
“This musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy began in 2016 as a one-weekend run under the auspices of the Public’s civically ambitious Public Works program, which collaborates with NYC communities to create large-scale theater. Director Kwame Kwei-Armah is joined by Public honcho Oskar Eustis to helm the production’s return engagement; Shuler Hensley and  Ato Blankson-Wood joins original cast members Nikki M. James, Andrew Kober and Shaina Taub—who also wrote the songs—alongside less seasoned actors and local residents.” (TONY)

*tickets are free (two per person) and may be picked up after noon on the day of performance (be prepared for long lines.) Some tickets are also distributed via online lottery.
See TONY’s complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

Candytopia (thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)

==========================================================================
♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

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

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

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

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

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

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

kac_120405_phude_corner_bistro_bar_1000-600x450In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town.

The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro celebrated it’s 50th anniversary last year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.

Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $6.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.

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

For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
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Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:
==============================================================
“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge (except for certain jazz clubs).

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

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (08/15) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 08/15/2018 by GregD

Today’s NIFTY 9 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ AUGUST 15, 2018

“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: “NYC Events-August”
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.

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

Bebe Neuwirth: Stories with Piano, #1 (Aug.15-18)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $80+
“Bebe Neuwirth lives on deadpan: In her best roles—including her Tony-winning turns in Chicago and Sweet Charity, and her Emmy-winning stretch as Lilith Sternin on Cheers—she has presented herself as a kind of human icicle, pale and stiff and dripping with wit. Tonight she slices her distinctive contralto into story songs by Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Edith Piaf and Tom Waits.” (TONY)

=========================================================
8 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> URI CAINE, MARK HELIAS AND CLARENCE PENN
>> Kurt Rosenwinkel
>> SARASOTA BALLET
>> JULIAN LAGE
>> BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
>> Roy Hargrove
>> Candytopia
>> Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times
Continuing Events
>> NYC Restaurant Week 
>> Twelfth Night
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

URI CAINE, MARK HELIAS AND CLARENCE PENN
at Mezzrow / 8PM, +9:30PM, $
“Here’s the upside of the August slump: Some artists who might otherwise be busily touring abroad or gigging as side musicians have a bit of time to kill at home in New York. This week you can chase your late-summer luck down to Mezzrow, a tight Greenwich Village basement, where the pianist Mr. Caine, the bassist Mr. Helias and the drummer Mr. Penn will be playing together. They recorded a strong album in 2016, “Calibrated Thickness,” but don’t reunite often enough. All three are improvisers with a stony command and a silvery spill of constant new ideas; they’re well suited to one another but never seem to get too comfortable.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Kurt Rosenwinkel (Aug. 14-19)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“Last week, the adroit guitarist Rosenwinkel kept the setting sparse, appearing with just a bassist and a drummer for support; this week, he adds harmonic muscle and an interactive jolt to his ensemble in the form of the acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks. Shakeups in the rhythm section include Eric Revis on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

SARASOTA BALLET (Aug. 14-15, 7:30 p.m.) (Aug. 16-17, 8 p.m.)
at the Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Under the artistic direction of Iain Webb, this respected company returns to the Joyce with two programs highlighting ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Ricardo Graziano — the group’s resident choreographer and one of its principal dancers — and Frederick Ashton, the great British choreographer, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his death. The season includes a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes, who recently resigned from American Ballet Theater after an allegation of sexual misconduct. In the final pas de deux from Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons,” Mr. Gomes partners with another Sarasota principal dancer, Victoria Hulland.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

JULIAN LAGE (Aug. 14-18)
at the Stone / 8:30 p.m., $20
“Mr. Lage seeks communion freely and easily; his playing is elegant and refined, but he’s also happy in the company of rougher improvisers. He starts a five-night run at the Stone on Tuesday, in duet with the spiky guitarist Mary Halvorson. On Wednesday he is joined by the vocalist Margaret Glaspy; on Thursday he appears with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums; on Aug. 17, the saxophonist and Stone proprietor John Zorn joins that trio; then on Aug. 18, Mr. Lage closes with a trio featuring Mr. King on drums and Kris Davis on piano.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL (Aug. 12-17)
at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park / 7 p.m., FREE
“With a breathtaking backdrop of the New York Harbor, this festival returns to Battery Park City (the closing event on Aug. 18 will be at the Schimmel Center) with eclectic programming by the artistic director of Battery Dance, Jonathan Hollander. Along with his company, participants include Ariel Rivka Dance and Douglas Dunn & Dancers, as well as out-of-town groups like Damir Tasmagambetov (Kazakhstan), Skopje Dance Theater (Macedonia) and Mophato Dance Theater (Botswana). The breeze is nice, too.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

Roy Hargrove (Aug. 13-16.)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“Cuba has long held a special place in the musical soul of the trumpeter Hargrove, who first professed his passion on the 1997 recording “Habana.” Here he hooks up with a fellow-virtuoso, the saxophonist and clarinet player Paquito D’Rivera, who firmly established his Stateside reputation after defecting from Cuba, in 1981.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

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

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures/Discussions, Book Talks, Film, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

Candytopia (opens Aug.15 – thru Nov.15)
Candytopia @ Penn Plaza, 145 W. 32nd St./ 10AM-8:30PM, $34
“This interactive candy exhibit, which has drawn the likes of Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, James Corden and Wiz Khalifa from California, has more than a dozen rooms and art installations including a swimming pool filled with about half a million giant marshmallows; unicorn-pig hybrids that fart confetti; a candy-covered Sphinx sculpture; and candy recreations of such artworks as the “Mona Lisa,” Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Rodin’s “The Thinker.” (amNY) &  (amNY)

Author Readings:
Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times
Bryant Park, Sixth Ave. and 42nd St., Reading Room/ 7PM, FREE
“Author Joel Richard Paul presents the remarkable story of John Marshall who, as chief justice, statesman, and diplomat, played a pivotal role in the founding of the United States.”
Produced in partnership with the New-York Historical Society.

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

Continuing Events

NYC Restaurant Week  (July 23-August 17)
“The summer edition of NYC Restaurant Week has arrived. You can make reservations now for deals at 386 participating restaurants through August 17th. How can a ravenous New Yorker whittle down the choices? Depends on what you like. Among this year’s offerings are nearly a hundred American Traditional spots, followed by 86 Italian restaurants, dozens of steakhouses and French bistros and brasseries, nearly as many Mexican joints, a smattering of Chinese, Greek, Indian, seafood, soul food, vegetarian, and Vietnamese options, and two places with the nerve to identify as “eclectic.”

Weekday lunch specials are down a few dollars and a few calories. Twenty-six bucks now buys a two-course midday meal — nobody has time for dessert on a work day, anyway. Three-course dinners still run $42. These four weeks in the throes of summer are like a culinary leap year — free celestial time to be bold, take a risk and try something new. Realistically though, you’ve maybe got the time and money to try, what, like five of these places? And remember the bi-annual NYC Restaurant Week refrain: tax, tip, and drinks not included.’ (Thrillist)
Here are the best of the best.

Twelfth Night (July 17 – August 19)
Shakespeare Delacorte Theater, Central Park / 8PM, FREE* (the Bard is off on Mondays)
“This musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy began in 2016 as a one-weekend run under the auspices of the Public’s civically ambitious Public Works program, which collaborates with NYC communities to create large-scale theater. Director Kwame Kwei-Armah is joined by Public honcho Oskar Eustis to helm the production’s return engagement; Shuler Hensley and  Ato Blankson-Wood joins original cast members Nikki M. James, Andrew Kober and Shaina Taub—who also wrote the songs—alongside less seasoned actors and local residents.” (TONY)

*tickets are free (two per person) and may be picked up after noon on the day of performance (be prepared for long lines.) Some tickets are also distributed via online lottery.
See TONY’s complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

==========================================================================
♦ 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 63 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:
(5 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)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

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)

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 surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s 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.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Jewish Museum

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

Museum of the City of New York

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

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

‘THE FACE OF DYNASTY: ROYAL CRESTS FROM WESTERN CAMEROON’ (through Sept. 3). “Upstairs, the Michelangelos continue to knock ‘em dead; downstairs, in the African wing, a show of just four commanding wooden crowns constitutes a blockbuster of its own. These massive wooden crests — in the form of stylized human faces with vast vertical brows — served as markers of royal power among the Bamileke peoples of the Cameroonian grasslands, and the Met’s recent acquisition of an 18th-century specimen is joined here by three later examples, each featuring sharply protruding cheeks, broadly smiling mouths, and brows incised with involute geometric patterns. Ritual objects like these were decisive for the development of western modernist painting, and a Cameroonian crest was even shown at MoMA in the 1930s, as a “sculpture” divorced from ethnography. But these crests had legal and diplomatic significance as well as aesthetic appeal, and their anonymous African creators had a political understanding of art not so far from our own.” (Farago)

‘HEAVENLY BODIES: FASHION AND THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION’  (through Oct. 8). “Let us pray. After last year’s stark exhibition of Rei Kawakubo’s irregular apparel, the Met Costume Institute is back in blockbuster mode with this three-part blowout on the influence of Catholicism on haute couture of the last century. The trinity of fashion begins downstairs at the Met with the exceptional loans of vestments from the Vatican; upstairs are gowns fit for angels in heaven (by Lanvin, Thierry Mugler, Rodarte) or angels fallen to earth (such as slinky Versace sheaths garlanded with crosses). The scenography at the Met is willfully operatic — spotlights, choir music — which militates against serious thinking about fashion and religion, but up at the Cloisters, by far the strongest third of the show, you can commune more peacefully with an immaculate Balenciaga wedding gown or a divine Valentino gown embroidered with Cranac’s Adam and Eve.” (Farago)

===========================================================
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 08/13 and 08/11.
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