NYC Events,”Only the Best” (07/05) + Today’s Featured Pub (Upper West Side)

Posted on 07/05/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ JULY 05, 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-JULY”
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:

Tovah Feldshuh is Leona Helmsley in 2018 (July 5-7)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $55+
“The four-time Tony nominee Feldshuh is a formidable actor (Golda’s Balcony, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Scarsdale spitfire whose nightclub performances tend to show off her zany streak. In this engagement she performs excerpts from Queen of Mean, a musical biography of 1980s real-estate villainess Leona Helmsley.” (TONY)

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Tanghetto
>> France Rocks Festival: Mélissa Laveaux + Delgres
>> SONGHOY BLUES
>> Barry Harris
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> GEOFFREY KEEZER
Continuing Events
>> French Restaurant Week
>> World Cup viewing parties
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Tanghetto
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center / Dance lesson at 6:30 pm., Live music at 7:30 pm
Style: Electrotango
Dance Instructors: Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella teach Tango
DJ: Ilene Marder
“Club meets milonga when the popular Buenos Aires band Tanghetto takes over Damrosch Park for a night of new-wave tango. Bandoneon melodies and tango rhythms are folded into electronic beats and atmospheric lights, bringing a modern edge to the iconic Argentinian dance of seduction. It’s the perfect evening to take your first steps or level up your tango game.”

France Rocks Festival: Mélissa Laveaux + Delgres
Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“For this soulful double-bill filled with creole spirit, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mélissa Laveaux will fill the Atrium with her sunny, melody-driven music at the intersection of folk, indie pop, electro, and blues. Born in Canada to Haitian parents and now based in France, her critically acclaimed new album, Radio Siwèl, explores her creole ancestry as well as Haiti’s history and folklore. Haitian kompa guitar, calypso, and soca add a definitive—and delectable—Caribbean twist to her sophisticated roots music and masterful storytelling.”

SONGHOY BLUES
at Wagner Park / 7 p.m., FREE
“This quartet formed in response to the 2012 music ban in their native Mali and have since released two albums of blues rock that make the genre’s African roots impossible to ignore. Operating in the tradition of fellow Malian artists like Ali Farka Touré and Amadou & Mariam, Songhoy Blues, who are united not by a family name but by their shared identity as members of the Songhoy people, have also earned the attention of Western rockers: The Strokes’s Julian Casablancas released their debut stateside on his label, Cult Records, and Iggy Pop is featured on their latest, “Résistance.” (NYT – NATALIE WEINER)

Barry Harris (July 3-8.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“With each passing year, it’s getting harder to find living musicians who actually played with the bebop architect Charlie Parker, as the eighty-eight-year-old Harris did when he was a budding tenderfoot pianist in Detroit. Since then, this dyed-in-the-wool jazz classicist has buffed up his reputation to the point where it gleams with authentic lustre. He’s joined by two longtime collaborators, the bassist Ray Drummond and the drummer Leroy Williams.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Whipped Cream
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

GEOFFREY KEEZER (July 1-5)
at Mezzrow / 8 and 9:30PM, $20
“Mr. Keezer is the kind of straight-ahead piano player you wish for: multifaceted, responsive, constantly sifting through colors and shapes, bursting with a personal and sincere enthusiasm. Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio. He celebrates the disc’s release with a five-night run of duet performances, featuring the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on Sunday, the alto saxophonist Steve Wilson on Monday, the trombonist Robin Eubanks on Tuesday, the vocalist Gillian Margot (who appears on the new album) on Wednesday and the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin on Thursday.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

More smart stuff coming soon.

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

Continuing Events

French Restaurant Week (July 02-15)
Various locations // $17.89-$178.90
“Mais oui, it’s the start of French Restaurant Week. Indulge in some of the city’s finest French bistros and brasseries offering prix fixe specials. Participating restaurants include La Sirene, Fig and Olive, and Bistrot Leo. French Restaurant Week actually runs longer than a week, ending on Bastille Day weekend, July 15th.” (Gothamist)

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Next Matches Friday July 6:
   France vs Uruguay 10AM
   Brazil vs Belgium 2PM (Viva Brazil!)
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them::
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

==========================================================================
♦ 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 / 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.
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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge (except for certain jazz clubs).

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

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (07/04) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 07/04/2018 by GregD

Today’s NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ JULY 04, 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-JULY”
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:

Weather forecast looks super for today – Happy Independence Day!

On July 4 there is only one place to be in NYCity. Macy’s promises to explode more than 75,000 fireworks from 4 barges on the mid East River tonight, all choreographed to a 25-minute patriotic score.

Celebrating 4th of July 2018 in NYC
(City Guide News Desk)

“In 2018 the 4th of July falls on a Wednesday and the nation’s largest patriotic pyrotechnic display will illuminate the NYC night sky once more. The main event is the Macy’s 4th of July free fireworks show, which celebrates its 42nd anniversary this year.

The West Point Band performs a live score of patriotic favorites, refreshed with new arrangments and delivered with cinematic sound. This year’s “Golden Mile” moment and climax of the show will celebrate the 100th anniversary of “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin, who grew up on New York’s Lower East Side. A soulful rendition will be performed by a special guest vocalist and accompanied by the West Point Band and the West Point Glee Club.

Seven barges on the East River provide the pyrotechnical action, which is the largest Independence Day display in the nation. The fireworks begin at nightfall (9:20pm or so), but for the best views you’ll want to get situated hours in advance. Viewing information and other spectator tips are available at macys.com/fireworks or 212-494-4495. The 2018 Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular airs on NBC at 8pm.”

If fireworks is not your thing, then this is the only place I would be tonight:

The Mambo Legends Orchestra
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center / Dance lesson at 6:30 pm,
Live music at 7:30 pm, $17-$25
Style: Big Band Mambo, Palladium Style
Dance Instructor: Marlon “International” Mills teaches Salsa
DJ: DJ Turmix

“These former members of the Tito Puente Orchestra celebrate the USA’s birthday by reviving the golden age of Latin dance. Join your neighbors on Lincoln Center’s gorgeous open-air dance floor, set just nine blocks up from where the Palladium Ballroom broke down barriers and launched a mambo craze that stretched from sea to shining sea.”

=========================================================
OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Barry Harris
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> GEOFFREY KEEZER
>> Fraunces Tavern Museum
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Barry Harris (July 3-8.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“With each passing year, it’s getting harder to find living musicians who actually played with the bebop architect Charlie Parker, as the eighty-eight-year-old Harris did when he was a budding tenderfoot pianist in Detroit. Since then, this dyed-in-the-wool jazz classicist has buffed up his reputation to the point where it gleams with authentic lustre. He’s joined by two longtime collaborators, the bassist Ray Drummond and the drummer Leroy Williams.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Whipped Cream
Metropolitan Opera House / 2PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

GEOFFREY KEEZER (July 1-5)
at Mezzrow / 8 and 9:30PM, $20
“Mr. Keezer is the kind of straight-ahead piano player you wish for: multifaceted, responsive, constantly sifting through colors and shapes, bursting with a personal and sincere enthusiasm. Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio. He celebrates the disc’s release with a five-night run of duet performances, featuring the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on Sunday, the alto saxophonist Steve Wilson on Monday, the trombonist Robin Eubanks on Tuesday, the vocalist Gillian Margot (who appears on the new album) on Wednesday and the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin on Thursday.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

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

Fraunces Tavern Museum
“Those looking for a more historical approach to the holiday can head to the Fraunces Tavern Museum, which will be offering an open house with $1 admission all day to mark the occasion. The museum will also offer a special Dawn of Independence walking tour celebrating Lower Manhattan’s Revolutionary-era history during the holiday’s early morning hours.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

BTW, head over to ThoughtGallery for a  comprehensive listing:

Smart Ways to Mark July 4th and American History

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Next Matches Friday July 6:
France vs Uruguay 10AM
Brazil vs Belgium 2PM (Go Brazil!)
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

==========================================================================
♦ 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):

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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 (CLOSED JULY 4)

‘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 07/02 and 06/30.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (07/03) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 07/03/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ JULY 03, 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-JULY”
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:

Barry Harris (July 3-8.)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“With each passing year, it’s getting harder to find living musicians who actually played with the bebop architect Charlie Parker, as the eighty-eight-year-old Harris did when he was a budding tenderfoot pianist in Detroit. Since then, this dyed-in-the-wool jazz classicist has buffed up his reputation to the point where it gleams with authentic lustre. He’s joined by two longtime collaborators, the bassist Ray Drummond and the drummer Leroy Williams.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

=========================================================
6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Garba in the Park,
>> Lecture and Music: The Great American Songbook
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> JOAN ARMATRADING
>> GEOFFREY KEEZER
>> Stargazing in the City
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Garba in the Park, featuring Kashyap Jani and Friends
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center / Dance lesson at 6:30 pm, Live music at 7:30 pm
Style: Garba, Raas, and Indian Folk Dances

“Even if you are new to these energetic group dances from Gujarat in western India, you’ll quickly find your place on the dance floor during this spirited night of culture, community, and live music. Garba, with its repeating claps, twirls, and circular patterns, and raas, performed with sticks and rotating partners, are traditionally danced during the fall festival of Navratri and before weddings. Fun and social, they have been passionately embraced by young people across the Indian diaspora in recent years. Both are easy to learn, especially with our instructors on hand. The evening will also feature a stage performance of traditional garba by The Sa Dance Company.”

Lecture and Music: The Great American Songbook
St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave./ 1PM, FREE
“An interactive afternoon of jazz standards, easy listening favorites, and tales from jazz arranger and pianist Sy Johnson’s rich and storied career of collaborating with many of the greats– Miles Davis, Elvis Costello, Charles Mingus, and Frank Sinatra to name a few.” (ClubFreeTime)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Whipped Cream
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

JOAN ARMATRADING
City Winery / 8PM, $80-$90
“Armatrading became the very first UK female singer/songwriter to gain international success.

Three times Grammy nominated, two times Brit Awards nominated, winner of a coveted Ivor Novello Award, winner of the Gold Badge Award, winner of Radio 2’s Lifetime Achievement Folk Award singer/songwriter, Joan Armatrading MBE has come a long way since her birth in the West Indies and her upbringing in Birmingham.

Known as a true craftsman, Joan Armatrading has had unanimous, widespread and, perhaps most importantly, consistent critical acclaim. Effortlessly eclectic, her sound has ranged from jazz to true soul to sophisticated pop, all driven by her passionate guitar.”

GEOFFREY KEEZER (July 1-5)
at Mezzrow / 8 and 9:30PM, $20
“Mr. Keezer is the kind of straight-ahead piano player you wish for: multifaceted, responsive, constantly sifting through colors and shapes, bursting with a personal and sincere enthusiasm. Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio. He celebrates the disc’s release with a five-night run of duet performances, featuring the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on Sunday, the alto saxophonist Steve Wilson on Monday, the trombonist Robin Eubanks on Tuesday, the vocalist Gillian Margot (who appears on the new album) on Wednesday and the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin on Thursday.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

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

Stargazing in the City
The High Line, Little W12th St. and 10th Ave./ 8:30PM, FREE
“Take a romantic walk along the park and a chance to take a closer look at the stars. Peer through high-powered telescopes provided by the knowledgeable members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York to see rare celestial sights.”

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Today: England vs Columbia 2PM
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

==========================================================================
♦ 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., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

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.
———————————————————————————————————-

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.
==============================================================
“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

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

3 Good Eating places

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

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

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

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

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

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available FALL 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” (07/02) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 07/02/2018 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > MONDAY/ JULY 02, 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-JULY”
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:

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Whipped Cream
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

=========================================================
5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
>> Romeo & Juliet:
>> JOAN ARMATRADING
>>Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> GEOFFREY KEEZER
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

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

Romeo & Juliet: Shakespeare’s Classic Tale of Two ‘Star-Cross’d Lovers’
NY Classical Theater (July 2-15, no Thursdays)
The Battery, Castle Clinton National Monument / 7:00 pm, FREE
“In fair Verona, the long-standing feud between families Montague and Capulet cause tragic results for their respective children, Romeo and Juliet. After meeting at a masked ball, Romeo and Juliet fall in love, only to discover the surname of their beloved. Revenge, love, and a secret marriage force the lovers to take drastic measures. In the end, both families learn the perils of needless violence. (ClubFreeTime)

This summer will bring to life one of Shakespeare’s most well known tragedies in a dynamic adaptationt. They will transform the park into Verona, with six actors playing all the roles in this fast-paced tour de force production.”

JOAN ARMATRADING
City Winery / 8PM, $80-$90, wait list tonight, but tickets available for tomorrow’s performance.
“Armatrading became the very first UK female singer/songwriter to gain international success.

Three times Grammy nominated, two times Brit Awards nominated, winner of a coveted Ivor Novello Award, winner of the Gold Badge Award, winner of Radio 2’s Lifetime Achievement Folk Award singer/songwriter, Joan Armatrading MBE has come a long way since her birth in the West Indies and her upbringing in Birmingham.

Known as a true craftsman, Joan Armatrading has had unanimous, widespread and, perhaps most importantly, consistent critical acclaim. Effortlessly eclectic, her sound has ranged from jazz to true soul to sophisticated pop, all driven by her passionate guitar.”

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)

GEOFFREY KEEZER (July 1-5)
at Mezzrow / 8 and 9:30PM, $20
“Mr. Keezer is the kind of straight-ahead piano player you wish for: multifaceted, responsive, constantly sifting through colors and shapes, bursting with a personal and sincere enthusiasm. Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio. He celebrates the disc’s release with a five-night run of duet performances, featuring the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on Sunday, the alto saxophonist Steve Wilson on Monday, the trombonist Robin Eubanks on Tuesday, the vocalist Gillian Margot (who appears on the new album) on Wednesday and the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin on Thursday.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

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

More smart stuff coming tomorrow.

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Today: Brazil vs Mexico 10AM
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

==========================================================================
♦ 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)

‘ADRIAN PIPER: A SYNTHESIS OF INTUITIONS, 1965-2016’ (through July 22). “A clarifying and complicating 50-year view of a major American artist’s career, this exhibition is also an image-altering event for MoMA itself. It makes the museum feel like a more life-engaged institution than the formally polished one we’re accustomed to. For the first time it has given over all of its sixth-floor special exhibition space to a single living female artist who is best known for her art about racism, and for good reason: It’s powerful work, brilliantly varied in form. She has also consistently used her own image in inventive, distanced, self-mocking ways, as in two well-known self-likenesses done several years apart: one, a pencil drawing titled “Self-Portrait Exaggerating My Negroid Features” (1981); the other, a crayon-enhanced photograph called “Self-Portrait as a Nice White Lady” (1995). In these images, as in all of her work, her aim is not to assert racial identity but to destabilize the very concept of it.” (NYT-Cotter)

‘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  (thru 9/9)

“Celebrating Bill Cunningham 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 06/30 and 06/28.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (07/01) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 07/01/2018 by GregD

Today’s Fab 5 NYC Events > SUNDAY/ JULY 01, 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-JULY”
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:

Charles Tolliver’s Music Inc. (June 29-July 1)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, btw 105th/106th Sts. / 7, 9, 10:30PM, $40
The late-career resurgence of the hard-blowing trumpeter Charles Tolliver, following a multi-decade disappearing act, is one of the more unexpected recent jazz sagas. His revitalized Music Inc. unit, which in its nineteen-seventies prime featured the pianist Stanley Cowell (the co-founder, with Tolliver, of the short-lived but now treasured Strata-East record label), will include the saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman on Friday and Saturday.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

=========================================================
4 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> ‘GRANT GREEN: EVOLUTION OF FUNK’
>> Del Close Marathon
>>Northern Beat: Broken Social Scene
>> GEOFFREY KEEZER
>> more coming soon
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
>> ‘THE LET GO’
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

‘GRANT GREEN: EVOLUTION OF FUNK’ (through July 1)
at Jazz Standard / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $30
“In the 1950s and ’60s, Grant Green was the jazz guitarist du jour: an ore-toned, linear improviser with a shatterproof connection to the blues and a winning, rhythmic lyricism. Last month, Resonance Records issued two albums featuring never-before-released, late-career performances: “Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970)” and “Slick! Live at Oil Can Harry’s,” recorded in 1975. To celebrate the occasion, Green’s son, Grant Green Jr. — a guitarist of cool, unhurried disposition, bearing the striking redolence of his father’s style — leads an all-star band at Jazz Standard. The group includes Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, Marc Cary on keyboards, Khari Simmons on bass and Mike Clark on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

GEOFFREY KEEZER (July 1-5)
at Mezzrow / 8 and 9:30PM, $20
“Mr. Keezer is the kind of straight-ahead piano player you wish for: multifaceted, responsive, constantly sifting through colors and shapes, bursting with a personal and sincere enthusiasm. Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio. He celebrates the disc’s release with a five-night run of duet performances, featuring the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on Sunday, the alto saxophonist Steve Wilson on Monday, the trombonist Robin Eubanks on Tuesday, the vocalist Gillian Margot (who appears on the new album) on Wednesday and the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin on Thursday.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Del Close Marathon (June 29-July 1)
multiple locations and times, $12-$45,
“Give yourself a well-deserved weekend of laughter while honoring the best of improv with 56 straight hours of comedy on 11 stages in Manhattan. The Del Close Marathon is dedicated to the legendary laughman who elevated improv into its own art form with over 750 shows spanning one weekend, thanks to the Upright Citizens Brigade. You can buy individual tickets to certain shows or festival passes that allow you to line up for general admission all weekend.” (Metro)

Northern Beat: Broken Social Scene / Melissa Laveaux / The East Pointers
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park / 3PM, FREE
“When your two music experts put the same show at the top of their lists, you listen. The Toronto indie pop collective Broken Social Scene celebrates Canada Day in Central Park alongside Haitian-Canadian singing tour de force Mélissa Laveaux and folk group the East Pointers.” (WhatShouldWeDo)

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

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

More smart stuff coming tomorrow.

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Today: Spain vs Russia 10AM
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

‘THE LET GO’ (LAST DAY)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

==========================================================================
♦ 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):

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

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).
=========================================================
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.
===========================================================================
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (06/30) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 06/30/2018 by GregD

Today’s Nifty 9 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ JUNE 30, 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-JULY”
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:

Concert for America
Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. Seventh St./5PM, $25-$250
“Support charities that are standing up for basic civil rights and family reunification at the border while enjoying musical acts from some of today’s greatest talents at the Concert for America, taking place this Saturday at Cooper Union. This year will be hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, starring first-rate names from music, film, TV and Broadway, including Tina Fey, Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Andrew Rannells, Chita Rivera and more.” (Metro)

=========================================================
8 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> AL DI MEOLA
>> RICKY SKAGGS
>> 3 Sides of Damien Sneed:
>> SERGIO MENDES
>> BargeMusic
>> Adrian Cunningham Quintet
>> Ravi Coltrane
>> American Ballet Theatre
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
>> ‘THE LET GO’
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

AL DI MEOLA
at Town Hall / 8 p.m., $50+
“This irrepressible guitar virtuoso stepped forward in the late 1970s, when jazz-rock fusion’s first life cycle was nearing the end. His playing connected the flaying fireworks of John McLaughlin with the glossier radiance of 1980s stars like Mike Stern. But his dazzling, surefire electric playing is only half the story; he’s got an equal command, and perhaps even greater inquisitiveness, as an acoustic guitarist exploring the traditions of Spain and Latin America. Here Mr. Di Meola will perform a collection of pieces from across his career. The fusion band Brand X starts things off.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Elsewhere, but this is so worth the detour:
RICKY SKAGGS
at the Prospect Park Bandshell / 7 p.m., FREE
“Country music is often perceived as having two subgenres — the music you hear on country radio and the music you don’t. Few artists expose the futility of that division better than Mr. Skaggs, a winner of 14 Grammys who first rose to prominence as a mainstream country star in the 1980s before pivoting back to his first love in the 1990s: uncompromising, rootsy bluegrass. Since then, Mr. Skaggs, a master mandolin player as well as a singer-songwriter, has released more than a dozen bluegrass albums on his own label. This year, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

3 Sides of Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul and Jazzmeia Horn
at Rumsey Playfield / 7 p.m.,FREE
“An eminent, plush-toned vocalist and pianist, Mr. Sneed has a broad repertoire, encompassing Christian hymns and modern gospel, jazz standards and Western classical. Here he gives a concert drawing widely from across that range. Ms. Horn, a straight-ahead jazz vocalist who presents music from throughout the African-American canon with a searing, powerful delivery, will open.” (NYT- GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

SERGIO MENDES
at Sony Hall / 8 p.m., $65
“Nominally, Mr. Mendes’s music falls into the genres of bossa nova and Brazilian jazz; in execution, though, the Rio de Janeiro native’s nearly six decades of music span jazz, pop and traditional Brazilian music. Crossover, it would seem, is Mr. Mendes’s native language: His first albums were bossa nova collaborations with Cannonball Adderley and Herb Alpert, but the ones that followed included fairly reverent covers of everything from Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” to Dionne Warwick’s “I Say a Little Prayer.” The 77-year-old’s musically omnivorous streak has continued through to his last album, “Magic,” which was released in 2014 and features John Legend and Janelle Monáe.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER

Elsewhere, not Manhattan’s WestSide, but it is Brooklyn’s WestSide and worth the detour:
BargeMusic
“Music in Motion” Series — a one hour performance, including a Q & A session with the musicians (no intermission)
Fulton Ferry Landing, near the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn/ 4PM, FREE
(take the A or C train to High Street station, Brooklyn.)
“Concert at the coolest classical music concert location in NYC.
Classical music on a boat with an intimate and romantic setting and beautiful view of New York City. Program and musicians TBA.” (ClubFreeTime)

Adrian Cunningham Quintet with special guest vocalist Brianna Thomas (to June 30)
From My Fair Lady to Camelot: Music by Frederick Loewe and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $40
“An evening celebrating the great musicals of Lerner & Loewe, including My Fair Lady, Brigadoon and Camelot.

With support from the Loewe Foundation, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola celebrates the great Lerner and Loewe musicals by revisiting Lowe’s timeless compositions in a swinging jazz context. This program will continue the popular and fruitful relationship between musical theater and jazz—a relationship in which Lerner and Loewe played an essential role.”

Ravi Coltrane (June 26-30)
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St./ 8:30PM, +11PM, $40
“At age fifty-two, the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane has had time to deal with any issues of personal and artistic identity arising from his illustrious family background. It’s been a few years since he’s released an album of his own, but Coltrane’s lyrical work on “In Movement,” with Jack DeJohnette and Matthew Garrison, gained him a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 2017.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Don Quixote
Metropolitan Opera House / 2PM, +8PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

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

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

More smart stuff coming tomorrow.

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

‘THE LET GO’ (June 7-July 1)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

==========================================================================
♦ 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.
===========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

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

Here are two exhibitions the New Yorker likes:

Damien Hirst (LAST DAY)

“Superabundant multicolored dot paintings, randomly composed in sizes from smallish to giant, are as perfectly dead as a trisected shark in formaldehyde-filled glass cases, which is also on view. There’s no formal structure or even optical dazzle, except by occasional accident. These aren’t active pictures. They’re passive slabs, yielding nothing to contemplation that they don’t impart at first glance. Neither good nor bad, they maintain an imperturbable, mortuary dignity—Hirst’s cynosure. He creates visual curios that look like art while dispensing with art’s pesky demands on thought, feeling, and perception. His works are aesthetic cryptocurrency. There are worse things in the world.” () Gagosian, 555 W. 24th 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 06/28 and 06/26.

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

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (06/29) + Today’s Featured Pub (Midtown West)

Posted on 06/29/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ JUNE 29, 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-JULY”
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:

Adrian Cunningham Quintet with special guest vocalist Brianna Thomas (to Jun30)
From My Fair Lady to Camelot: Music by Frederick Loewe and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $40
“An evening celebrating the great musicals of Lerner & Loewe, including My Fair Lady, Brigadoon and Camelot.

With support from the Loewe Foundation, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola celebrates the great Lerner and Loewe musicals by revisiting Lowe’s timeless compositions in a swinging jazz context. This program will continue the popular and fruitful relationship between musical theater and jazz—a relationship in which Lerner and Loewe played an essential role.”

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Del Close Marathon
>>Ravi Coltrane
>> BRANFORD MARSALIS AND ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway
>> Kronos Quartet
>> Fraunces Tavern Museum
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
>> ‘THE LET GO’
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Del Close Marathon (June 29-July 1)
multiple locations and times, $12-$45,
“Give yourself a well-deserved weekend of laughter while honoring the best of improv with 56 straight hours of comedy on 11 stages in Manhattan. The Del Close Marathon is dedicated to the legendary laughman who elevated improv into its own art form with over 750 shows spanning one weekend, thanks to the Upright Citizens Brigade. You can buy individual tickets to certain shows or festival passes that allow you to line up for general admission all weekend.” (Metro)

Ravi Coltrane (June 26-30)
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St./ 8:30PM, +11PM, $40
“At age fifty-two, the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane has had time to deal with any issues of personal and artistic identity arising from his illustrious family background. It’s been a few years since he’s released an album of his own, but Coltrane’s lyrical work on “In Movement,” with Jack DeJohnette and Matthew Garrison, gained him a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 2017.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
BRANFORD MARSALIS AND ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH
at the Prospect Park Bandshell / 7:30 p.m., FREE
“Fluid and voluble and intuitively connected, Mr. Marsalis’s longtime quartet is a down-the-center post-bop band with decades of jazz history built into its style. With Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums, this group will play two sets at this show, hosted by Celebrate Brooklyn: one before a performance by Mr. Smith and the other after. In between, he will deliver his one-man play “Frederick Douglass Now,” a multidisciplinary show presenting the abolitionist’s work and philosophy with a contemporary flair.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Don Quixote
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The spring season nears its conclusion with a weekend of “Don Quixote,” a comic ballet showcasing the debuts of Hee Seo as Kitri and Christine Shevchenko as Mercedes on Friday, as well as Sarah Lane’s first performance as Kitri at the matinee on Saturday. The final week of repertory is devoted to Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped Cream,” a fanciful ballet about a youngster and his love of sweets that features a score and libretto by Richard Strauss. On Wednesday, Gabe Stone Shayer makes his New York debut as the Boy, followed, on July 5, by Arron Scott in the same role. In that performance, there’s an extra treat: Calvin Royal III makes his mark as Prince Coffee.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas )

Kronos Quartet (June 28-29)
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 8PM, $55
The inveterate explorers of Kronos share an evening uptown with Soo Yeon Lyuh, a gifted young exponent of the haegeum (the two-stringed Korean fiddle, which produces an expressively plaintive keen). Lyuh performs first, with traditional accompaniment; Kronos follows with a globe-trotting mix of African, Indian, South American, and gospel selections. They end together, in Lyuh’s haunting “Yessori (Sound from the Past).” The next day, Kronos travels to Katonah for its Caramoor Festival début, offering an eclectic grab bag of contemporary fare by Terry Riley and Steve Reich, along with arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Rhiannon Giddens, and Laurie Anderson, among others.” (Steve Smith, VillageVoice)

Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway (June26-30)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $55+
“The vocally superb Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, who made Broadway audiences swoon as Emile De Becque in the 2008 revival of South Pacific, returns to Feinstein’s/54 with a new batch of favorites from musical-theater history.” (TONY)

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

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

Fraunces Tavern Museum
“Those looking for a more historical approach to the holiday can head to the Fraunces Tavern Museum, The museum will also offer a special Dawn of Independence walking tour celebrating Lower Manhattan’s Revolutionary-era history during the holiday’s early morning hours. For those who aren’t early risers, the museum will also offer an Independence Eve walking tour covering the neighborhood’s history on June 29.”

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

Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

‘THE LET GO’ (June 7-July 1)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

==========================================================================
♦ 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.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove 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 / Midtown West

Russian Vodka Room / 265 W 52nd St (btw 7th/8th ave)

Sure, you could travel to Minsk or even Brighton Beach, for an authentic Russian experience, but why bother. On those days when you feel you must wash down your dish of kasha with a few glasses of icy, cold vodka, the Russian Vodka Room will definitely satisfy your urge.

From the outside this place looks a bit drab, and with no windows, a bit mysterious. Midtown tourists walk right by on their way to see “Jersey Boys,” just down the block.
(Alas, no more. After 10 years, “Jersey Boys” finally closed, now it’s “Mean Girls.”)

lThose in the know enter a secret hideaway, a dimly lit front room with soft jazz playing – a perfect spot for an illicit late-night rendezvous, or maybe a meet-up with your Russian spy handler, but that’s later in the evening. Early in the evening the large U-shaped bar fills with the after work happy hour crowd, a group made very happy by the much reduced prices.

Their website says: “Welcome Comrades”. Of course, this welcome focuses on dozens of different vodkas, including their own special infusions, which marinate in giant, clear glass jugs visible around the room. The large vodka martinis ensure that you won’t confuse this place with your mother’s Russian Tea Room.

But man does not live by vodka alone. Eat some food, especially the tapa like appetizers. Be decadent and try the cheese blintzes with chocolate, or try a main dish like beef stroganoff with kasha.

Your best bet is to go on a night when the piano man is playing. This guy, who looks like he has eaten a lot of those cheese blintzes, plays five nights a week from 7 to 12 (no Mondays and Thursdays). When the piano man is playing American pop tunes, and you are at the crowded, dimly lit bar testing the horseradish infused vodka, that’s when the RVR shines.

It’s the kind of place where the noise gets louder and the crowd gets happier as the happy hour goes on. I’m generally a beer guy, but I like to come here with a group of friends. We find a table in the back room near the piano man; we eat, and we drink vodka ‘till it hurts (and it will hurt).
=====================================================
Website: http://www.russianvodkaroom.com/
Phone #: 212-307-5835
Hours: 4pm-2am; Fri-Sun closes 4am (that could be trouble)
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day
$4 shots infused vodka (2oz), $5 cosmos; $4 czech draft beer
Music: FR-SU; TU-WE / 7pm-12am
Subway: #1 to 50th St.
Walk 2 blk N. on B’way to 52nd St.; 1 blk W. to RVR
Confusingly, the Russian Samovar is right across the street, on the S. side of 52nd St.
The RVR, your destination, is on the N. side of 52nd St.
Update: music now includes a younger, trimmer piano man. “Tiny” we miss you.
Update#2: Rumor that “Tiny” is back playing only on Friday nights – need to check it out.

==============================================================================
“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” (06/28) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 06/28/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > THURSDAY/ JUNE 28, 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-JUNE”
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:

Kronos Quartet (June 28-29)
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 8PM, $55
The inveterate explorers of Kronos share an evening uptown with Soo Yeon Lyuh, a gifted young exponent of the haegeum (the two-stringed Korean fiddle, which produces an expressively plaintive keen). Lyuh performs first, with traditional accompaniment; Kronos follows with a globe-trotting mix of African, Indian, South American, and gospel selections. They end together, in Lyuh’s haunting “Yessori (Sound from the Past).” The next day, Kronos travels to Katonah for its Caramoor Festival début, offering an eclectic grab bag of contemporary fare by Terry Riley and Steve Reich, along with arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Rhiannon Giddens, and Laurie Anderson, among others.” (Steve Smith, VillageVoice)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Lucia Cadotsch
>>Adrian Cunningham Quintet
>> Translucent Borders
>> The Blues Project Featuring Dorrance Dance
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway
>> Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything
Continuing Events
>> World Cup viewing parties
>> ‘THE LET GO’
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Lucia Cadotsch
Joe’s Pub / 9:30PM, $15–$20
“Zürich-born, Berlin-based jazz singer Lucia Cadotsch has been busy reinvigorating ye olde Great American Songbook as part of Speak Low. Accompanied by Otis Sandsjö, a saxophonist whose raw embellishment consists of overblown notes and looping ostinatos à la Colin Stetson, and Petter Eldh, a double-bassist who attacks his instrument as though he were wrestling an alligator to the ground, Cadotsch focuses her clear, strong voice on tunes that might have seemed played out a couple of decades ago. On the same playground as the Thing with Neneh Cherry, Speak Low perform tunes like Henry Mancini’s “Slow Hot Wind,” Nina Simone’s “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life,” and Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” as rediscovered artifacts from a pile of nuclear rubble, dusting them off and coolly assaying their former glory.” (Richard Gehr, VillageVoice)

Adrian Cunningham Quintet with special guest vocalist Brianna Thomas (to Jun30)
From My Fair Lady to Camelot: Music by Frederick Loewe and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $40
“An evening celebrating the great musicals of Lerner & Loewe, including My Fair Lady, Brigadoon and Camelot.

With support from the Loewe Foundation, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola celebrates the great Lerner and Loewe musicals by revisiting Lowe’s timeless compositions in a swinging jazz context. This program will continue the popular and fruitful relationship between musical theater and jazz—a relationship in which Lerner and Loewe played an essential role.”

Translucent Borders
Atrium at Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, FREE, but get there early for a seat.
“Translucent Borders, an NYU/Tisch initiative, has spent the last three years bringing renowned artists from around the world together to develop ways that dialogue can fuel creative work while retaining cultural identity and integrity. This evening’s concert brings together leading Cuban, Ghanaian, Palestinian, Israeli, Italian, and American artists to premiere a new collaborative work and celebrate the power of music to transcend borders.”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
The Blues Project Featuring Dorrance Dance With Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely
Prospect Park Bandshell / 8PM, FREE
“A strong and lucid voice in the new film American Tap, Michelle Dorrance is one of the collaborators on this superb show that delighted at the Joyce three summers ago. Here it’s free (though they’ll happily accept your donation), and includes the work of musical collaborators Toshi Reagon and her quintet BIGLovely; dance collaborators Derick K. Grant and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards; and Dorrance’s company of loose-limbed, powerful tap dancers.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

“The Blues Project brings together today’s best tap artists, musicians, and choreographers in an innovative evening of rhythm, original live music, explosive energy, and raw emotion. Combining exceptional tap dance company Dorrance Dance with the elemental musical force that is Toshi Reagon & Biglovely, the work reveals “a deep merging of forms: As Reagon’s music envelops the dancing, the dancing seeps through to the last chord and sometimes even beyond it.” (The New York Times)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Don Quixote
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The most classic of the classic ballets, “Swan Lake,” continues with three more performances on Friday and Saturday. Starting Monday, Ballet Theater switches gears from somber to sprightly with “Don Quixote,” another ballet staple. The company’s adaptation, with vibrant music by Ludwig Minkus, stems from 19th-century productions by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky that highlight folk dances and showcase virtuosic variations for the characters Kitri and Basilio, who will be danced by different pairings of Ballet Theater principals through June 30..” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway (June26-30)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $55+
“The vocally superb Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, who made Broadway audiences swoon as Emile De Becque in the 2008 revival of South Pacific, returns to Feinstein’s/54 with a new batch of favorites from musical-theater history.” (TONY)

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

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

Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything
The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Ave./ 6PM, $12
“The history of endocrinology is replete with daring medical sleuths, desperate patients, and, unfortunately, swindlers. There are doctors who have tinkered with hormones to devise life-saving therapies and shed light on the inner workings of our bodies. And there have been hucksters exploiting the seeds of these discoveries to peddle quack cures touting all sorts of promises, including libido-boosters and anti-aging remedies. Dr. Randi Hutter Epstein will separate the hype from the hope and elucidate how discoveries and mishaps in the past shape our perceptions, our hopes, and our fears about hormones and hormone therapies today.”

Alexander Hamilton: The Illustrated Biography
Bryant Park, Sixth Ave. and 42nd St. Reading Room / 12:30PM, FREE
“This richly illustrated biography by NYU’s Richard Sylla portrays Alexander Hamilton’s fascinating life alongside his key contributions to American history, including his unsung role as an early abolitionist.”

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Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)
Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are the best lists of where you can find them:
NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC
Metro – NYC’s best soccer bars to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018
NYCGO – Ways to Watch the World Cup in New York City
Daily News – The best bars in NYC to watch your favorite team

‘THE LET GO’ (June 7-July 1)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

==========================================================================
♦ 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.

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

Greenwich Village:
(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):

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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)

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

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (Wed 2-6pm PWYW; First Friday each month (exc Jan+Sep) 6-9pm FREE) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 06/26 and 06/24.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (06/27) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 06/27/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ JUNE 27, 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-JUNE”
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:

Ravi Coltrane (June 26-30)
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St./ 8:30PM, +11PM, $40
“At age fifty-two, the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane has had time to deal with any issues of personal and artistic identity arising from his illustrious family background. It’s been a few years since he’s released an album of his own, but Coltrane’s lyrical work on “In Movement,” with Jack DeJohnette and Matthew Garrison, gained him a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 2017.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> LERA LYNN
>> The Legendary Joe Quijano y Su Conjunto Cachana
>> William Parker
>> Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> The Future of Transatlantic Relations
>> Thomas Frank – Rendezvous with Oblivion
Continuing Events
>> ‘THE LET GO’
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

LERA LYNN
at Bowery Ballroom / 8 p.m., $
“Ms. Lynn’s big break in 2015 was bigger than most: a recurring role on a prestige drama (the second season of HBO’s “True Detective”) and a prominent place on its T. Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack. On her 2016 album “Resistor,” she joined contemporary indie with moody 1960s country, and now she is touring in support of a new album of acoustic duets called “Plays Well With Others” (out on Friday) with artists such as John Paul White (the Civil Wars), Shovels & Rope and Rodney Crowell. Mr. White and Peter Bradley Adams open.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

Midsummer-Night-Swing
The Legendary Joe Quijano y Su Conjunto Cachana
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center / FREE
Dance lesson at 6:30 pm
Live music at 7:30 pm
“It’s sure to be a “Fun City Shingaling” when San Juan–born, Bronx-raised salsa pioneer and “El Rey de la Pachanga” Joe Quijano takes charge of the dance floor. Over his seven-decade career, Quijano has played with Latin music all-stars Orlando Marín, Eddie Palmieri, Paquito Guzmán, Israel “Cachao” López, and many others. Whether it’s showing us how to pachanga, embodying son cubano, dipping into boogaloo, or throwing down some classic salsa, Quijano and his famous band do it all with flair and keep dancers working as hard as they are.”

William Parker (June 26-30)
The Stone at the New School, 55 W. 13th St./ 8:30PM, $20
Still only in his mid-sixties, William Parker is a bona-fide patriarch of new jazz: a bassist, composer, and bandleader who first gained attention with Cecil Taylor in the eighties and has since collaborated with a galaxy of venturesome musicians. His residency finds him mixing up ensembles, with Parker investigating such auxiliary instruments as the ophicleide and the shakuhachi.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway (June26-30)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $55+
“The vocally superb Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, who made Broadway audiences swoon as Emile De Becque in the 2008 revival of South Pacific, returns to Feinstein’s/54 with a new batch of favorites from musical-theater history.” (TONY)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Don Quixote
Metropolitan Opera House / 2PM, +7:30PM, $22+
“The most classic of the classic ballets, “Swan Lake,” continues with three more performances on Friday and Saturday. Starting Monday, Ballet Theater switches gears from somber to sprightly with “Don Quixote,” another ballet staple. The company’s adaptation, with vibrant music by Ludwig Minkus, stems from 19th-century productions by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky that highlight folk dances and showcase virtuosic variations for the characters Kitri and Basilio, who will be danced by different pairings of Ballet Theater principals through June 30..” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

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

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

The Future of Transatlantic Relations – In Partnership with Foreign Affairs Magazine
Albertine, 972 Fifth Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“The relationship between the United States and the countries of Europe has been a cornerstone of the liberal world order established during the Bretton Woods conference and in the wake of World War II. However, it is increasingly apparent that the relationship is under strain and that other countries and regions have potentially conflicting visions regarding how the regulation of international society should be achieved.
Albertine in partnership with the magazine Foreign Affairs invites you to a discussion on the future of the transatlantic relations with Foreign Affairs Executive Editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan and author Romuald Sciora.

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan’s new book The China Mission will be also discussed. A book signing will follow the conference.”

Thomas Frank – Rendezvous with Oblivion
Book Culture on Columbus, 450 Columbus Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“Thomas Frank follows up on his books “Listen, Liberal” and “What’s the Matter with Kansas” with a tour through a disintegrating democracy, tempered by an energetic call for responses to rising inequalities.

A scathing collection of his incisive commentary on our cruel times–perfect for this political moment. What does a middle-class democracy look like when it comes apart? When, after forty years of economic triumph, America’s winners persuade themselves that they owe nothing to the rest of the country?

With his sharp eye for detail, Thomas Frank takes us on a wide-ranging tour through present-day America, showing us a society in the late stages of disintegration and describing the worlds of both the winners and the losers–the sprawling mansion districts as well as the lives of fast-food workers.”

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Continuing Events

World Cup viewing parties (starting June 14 – thru July 15)

Don’t miss the World Cup, which only comes every four years. Many bars and restaurants will be screening the games and offering food and drink specials across the city. Here are a few lists of where you can find them.

NYT – where to watch the World Cup in New York City.
Soccer Republic – best bars to watch the World Cup in NYC.
Thrillist – World Cup bars NYC
Remeczcla – the 10 Best Venues to Watch the World Cup in NYC

More coming soon.

‘THE LET GO’ (June 7-July 1)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

==========================================================================
♦ 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., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

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.
———————————————————————————————————-

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
=================================================================================

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” (06/26) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 06/26/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > TUESDAY/ JUNE 26, 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-JUNE”
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:

Sisterhood of Swing
led by Bria Skonberg, featuring Regina Carter and Anat Cohen
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center, Dance lesson at 6:30 pm
Live music at 7:30 pm
“The 2018 dance season in Damrosch Park kicks off with an all-star, all-woman big band led by “the shining hope of hot jazz” Bria Skonberg (New York Times), with jazz violin legend Regina Carter, powerhouse clarinetist Anat Cohen, and some of the jazz world’s best musicians. When this Sisterhood rips into a set of classic swing, you will have no option but to rise up and experience the joy of a night dancing under the stars. The band’s inspiration? The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, the first integrated, all-female swing band that Earl Hines once praised as “the first Freedom Riders.”

“Shaking up the jazz world.” – Vanity Fair on Bria Skonberg
“The finest jazz violinist of her generation.” – New York Times on Regina Carter
“One of the leading clarinetists of her generation, adept at everything from Dixieland to Brazilian music.” – Time Out New York on Anat Cohen

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
>> Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway
>> MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
>> ALEXANDRA BACHZETSIS
>> American Ballet Theatre
>> Salman Rushdie
>> Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Rivalry that Shaped America
Continuing Events
>> ‘THE LET GO’
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park / 7:30PM, FREE
Mendelssohn & Beethoven in Central Park
“The leaderless chamber orchestra rings in the season of fireflies and chilled rosé with an outdoor program of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Othmar Schoeck’s lushly evocative Summer Night. It’s not all passionate languor, though: The program concludes with Mahler’s string-orchestra arrangement of Beethoven’s Op. 95 string quartet, “Serioso.” (J.D., NY Magazine)

Paulo Szot: Salute to Broadway (June26-30)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $55+
“The vocally superb Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, who made Broadway audiences swoon as Emile De Becque in the 2008 revival of South Pacific, returns to Feinstein’s/54 with a new batch of favorites from musical-theater history.” (TONY)

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
at Murmrr Theater / 8 p.m., $35-$45
“This singer and bassist has been a fixture in the space between R&B, jazz and funk since the early 1990s. On her new album, “Ventriloquism,” Ms. Ndegeocello revisits some of the biggest pop hits of that era, stripping them down to their reflective and occasionally melancholy cores. As an understated challenge to assumptions about genre and gender, the release fits easily with Ms. Ndegeocello’s oeuvre, which has long made subversive ideas about music and culture sound approachable.” (NYT-NATALIE WEINER)

ALEXANDRA BACHZETSIS (June 25-28)
at the High Line at 14th St./ 8 p.m., FREE
“Ms. Bachzetsis, a Swiss artist and choreographer, visits the High Line, New York’s lushly landscaped elevated promenade, with two works in tow. On Monday and Wednesday, she performs her hourlong solo “Private: Wear a Mask When You Talk to Me,” inspired by the postmodern dance pioneer Trisha Brown and featuring a succession of sultry poses, yoga exercises and moves from Michael Jackson. On Tuesday and Thursday, she is joined by Sotiris Vasiliou and Thibault Lac in “Private Song,” which deconstructs gestures, drawing from Greek folk music and dance.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

American Ballet Theatre (thru July 7)
Tonight: Don Quixote
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $22+
“The most classic of the classic ballets, “Swan Lake,” continues with three more performances on Friday and Saturday. Starting Monday, Ballet Theater switches gears from somber to sprightly with “Don Quixote,” another ballet staple. The company’s adaptation, with vibrant music by Ludwig Minkus, stems from 19th-century productions by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky that highlight folk dances and showcase virtuosic variations for the characters Kitri and Basilio, who will be danced by different pairings of Ballet Theater principals through June 30..” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

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

Salman Rushdie
Strand Book Store, Broadway at 12th St./ 7PM
“Rushdie’s latest novel, “The Golden House,” gets under way on the day of the Obama Inauguration, but it’s not nostalgic for a time of hope. Nero Golden, the ominously named central character, is a billionaire from India who moves to Greenwich Village with his adult sons in tow—a family with the requisite share of secrets. Rushdie teases out his gilded epic with a relationship between the Goldens and a filmmaker who is studying them for a project. The writer discusses the work in the Strand’s Rare Book Room.” (K. Leander Williams, NewYorker)

Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Rivalry that Shaped America
Schafler Forum, 7 West 83rd St. (located in Congregation Rodeph Shalom) / 7PM, $95
“Hamilton is experiencing a well-deserved revival. Often forced to take a back seat to other Founding Fathers, his vision of America as an economic powerhouse with a dynamic and aggressive government as its engine has found many followers. Hamilton helped get the Constitution ratified, helped found the Federalist Party, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. An orphan born in the West Indies, he was like a son to George Washington and perhaps should have been like a brother to Thomas Jefferson.

But Jefferson fought bitterly against the Federalists and his election as president ushered in the “revolution of 1800.” Ironically, it would be Hamilton who helped assure Jefferson’s triumph over Aaron Burr. Jefferson articulated a different vision from Hamilton’s, promoting an agrarian democracy built upon geographic expansion—an “empire of liberty,” he called it. In 1793, he would resign as Secretary of State to protest Hamilton’s policies. In retirement, Jefferson would reflect on the differences between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans and express fear for the future of the new nation.”

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Continuing Events

more coming soon

‘THE LET GO’ (June 7-July 1)
at the Park Avenue Armory
“This large-scale, site-specific multiweek event is masterminded by the interdisciplinary artist Nick Cave, who transforms the armory into a vivid dance landscape in which spectators are invited to do just what the title says they should: let go. Within this dance hall environment are performances, an installation in the form of a Mylar sculpture, dance-based encounters and music provided by D.J.s. For some programs, Mr. Cave works with the choreographer Francesca Harper; for others, there will be dancing by community groups. On June 26, as part of “An Evening of Artistic Responses: The Let Go,” the musician Nona Hendryx, the vocalist and artist Helga Davis, Ms. Harper and Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company, D.R.E.A.M. Ring, respond to the installation, which references issues of social justice, with site-specific performances.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

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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.

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

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

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd 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)

‘ADRIAN PIPER: A SYNTHESIS OF INTUITIONS, 1965-2016’ (through July 22). “A clarifying and complicating 50-year view of a major American artist’s career, this exhibition is also an image-altering event for MoMA itself. It makes the museum feel like a more life-engaged institution than the formally polished one we’re accustomed to. For the first time it has given over all of its sixth-floor special exhibition space to a single living female artist who is best known for her art about racism, and for good reason: It’s powerful work, brilliantly varied in form. She has also consistently used her own image in inventive, distanced, self-mocking ways, as in two well-known self-likenesses done several years apart: one, a pencil drawing titled “Self-Portrait Exaggerating My Negroid Features” (1981); the other, a crayon-enhanced photograph called “Self-Portrait as a Nice White Lady” (1995). In these images, as in all of her work, her aim is not to assert racial identity but to destabilize the very concept of it.” (NYT-Cotter)

‘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  (thru-9/9)

“Celebrating Bill Cunningham 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)
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 06/24 and 06/22.
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