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

Selected NYC Events (04/07) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 04/07/2017 by GregD

What’s Happening This Weekend >
FRIDAY, APR.07 – SUNDAY APR.09, 2017

“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 the next two weeks we are going to try a different format – alternating between selected events in advance and a selection of the very best NYCity Instagram photos.

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Centre National de Danse Contemporaine-Angers at the Joyce Theater; Apr 4–9; $26–$46
After an acclaimed 2015 presentation of works by Merce Cunningham, France’s CNDC returns to the Joyce with another program of the late avant-garde dance master’s works, guided by artistic director and longtime Cunningham apostle Robert Swinston

Decades Collide – 80’s vs. 90’s: Biz Markie Irving Plaza; Apr 8 at 9pm; tickets start at $14
Bust out your neon windbreaker and Guess jeans and get ready to get down at this pop and old school hip-hop dance party featuring none other than Biz Markie. Get ready to sing along—you know you still remember the lyrics to “Just a Friend.”

(4/6-4/8) Whitney Cummings HBO Special I’m Your Girlfriend at Carolines.

Saturday, April 8. A new restoration of Stanley Kubrick’s legendary Barry Lyndon meets a live symphony orchestra at a special Kings Theatre performance.

Alec Baldwin Brooklyn Academy of Music; Apr 9 at 6pm; tickets start at $30
The latest installment of Unbound, BAM’s book launch series with Greenlight Bookstore, features none other than Alec Baldwin discussing his new memoir Nevertheless. Like his book, the Q&A will most likely delve into his personal life, struggle with addiction and fearless dedication to his work.

(4/9-4/10) Dick Gregory at Carolines on Broadway.

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

Friday, April 7. Foxtrot your way to this discussion on the lesser-known creative life of 1920s icon Zelda Fitzgerald. The Strand.

Friday, April 7. Imaginal worlds and religion come together for an all-day symposium at Columbia on Imaginal Worlds: Religion in Speculative and Fan Fiction.

Friday, April 7. Super Smash Brothers, the history of late-night talk shows, and a surprise presentation make up the season’s last Nerd Nite at Littlefield.

Saturday, April 8. New York has a rich history of violence. Find out why, and where, on a downtown Manhattan walking tour of Crime in NYC: A History of Vice and Murder. Prospect Heights Brainery.

Saturday, April 8. Get some gloss on the Lavender Lake: the Brooklyn waterway better known as the Gowanus, which has had a surprising role in both the Revolutionary War and the Industrial Revolution. Prospect Heights Brainery.

Saturday, April 8. Learn the occult side of the wreck of the Titanic, as Boroughs of the Dead hosts a walking tour from Astor Place to Pier 54 in Chelsea, the ship’s never-reached destination.

Sunday, April 9. Do an experiment at How We Can Save Science; How Science Can Save Us, a discussion with actor and science advocate Alan Alda on how and why we can bridge the gap between science and the general public. 92nd Street Y.

The Bloody Mary Festival; April 9; $55
This year’s Bloody Mary Festival features Brooklyn vendors like Insa, Catfish and A&E Supply Co, offering their tricked-out versions of the tomato-juice cocktail for attendees to sample and eventually vote on for the People’s Choice Award. There will also be a panel of industry judges picking their favorite Brooklyn-based Bloody. True to form, a bagel bar and cheese station will be included in the price of admission to soak up all that booze.

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And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

MACY’S FLOWER SHOW (thru Apr.09)
“It may not have felt like spring is here this March, but Macy’s is using more than 5,000 types of flowers and plants to brighten up the main floor of its flagship store this month & hopefully, mark a turn of the weather. The theme for this year’s flower show is “Carnival” with a two tier roller coaster, bumper cars, Ferris wheel and more. “(STAV ZIV-Newsday)
WHEN | Sunday, March 26, to April 9
WHERE I at Macy’s Herald Square Flagship, 151 West 34th St.
INFO Free; 2124944495, macys.com/flowershow

The Orchid Show (thru Apr.09)
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., the Bronx.
“This edition of the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show, now in its fifteenth year, focusses on Thailand’s rich history and the flower’s cultural status as one of the country’s leading exports. Held in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the display features blooming orchids by the hundreds in lush tropical environments, leading into an arched installment styled in the manner of a traditional Thai pavilion. The schedule includes several panel discussions, tours, and after-hours viewings with music and cocktails.” (NewYorker)

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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village
(5 underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. South, villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662

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 enjoyment and discovery.

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♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2016. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Selected NYC Events (04/06) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/06/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > THURSDAY/APR.06, 2017

“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 be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-April”

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

The Highland Divas
at The Cutting Room, 44 E.32nd St./ 10:30PM, $30
“The Highland Divas have been honored to sing at The Tartan Day Observance, kicking off Tartan week, in New York City for last four years and will be featured artists throughout this year’s Tartan Week, performing also for the Tartan Day Parade and Post Parade Party at B.B Kings.

Taking you on a musical journey that spans the folk music of Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand and culminates in the soaring heights of Rock Opera. It has been said of the Highland Divas that; “Though fantastic individual performers, it is their incredible blend as a trio that draws their audience and results in standing ovations at every show!”

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>WOMEN OF JAZZ
>>Aida
>>Christian McBride Big Band
>>House of SpeakEasy: Seriously Entertaining
>>THE GEORGE POLK AWARDS: COVERING THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

WOMEN OF JAZZ
at TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St./ 8PM, $50
“The latest installment of the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center’s Highlights in Jazz series features a double bill: the neo-traditional vocalist and banjoist Cynthia Sayer’s Joyride Band, and the straight-ahead vocalist René Marie. Ms. Sayer was a founding member of Woody Allen’s Dixieland jazz band; when playing with her own group, she sings New Orleans standards with a blend of theatricality and nonchalance. Ms. Marie found jazz stardom late in her career, and her ambitions — as a composer and a performer — seem to multiply with each passing year. A sensualist and an instigator, she’s at her best when building intrigue at a low simmer.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Aida (different days thru Apr.20 / next performance Apr.10)
The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $20+
“The Met’s monumental staging is a dazzling backdrop for the star-crossed love story set amid the clash of ancient empires. Three commanding sopranos—Liudmyla Monastyrska, Latonia Moore, and Krassimira Stoyanova—appear in the title role, the slave girl Aida,who is secretly a princess. Ekaterina Gubanova and Violeta Urmana are the formidable Amneris, daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh, and Marco Berti is the hero Radamès, caught between them. Marco Armiliato and Daniele Rustioni conduct.”

Christian McBride Big Band (Apr.05-09)
Dizzy’s Club, Broadway at 60th St./ 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $35
“Not content with being one of the premier jazz bassists of his generation, McBride also juggles ensembles that highlight his skills as a spectacular soloist, a keen composer, and an adroit leader. His big band, packed with first-rate soloists, is a fitting example of the musician’s ambition and accomplishment.” (NewYorker)

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

House of SpeakEasy: Seriously Entertaining
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St./ 9:30pm; $15–$35
“This series, produced by Amanda Foreman and Lucas Wittmann, asks its participants to speak off-the-cuff about a particular topic for 15 minutes. Then audience members participate in a quiz, identifying lines from famous works of literature, movies or songs. This edition features political columnist and culture critic Ana Marie Cox, poet Brenda Shaughnessy, novelist Tony Tulathimutte and TV writer and comedian Travon Free.”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

THE GEORGE POLK AWARDS: COVERING THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY
LIU Brooklyn, Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, 1 University Plaza, Flatbush Avenue (btw DeKalb Avenue/Willoughby Street) Brooklyn / 6:30PM, FREE, with RSVP.
“The 2016 presidential election made way for the comeback of investigative journalism in our ultra-fast media landscape. With an administration that has said they are going to remake how Washington works, numerous media organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Fusion and BuzzFeed, have formed new investigative teams or renewed their investments in existing teams. Hear from George Polk Award winners about reporting on the Trump presidency.”

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

Greenwich Village
(5 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. South, villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

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 is one exhibition the New York Times really likes:

VIJA CELMINS (Through April 15)
Matthew Marks, 522 West 22nd St.

No natural elements are deeper and darker than the ones Vija Celmins paints: ocean and sky, specifically the rippling surface of the Pacific off California, and the night sky, seen through telescopes, as a dense, soft, pointillist field of thousands of individual stars. She magnifies the vastness of both by leaving out any framing, orienting references — a horizon line, say — to the element we’re most comfortable with: earth.

Born in Latvia, Ms. Celmins, now 78, has lived in the United States since 1948, having arrived here as a refugee after World War II. And in a tradition going back to the 19th century, she’s a landscapist of a peculiarly American kind, one for whom no visual detail is too small, no thought too big. (Within the context of contemporary art, she could be referred to as a cosmic super-realist.)

She is also a moral philosopher, which the subjects of nonlandscape paintings confirm: images of handguns, fighter planes, raw meat, television sets and, perhaps from her work table, worn-down rubber erasers. The erasers are apt symbols for an artist who is a perfectionist reviser, working on single small paintings — adding, subtracting, adding — for years.

This show at Matthew Marks includes a few trompe l’oeil sculptures modeled on real objects. She replicates small found stones in bronze and reproduces their surface markings, speck by speck. Seen together in the gallery, original object and sculpture are hard to tell apart. This is also the case with replicated versions, in wood and paint, of tablet-computer-size 19th-century slate blackboards she has collected. The real slates, also in the gallery, still carry faint ghosts of classroom lessons and calculations written and wiped out long ago. Ms. Celmins’s sculptures have the same marks and, in the funny way art works, turn erasures into additions.” (NYT-HOLLAND COTTER)

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

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

TIP: After your gallery tour, stop in Ovest at 513W27th St. for Aperitivo Italiano (Happy Hour on steroids). Discuss all the great art you have viewed over a drink and a very tasty selection of FREE appetizers (M-F, 5-8pm).

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 04/04 and 04/02.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aida, Christian McBride Big Band, House of SpeakEasy: Seriously Entertaining, THE GEORGE POLK AWARDS: COVERING THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY, The Highland Divas, WOMEN OF JAZZ | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (04/05) + Today’s Featured Pub (Midtown West)

Posted on 04/05/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/APR.05, 2017

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

The ABCs of DNA: A Genomic Revolution
New York Genome Center , 101 Sixth Ave./ 6:30PM, FREE
“Scientists from the New York Genome Center will explain the basics of DNA and the human genome, and describe how the newest discoveries are advancing precision medicine and other areas of research. This free public presentation and audience Q&A is part of the New York Genome Center’s “Evening Talks” lecture series.
A cocktail reception will follow.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>Christian McBride Big Band
>>Michael Feinstein: The Unforgettable Nat “King” Cole
>>Compagnie CNDC-Angers
>>Stanley Clarke Band
>>Women in the World Summit

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Michael Feinstein: The Unforgettable Nat “King” Cole (also Apr.06)
The Appel Room, Jazz @ Lincoln Center / 7PM, $42.50+; Ticket availability for this show is limited. Todays Tip: Tickets for Michael Feinstein’s upcoming shows, The Music of Mel Tormé, May 3-4, and Ella on My Mind, June 7-8, are still available.
“With hits such as “The Christmas Song,” “Unforgettable,” “Nature Boy,” and “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” Michael Feinstein – known as the Ambassador of the Great American Songbook – explores the artistry of quintessential crooner Nat “King” Cole. With the Tedd Firth Big Band and special guest vocalists, Feinstein will channel the extraordinary qualities that made Cole a star on stage and on screen.”

Compagnie CNDC-Angers (Apr.04-09)
A Living Library of Cunningham Works
at the Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave./ 7:30PM, $26-$46
“When the Merce Cunningham Dance Company closed in 2012, its most senior member, Robert Swinston, moved to France to direct this ensemble. A longtime assistant to Cunningham, Mr. Swinston transformed the group into a living archive of his dances. For its return to the Joyce, Tuesday through April 9, the troupe offers “Place” (1966), set to a Gordon Mumma score; “How to Pass, Kick, Fall and Run” (1965), danced to stories by John Cage; and “Inlets 2” (1983), in which the sequence of movements is determined by chance each night.” (SIOBHAN BURKE-NYT)

Stanley Clarke Band
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“What hasn’t Clarke played over the course of his four-decade career? He’s proficient in mainstream jazz, of course, but he has also taken on chamber-scaled projects of genuine delicacy and electric fusion of arena-rock proportions. This two-week residency at the Blue Note features the veteran bassist in two settings: First he turns up with the iconic Ron Carter for a jazz bass duet of legendary proportions (Tue 28–Apr 2); the week after, the maestro brings his Stanley Clarke Band to the stage to celebrate the release of a new album (Apr 4–9).” (TONY)

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

Women in the World Summit
NYS/ DHK Theater (at Lincoln Center)/ 6PM; $150–$250
“The New York Times gathers an impressive roster of powerful ladies—including Hillary Clinton, Scarlett Johansson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lena Dunham, Cecile Richards, Gretchen Carlson and Arianna Huffington—for this two-day program. Throughout the course of the event, attendees will hear discussions on topics such as health initiatives in Syria, honor killings, fighting sexual harassment in the workplace, the rise of women athletes in Saudi Arabia, India’s third gender and more.” (TONY)

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

==============================================================
Bonus NYC Events – Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

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” closed Jan.15)

Those 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).
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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 Christian McBride Big Band, Compagnie CNDC-Angers, Michael Feinstein: The Unforgettable Nat "King" Cole, NYC Events, Stanley Clarke Band, The ABCs of DNA: A Genomic Revolution, Women in the World Summit | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (04/04) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 04/04/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > TUESDAY/APR.04, 2017

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

“1984” Screening
Film Society of Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza / 7PM, FREE
“George Orwell’s novel begins with the sentence “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” His portrait of a government that manufactures its own facts, demands total obedience, and demonizes foreign enemies has never felt timelier. On the fourth of the month, the day Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith begins rebelling against the oppressive State by keeping a forbidden diary, the Film Society will present Michael Radford’s powerful adaptation, starring the late John Hurt as Winston. We hope you will join us at this crossroads of cinema and community for a much needed conversation at a time when facts and basic human rights are endangered.

On April 4, 2017, over 140 art house movie theaters across the country will be collectively participating in a screening of 1984. The Film Society is proud to join our friends in the film community to consider the issues raised by this important movie.”

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>Compagnie CNDC-Angers
>>Matt Mitchell and Tim Berne
>>Stanley Clarke Band
>>The Pyschology and Imagery of Climate Change
>>Roy Blount Jr. on “Save Room for Pie”

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Elsewhere, but this one looks worth the detour:
Matt Mitchell and Tim Berne –
A Working Relationship of Many Layers
at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, / 8PM, $25
“Quietly and studiously, Mr. Mitchell has established himself as one of New York’s most riveting and freethinking pianists. His command can feel almost absolute; his harmonies tend to be weighty and cluttered. But the effect on your ear is rolling and catalytic, sometimes even ecstatic. He works often with Tim Berne, the esteemed alto saxophonist. On “Forage,” a new solo piano album, he reconfigures a handful of Mr. Berne’s devilishly abstract compositions. At this concert, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Mr. Mitchell will play some of those tunes. Then Mr. Berne will join him for a duo set.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO – NYT)

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

The Pyschology and Imagery of Climate Change
International Center of Photography, 250 Bowery / 6:30PM, FREE, but please register in advance
“How can we utilize visual culture to communicate the urgency of climate change? Join ICP Curator Cynthia Young in conversation with artist and activist Rachel Schragis and scientist and policymaker Irina Feygina about the issues and challenges of conveying this complex scientific topic to the general public. Schragis’ mixed-media collage Confronting the Climate: A Flowchart of the People’s Climate March is featured in ICP’s current exhibition, Perpetual Revolution: The Image and Social Change. Feygina works for Climate Central, a non-partisan organization dedicated to researching and reporting the science and impacts of climate change.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Roy Blount Jr. on “Save Room for Pie”
Book Culture, 536 W.112th St./ 6:30PM, FREE
“Our best-laid plans will yield to fate.
And we will say, We lived. We ate.

In poems and songs, limericks and fake (or sometimes true) news stories, Blount talks about food in surprising and innovative ways, with all the wit and verve that prompted Garrison Keillor, in The Paris Review, to say: Blount is the best. He can be literate, uncouth, and soulful all in one sentence.”

Plus, the day we wait for each year: Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s.
Find your nearest location here.

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

===========================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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

Morgan Library & Museum
‘I’M NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU? THE LIFE AND POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON’ (through May 28).
“This is the second-largest gathering ever, anywhere, of prime Dickinson relics, and as such it comes with an aura the size of a city block. It instantly turns the Morgan into a pilgrimage site, a literary Lourdes, a place to come in contact with one aspect of America that truly can claim greatness. And the show has a mission, to give 21st-century audiences a fresh take on Dickinson. Gone is the white-gowned Puritan nun, and the Belle of Amherst, that infantilized charmer. At the Morgan we get a different Dickinson, a person among people: a member of a household, a village dweller, a citizen.” 212-685-0008, themorgan.org. (NYT-Holland Cotter)

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

at the very least you will want to see this one:
‘CELEBRATING THE ARTS OF JAPAN: THE MARY GRIGGS BURKE COLLECTION’ (through May 2017)
“This lavish collection of 160 objects came to the Met from the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation in early 2015. The Burkes loved Japanese art — all of it — and the exhibition is close to compendious in terms of media, from wood-carved Buddhas to bamboo baskets, with a particular strength in painting, early and late. The quality of the work? Japan thinks highly enough of it to have made the Burke holdings the first Japanese collection from abroad ever to show at Tokyo National Museum. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.” (Cotter)

===========================================================
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)

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (SUN 11am-1pm PWYW) 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).
==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/02 and 03/31.
=============================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged “1984” Screening, Compagnie CNDC-Angers, Matt Mitchell and Tim Berne, NYC Events, Roy Blount Jr. on “Save Room for Pie”, Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone, The Pyschology and Imagery of Climate Change | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (04/03) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 04/03/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > MONDAY/APR.03, 2017

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

The History of the World in 100 Performances with Adam Gopnik: Leontyne Price
With special guests Julia Bullock and Renée Fleming
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik’s popular series of multimedia investigations is back! This time the focus is on Leontyne Price, the legendary American soprano who was at the peak of her vocal powers when Lincoln Center opened its doors in the mid-1960s. Using recording excerpts and archival footage from live appearances, Gopnik and guests—including sopranos Julia Bullock and Renée Fleming—dig into her incredible story.”

seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis, but baby, you better get there early for this one. No later than 6:45PM – bring something to read. This event will be streamed on Facebook Live.

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>Broadway Loves Kelly Clarkson
>>Christina Bianco: Me, Myself & Everyone Else!
>>Sven Ratzke: One Night Only
>>Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
>>An Evening with John Patrick Shanley

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Broadway Loves Kelly Clarkson
Feinstein’s/54 Below, 254 W54th St./ 7PM, +9:30PM, $45+
“Lesli Margherita, Casey Cott, Jennifer Damiano, Courtney Reed, Krysta Rodriguez and Caroline Bowman are among the musical-theater stars saluting pop dignitary Clarkson, the pride of American Idol, in the latest edition of 54 Below’s Broadway Loves series. Benjamin Rauhala serves as musical director.” (TONY)

Christina Bianco: Me, Myself & Everyone Else!
Birdland, 315 W44th St./ 7PM, $30
“Bianco is a comic firecracker with a pyrotechnic voice and a great gift for mimicry, which broke her out when a video of her performing “Total Eclipse of the Heart”—as sung by 19 different divas—went megaviral. In her return to Birdland, the petite performer takes on more of the biggest songs ever.” (TONY)

Sven Ratzke: One Night Only
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St./ 9:30PM, $20
“Polyglot Dutch-German pop cabaret star Sven Ratzke returns to Joe’s Pub with a collection of songs ranging from Weimar kabarett to David Bowie and beyond.” (TONY)

Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“What hasn’t Clarke played over the course of his four-decade career? He’s proficient in mainstream jazz, of course, but he has also taken on chamber-scaled projects of genuine delicacy and electric fusion of arena-rock proportions. This two-week residency at the Blue Note features the veteran bassist in two settings: First he turns up with the iconic Ron Carter for a jazz bass duet of legendary proportions (Tue 28–Apr 2); the week after, the maestro brings his Stanley Clarke Band to the stage to celebrate the release of a new album (Apr 4–9).” (TONY)

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

An Evening with John Patrick Shanley
Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker St./ 7:30PM, $25
“Award-winning playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, author of works such as Doubt (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award) and Moonstruck (Academy Award), shares excerpts from his work and discusses his career and craft with Anne Cattaneo, dramaturg for Lincoln Center Theater and head of the LCT Directors Lab.

John will be reading excerpts from Savage in Limbo, Doubt, and The Portuguese Kid. Q&A to follow.”

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

================================================
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. Check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W54th St., 54below.com, 646-476-3551
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34W22ndSt., metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

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.
See Below.

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

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’. ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Summer 2017).
◊ Order before May.31, 2017 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged An Evening with John Patrick Shanley, Broadway Loves Kelly Clarkson, Christina Bianco: Me, Myself & Everyone Else!, Sven Ratzke: One Night Only, The History of the World in 100 Performances with Adam Gopnik: Leontyne Price | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (04/02) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/02/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > SUNDAY/APR.02, 2017

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

Project Broadway: The Art of Collaboration
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space/ 3PM, $25
“Symphony Space presents a week of programs focusing on the creation of musical theater, including a song-and-dance concert (March 27), an evening spun out of a Fiddler on the Roof sequel (March 28), a show devoted to harmony (March 30) and a celebration of Richard Rodgers. (April 2).” (TONY)

Today: Ted Chapin, President and Chief Creative Officer of Rodgers and Hammerstein, hosts a discussion of the career of Richard Rodgers, exploring the development of his work as he moved through his early partnerships with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II to his later collaborations with Martin Charnin, Sheldon Harnick, and Stephen Sondheim. The afternoon features performances by Broadway’s Lewis Cleale (Book of Mormon, Spamalot), Adam Kantor (Fiddler on the Roof, Next to Normal) and Betsy Wolfe (Falsettos, The Last Five Years) bringing to life the songs of this Tony, Emmy, Oscar, and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist.

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>PETER BERNSTEIN
>>Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
>>MoCCA Arts Festival
>>Affordable Art Fair
>>The Photography Show

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

PETER BERNSTEIN (March 28 through April 02)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30 and 10:30PM, $30
“Husky and dark and dazzlingly precise, Mr. Bernstein’s guitar sound has the power to soothe and energize at the same time. His most recent album, “Let Loose” from 2016, features a handful of original tunes built on simple, evocative melodies. Expect to hear some of that material during this run at the Vanguard, where Mr. Bernstein will be joined by an all-star cast: Brad Mehldau on piano, Doug Weiss on bass and Al Foster on drums. (For the last two dates, Aaron Goldberg replaces Mr. Mehldau.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

MoCCA Arts Festival (Apr.01-02)
Metropolitan West, 639 W46th St./ 11AM-6PM, $5
“For two days, thousands of illustration enthusiasts will enjoy a buffet of independent comics and cartoons at Manhattan’s largest festival of its kind. This year, the festival honors the work of Christian Hincker, known to fans as Blutch, a pillar of the contemporary comics community; his graphic novel, “Peplum,” from 2016, follows a group of bandits in ancient Rome and draws influences from Shakespeare and the Satyricon. Hundreds of additional guests will showcase their work, including R. Sikoryak, whose “Terms and Conditions” grafts Apple legalese onto iconic cartoon panels; Israel’s Rutu Modan and David Polonsky; the French Web-comic author Penelope Bagieu; and Wojciech Stefaniec, from Poland.” (NewYorker)
Exhibitor Hall at Metropolitan West, Programming at Ink48

Affordable Art Fair (thru Apr.02)
Metropolitan Pavilion,125 W18th St./ 11AM-8PM, $20
“The price-conscious art fair returns for its 23rd edition in NYC. For an $18 ticket, you can shop original paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from over 70 local, national and international galleries. With price tages ranging from $100 to $10,000, you can fix up your apartment without breaking the bank.” (TONY)

The Photography Show (Mar.30-Apr.02)
Pier 94, on the Hudson, 12th Ave @ 55th St./ 12PM-8PM, $30
“An expanded Photography Show—presented, as always, by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers—has a new location this year: Pier 94, on the Hudson. The fair, will host more than a hundred dealers, with works ranging from mid-nineteenth-century photogravures to video, mixed media, and beyond. In addition to the bustling booths, there will be public programs, including a screening room showing documentaries, a roving photographer shooting portraits of attendees, and an outdoor video projection that explores the knotty issue of animal captivity.” (NewYorker)

Film Festival season in full bloom this week

Kino! 2017 which highlights German movies, began Friday.

The Havana Film Festival New York, celebrating Latin American cinema, began on Thursday.

Single tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Tribeca Film Festival, (April 19-30.)

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

The Orchid Show (thru April 09)
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., the Bronx.
“This edition of the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show, now in its fifteenth year, focusses on Thailand’s rich history and the flower’s cultural status as one of the country’s leading exports. Held in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the display features blooming orchids by the hundreds in lush tropical environments, leading into an arched installment styled in the manner of a traditional Thai pavilion. The schedule includes several panel discussions, tours, and after-hours viewings with music and cocktails.” (NewYorker)

=======================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. 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. South, villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9 Ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662

=======================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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

Museum of Modern Art:

‘TONY OURSLER: IMPONDERABLE’ (through April 16)
“This small exhibition is centered on a 90-minute film in which episodes from the history of spiritualist frauds and hoaxes are re-enacted by people in fanciful costumes while mystic flames, smoke and ectoplasmic phenomena come and go. At certain moments during “Imponderable,” you feel breezes wafting over you and hear loud thumping under the theater’s risers. The crudeness of these effects is part of the generally comical spirit. It’s all about the confusion between illusion and reality to which human beings seem to be congenitally susceptible.” (Johnson)

And 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)

Whitney Museum of American Art:

FAST FORWARD: PAINTING FROM THE 1980S (thru May 14)
“Fast Forward: Painting from the 1980s presents a focused look at painting from this decade with works drawn entirely from the Museum’s collection.

In the 1980s, painting recaptured the imagination of the contemporary art world against a backdrop of expansive change. An unprecedented number of galleries appeared on the scene, particularly in downtown New York. Groundbreaking exhibitions—that blurred distinctions between high and low art—were presented at alternative and artist-run spaces. New mediums, including video and installation art, were on the rise. Yet despite the growing popularity of photography and video, many artists actively embraced painting, freely exploring its bold physicality and unique capacity for expression and innovation.

The exhibition includes work by artists often identified with this explosive period—Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sherrie Levine, David Salle, and Julian Schnabel—as well as by several lesser-known painters. These artists explored the traditions of figuration and history painting, and offered new interpretations of abstraction. Many addressed fundamental questions about artmaking in their work, while others took on political issues including AIDS, feminism, gentrification, and war. In the face of a media-saturated environment, artists in the 1980s recommitted to painting. Far from dead, painting came to represent an important intersection between new ways of seeing and a seemingly traditional way of making art.”

==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right sidebar dated 03/31 and 03/29.
==============================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Project Broadway: The Art of Collaboration | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/01) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square/ Theater District)

Posted on 04/01/2017 by GregD

Today’s Fab 5 NYC Events > SATURDAY/APR.01, 2017

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

4 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>PETER BERNSTEIN
>>Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
>>Affordable Art Fair
>>The Photography Show

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

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

Film Festival season in full bloom this week

Kino! 2017 which highlights German movies, began Friday.

The Havana Film Festival New York, celebrating Latin American cinema, began on Thursday.

Single tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Tribeca Film Festival, (April 19-30.)

Focus on French Cinema, a festival at French Institute Alliance Française, Lycée Français de New York and the United Nations. (WAS Tue. thru Thur.)

with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub

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

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

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

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

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

==================================================================================
“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 Affordable Art Fair, MoCCA Arts Festival | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (03/31) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 03/31/2017 by GregD

Today’s Fab 5 NYC Events > FRIDAY/MAR.31, 2017

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

4 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>The Joffrey Ballet
>>PETER BERNSTEIN
>>The Photography Show
>>Swedish Festival

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

The Joffrey Ballet (thru Apr.02)
NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, $35+
“In 1995, the esteemed company, then based in New York, decamped for Chicago, and it hasn’t looked back. In the years since, the Joffrey has survived rocky finances and remade its image in a less maverick, more international mold. (This was the company that brought us “Billboards,” an evening-length ballet set to Prince.)

Most of the New York run is devoted to a full-length version of “Romeo and Juliet”—always a favorite with audiences—created in 2008 by the Polish-born choreographer Krzysztof Pastor, a regular at the Dutch National Ballet. The story has been updated, with the help of projections and chic designs, from Renaissance Verona to the twentieth century. (The first act is set in the Fascist period, the second in the Dolce Vita of the fifties, and the third in the nineties, with overtones of corruption and war.) A one-off program on March 30 includes works by Christopher Wheeldon, Yuri Possokhov, and the young choreographer Myles Thatcher.” (NewYorker)

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

The Photography Show (Mar.30-Apr.02)
Pier 94, on the Hudson, 12th Ave @ 55th St./ mm
“An expanded Photography Show—presented, as always, by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers—has a new location this year: Pier 94, on the Hudson. The fair, will host more than a hundred dealers, with works ranging from mid-nineteenth-century photogravures to video, mixed media, and beyond. In addition to the bustling booths, there will be public programs, including a screening room showing documentaries, a roving photographer shooting portraits of attendees, and an outdoor video projection that explores the knotty issue of animal captivity.” (NewYorker)

Swedish Festival
Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave./ 6PM, FREE with museum admission 6–7PM and FREE 7–8:30PM
“Say ‘Hej!’ to Nordic culture at the Swedish Festival, which features musical performances, Swedish cuisine, and more, all in conjunction with the new exhibition Treasures from the National Museum of Sweden.”

Film Festival season in full bloom this week

Kino! 2017 which highlights German movies, begins today.

The Havana Film Festival New York, celebrating Latin American cinema, began on Thursday.

Single tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Tribeca Film Festival, (April 19-30.)

Focus on French Cinema, a festival at French Institute Alliance Française, Lycée Français de New York and the United Nations. (WAS Tue. thru Thur.)

with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Here is one exhibition the New York Times really likes:

ACTS OF INTIMACY (thru April 02)
Walther Collection, 526 W26th St.

“Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki may be the most successful photographers of postwar Japan, but it’s the work of the least famous participant of this three-man show that ripples with the greatest intensity. He is Kohei Yoshiyuki, and his unsettling 1979-80 series “The Park” documents, with nearly pathological detachment, the sexual encounters he happened upon on late-night walks in Tokyo. Many shots recall crime-scene photography, thanks to Mr. Yoshiyuki’s use of infrared film and a paparazzo’s flash: Flowers flare to white and lovers’ faces are invisible. In these indiscreet but poignant photos, intimate acts become a public affair.

Mr. Moriyama’s hip, estranged images of Tokyo are shot in a style known as “are, bure, boke” (grainy, blurry and out of focus). (His radical photography of the 1960s is on view in “Provoke: Photography in Japan between Protest and Performance, 1960–1975,” running through April 30 at the Art Institute of Chicago.) A series of 67 photographs includes close-ups of breasts, buttocks and stiletto-shod feet. If they lack the urgency of his coarser urban photographs, they are persuasive nevertheless because of his usual high contrast and tight cropping.

As for Mr. Araki, his photographs of buxom women trussed up in ever more baroque rope bondage are as acquired a taste as Marmite. He’s the only one to show women’s faces; they appear sovereign and unabashed, despite their sexual submission. Relief comes via interpolated photographs of architecture — the Hiroshima Peace Memorial or Kenzo Tange’s Tokyo metropolitan government headquarters — that inscribe these steamy pictures into the first years of Japan’s so-called Lost Decade.” (JASON FARAGO-NYT)

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

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 03/29 and 03/27.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Swedish Festival, The Photography Show | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (03/30) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 03/30/2017 by GregD

Today’s Fab 5 NYC Events > THURSDAY/MAR.30, 2017

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

4 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>The Joffrey Ballet
>>PETER BERNSTEIN
>>On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
>>Philip Gorski: American Covenant

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

PETER BERNSTEIN (March 28 through April 2)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30 and 10:30PM, $30
“Husky and dark and dazzlingly precise, Mr. Bernstein’s guitar sound has the power to soothe and energize at the same time. His most recent album, “Let Loose” from 2016, features a handful of original tunes built on simple, evocative melodies. Expect to hear some of that material during this run at the Vanguard, where Mr. Bernstein will be joined by an all-star cast: Brad Mehldau on piano, Doug Weiss on bass and Al Foster on drums. (For the last two dates, Aaron Goldberg replaces Mr. Mehldau.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl./ 7PM, $15
“With Professor Tim Snyder, Yale University. From one of this generation’s leading historians, this timely new book serves as a warning for 21st century threats to democracy. Snyder dissects the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the implementation of their catastrophic policies.”

Philip Gorski: American Covenant
The Cooper Union, 7 E7th St./ 6:30PM, FREE.
“Professor of sociology and religious studies Philip Gorski speaks on his new book, American Covenant, which lays out a historical vision of a United States forged by a mix of ancient Hebrew ethics and Western-style republicanism. The thoughts of figures as diverse as John Winthrop, Frederick Douglass, and Hannah Arendt will be considered.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Film Festival season in full bloom this week

Focus on French Cinema, a festival at French Institute Alliance Française, Lycée Français de New York and the United Nations, Tuesday through Thursday. (Schedule and tickets vary.)

Single tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Tribeca Film Festival, (April 19-30.)

The Havana Film Festival New York, celebrating Latin American cinema, begins on Thursday.

Kino! 2017 which highlights German movies, begins on Friday.

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

==================================================
Bonus NYC Events – Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Philip Gorski: American Covenant | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (03/29) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 03/29/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/MAR.29, 2017

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

Ruby Amanfu – Lincoln Center’s American Songbook
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center / 8PM, $40
“Nashville’s next indie star” (Billboard) holds court for one night only at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. With a remarkable vocal range that seamlessly goes from trembling vibrato to gospel fervor, the singer-songwriter is probably best known for her powerhouse vocals that appeared on Jack White’s single “Love Interruption,” as well as guesting on several tracks on his two solo albums, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto. She has also lent vocals to Beyoncé’s Lemonade, dueted with Alabama Shakes’s Brittany Howard, and collaborated with the likes of Sara Bareilles, Ben Folds, and Hozier. Long known to insiders as a formidable solo artist, Amanfu broke out in 2016 with a “star-making moment” (Rolling Stone) at the Newport Folk Festival and her “magnetic” 2016 debut album (NPR), Standing Still (Thirty Tigers/Rival & Co), an intrepid collection of covers that takes on Brandi Carlile, Woody Guthrie, and Kanye West, among others.

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>The Joffrey Ballet
>>Gay Marshall: Gay’s Paree
>>Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
>>PETER BERNSTEIN
>>The Big Picture: : Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists
>>GREAT ARCHITECTURE OF THE WORLD

Plus, with spring in the air, don’t forget these Continuing Events:
>>MACY’S Flower Show
>>The Orchid Show

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Gay Marshall: Gay’s Paree
Pangea, 178 2nd Ave./ 7:30PM, $25
“An American who has spent much of her life in Paris, the bohemian-styled Marshall applies her big, emotional, stubbornly resilient voice to chansons by Charles Aznavour, Boris Vian, Francis Lemarque, Dave Frishberg, Jacques Brel and her spirit sparrow, Edith Piaf.” (TONY)

Stanley Clarke / Ron Carter Duo w/ special guest Russell Malone
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
What hasn’t Clarke played over the course of his four-decade career? He’s proficient in mainstream jazz, of course, but he has also taken on chamber-scaled projects of genuine delicacy and electric fusion of arena-rock proportions. This two-week residency at the Blue Note features the veteran bassist in two settings: First he turns up with the iconic Ron Carter for a jazz bass duet of legendary proportions (Tue 28–Apr 2); the week after, the maestro brings his Stanley Clarke Band to the stage to celebrate the release of a new album (Apr 4–9). (TONY)

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

Art Talks:
The Big Picture: : Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists
NYPL, Main Bldg, Celeste Auditorium / 6:30PM, FREE, Priority is given to those who have registered in advance.
“On the occasion of the publication of the new book The Big Picture: : Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists, author Matthew Israel, and influential museum curators and directors Nicholas Baume, Adrienne Edwards, and Jens Hoffman discuss contemporary art’s relation to art history and examine the place of contemporary art in museums as well as the future projects and programming at each panelist’s institution. The discussion is moderated by Arezoo Moseni.”

GREAT ARCHITECTURE OF THE WORLD
92Y, Lexington Ave & 92nd St./ 10AM, $35
Join architectural historian Gail Cornell to explore the world’s great monuments.
“Why were they built? Who designed them? How were they constructed? The answers to these questions provide fascinating insights into the history, cultures and personages of earlier eras. Whether you are planning a trip to one or more of these great monuments or are simply interested in learning more, this lecture series is for you.”
Mar 29: Gaudi’s Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain

Film Festival season in full bloom this week

Focus on French Cinema, a festival at French Institute Alliance Française, Lycée Français de New York and the United Nations, Tuesday through Thursday. (Schedule and tickets vary.)

Single tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Tribeca Film Festival, (April 19-30.)

The Havana Film Festival New York, celebrating Latin American cinema, begins on Thursday.

Kino! 2017 which highlights German movies, begins on Friday.

And with spring in the air, don’t forget these continuing events:

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017. Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (SUN 11am-1pm PWYW) 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).
==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 03/27 and 03/25.
=============================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged GREAT ARCHITECTURE OF THE WORLD, Ruby Amanfu, The Big Picture: Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists | Leave a comment

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub / Midtown West.

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

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

3 Good Eating places

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub

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

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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