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

Selected Events (01/17) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square/ Theater District)

Posted on 01/17/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

New York City Ballet
NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, $65+
Leaps and spins easily earn audience applause, but there’s something truly breathtaking about the way the title character bursts backward across the stage in fearless flutters in Balanchine’s haunting 1946 work “La Sonnambula,” part of the opening program for the winter season, which begins on Tuesday. Joining it are two more Balanchine one-acts: “Prodigal Son,” the classic tale of redemption to music by Prokofiev, and “Firebird,” with music by Stravinsky and designs by Marc Chagall.

On Wednesday, the company will introduce another all-Balanchine program, with “Allegro Brillante,” a one-act “Swan Lake” and “The Four Temperaments.” There are more programs and premieres to come this season.” (BRIAN SCHAEFER, NYT)

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Roméo et Juliette
JILL SOBULE
MICHELLE WOLF: SO BRAVE
Noche Flamenca: Antigona
From Mannahatta to Manhattan: Four Centuries In the Life of An Island City
‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY’

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Roméo et Juliette
Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, $28+
“When Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo starred opposite each other in Manon at the Met in 2015, the New York Times said, “the temperature rises nearly to boiling every time Damrau and Grigolo are on stage together.” Now they’re back as opera’s classic lovers, in Gounod’s lush Shakespeare adaptation. The production, by director Bartlett Sher, has already won acclaim for its vivid 18th-century milieu and stunning costumes during runs at Salzburg and La Scala. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the sumptuous score.”

JILL SOBULE
at Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St./ 7PM, $20
“In the mid-1990s, Ms. Sobule was part a class of female singer-songwriters like Alanis Morissette, Meredith Brooks and Fiona Apple who scored Top 40 success and heavy MTV airplay thanks to their fiercely catchy and proudly feminist pop. Her hits, including “Supermodel” and “I Kissed a Girl,” fused sugary melodies and her bright, girlish vocals with storytelling that was brilliantly subversive for mainstream audiences. Although Ms. Sobule has not matched that commercial success in recent years, she remains just as restlessly creative: For her 2014 album, “Dottie’s Charms,” she asked literary stars like Jonathan Lethem, Luc Sante and David Hajdu to contribute lyrics that were inspired by a vintage bracelet she received as a birthday gift.” (NYT- KEVIN O’DONNELL)

MICHELLE WOLF: SO BRAVE (also Feb.15)
at the Village Underground, / 8PM, $%
“Ms. Wolf, a writer and a contributor to “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” is a feisty stand-up whose comedy is a blend of absurd storytelling and sharp political commentary. Her show, “So Brave,” was nominated for a best newcomer award at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe; The Guardian called it “a striking debut.” (NYT-ELISE CZAJKOWSKI)

Noche Flamenca: Antigona (through Jan. 28)
West Park Presbyterian Church, 165 W86th St./ 8PM, $25-$60
“Traditional Spanish dance and ancient Greek theater are an unlikely but well-suited pair in Noche Flamenca’s sharp production “Antigona,” based on Sophocles’s famous tragedy. The dance lights a fire under the play while discovering in itself a knack for narrative drama. In the title role, the powerhouse Soledad Barrio is both fierce and fragile. The century-old church where the performance takes place is filled with striking sets, darkly amorous music played by a live band and a ferocious Greek chorus of dancers.” (NYT-Schaefer)

Noche Flamenca is Spain’s most successful touring company and its greatest exponent of the art of flamenco. Soledad Barrio is a goddess of dance and brings so much passion to her role as Antigona. Two wonderful Spanish guitarists and two vocalists do not get the credit they deserve. Every piece of this performance is outstanding.
Go See It!

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

From Mannahatta to Manhattan: Four Centuries In the Life of An Island City
moderator Sam Roberts and panelists Eric Sanderson, Gerard Koeppel, and Jason Barr.
Mid-Manhattan Library / 6:30 PM, FREE
“A panel of New York City authors and experts discusses the city’s evolution, highlighting the connections between landscape ecology, infrastructure investment, and real estate, that continue to shape patterns of development today.”

‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY’
“The 1926 film “Honest Injun,” starring Johnny Arthur, pictured, will be among the films featured at MoMA on Saturday, Jan. 14, as part of the series “Cruel and Unusual Comedy: Astonishing Shorts From the Slapstick Era.” This series features dozens of silent-era short films that find humor in the darker corners of the American psyche. Themes include domestic abuse, ethnic stereotypes, political anarchists and violence. Screenings generally comprise several films with a total running time of 90 minutes.
WHEN | WHERE Friday, Jan. 13, through Jan. 26 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. ADMISSION $12 or free with museum admission
INFO 212-708-9400, moma.org — (STAV ZIV, Newwday)

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open
From Jan. 23 to Feb. 10, have your pick from 375 participating restaurants, with a three-course prix fixe lunch or dinner; lunches are $29, and dinners are $42, not including beverages, gratuities and taxes, a great deal for some of the city’s most popular spots…

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.
To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

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Bonus NYC Events – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues, almost all 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 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):

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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 (40s, 50s, R&B, and soul). On sports nights this very narrow bar can get a bit claustrophobic, filled with excited fans watching their team on the TVs. Either way, Jimmy’s is the place to be if you are looking for an old time bar in the new Times Square.
————————————————————————————————————————
Website: are you kidding !
(although there is a facebook page with lots of photos –
facebook.com/jimmyscornernyc)
Phone #: 212-221-9510
Hours: 11am – 4 am, except Sunday they open 12 noon
Happy Hour: not necessary, low prices all day, every day
Subway: #1,2,3 to TimesSquare 42nd st
walk 2 blks N on 7th ave to 44th st; ½ blk E to Jimmy’s

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

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 'CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY', ‘ROMÉO ET JULIETTE’, From Mannahatta to Manhattan: Four Centuries In the Life of An Island City, Jill Sobule, MICHELLE WOLF: SO BRAVE, New York City Ballet, New York Jewish Film Festival, Noche Flamenca: Antigona, NYC Events | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/16) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 01/16/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

Roy Hargrove
Blue Note, / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“At 46, trumpeter Roy Hargrove has firmly established himself as among the premier players in jazz and beyond. Ever-stretching into more challenging and colorful ways to flex his musical chops, Hargrove has left indelible imprints in a vast array of artful settings. During his tenure on the Verve label alone, he has recorded an album with a hand-picked collection of the world’s greatest tenor saxophonists (With the Tenors of Our Time), an album of standards with strings (Moment to Moment) and, in 2003, introduced his own hip hop/jazz collective The RH Factor with the groundbreaking CD Hard Groove (swiftly followed by the limited edition EP, Strength).”

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Steve Earle’s Annual Winter Residency
Natalie Douglas: Stevie Songs
Medeski Martin & Wood
New York Jewish Film Festival
Barney Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship
‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY’

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Steve Earle’s Annual Winter Residency w/ Amy Helm
City Winery, 155 Varick St. / 8PM, $45-$55
“Steve Earle released his fifteenth studio album, The Low Highway, to worldwide critical acclaim in Spring 2013. Magnet Magazine stated in their 9 out of 10 star review, “This time out, he brings all his influences together into an LP that may be his most musically diverse offering yet” with PopMatters stating that it is Earle’s best record since 2004’s Grammy Award-winning album The Revolution Starts…Now.

A protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Earle quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others.”

Natalie Douglas: Stevie Songs
Birdland, 315 W44th St./ 7PM, $30
“Septuple MAC Award winner Natalie Douglas has previously plumbed the catalogs of Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln and Billie Holiday, among others. Now she applies her her formidable voice to songs by Stevie Wonder and Stevie Nicks, with piano wizard Brian Nash at the keys.” (TONY)

Medeski Martin & Wood (also Jan 17,18)
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St./ 8PM, $35
“For more than 20 years now, the ever-combustible MMW has fused mainstream, avant-garde and funky inclinations into an irresistible jam with a flavor all its own. This week the trio play a three-night engagement at LPR, rescheduled from its canceled shows last October.” (TONY)

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

New York Jewish Film Festival (Jan.11-24)
Walter Reade Theater (at Lincoln Center), 165 W65th St./ 1PM, $14
“For its 26th year, the wide-ranging festival takes over Lincoln Center for two weeks of documentary and narrative film screenings. This edition features Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M, a doc that chronicles the singer’s five-decade career; Mr. Gaga, which documents the work of Ohad Naharin and Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company; and a special screening of Mel Brooks’s classic The Producers, starring the late greats Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder.” (TONY)

Barney Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship
The Strand, 828 Broadway,/ 6:30PM,
“Genet…Beckett…Burroughs…Miller…Ionesco… Duras. Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. Hubert Selby Jr. and John Rechy. The legendary film I Am Curious (Yellow). The books that assaulted the fort of propriety that was the United States in the 1950s and ’60s, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and The Tropic of Cancer. The Evergreen Review. Victorian “erotica.” The Autobiography of Malcolm X. A bombing, a sit-in, and a near-fistfight with Norman Mailer. The common thread between these disparate elements, a number of which reshaped modern culture, was Barney Rosset.

His unswerving dedication to publishing what he wanted made him one of the most influential publishers ever. At times appalling, more often inspiring, never boring or conventional: this is Barney Rosset, uncensored.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

$28 Admission & Signed Copy grants you admission for one, plus one signed copy of the book. Admission & Gift Card grants you admission for one, plus one $15 Strand gift card to be used at any time on any product.

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

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

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

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:
‘HANS MEMLING: PORTRAITURE, PIETY AND A REUNITED ALTARPIECE’ (through January 2017)
“When it comes to jewels, there are Taylor-Burton rocks and discreetly cut heirloom stones. With museum shows, it’s the same. This one, at the Morgan Library, is a minute but invaluable gem. Set in a 20-by-20-by-20-foot gallery known as the Cube, it reunites, for the first time in the United States, dispersed sections of an altarpiece by the 15th-century German-born, Flanders-based Memling and adds some of his exquisite portrait paintings. 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street, 212-685-0008, themorgan.org.” (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 these two:
‘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)

‘MAX BECKMANN IN NEW YORK’ (through Feb. 20).
“In the last two years of his life, the great German Expressionist Max Beckmann lived in New York. This terrific exhibition gathers paintings that he created during his time here as well as paintings now owned by museums and private collectors in New York, regardless of when they were made. If this sounds like a recipe for mishmash, it’s not: There’s not a single dud among the 39 works in the show. Including portraits, still lifes, cityscapes and several of his most ambitious allegorical visions, it will warm the hearts of Beckmann’s fans and serve as an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with his vigorously humane art. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org” (Ken Johnson)

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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)

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).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 01/14 and 01/012.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Barney Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship, Medeski Martin & Wood, Natalie Douglas: Stevie Songs, Roy Hargrove, Steve Earle’s Annual Winter Residency | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/15) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 01/15/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

STEVE DAVIS SEXTET (last day)
Smoke Jazz Club, 2751 Broadway, btw.105th/06th Sts./ 7, 9 and 10:30PM, $38
“Davis may not have been around for the first flowering of hard bop in the nineteen-fifties, but for this supremely adept trombonist—who has also been heard with the neo-bop One for All unit, as well as with advanced ensembles like Chick Corea’s Origin band—the idiom is as natural as his heartbeat. To stir up the action, he has gathered four similarly minded peers, including the saxophonists Steve Wilson and Jimmy Green, the bassist Peter Washington, and the drummer Lewis Nash, along with a highly regarded elder, the pianist Larry Willis.” (NewYorker)

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
Kelly Burke: Love for Sale
NICHOLAS PAYTON: AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE
An Evening with Charles Osgood
Legends of Burlesque Calendar Show
‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY’

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE (also Jan. 17-22)
at the Village Vanguard, / 8 and 10PM, $30.
“Mr. McBride, the bassist, bandleader and composer, holds fast to a mood of generous bonhomie with his trio, which recently released a live album recorded in this room. That group, now with Christian Sands on piano and Jerome Jennings on drums, performs the first week of his engagement, Jan. 10 through 15. From Jan. 17 through 22, Mr. McBride will lead a groove-minded quartet, informally called New Jawn McBride, featuring the trumpeter Josh Evans, the saxophonist Marcus Strickland and the drummer Nasheet Waits.” (NYT-Chinen)

Kelly Burke: Love for Sale
SOHO Playhouse, Huron Club, 15 Vandam (btw Varick Street and Sixth Ave.) / 5PM, $30

“English singer-actor Burke makes her U.S. debut in a “cabaret-play” set in the 1930s, featuring songs by Kurt Weill and others. The winning Charlie Alterman costars as her pianist.” (TONY)

“Developed for London’s historic Wilton’s Music Hall, and following sell-out performances in London and Edinburgh, Love for Sale is a 1930’s cabaret celebrating the music of Kurt Weill, Cole Porter and their contemporaries.”

NICHOLAS PAYTON: AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE (Jan. 12-15)
at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola / 7:30 and 9:30PM, $40
“Mr. Payton, a trumpeter, keyboardist and (on occasion) vocalist with a taste for soulful postbop and moody funk, recently unveiled this band in New Orleans, his hometown. Along with the bassist Vicente Archer, the drummer Joe Dyson and the percussionist Daniel Sadownick, it features Lady Fingaz, a hip-hop D.J. who has logged some serious time in New Orleans, though she now lives in San Francisco.” (NYT-Chinen)

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

An Evening with Charles Osgood
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 7:30PM, $32
Veteran CBS newsman and creator of The Osgood File, Charles Osgood is CBS News’ “Poet-in-Residence” and an icon of American broadcasting.

Osgood spent 22 years hosting the Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning, continuing the show’s long tradition of in-depth profiles, great reporting and wide-ranging coverage of news, art, entertainment, science, literature and culture. Join him for an evening of storytelling and music reflecting on his remarkable life and the people he has encountered.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Legends of Burlesque Calendar Show
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St./ 6PM, $20-$30
“The 2017 Legends of Burlesque calendar is here, and Le Poisson Rouge is hosting a gala affair to mark the occasion. The event’s lineup is stacked with top-notch burly-Q talent, including Jo Weldon, Legs Malone, Bunny Buxom, Tansy, Jeez Loueez, Lil Miss Lixx, Dottie Dynamo, Miss Poison Ivory and many more. Hosting duties fall to the ever-enticing World Famous *BOB* and all proceeds from the calendar benefit the Burlesque Hall of Fame, a Las Vegas organization dedicated to preserving the history of burlesque.” (TONY)

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

================================================
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:

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 'CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY', An Evening with Charles Osgood, Christian McBride, Kelly Burke: Love for Sale, Legends of Burlesque Calendar Show, NICHOLAS PAYTON: AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE, NYC Events, Steve Davis Sextet | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/14) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 01/14/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

Roméo et Juliette
Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center/ 8PM, $27+
“When Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo starred opposite each other in Manon at the Met in 2015, the New York Times said, “the temperature rises nearly to boiling every time Damrau and Grigolo are on stage together.” Now they’re back as opera’s classic lovers, in Gounod’s lush Shakespeare adaptation. The production, by director Bartlett Sher, has already won acclaim for its vivid 18th-century milieu and stunning costumes during runs at Salzburg and La Scala. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the sumptuous score.”

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
SAVION GLOVER ft. MARCUS GILMORE
Noche Flamenca: Antigona
‘CANDIDE’
Zlatne Uste Golden Festival
‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY’
New York Jewish Film Festival

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

SAVION GLOVER ft. MARCUS GILMORE
Blue Note, / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30-$45
“Famous tap dancer, choreographer, and actor Savion Glover is the epitome of a living legend. Born in 1973, the tapping marvel has graced the stage since childhood. He set a record as the youngest person ever to receive a scholarship in the Newark Community School of the Arts, and before he was a teenager, he made his mark starring in the leading role in the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid.”

‘CANDIDE’ (also Jan. 15, 4 p.m.)
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater ,/ 2PM+8PM, $20+
“Harold Prince returns to direct Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” after introducing it to the New York City Opera in 1982. Singers include Jay Armstrong Johnson (Candide), Gregg Edelman (Voltaire, Pangloss and other roles), Meghan Picerno (Cunegonde), Linda Lavin (Old Lady) and Keith Phares (Maximilian).”

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Zlatne Uste Golden Festival
The Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Ave., Bklyn./
FRI-7:30PM-12:30AM $30; SAT-6PM-2AM $45
“Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, dance, and culture coalesce at this annual festival, held in New York City for more than thirty years. Balkan traditions and customs unfold across two nights and four stages, where attendees can shop for folk arts and sample the wide array of foods native to the region, spanning roughly from Romania to Greece and from Croatia to Turkey. The main draw is a marathon of groups staging performances from the region, including Egyptian traditional dance, a Slavic chorus, a Balkan brass band, and a Mediterranean outfit of violin, accordion, and clarinet. Profits generated from ticket sales will be donated to charitable and educational organizations aiding Balkan communities.” (NewYorker)

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

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

=======================================================
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:

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

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

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:
‘FROM THE COLLECTION: 1960-1969’ (through March 12, 2017)
“MoMA shakes up its sanctum sanctorum, installing half of its permanent collection galleries with works chosen by 17 curators from a single decade: the tumultuous 1960s. The limited time frame is balanced by unprecedented breadth and variety. As never before, the presentation mixes together objects and artworks from all six of the museum’s curatorial departments. The blend is alternately stimulating and bewildering, revelatory and infuriating: yet another symptom of the museum’s limited curatorial mind-set. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Smith)
‘TONY OURSLER: IMPONDERABLE’ (through April 16, 2017)
“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. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Johnson)

Whitney Museum of American Art:
‘HUMAN INTEREST: PORTRAITS FROM THE WHITNEY’S COLLECTION’ (through Feb.12, 2017)
“A year ago, the Whitney inaugurated its new downtown home with a permanent collection showcase called “America Is Hard to See.” Its even more immediately engaging successor, devoted entirely to portraiture, is now on view and might well have been subtitled “Americans Are Strange to Look At,” which, in the 250 images here, we sure are: funny-strange, beautiful-strange, crazy-strange, dangerous-strange, inscrutable-strange. The work is arranged by theme and spread over two floors. There are magnetic images everywhere. 99 Gansevoort Street, 212-570-3600, whitney.org.” (Cotter)

“DREAMLANDS: IMMERSIVE CINEMA AND ART’, 1905-2016′ (thru Feb.05, 2017)
“The Whitney’s new exhibit offers visitors a chance to explore more than a century of experimentation in cinema, mostly by American artists. See works that question and play with elements such as color, touch, music, spectacle, light and darkness, animation and dimension. There will be a film series in addition to the 18,000 square feet of gallery space devoted to the show.” (Newsday)

==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right sidebar dated 01/12 and 01/10.
==============================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 'CRUEL AND UNUSUAL COMEDY', ‘CANDIDE’, SAVION GLOVER ft. MARCUS GILMORE | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/13) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 01/13/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY

STEVE DAVIS SEXTET
NICHOLAS PAYTON: AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE
Zlatne Uste Golden Festival
J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
New York Jewish Film Festival

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

STEVE DAVIS SEXTET (Jan. 13-15)
Smoke Jazz Club, 2751 Broadway, btw.105th/06th Sts./ 7, 9 and 10:30PM, $38
“Davis may not have been around for the first flowering of hard bop in the nineteen-fifties, but for this supremely adept trombonist—who has also been heard with the neo-bop One for All unit, as well as with advanced ensembles like Chick Corea’s Origin band—the idiom is as natural as his heartbeat. To stir up the action, he has gathered four similarly minded peers, including the saxophonists Steve Wilson and Jimmy Green, the bassist Peter Washington, and the drummer Lewis Nash, along with a highly regarded elder, the pianist Larry Willis.” (NewYorker)

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

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

J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions (Jan.12-19)
at Grand Central Terminal,
“As the only top-level sporting event to be held annually in Grand Central Terminal, the J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions is considered one of the squash world’s most coveted titles. More than 100 of the game’s best men and women will compete in this weeklong event, beginning on Jan. 12, which takes place in a specially constructed court inside Vanderbilt Hall. Fans of the sport can opt for free, standing-room viewing — an option that also attracts curious passers-by and commuters — or purchase seated tickets.” (JACK WILLIAMS, NYT)

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

==================================================
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:

Greenwich Village (all six are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – 178 7th Ave. South, villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592
55 Bar – 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 – 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.

==================================================================================
♦ 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 / 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

==================================================================================
“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 NICHOLAS PAYTON: AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE, Noche Flamenca: Antigona, Steve Davis Sextet, Zlatne Uste Golden Festival | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/12) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 01/12/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

Design Night: Designing a Better America
Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 E. 91st St./ 6:30PM, $25
“Autodesk’s popular Design Night makes its New York debut. Hosted with America’s design museum and exploring a theme inspired by the Cooper Hewitt exhibition By the People: Designing a Better America, the evening will celebrate how design and technology are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

At Design Night: Designing a Better America, you’ll enjoy:
> Access to the entire museum, including By the People: Designing a Better America and the accompanying interactive installation, Citizen Design.
> A talk by designer Deanna Van Buren, Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, featured in By the People.
> An open bar, food, DJ, hands-on activities, and more.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Travelin’ Home: Contemporary New York
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
New York Jewish Film Festival
If Our Bodies Could Talk by James Hamblin

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Travelin’ Home: Contemporary New York
Saint Paul’s Chapel, 209 Broadway / 1PM, FREE
“The Triton Brass Quintet performs contemporary American music and arrangements of music reminiscent of the previous four “Travelin’ Home” recitals. The brass quintet is one of the youngest chamber music ensembles. It pulls its repertoire from new compositions, or often steals it from other genres through transcription or arrangement. A perfect way to represent the musical present, and end the series with a bang!”
This event is part of Trinity’s annual festival of January concerts, Time’s Arrow. (Columbia Arts Initiative)

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE (Jan. 10-15 and 17-22)
at the Village Vanguard, / 8 and 10PM, $30.
“Mr. McBride, the bassist, bandleader and composer, holds fast to a mood of generous bonhomie with his trio, which recently released a live album recorded in this room. That group, now with Christian Sands on piano and Jerome Jennings on drums, performs the first week of his engagement, Jan. 10 through 15. From Jan. 17 through 22, Mr. McBride will lead a groove-minded quartet, informally called New Jawn McBride, featuring the trumpeter Josh Evans, the saxophonist Marcus Strickland and the drummer Nasheet Waits.” (NYT-Chinen)

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

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Book Launch: If Our Bodies Could Talk by James Hamblin
Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams St./ 7PM, FREE
“Knowledge of the human body grows increasingly precious. We enlist specialists and trainers and hunt new diets and regimens, largely forgoing detailed information on anatomy and physiology in favor of a sort of science-based service industry. James Hamblin, the senior editor of The Atlantic, delivers “If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body” this week, a witty how-to book touching on health concerns and blind spots in areas including sex, aging, wellness, and nutrition. Hamblin has helped explain our bodies to us since 2012, when he joined The Atlantic to build out its health section—the book arrives as an extension of his video series on the site, and answers questions about things like optimal sleeping patterns and cell-phone radiation based on responses from health-care professionals and medical experts.” (NewYorker)

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

=====================================================
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 (all six are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – 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 – 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 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):

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

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.

Time Out New York highlights this current exhibition:
“Sergei Eisenstein: Drawings 1931–1948” (thru Feb.11)
Alexander Gray Associates, 510 W26th St.
“Did you know that the director of Battleship Potemkin drew pornographic pictures in his downtime? Us neither, but as this roundup of his explicit exertions on paper clearly demonstrate, it’s true. The show spans the period from 1931 until his death in 1948.”

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

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).

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 01/10 and 01/08.
======================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christian McBride, Design Night: Designing a Better America, If Our Bodies Could Talk by James Hamblin, J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, New York Jewish Film Festival, NYC Events, Travelin' Home: Contemporary New York | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/11) + Today’s Featured Pub (Upper WestSide)

Posted on 01/11/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

UTE LEMPER
54 Below, / 9:30PM, $45+
“Back by popular demand, Feinstein’s/54 Below presents renowned international chanteuse and star of Broadway’s Chicago, Ute Lemper with her new show Songs From the Broken Heart. Share in Ute’s stories of life, wonder, love, doubt, and loss, spanning from her Song Trilogy of Poets to her own tales of long sleepless nights. Delve into Ute’s repertoire of her own pen alongside the lyrics of Bukowski, Coehlo, Leo Ferre, Jacques Brel, Nick Cave, and Tom Waits. Journey beyond the dark streets of Berlin and Paris, and follow the main road that leads to Ute’s heart in this deeply personal and intimate evening of stories and songs.”

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
New York Jewish Film Festival
I Love New York?
Our Bodies, Our Data

PLUS – NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
at City Winery / 8PM, $25-$30
“The musician Justin Townes Earle is the son of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle, so it’s not surprising that he has inherited his father’s gift for spinning a yarn. On a pair of recent albums, “Single Mothers” and “Absent Fathers,” Mr. Earle explores issues of family life with charming country, rousing rockabilly and gritty, world-weary vocals that suggest he is far wiser than his 35 years. With Carsie Blanton.” (NYT-Chinen)

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

New York Jewish Film Festival
Walter Reade Theater (at Lincoln Center), 165 W65th St./ 1PM, $14
“For its 26th year, the wide-ranging festival takes over Lincoln Center for two weeks of documentary and narrative film screenings. This edition features Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M, a doc that chronicles the singer’s five-decade career; Mr. Gaga, which documents the work of Ohad Naharin and Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company; and a special screening of Mel Brooks’s classic The Producers, starring the late greats Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder.” (TONY)

I Love New York?
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave./ 6:30PM, $25
“Tireless champion of the five boroughs Marty Markowitz, Vice President of Borough Promotion & Engagement, partners with artist and Lower East Side folk historian Clayton Patterson, self-described last of the New York Bohemians, to consider the state of New York City’s creative soul.

Only in New York is a new conversation series in which New York Times journalist Sarah Maslin Nir brings together two New Yorkers from different worlds to explore key questions about the city’s identity, culture, and history.”

Our Bodies, Our Data:
How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records
with Adam Tanner, writer-in-residence at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science
Mid-Manhattan Library, 5th Ave @ 40th St./ 6:30 PM, FREE
“The illustrated lecture explores how the hidden trade in our sensitive medical information became a multibillion-dollar business, but has done little to improve our health-care outcomes.”

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.

To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

==================================================================================
♦ 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 in advance at these top NYC events, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

A PremierPub / Upper West Side

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/
Phone #: 212-694-1777
Hours: Mo-Th 11:30am-11:00pm; Fr-Sa 11:30am-12:00am;
Su 12:00pm-10:00pm
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day; $1 off all drinks
Music: Fri / Sat 10:30pm
Subway: #1 to 125th St.
Walk 2 blk W on 125th St. to Dinosaur Bar-B-Q,
just past the elevated highway.
========================================================
“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge (except for certain jazz clubs).

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christian McBride, I Love New York?, Justin Townes Earle, New York Jewish Film Festival, NYC Events, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records, Ute Lemper | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/10) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 01/10/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE
at Terminal 5 / 8PM, $
“One year after he died unexpectedly at 69, some of David Bowie’s friends and collaborators are coming together to play “Bowie music Bowie style.” Those artists, including the keyboardist Mike Garson and the guitarists Adrian Belew and Earl Slick, will support performers such as the Harlem Gospel Choir, Angelo Moore of Fishbone and Kate Pierson of the B-52s. But the evening’s highlight promises to come from the astronaut Chris Hadfield, who memorably performed Mr. Bowie’s “Space Oddity” from the International Space Station in 2013.” (Chinen-NYT)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Barb Jungr and John McDaniel: Come Together
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
The Landmarks of New York
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
BONUS: NYC WINTER JAZZFEST

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

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Barb Jungr and John McDaniel: Come Together
Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W46th St./ 7PM, $25
“One of the world’s great cabaret singers, England’s Barb Jungr is a genuine original, deploying warmth, high drama and sensitive musicality to reinvent everything she sings. Between songs, she is disarmingly garrulous, funny and candid; when she sings—in a warm, breathy voice acutely attentive to rhythm—she is serious but free of pretense. Now she teams up with musical director John McDaniel (The Rosie O’Donnell Show) to dig into the rich catalog of the Beatles. What could be fabber?” (TONY)

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE (also Wed)
at City Winery / 8PM, $25-$30
“The musician Justin Townes Earle is the son of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle, so it’s not surprising that he has inherited his father’s gift for spinning a yarn. On a pair of recent albums, “Single Mothers” and “Absent Fathers,” Mr. Earle explores issues of family life with charming country, rousing rockabilly and gritty, world-weary vocals that suggest he is far wiser than his 35 years. With Carsie Blanton.” (NYT-Chinen)

BONUS:
NYC WINTER JAZZFEST (LAST DAY)
“This teeming convergence of bands and artists, both emerging and established, qualifies as New York City’s biggest jazz event of the season, if not the year. The festival’s 2017 edition has adopted a theme of social justice, with related work presented by, among others, the trombonist Craig Harris (“Breathe”) and the drummers Mike Reed (“Flesh & Bone”) and Terri Lyne Carrington (with her band Social Science). They will represent a few options among many in the Winter Jazzfest Marathon, on Jan. 6 and 7 in a range of settings below 14th Street.

The festival then continues with a centennial tribute to Thelonious Monk, on Jan. 8 at Littlefield, featuring improvisers like the pianist David Virelles and the guitarist Marc Ribot; a double bill of the singer-songwriter Sam Amidon (with an array of guests) and the drummer Andrew Cyrille (performing solo) on Jan. 9 at Le Poisson Rouge; and the Liberation Music Orchestra, with the pianist Geri Allen as a guest conductor, on Jan. 10, also at Le Poisson Rouge.” (Chinen – NYT)

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

The Landmarks of New York
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 12PM, $25
“New York City has become the leader of the preservation movement in the United States, with more buildings and districts designated and protected than in any other city.

Join the founder and chair of the New York Landmarks50 Alliance, to hear about iconic structures such as Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and more.”

A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
with food historians Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe.
Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Ave. / 6:30 PM, FREE
“This illustrated lecture provides an in-depth exploration of the greatest food crisis the nation has ever faced—the Great Depression—and how it transformed America’s culinary culture.”

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

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

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM:
‘AGNES MARTIN’ (last 2 days)
Agnes Martin was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1912, lived in New York City in the 1950s and ’60s, and spent the rest of her life in New Mexico, where she died in 2004. More than 100 of her paintings and drawings now float up the ramps of the Guggenheim Museum’s rotunda in the most out-of-this-world-beautiful show in this space in years. Her art is about faint colors and subliminal lines; to see it requires sustained looking and some moving around: Stand back, then move up close. By the time you reach the final painting, high up under the museum’s great skylight, you’ve been through a rich life, and had a spirit-lifting, body-lightening lesson in what abstraction can be and can do. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, 212-423-3500, guggenheim.org. (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)

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).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 01/08 and 01/06.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression, Barb Jungr and John McDaniel: Come Together, CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE, Christian McBride, Justin Townes Earle, The Landmarks of New York | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/09) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 01/09/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

DONNY MCCASLIN GROUP
Birdland, 7PM, $30
“The turbocharged fusion band led by the saxophonist Donny McCaslin gained a poignant form of renown for its heavy lifting on David Bowie’s final album, “Blackstar.” This engagement will feature the group — with Jason Lindner on keyboards, Tim Lefebvre on electric bass and Mark Guiliana on drums — drawing from Mr. McCaslin’s own recent album, “Beyond Now,” which bears a dedication to Bowie, and features brooding covers of two of his songs.” (NYT-Chinen)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
DAVID YAZBEK, WITH SPECIAL GUEST ANAÏS MITCHELL
Sam Amidon
Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer
When Honor’s at the Stake: Shakespeare’s Soldiers in War and Peace
BONUS: NYC WINTER JAZZFEST

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

DAVID YAZBEK, WITH SPECIAL GUEST ANAÏS MITCHELL
54 Below, 7PM, $50+
“David Yazbek makes music that jumps out of its skin. [He is] ferociously smart and intimidatingly hip. [His show] at Feinstein’s/54 Below [is] a raucous evening of unclassifiable musical comedy. -Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Here’s a rare opportunity to see one of the theater’s most innovative composers do what he’s actually best at— thrilling a live audience. The New York Times has called his live performance “A thrill-ride at a volcano’s edge.” Together with a band of the most exciting musicians in NYC, Yazbek will perform songs from his albums and shows— old, new and upcoming. Expect a cool Special Guest or two as well. Don’t miss this chance to see the composer/lyricist of The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Boardwalk Empire and the haunting Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego Theme strut his piano-banging stuff.

This January, for one performance only, David will be joined by special guest Anaïs Mitchell, the acclaimed singer-songwriter recently represented off-Broadway with Hadestown.”

Sam Amidon
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St./ 8pm, $25
This genial indie-folk singer, banjoist, and fiddler grew up in Vermont with expansive tastes that included an appreciation for Dock Boggs, Elvin Jones, and the drone violinist Tony Conrad. In 2010, Amidon moved to England with his wife, the singer-songwriter Beth Orton, where he has tuned in to the work of pioneering sixties British folk revivalists like the singer Anne Briggs and the song collector and singer Shirley Collins. Amidon, meanwhile, maintains his own commitment to heterodoxy, which has been marked by collaborations with gifted improvisers like the Americana-tinged jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and the multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, his longtime cohort. For this show, part of the NYC Winter Jazzfest, Amidon takes his folk-improvisation hybrid one step further, inviting the free-jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille to open with a brief solo performance and asking a slew of guest improvisers, including Ismaily, the guitarist Marc Ribot, and the trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, to contribute embellishments to his affecting, gravelly songs.” (NewYorker)

Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer
Mezzrow, 163 W. 10th St./ 8PM, $20
Shank, a vocalist of imaginative latitude, has found a duo soul mate in the veteran pianist Keezer, as demonstrated on the new recording “Half Moon.” Investigating worthy, under-the-radar material (including work by such jazz luminaries as Abbey Lincoln and Cedar Walton), Shank and Keezer find mutual inspiration in intuitive surprise.” (NewYorker)

BONUS:
NYC WINTER JAZZFEST (through Jan. 10)
“This teeming convergence of bands and artists, both emerging and established, qualifies as New York City’s biggest jazz event of the season, if not the year. The festival’s 2017 edition has adopted a theme of social justice, with related work presented by, among others, the trombonist Craig Harris (“Breathe”) and the drummers Mike Reed (“Flesh & Bone”) and Terri Lyne Carrington (with her band Social Science). They will represent a few options among many in the Winter Jazzfest Marathon, on Jan. 6 and 7 in a range of settings below 14th Street.

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

When Honor’s at the Stake: Shakespeare’s Soldiers in War and Peace
Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 695 Park Ave./ 7PM, $35
“Unlike our own time, when wars are viewed as uncivilized interruptions fought far from our shores, in Shakespeare’s England war was an inevitable mode of vengeance and resolution, and the bloodiness of battle a part of most men’s lives. But, then as now, soldiers came home from the stalwart, perhaps rigid, honor of war to the more complicated, perhaps fragile, humanity of peace. Shakespeare’s soldiers are not simply ruthless men of blood, but are also richly imaginative souls who frequently find themselves caught between their accustomed embrace of violence and their devotion to domesticity, love, service, loyalty and patriotism. Elizabeth Samet, English professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and author of Soldier’s Heart and No Man’s Land, will explore how military values of honor, valor, and service are exhibited, questioned, and betrayed in Macbeth and Othello.”

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

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:

==================================================================================
♦ 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 and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

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

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged David Yazbek, DONNY MCCASLIN GROUP, Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer, NYC Events, Sam Amidon, When Honor’s at the Stake: Shakespeare’s Soldiers in War and Peace, WITH SPECIAL GUEST ANAÏS MITCHELL | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (01/08) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 01/08/2017 by GregD

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

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

ANAT COHEN TENTET
Jazz Standard, / 7:30, +9:30PM, $30
“A clarinetist and tenor saxophonist of irresistible rhythmic aplomb, Ms. Cohen has dabbled in music for midsize ensembles, and this one should bring out some vibrant colors in her writing. The 10-piece ensemble’s chamberesque lineup includes Nadje Noordhuis on trumpet, Rubin Kodheli on cello, James Shipp on vibraphone and Sheryl Bailey on guitar.” (Chinen-NYT)

“With the clarinet she becomes a singer, a dancer, a poet, a mad scientist, laughing – musically – with the sheer delight of reaching that new place, that new feeling, with each chorus.” (JazzTimes)

Whenever Anat Cohen is in town she is always my top pick – just magical.

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Jomama Jones: Black Light
Confucius- CHINA NATIONAL OPERA & DANCE DRAMA THEATER
Chris Botti 12th Annual Holiday Residency
UTE LEMPER
Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Monster Energy Buck Off
BONUS: NYC WINTER JAZZFEST

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Jomama Jones: Black Light
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater / 7PM, $25
“Decked out in sequined splendor, Jones is a paradigm of R&B-diva grandeur circa 1982, with impeccable posture and elocution that bespeak an old-school black-star dignity. Created and performed by Daniel Alexander Jones, Jomama has starred in a series of shows, most recently the fascinating Duat; now she joins forces with young pianist Samora Pinderhughes for a night of original “Afromystical” songs.” (TONY)

Confucius- CHINA NATIONAL OPERA & DANCE DRAMA THEATER
NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center/ 1PM, $22+
“During China’s Cultural Revolution, Confucius fell out of fashion. In recent years, however, as the country has modernized, it has also re-embraced its past and the ancient philosopher’s 2,500-year-old teachings. A 90-minute dance drama about his life, simply called “Confucius,” follows the scholar through the kingdoms of the Zhou dynasty as he reflects on ethics and honor, as illustrated in a blend of traditional and contemporary dance and music. The director and choreographer, Kong Dexin, is a 77th-generation descendant of her subject.” (NYT)

Chris Botti 12th Annual Holiday Residency (LAST DAY)
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $50 Bar; $85-$115 Table
“Botti’s trumpet skills are actually as good as his telegenic looks, even if he rarely puts them to use playing the kind of bop he cut his teeth on. A consummate showman, Botti presents his blend of smooth jazz-funk, glossily Miles-ian ballads and assorted pop and classical chestnuts at the Blue Note for his 12th annual holiday residency.” (TONY)

UTE LEMPER (also Jan.11)
54 Below, / 9:30PM, $45+
“Back by popular demand, Feinstein’s/54 Below presents renowned international chanteuse and star of Broadway’s Chicago, Ute Lemper with her new show Songs From the Broken Heart. Share in Ute’s stories of life, wonder, love, doubt, and loss, spanning from her Song Trilogy of Poets to her own tales of long sleepless nights. Delve into Ute’s repertoire of her own pen alongside the lyrics of Bukowski, Coehlo, Leo Ferre, Jacques Brel, Nick Cave, and Tom Waits. Journey beyond the dark streets of Berlin and Paris, and follow the main road that leads to Ute’s heart in this deeply personal and intimate evening of stories and songs.”

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

Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Monster Energy Buck Off (Jan.06-08)
Madison Square Garden, / 7:45PM, $26+
“Escape the chilly weather with some Southern-style, yee-haw-worthy fun at the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden. Don a cowboy hat and cheer on 35 ace studs as they attempt to stay atop bucking bovines—which can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds—for more than eight seconds.” (TONY)

PLUS, Two places to ride a mechanical bull in NYC
“When you do, rider Ryan Dirteater (yes, that’s his real last name) says to “keep your chin down, bow that chest out, keep your hips on the rope, and don’t get too wild with your free arm.” Ready to ride? Here’s where to go.
Johnny Utah’s
Sign a waiver, get a stamp on your hand, and enjoy free bull rides all night at this kitschy Southwestern-inspired bar. The midtown haunt promises a “challenging” experience, so you might want to hold off on those loaded nachos until after your turn. 25 W 51st St (212-265-8824)
Slate
On special occasions, this sleek Chelsea lounge amplifies its Sunday football-watching revelry with mechanical livestock. Between the writhing bull and the club’s pool, Ping-Pong and foosball tables, you’ll never be bored during halftime. 54 W 21st St (212-989-0096)” (TONY)

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

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

==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right sidebar dated 01/06 and 01/04.
==============================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anat Cohen Tentet, CHINA NATIONAL OPERA & DANCE DRAMA THEATER, Chris Botti 12th Annual Holiday Residency, Confucius- CHINA NATIONAL OPERA & DANCE DRAMA THEATER, Jomama Jones: Black Light, NYC WINTER JAZZFEST, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Monster Energy Buck Off, Ute Lemper | Leave a comment

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

Today’s Super7 NYC Events>TUESDAY/JAN.17, 2017

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

Today’s Super7 NYC Events>MONDAY/JAN.16, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Today’s Super7 NYC Events>SUNDAY/JAN.15, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

3 Good Eating places

Today’s Super7 NYC Events>SATURDAY/JAN.14, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>FRIDAY/JAN.13, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>THURSDAY/JAN 12, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>WEDNESDAY/JAN 11, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub / Upper West Side

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

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

Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>TUESDAY/JAN 10, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>MONDAY/JAN 09, 2017

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

3 Good Eating places

Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>SUNDAY/JAN 08, 2017

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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