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

Selected Events (04/20) + Today’sFeaturedNeighborhood: WestVillage

Posted on 04/20/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, APR. 20, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

John Mellencamp – Pop / Rock (8pm)

“Weird Al” Yankovic – SmartStuff/ Conversation (6pm)

Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux – Food & Drink (6-8pm)

Broadway Sings Tori – Pop / Rock (8pm)

Ava Luna – Pop / Rock (8:30pm)

Tribeca Talks: Directors Series, – SmartStuff/ Conversation (6pm)

For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:
♦ “9 Notable Events-Apr.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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John Mellencamp (also Tuesday,April 21)
“John Mellencamp has ventured out from the heartland to bring his songs of roiling, toiling American life to stages across the land. It is a long way from Bloomington, Ind., where the 63-year-old Mr. Mellencamp still lives and writes songs, including those on “Plain Spoken,” a 2014 album that pairs his grizzled voice with acoustic guitar, fiddle, harmonica and other markers of folk music. Songs from that take their place in a songbook filled with hits as familiar as any: “Jack & Diane,” “Hurt So Good,” “Pink Houses” and many more. Also at the Apollo Theater in Harlem April 23 and 24.’ (WSJ)
Carnegie Hall, 881 Seventh Ave.
8pm / $50-$130
(212) 247-780

“Weird Al” Yankovic and John Ficarra
“Celebrate the meeting of “Two Weird Als,” musical satirist and comedian “Weird Al” Yankovic and MAD Magazine’s gap-toothed idiot mascot Alfred E. Neuman Monday evening at Barnes & Noble Union Square. Join MAD’s Editor-in-Chief John Ficarra and first ever MAD guest editor Weird Al, who will be on hand to sign copies of the magazine’s latest issue.” (dnainfo.com)
Barnes & Noble, Union Square, 33 East 17th St.
6 p.m./ 212-253-0810, barnesandnoble.com.
Wristbands will be available with purchase of MAD Magazine #533 beginning at 10 a.m.

Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux
Grand Tasting Event
On Monday April 20th, for one night only, 35 of the best wineries from the famed Left and Right Banks of Bordeaux, will treat New Yorkers to an exclusive unveiling of their most prized possessions.

The event, held in the spectacular Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal, will begin at 6:00pm and run until 8:00pm. Speak with some of the industry’s most respected winemakers, explore and sample some of the finest wines that Bordeaux has to offer. You will also be treated with a cheese tasting along with sweet and savory canelés from Canelé by Céline.
The tasting includes a generous Silent Auction, featuring rare to find Magnums of prestigious Bordeaux wines, and benefits ACE, The Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless.
Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd St.
6PM – 8PM / $60

Broadway Sings Tori: A Benefit for RAINN
A tremendous lineup of vocalists—including Laura Benanti, Lena Hall, Molly Pope, Rachel Bay Jones, Natalie Joy Johnson, Zak Resnick and Colleen Harris—digs into the aching oeuvre of singer-songwriter Tori Amos in this benefit for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Longtime Amos admirer Brian Nash handles the keys, with Julie James playing host.
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. at Thompson St
8pm / $100
broadwaysingstori.com

Ava Luna
See local indie-rockers Ava Luna for free at Eataly.

Chef Batali will host a live performance at his Flatiron Italian-food mecca, Eataly, in honor of his partnership with TONY. Consider this your invite, dear readers: Ava Luna, a brilliant, up-and-coming Brooklyn quintet with a sound perched between angular indie rock and supple soul, plays a live show at Eataly’s rooftop restaurant and brewery, La Birreria. The performance starts at 8:30pm and like the headline says, admission is absolutely free. Food and drinks, not so much, but even so—people, this is going to be awesome.
Eataly, La Birreria, 23rd St. and 5th Ave.

Tribeca Talks: Directors Series, Christopher Nolan with Bennett Miller
As one of the most critically and commercially successful filmmakers of our time, Christopher Nolan will discuss his ability to push boundaries and create entire worlds and realities from his imagination with fellow director Bennett Miller.
Tribeca Film Festival / BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St.
6PM / $35, may need to do Rush tickets or stub hub this one.
212-843-9279

BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
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:
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
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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro/ 331 W. 4th St.

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

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:

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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 Ava Luna, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Broadway Sings Tori, Carnegie Hall, Eataly, Grand Central Terminal, John Mellencamp, Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux, LE Poisson Rouge, Tribeca Talks: Directors Series | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/19) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/19/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, APR. 19, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

The 5th Annual Big Cheesy – Food & Drink (11am-6pm)

Ballet Hispanico – Dance (2pm) (7:30pm)

Tribeca Film Festival – Special Event-Film Festival (various times)

Samba Jazz and the Music of Jobim – Jazz (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

Brooklyn Folk Festival – Folk Music (2pm-11pm)

Ballet Hispanico (through April 26)
“This ardent company returns to the Joyce Theater with works by Spanish and Latin American choreographers, spanning four programs. The lineup includes a world premiere by the Mexican choreographer Miguel Mancillas and the New York premiere of Rosie Herrera’s “Show Girl,” a look at Latina identity through the lens of Cuban cabaret.

The troupe revives some of its pithiest choreography with Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s flirtatious “El Beso,” from last year, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s popular “Sombrerísimo,” for six men in bowler hats.” (Siobhan Burke-NYT)

Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday and April 24 at 8 p.m.; April 25 at 2 and 8 p.m.; April 26 at 2 p.m.;
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea,
212-242-0800, joyce.org.

The 5th Annual Big Cheesy – the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Showdown
Try the city’s best grilled cheeses from contenders like Artisanal, Depanneur Brooklyn, Le Maison de Croque Monsieur and many more! Wash them down with two Goose Island beers.

In honor of grilled cheese month, the Big Cheesy takes place in one-hour time slots over the course of two delicious days, April 18 and 19, from 11am to 6pm. – $30.
Vote for your favorite, with some proceeds going to the Food Bank of New York.
They are all good, and it’s tough to pick one as best. My tip: try to get your grilled cheese when it’s hot off the grill.
at Openhouse, 201 Mulberry St. in NoLita.
http://www.timeout.com/bigcheesy; http://openhouse.me/

Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26)
The Tribeca Film Festival provides a platform for innovative filmmakers of all stripes to present their latest work. This year’s program includes blockbusters, documentaries, foreign films and shorts and free outdoor screenings. Also on offer are a huge variety of panel discussions and lectures. The first official documentary sanctioned by Kurt Cobain’s estate, “Montage of Heck” will be screened, as will Katie Holmes’ documentary on Nadia Comaneci. A Monty Python reunion will take place in honor of the 40th anniversary of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” (dnainfo.com)

“Robert DeNiro’s little-alternative-festival-that-could has grown into a juggernaut of hundreds of films, talks, industry schmoozes and whatnot that’s spread over two jam-packed weekends. Two years ago it showcased the premiere of Senior Planet fave “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.” There’s even more in store this year.” (seniorplanet.org)

Visit the festival site; there are tons of worthy options.
tribecafilm.com/festival
Various venues.
Various Times / $10 matinee, $18 evening/weekend, $35 Tribeca Talk

Samba Jazz and the Music of Jobim
“Duduka Da Fonseca, a drummer, and Helio Alves, a pianist, have carved out a strong niche together, often working under the banner of Samba Jazz. This week they are paying tribute to Antônio Carlos Jobim, with another regular partner, the vocalist Maucha Adnet.” (Chinen-NYT)

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and Broadway,
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.,
212-258-9595, jazz.org.

Elsewhere, but this sure looks worth the detour:
Brooklyn Folk Festival (LAST DAY)
The seventh annual Brooklyn Folk Festival takes place at St. Ann’s Church this year, offering an array of globe-straddling talent. This isn’t just an Americana fest, though there’ll be plenty of that; you’ll also hear traditional Balkan, Middle Eastern and Guinean stylings.

Today’s headliners include weirdo-folk duo Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel, Bruce Molsky’s old time fiddle, banjo and guitar, and the Hoodoo Honeydrippers, a country blues duet.
St. Ann’s Church, 157 Montague St. (btw Clinton and Henry Sts.) Brooklyn Heights,
2pm – 11pm / $20–$25

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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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

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 the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art:

‘Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection, 1909-1949’ (LAST DAY) Overflowing with prints by Berenice Abbott, Andre Kertesz, Edward Weston and other luminaries from the first half of the 20th century, this exhibition would seem to be a straightforward look at photography’s past. But the show, packaged with a book, a symposium and an engrossing interactive website, is really a bold attempt to visualize the future of photography inside the museum as it reckons with the unwieldy, image-saturated culture outside the galleries. With works by Aleksandr Rodchenko, Ms. Abbott, Alvin Langdon Coburn and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy that explore cities from unusual angles or abstract their infrastructure, the show’s largest section, “Dynamics of the City,” best encapsulates the Walther Collection’s distinctly urban, peripatetic take on Modernism. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Rosenberg)

Museum of Biblical Art:
‘Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces From Florence Cathedral’ (through June 14) This terrific 23-piece show features three major works by the early Renaissance sculptor Donatello (1386-1466), including the life-size statue of a bald prophet known as “lo Zuccone” or “Pumpkin Head,” which is widely considered the sculptor’s greatest work. Along with a half-dozen other works by or attributed to Donatello are sculptures by Nanni di Banco (circa 1386-1421), Donatello’s main competitor, including his monumental representation in marble of St. Luke. With the addition of a series of octagonal marble reliefs by Luca della Robbia and wooden models of the Florence Cathedral’s enormous dome attributed to its designer, Filippo Brunelleschi, the exhibition amounts to a tightly cropped snapshot of the birth of the Renaissance. 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street, 212-408-1500, mobia.org. (Johnson)

New-York Historical Society:
‘Freedom Journey 1965: Photographs of the Selma to Montgomery March by Stephen Somerstein’ (LAST DAY) Almost 50 years ago, the picture editor of a campus newspaper at City College of New York assigned himself a breaking story: coverage of what promised to be a massive march in Alabama, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to demand free-and-clear voting rights for African-Americans. On short notice the editor, Stephen Somerstein, grabbed his cameras, climbed on a bus, and headed south. The 55 pictures of black leaders and everyday people in this show, installed in a hallway and small gallery, are some that he shot that day. The image of Dr. King’s head seen in monumental silhouette that has become a virtual logo of the film “Selma” is based on a Somerstein original. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org. (Cotter)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/17 and 04/15.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ballet Hispanico, Brooklyn Folk Festival, Dizzy's Club, Joyce Theater, Samba Jazz and the Music of Jobim, The Big Cheesy, Tribeca Film Festival | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/18) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Greenwich Village

Posted on 04/18/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, APR. 18, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

The 5th Annual Big Cheesy – Food & Drink (11am-6pm)

The Landmark Dash – Special Event (11am-6pm)

Record Store Day – Special Event Music (various times)

Charles Lloyd: Wild Man Dance Suite – Jazz (8pm)

Music, the Civil War, and American Memory –
SmartStuff/ Concert + Conference (10am-7pm)

Rock Le Cabaret! – Cabaret (4pm) (7:30pm)

The Landmark Dash
“The Landmark Dash will take you through about a dozen landmark interiors (many of which are not normally open to the public) across three boroughs of New York City to complete challenges, solve puzzles and learn about the architectural and historical significance of some of the city’s most important interiors. Players must register and play in teams of 2-4; no solo racers are allowed.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Sponsored by Open House New York and the New York School of Interior Design.
Check-in: 10-11am
Dash time: 11am–6pm
Closing Reception: 5-7pm
Cost: $40 per person (teams of 2-4)
blog.ohny.org/announcing-the-landmark-dash/

The 5th Annual Big Cheesy – the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Showdown (also Sunday)
Try the city’s best grilled cheeses from contenders like Artisanal, Depanneur Brooklyn, Le Maison de Croque Monsieur and many more! Wash them down with two Goose Island beers – my fave, which means I’ll be there.

In honor of grilled cheese month, the Big Cheesy takes place in one-hour time slots over the course of two delicious days, April 18 and 19, from 11am to 6pm. – $30
Vote for your favorite, with some proceeds going to the Food Bank of New York.
at Openhouse, 201 Mulberry St. in NoLita.
http://www.timeout.com/bigcheesy; http://openhouse.me/

Record Store Day
“An annual retail event celebrating the culture of independent brick and mortar record stores, was conceived in 2007 and has been growing steadily ever since. Record labels prepare exclusive releases for the day and many stores also host signing events and live concerts. Participating stores in New York City include Black Star (352 Lenox Ave., Harlem), Harmony Records (1625 Unionport Rd., Parkchester), Majors Records (12 Barrett Ave., Staten Island) and dozens of stores in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In Living Stereo, (2 Great Jones St., NoHo) is featuring live bands and free beer from 1 p.m. Williamsburg’s Rough Trade NYC (64 North 9th St.) is opening at 9 a.m. and will feature live bands from noon with punk pop legends The Buzzcocks performing at 1 p.m. and Kim Gordon playing at 7:30 p.m. Check here for the full list of participating Record Store Day shops. FREE” (dnainfo.com)

Charles Lloyd: Wild Man Dance Suite
“The tenor saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd has been a notable solo artist in jazz for some 50 years (with one notable interruption), and he’ll soon become a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master (see the separate listing). In this concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur — as on an album out this week — he presents a six-part suite featuring a jazz quartet along with Sokratis Sinopoulos on politiki lyra and Miklos Lukacs on Hungarian cimbalom. His rhythm section will feature Jason Moran on piano, Joe Sanders on bass and Eric Harland on drums.” (Chinen-NYT)
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur
At 8 p.m., / $70
212-570-3949, metmuseum.org/tickets.

Music, the Civil War, and American Memory
Music, the Civil War, and American Memory is a conference and concert, hosted by the New York Review of Books at Fordham’s Upper West Side campus. Celebrates the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War and the landmark reissue of Walt Whitman’s Drum-Taps, a book of war poems which includes the elegy for Lincoln, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”
at 10:00 am – 7:00 pm / FREE
Fordham University, 113 W 60th St., 12th floor lounge of the E. Gerald Corrigan Conference Center, For more information about the conference and concert, visit the Fordham University event page.

Rock Le Cabaret! Starring Chanteuse Adrienne Haan
A cutting edge soiree that showcases new modern interpretations of French chansons by Brel, Piaf and Aznavour with a five-piece rock band and live appearance by acclaimed French Artist, Philippe Valy.

“For me, Ms. Haan’s best performances took place during the next two sets, sung in French. She began Jacques Brel’s “Le Port D’Amsterdam” a cappella, a wonderful change of color. The instrumentalists soon joined in, and the work crescendoed to a shattering climax. An equally successful Edith Piaf medley followed”. – NY Concert Review
Cutting Room, 44 East 32nd St.
4PM + 7:30PM / $25, $20 minimum for food/drinks.

BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band and Andy Bey
“Led by its namesake bandleader, songwriter and producer, the J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band has always been a friend to vocalists, and in this engagement, the group pays a centenary tribute to Billie Holiday. Among the singers assembled are Andy Bey, Charles Turner and Melanie Charles.” (Chinen-NYT)

On Saturday April 18th the man considered by so many, including NPR, to be the greatest living jazz male vocalist – Andy Bey- will be performing with the JC Hopkins Biggish Band. It’s an extremely rare chance to see Andy fronting a large ensemble, doing his incomparable balladering with lush arrangements and also stretching out on bebop classics interacting with the pedigreed musicians that make up the Biggish Band.

This sounds too good to miss, I’ll be there.
Minton’s, 206 West 118th Street, Harlem,
subway: #2 or 3 express trains to 116th Street stop at Malcolm X / Lenox Avenue stop.
Walk 2 blocks North to 118th Street and 2 blocks West to St Nicholas
sets times are 8pm & 10pm | Music charge: $25 at the bar, $50 at tables
212-243-2222, mintonsharlem.com.

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:
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
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

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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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

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

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

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

There is also a good selection of wines and lite meals, fairly priced, 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, NYC 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 S/left on Bleecker to Jones st, 50 yards E/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 (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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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)
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 Sq 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”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian / falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed. ================================================================================

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, with expanded descriptions, maps with contact info, 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” ($3.99, available Sumer 2015).
◊ Order before May 31, 2015 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places on Manhattan’s WestSide with free Wi-Fi.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged and American Memory, Charles Lloyd, Cutting Room, Fordham University, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minton's, Music, Rock Le Cabaret!, The 5th Annual Big Cheesy, the Civil War, The Landmark Dash, Wild Man Dance Suite | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/17) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/17/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, APR. 17, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

Celebrating Joe Temperley: From Duke to the JLCO – Jazz (8pm)

Distorted Diznee – Burlesque (10pm)

George Lucas with Stephen Colbert – SmartStuff/ Conversation (4pm)

‘Thereminage à Trois’ – Electronic Music (8:30pm)

The AIPAD Photography Show – Photography (11am-8:30pm)

The Big Cheesy – Food & Drink (Sat & Sun)

Celebrating Joe Temperley: From Duke to the JLCO
For the past 25 years, saxophonist and clarinetist Joe Temperley has been the heart and soul of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The depth conveyed through his warm tone has moved countless audiences to tears. The profundity of Temperley’s presence is rooted in an illustrious career, which spans several decades.

Temperley, now 85, has performed with the orchestras of Humphrey Lyttelton, Woody Herman, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, and most notably, Duke Ellington, as well as in the Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies. In honor of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s elder statesman, band mates will debut arrangements of Temperley’s Ellington favorites as well as his original music.

Managing & Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis will present a three-movement concerto, written as a dedication to Temperley, about whose playing Marsalis says: “There is no greater sound on earth.” Free pre-concert discussion with Greg Thomas at 7pm.
Jazz at Lincoln Center, 3 Columbus Circle, Frederick P. Rose Hall
8pm / $30-$120
212-258-9800

Distorted Diznee
This show is an outrageous Las Vegas-style parody revue of some of America’s most beloved animated classics. Come be Part of Our World as a troupe of fabulous drag queens takes you on a twisted — and very adult — journey, catapulting you back to your childhood into a Magical Kingdom where dreams come true. This ever-evolving 75-minute non-stop extravaganza features high-energy dance numbers, comedy, dazzling costumes and lip-syncing “ladies”– with a bit of Cher, Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel and Rihanna thrown in for good measure!

This show is certain to offer a happy ending — if you believe in fairies, that is!
West Bank Cafe – Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 W. 42nd St.
10pm / $20 plus $15 food/drink minimum
212-352-3101 / spincyclenyc.com

Tribeca Talks Directors Series: George Lucas with Stephen Colbert
“Director and producer George Lucas of Star Wars fame talks about his storied career with incoming Late Show host Stephen Colbert as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.” (ThoughtGallery.org)
Tribeca Film Festival, 199 Chambers St.
4:00 pm / $35
212-843-9279

‘Thereminage à Trois’
“The theremin, the instrument seemingly made for science fiction, comes to Joe’s Pub in this concert presented by the New York Theremin Society. Dorit Chrysler, Rob Schwimmer and Scott Robinson will perform a sci-fi classic — the score for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” — as well as new solo and collaborative works.” (NYT)
Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., at Astor Place
8:30PM /
212-967-7555, joespub.com.

Elsewhere, but for photo fans this is worth the detour:
The AIPAD Photography Show New York (through Sunday, April 19)
“Celebrating its 35th edition, this show presents 89 of the world’s leading fine art photography galleries, which will display a wide range contemporary, modern, and 19th century photographs as well as photo-based art, video, and new media. Rare prints including Burt Stern’s iconic images of Marilyn Monroe, Alfred Stieglitz’s 1930 palladium print of Georgia O’Keeffe and Fred McDarrah’s 1966 print of Andy Warhol will be shown.” (dnainfo.com)

There will also be various public programs over the weekend; the schedule and additional information are at aipad.com/2015public.
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave., Upper East Side.
11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. / $30.
202-367-1158

Head’s Up – Don’t Miss This Weekend Event:
Try the city’s best grilled cheeses and vote for your favorite, with some proceeds going to the Food Bank of New York, at Openhouse in NoLita. Saturday and Sunday.
timeout.com/big-cheesy-april-2015

========================================================================================
♦ 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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

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

Here is a current exhibition that TimeOutNY recommends:
“Santu Mofokeng: A Metaphorical Biography” (through May 23)
Photojournaism becomes art.
“Since 2011, the New York outpost of Germany’s Walther Collection has been an important showcase for modern and contemporary African photography. Case in point: this excellent minisurvey of the work of Santu Mofokeng, titled, “A Metaphorical Biography.” It positions him as both a photojournalist and an artist concerned with questions of meaning and representation. Born in Johannesburg in 1956, Mofokeng began his professional career in the mid-1980s as a member of the photo agency Afrapix. In the turbulent decade leading up to apartheid’s end, he produced photo essays on South African townships, offering a more complex view of their inhabitants’ lives than the coverage found in the global media.

During the 1990s Mofokeng began to collect late-19th- and early-20th-century studio portraits of middle-class black South Africans. These became his 1997 slide show, The Black Photo Album/Look at Me: 1890–1950, in which intertitles provide biographical information on some of the subjects, while also questioning what their real-life experiences might have been.” (Anne Doran)
The Walther Collection, 526 W 26th St. (btw 10/11 ave)
We-Su // 11am-6pm

Here are two current exhibitions that the NYT recommends:
‘In the Studio: Paintings’ (LAST 2 DAYS)
“Organized by a veteran scholar and curator of modern art, this show roams across several centuries and between academic and advanced, well-known and rarely-seen. Full of gems and telling juxtapositions, it explores the studio as subject, beloved sanctuary, container for art and stand-in for the artist. Do not miss it. Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st Street, Chelsea, 212-741-1717, gagosian.com.” (Smith)

Alice Neel: ‘Drawings and Watercolors 1927-1978’ (LAST 2 DAYS)
“Alice Neel is best known for her portraits which, with their controlled painterly drama and psychological nuance, are complete and polished formal statements in a classical genre. Her drawings and watercolors, or at least the 62 in this absorbing show, are closer to diary entries. Ruminative, confiding, sometimes startlingly unguarded in emotion, they add up to a self-portrait sketched in private over some 50 years. David Zwirner, 537 West 20th Street, 212-517-8677,davidzwirner.com.” (Cotter)

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 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 04/15 and 04/13.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘Thereminage à Trois’, Celebrating Joe Temperley: From Duke to the JLCO, Distorted Diznee, George Lucas with Stephen Colbert, The AIPAD Photography Show | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/16) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Midtown West

Posted on 04/16/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, APR. 16, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

NYU Creative Writing Presents: Charles Simic –
SmartStuff/ Reading (7pm) [FREE]

Uncharted Concert Series: Bria Skonberg – Jazz (8pm)

Culture Salon: Rice Wine and Sake – Food & Drink (7pm)

Amir ElSaffar – World Music (7:30pm) [FREE]

The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide –
SmartStuff/ Book Talk (6:30pm) [FREE]

Brooklyn Brewery’s Blast! From the Past Dinner Party – Food & Drink (6:30pm)
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:
♦ “9 Notable Events-Apr.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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NYU Creative Writing Presents: Charles Simic
NYU Creative Writing Program Distinguished Poet-In-Residence and Pulitzer Prize Winner Charles Simic, is most recently the author of “New and Selected Poems: 1962-2012” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013), “The Lunatic” (Ecco, 2015), and “The Life of Images, Selected Prose” (Ecco, 2015). Simic will be introduced by NYU Creative Writing Program director Deborah Landau.

There will be books for sale, and a wine reception following the reading.
Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 West 10th St., (btw 5th and 6th Ave.)
7 pm / FREE, Come early for a seat, because it will probably fill up quickly.
212-998-8816 / cwp.fas.nyu.edu/page/readingseries

Uncharted Concert Series: Bria Skonberg
One of the most recognizable young trumpeters and composers in the New York scene, Skonberg’s work spans both contemporary and traditional jazz.

In 2013, Bria Skonberg earned a Jazz Journalists’ Association nomination for “Up and Coming Jazz Artist of The Year.” She has been included in DOWNBEAT Magazine’s Rising Star Critics’ Poll the last two years, was recently honored with a New York Bistro Award for “Outstanding Jazz Artist” and swept the 2014 Hot House Jazz Magazine Awards in all categories nominated: Best Jazz Artist, Best Trumpet, Best Female Vocalist and Best Group (for the Bria Skonberg Quartet).

Bria’s show at Greenwich House Music School will feature Adrian Cunningham on clarinet and sax, Sean Cronin on bass, Darrian Douglas on drums and Dalton Ridenhour on piano.
Complimentary beer and wine will be served prior to and during all concerts.
Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street, West Village,
8 p.m./ $15
212-242-4770 / greenwichhouse.org.

Culture Salon: Rice Wine and Sake
Take an after-hours journey of libations through the Hall of Asian Peoples and trace the history of traditional sake and rice wine with “sake samurai” and sommelier Chris Johnson. Drink your way across the continent and learn why this alcoholic beverage has been consumed for hundreds of years. This experience details the culinary history and distillation processes, with inspiration from the Museum’s collections.
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 79th St.
7 p.m./ $45
212-769-5200, amnh.org.

Amir ElSaffar: Rivers of Sound Large Ensemble: “Not Two”
Rivers of Sound presents 17 musicians from a broad spectrum of traditions, from Iraqi maqam to American jazz. Using resonance as its governing principle, the music incorporates elements of maqam modal music of the Middle East with jazz and other contemporary musical practices to create a unique microtonal musical environment that moves beyond the notions of style and tradition into a realm of uninhibited musical communication. As pitches and rhythms become fluid, so do cultural boundaries: elements that traditionally divide musicians and genre-specific modes are re-contextualized in a fresh transcultural soundscape.
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center,
61 W 62 St. (btw Columbus/Broadway Ave.)
at 7:30 / FREE Thursdays
get there early, no later than 7PM, if you want to get in what is a small performance space.
212-875-5350 / atrium.lincolncenter.org

Author @ the Library:
“The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide,”
Kevin C. Fitzpatrick has written a guidebook to the 1920s world of the famous “Vicious Circle” with 100+ photos, maps, and rare material. Journey back in time to a grand city teeming with hidden bars, luxurious movie palaces, and dazzling skyscrapers. In these places, Dorothy Parker and her cohorts in the “Vicious Circle” at the infamous Algonquin Round Table sharpened their wit, polished their writing, and captured the energy and elegance of the time.

Mr. Fitzpatrick is an independent historian who founded the Dorothy Parker Society in 1999. In addition to “The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide,” he is also the author of “Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide” (2003), “A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York” (2005), and “The Lost Algonquin Round Table” (2009) (co-edited with Nat Benchley). He is a licensed New York City Sightseeing Guide and has been leading walking tours for almost 15 years.
Mid-Manhattan Library, 5th Ave @ 40th St.
6:30 p.m. / FREE

Elsewhere, but this sure looks worth the detour:
Brooklyn Brewery’s Blast! From the Past Dinner Party
We will be traveling to the 1650s to call upon the early Dutch colonists making their way in the New World. We’ll find our colonial Dutch friends carving their home into the unbridled lands of the lower Hudson Valley, encountering a bounty of fish, game and produce, but little potable water. The Dutch respond to the shortage of water by brewing it into tasty, safe-to-drink beer, with ten breweries popping up by 1650 to keep every citizen of the tiny colony…hydrated. Clever, clever Dutch.

Menu
>> Clams with sumac butter, toasted walnuts, and basil with Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
>> Venison tartare with Jerusalem artichoke, rye crumble, and shallots with Brooklyn K is for Kriek, a Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment
>> Dutch “Hotchpot”: Benton’s smoked salt pork, Flint Corn “Suppawn,” roasted root vegetables with Ghost Bottle (TBA)
>> “Olykoeks” (doughnuts), compressed apples, and bourbon caramel with Brooklyn Cuvée Noire, a Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment
Brooklyn Brewery, 79 N. 11th St.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm / $65
718-486-7422

====================================================================================
♦ 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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

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.

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 sax player with a younger, trimmer piano man. “tiny” we miss you.

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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 American Museum of Natural History, Amir ElSaffar, Bria Skonberg, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery’s Blast! From the Past Dinner Party, Charles Simic, Culture Salon: Rice Wine and Sake, David Rubenstein Atrium, Greenwich House Music School, Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, Mid-Manhattan Library, The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide, Uncharted Concert Series | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/15) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 04/15/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, APR. 15, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

“All or Nothing at All: Origins of a Legend” (also April 16)
“Frank Sinatra would have turned a hundred this year; at this historically minded celebration, the singer and popular-music maven Michael Feinstein focusses on Sinatra’s early career and his relationship with another paragon of American music, the songwriter Cole Porter. Joining Feinstein are the singers Ann Hampton Callaway, Lynn Roberts, and Nick Ziobro.” (NewYorker)
Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St.
Wed 7pm; Thur 7pm + 9pm / better chance for seats at Thursday shows; act now
212-721-6500 / lc.lincolncenter.org/

Visit the festival site; there are tons of worthy options.
tribecafilm.com/festival
Various venues.
Various Times / $10 matinee, $18 evening/weekend, $35 Tribeca Talk

Nelli McKay (April 15-18)
“Always ready to throw her devoted fans a curve ball, the vocalist McKay fills her new album, “My Weekly Reader,” with interpretations of sixties pop and rock songs, both iconic (the Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon”) and obscure (Moby Grape’s “Murder in My Heart for the Judge”). The result is delightful and eccentric, a reflection of the performer herself.” (NewYorker)
54 Below, 254 W. 54th St.
9:30pm / $55-$100
646-476-3551.

“Live Ideas” (April 15-19)
This annual festival casts a wide net in bringing cultural leaders and artists together around a theme. The first gathering, in 2013, focussed on the influence of the neurologist Oliver Sacks. In 2014, the symposium was devoted to the writer and social critic James Baldwin. This year, the honor goes to Laurie Anderson, with a twist. “Rather than construct a week of events about her,” Bill T. Jones, the artistic director of the presenting organization, New York Live Arts, said, “we asked her to step into the role of curator.”

A performance-art pioneer, as well as an instrument inventor, writer, director, and frequent collaborator with her late husband, Lou Reed, Anderson is well suited to the task. More than two dozen events are planned, over five days, for what is being called “S K Y – Force and Wisdom in America Today.” The avant-garde musician John Zorn will present original compositions. Rarely heard pieces by Lou Reed will be performed. Anne Carson will début new poems. There will also be a Tai Chi demonstration by Grand Master Ren, screenings of films by Anderson and Julian Schnabel, and a new dance from the choreographer Beth Gill.

In case all the excitement keeps you up, there will also be a late-night music lounge open throughout the festival, with acts picked by the journalist Michael Azerrad, the author of “Our Band Could Be Your Life.”
Most events are at Live Arts Theatre, 219 W. 19th St., Others are nearby.
7:30pm. $40–$50.
newyorklivearts.org.

Eliane Elias
“The spring cabaret season has arrived in New York with a saucy Brazilian accent and a whisper of bossa nova as the pianist and singer Eliane Elias continues her engagement at Birdland, through Saturday, performing songs from her recent album, “Made in Brazil.” This lushly arranged collection includes six original songs, along with standards by Roberto Menescal, Ary Barroso and Antônio Carlos Jobim.” (NYT)
Birdland, 315 West 44th St. (btw 8/9ave)
At 8:30 and 11 p.m.,
212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com.

Chuck Close + Colin Westerbeck
As a painter, photographer and printmaker, Chuck Close has earned much deserved renown in the art world—most famed for his highly inventive techniques in painted portraiture, he has also produced unforgettable photographic portraits. Join Strand as Chuck returns for a night dedicated to his photography and his new Prestel release, Chuck Close: Photographer, which celebrates the entirety of Chuck’s photographic oeuvre for the first time in a single volume.

Chuck will be joined by his collaborator on the book, Colin Westerbeck, who has been the Curator of Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, has taught photography at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. Joe’s exhibition on Chuck’s photography opens in May at the Parrish Museum.
Strand Book Store, 3rd floor Rare Book Room, 828 Broadway, at 12th St.
7 p.m. / Buy a copy of Chuck Close: Photographer or a $20 Strand gift card in order to attend this event.
212-473-1452, strandbooks.com

Bonus Pick for my special followers who are Math Mavens:
Birth of a Theorem
Joining us for a reading and signing of Birth of a Theorem, his new book in English, Cédric Villani will share his mesmerizing story and other reflections on his life in mathematics. This could be fascinating, I’ll be there.

Fields Medal recipient Cédric Villani’s book is an adventure in mathematical discovery. Birth of a Theorem chronicles the year leading up to the release and recognition of his award-winning proof. Blending science, history, biography, and myth, Villani’s captivating narrative dives into the intricacies of complex mathematics; brings the math community to life along with its many unique personalities (both living and dead); follows Villani’s love of manga and the stories he tells his children; and paints a vivid portrait of the passion, imagination, anxiety, elation, and despair that all come together in the name of discovery.
Albertine (a really special venue) , 972 5th Ave, (btw 78/79 St.)
7:30pm / FREE

====================================================================================
♦ 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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

WHAT’S ON VIEW
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)

Metropolitan Museum of Art:
‘Reimagining Modernism: 1900-1950’ (continuing)
One of the greatest encyclopedic museums in the world fulfills its mission a little more with an ambitious reinstallation of works of early European modernism with their American counterparts for the first time in nearly 30 years. Objects of design and paintings by a few self-taught artists further the integration. It is quite a sight, with interesting rotations and fine-tunings to come. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.” (Smith)

‘Thomas Hart Benton’s “America Today” Mural Rediscovered’ (through April 19)
The prickly American Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton had his share of detractors. But even they would probably acknowledge that his early mural “America Today” is the best of its kind, a raucous, cartwheeling, wide-angle look at 1920s America that set the standard for the Works Progress Administration’s mural program and has remained a New York City treasure. Now installed at the Met in a reconstruction of its original setting (a boardroom at the New School for Social Research), it captivates with period details (from the cut of a flapper gown to the mechanics of a blast furnace) and timely signs of socioeconomic and environmental distress (exhausted coal miners and hands reaching for coffee and bread). 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Rosenberg)

Neue Galerie:
‘Egon Schiele: Portraits’ (through April 20)
“Of the approximately 125 items in this terrific show, there are only 11 oil paintings, which is a good thing. Except for a large picture of his wife, Edith, in a colorful striped dress, Schiele’s works on canvas are dark and turgid. But his drawings are nimble and nuanced. Working on paper with pencil, charcoal, ink, gouache, watercolor and crayons, he portrayed himself and others with infectious avidity. There’s hardly a single sheet here that doesn’t warrant close looking for its virtuoso draftsmanship and psychological acuity. 1048 Fifth Avenue, at 86th Street, 212-628-6200, neuegalerie.org. “(Johnson)

Guggenheim Museum:
Guggenheim Museum: ‘On Kawara — Silence’ (through May 3)
The first retrospective of this Conceptual Art giant turns the museum’s spiral into a vortex suffused with the consciousness of time, life’s supreme ruler, in all its quotidian daily unfoldings, historical events and almost incomprehensible grandeur. The presentation of date paintings, “I Got Up” postcards and “I AM Still Alive” telegrams echoes Mr. Kawara’s exquisite sense of discipline and craft. This is an extraordinary tribute. 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street, 212-423-3500, guggenheim.org. (Smith)

Kandinsky Before Abstraction, 1901–1911 (through spring 2015)
Early in his career Vasily Kandinsky experimented with printmaking, produced brightly-colored landscapes of the German countryside, and explored recognizable and recurrent motifs. This intimate exhibition drawn from the Guggenheim collection explores the artist’s representational origins.

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (continuing):
The stately doors of the 1902 Andrew Carnegie mansion, home to the Cooper Hewitt, are open again after an overhaul and expansion of the premises. Historic house and modern museum have always made an awkward fit, a standoff between preservation and innovation, and the problem remains, but the renovation has brought a wide-open new gallery space, a cafe and a raft of be-your-own-designer digital enhancements. Best of all, more of the museum’s vast permanent collection is now on view, including an Op Art weaving, miniature spiral staircases, ballistic face masks and a dainty enameled 18th-century version of a Swiss knife. Like design itself, this institution is built on tumult and friction, and you feel it. 2 East 91st Street, at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8400, cooperhewitt.org. (Cotter)

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Ten museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:

• 110th Street – Museum for African Art

• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio

• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York

• 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum

• 91st Street – Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

• 89th Street – National Academy Museum

• 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

• 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York

• 83rd Street – Goethe-Institut

Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
• 82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Additionally, though technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th St. and the The Morgan Library & Museum on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave. Now plan your own museum crawl. ========================================================

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/13 and 04/11.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/14) + Today’sFeaturedNeighborhood: WestVillage

Posted on 04/14/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, APR. 14, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

David Brooks – SmartStuff/ Book Talk (7pm)

Patti LuPone: The Lady with the Torch – Cabaret (7pm)

Frederic Lenoir + Alexandra Schwartz – SmartStuff/ Book Talk (7pm)

Ben & Jerry FREE Cone Day – Special Event (12-8pm) [FREE]

Billie Holiday Tributes – Jazz / Blues (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

Panel: “Beauty and Aging” – SmartStuff/ Panel Discussion (6:30pm) [FREE]

For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:

♦ “9 Notable Events-Apr.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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David Brooks
“David Brooks, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, discusses his latest work, “The Road to Character.” The book tells the stories of 10 great lives and explores what lessons everyone can take away from them.” (NYT)
Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th St.
7pm / FREE
212-253-0810, barnesandnoble.com.

Patti LuPone: The Lady with the Torch
“Thrillingly larger than life, LuPone transports audiences to a world where drama is the norm. Having taken her rightful place as the reigning Broadway diva of her generation, her style is stamped with an implicit credo: all guts, all glory. In her latest return to 54 Below, she relights her classic collection of torch songs.’ (TONY)
54 Below, 254 W 54th St. (btw Broadway and Eighth Ave)
7pm / $85–$145 plus $30 minimum

Frederic Lenoir + Alexandra Schwartz
Join us for a special night investigating how history’s great philosophers approached one of life’s fundamental questions: What is happiness and how do I achieve it? French-Madagascan philosopher, sociologist, and religious historian Frederic Lenoir will visit our rare book room to discuss his European massive bestseller, Happiness – published for the very first time in English by Melville House – with The New Yorker’s Alexandra Schwartz.
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, at 12th St.
7pm / Buy a copy of “Happiness” or a $15 Strand gift card in order to attend this event. The event will be located in the Strand’s 3rd floor Rare Book Room
212-473-1452, strandbooks.com.

Ben & Jerry FREE Cone Day
It’s our way to celebrate and say thanks for another year of support, and we’ve kept it up every year since, spreading the peace, love & ice cream around the globe! 12-8PM.
TIMES SQUARE
200 West 44th Street
================
104th & BROADWAY
2722 Broadway
==================
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
30 Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Plaza – Concourse Level

Billie Holiday Tribute
“There was never any doubt, but her 100th birthday makes it abundantly clear that Holiday (1915-1959) was one of the domineering influences of the 20th century, and a force to be dealt with for anyone singing either the American songbook or the blues.” (WSJ)

Various locations, including on Tuesdays in April, the hard-working singer Queen Esther is at Minton’s (where the Lady herself hung out) with Holiday rarities.
Minton’s, 206 W. 118th St.
7:30+9:30pm / $10-$20
212-243-2222.

Panel: “Beauty and Aging”
“Have ideas about beauty and aging shifted as women have been redefined by waves of feminism? What role does this shift play in how we feel about our aging bodies? Tonight’s panel – which includes “The Beauty Myth” author Naomi Wolf, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan Joanna Coles, former top model and founder of WomenOne Dayle Haddon and cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Rhoda Narins – will discuss this hot topic.” (seniorplanet.org)
Barnard College, Event Oval, Diana Center, 3009 Broadway
6:30 PM / FREE
Seating is first come first served, so it’s probably a good idea to show up early.
For more info, call 212-854-2037.

Elsewhere, but this is absolutely worth the detour:
Mets Baseball
The “Dark Knight,” pitcher Matt Harvey, returns to his home mound for the first time in almost two years. The expectant crowd will be electric. I’ll be there, wouldn’t miss it.

BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
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:
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
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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro/ 331 W. 4th St.

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.

===========================================================================================
“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 Ben & Jerry FREE Cone Day, Billie Holiday Tributes, David Brooks, Frederic Lenoir + Alexandra Schwartz, Panel: “Beauty and Aging", Patti LuPone: The Lady with the Torch | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/13) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/13/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, APR. 13, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

Havana Film Festival – Film (various times)

Michael Walzer in Conversation With Anne-Marie Slaughter–
SmartStuff/ Book Talk (6:30pm)

Mary Bridget Davies – Pop/Rock (8pm)

Todd Murray in “CROON: When a Whisper Became A Song” – Cabaret (7pm)

Alice Smith – Neo-Soul (9pm)

‘Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington 1848-1868’ – SmartStuff/ Book Talk (6:30pm)

For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:

Havana Film Festival (April 9 -17)
“The ongoing Havana Film Festival is showcasing more than 45 films from and about Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latinos in the United States. The line-up includes a tribute to acclaimed Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez; a retrospective celebrating the presence of music in Cuban cinema; and other films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela and the United States. Though the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village is the main venue, screenings will also take place at multiple venues throughout the city, including Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Individual tickets are $14, and festival passes are available from $50.” (dnainfo.com)
various locations and times – http://www.hffny.com/2015/

Michael Walzer in Conversation With Anne-Marie Slaughter
“The political theorist Michael Walzer discusses his new book, “The Paradox of Liberation,” about national liberation movements in India, Israel and Algeria. He will be joined by Anne-Marie Slaughter, a professor emerita at Princeton University and former director of policy planning for the State Department — and, recently, the author of a widely read Atlantic magazine article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” (NYT)
City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, at 34th St.
Elebash Recital Hall, the Graduate Center,
At 6:30 p.m./ FREE, Registration is required.
212-817-7000, gc.cuny.edu

Mary Bridget Davies
The Star of Broadway’s, “A Night With Janis Joplin”,

Fresh from starring on Broadway’s A Night with Janis Joplin! Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies has received numerous awards for her voice and band. Most recently her new album was nominated for a 2013 Blues Music Award for Best New Artist Debut.
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W 42nd St. (btw 7/8ave)
8pm / $30
bbkingblues.com

Todd Murray in “CROON: When a Whisper Became A Song”
Before the advent of the microphone, being heard in a public setting meant the performer not only had to sing well…but loudly. The art of song interpretation was limited by acoustics and the singer’s ability to belt. The introduction of electrified amplification brought about a new performance technique, a style so intimate you swore that Bing Crosby was sitting next to you. This new technique, at times thought to be scandalous, was called “crooning.”

Todd Murray is a respected international interpreter of The American Songbook. His deep, heartfelt baritone caresses the gorgeous melodies and lyrics of Rogers and Hart, Cole Porter, Burt Bacharach and Leonard Cohen with vocals reminiscent of Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. Murray takes the audience from the time before the microphone through each decade since.

The show has been lauded from New York to LA, and his CD’s and song writing have garnered rave reviews. Rex Reed writes, “Todd Murray has all the spot-on ingredients: a throaty and mellow baritone, perfect diction, meticulous phrasing and great time. Matinee-idol looks don’t hurt either, but it’s his material that brings back the floating relaxed memories of the big-band era…a cabaret prince headed for the big cabaret throne.” Murray is supported by veteran New York City musicians Alex Rybeck on piano, Steve Doyle on bass, Sean Harkness on guitar, and Dan Gross on drums.
Birdland, 315 West 44th St. (btw 8th/9th ave)
7 pm / $30 (includes a drink if you sit at the bar, which are not bad seats)
(212) 581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com

Elsewhere, but these two seem sure to be worth the detour:
Alice Smith
“Neo-soul singer Alice Smith burst on the scene back in 2006, her four-octave range and songwriting acumen attracting a major label deal and plenty of buzz. But Ms. Smith was soon caught up in a major label reshuffling, getting lost in the process. She stepped away from the stage to focus on her family but returned with her long overdue follow-up, “She” in 2013. That album found her moving between acoustic ’70s folk, R&B, rock and reggae, with plenty of soul throughout. Her electric performance at Afro-Punk Festival last year proved that Ms. Smith hadn’t lost a bit of her power.” (WSJ)

“This soul singer is a beautiful talent: Her jazzy odes are passionately delivered and effortlessly inclusive, strapped to a Patti LaBelle-worthy belt that would shatter windowpanes were it not so controlled. “Ocean,” the biggest single from her album “She,” toys with folksy guitar before gliding into a peppy, delightful soul-pop refrain.” (NYT-Anderson)
Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., Lower East Side
this is my fave venue for pop/rock not on Manhattan’s WestSide
subway: B/D to Grand St.
9pm / $35
(212) 533-2111/ 800-745-3000, boweryballroom.com.

‘Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington 1848-1868’
“Cokie Roberts, the journalist of NPR fame, discusses her latest book, “Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington 1848-1868,” about the Rosie the Riveter types of that era. The book continues Ms. Roberts’s exploration of the vital roles women play in history, such as in her other works “Founding Mothers” and “Ladies of Liberty.” (NYT)
Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, near Clinton Street, Bklyn Heights
subway: easy – #2,3 express to Court St. (1st stop in bklyn)
At 6:30 p.m. / $10
718-222-4111, brooklynhistory.org.

====================================================================================
♦ 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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

Museum of Modern Art:

‘Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection, 1909-1949’ (through April 19) Overflowing with prints by Berenice Abbott, Andre Kertesz, Edward Weston and other luminaries from the first half of the 20th century, this exhibition would seem to be a straightforward look at photography’s past. But the show, packaged with a book, a symposium and an engrossing interactive website, is really a bold attempt to visualize the future of photography inside the museum as it reckons with the unwieldy, image-saturated culture outside the galleries. With works by Aleksandr Rodchenko, Ms. Abbott, Alvin Langdon Coburn and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy that explore cities from unusual angles or abstract their infrastructure, the show’s largest section, “Dynamics of the City,” best encapsulates the Walther Collection’s distinctly urban, peripatetic take on Modernism. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Rosenberg)

New-York Historical Society:
‘Freedom Journey 1965: Photographs of the Selma to Montgomery March by Stephen Somerstein’ (through April 19) Almost 50 years ago, the picture editor of a campus newspaper at City College of New York assigned himself a breaking story: coverage of what promised to be a massive march in Alabama, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to demand free-and-clear voting rights for African-Americans. On short notice the editor, Stephen Somerstein, grabbed his cameras, climbed on a bus, and headed south. The 55 pictures of black leaders and everyday people in this show, installed in a hallway and small gallery, are some that he shot that day. The image of Dr. King’s head seen in monumental silhouette that has become a virtual logo of the film “Selma” is based on a Somerstein original. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org. (Cotter)

Rubin Museum of Art:
‘The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide’ (LAST DAY) This show presents 54 paintings that illustrate step-by-step instructions for followers of Tibetan Buddhism. Delicately painted on 10-by-10-inch paper sheets, most of the pages depict a monk having fabulous visions in a verdant landscape. Thought to have been commissioned by a Mongolian patron and executed by unidentified artists in a Chinese workshop sometime in the 18th century, it is a fascinating and remarkably thorough manual for seekers of higher consciousness. 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea, 212-620-5000,rubinmuseum.org. (Johnson)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/11 and 04/09.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alice Smith, ‘Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington 1848-1868’, Havana Film Festival, Mary Bridget Davies, Michael Walzer in Conversation With Anne-Marie Slaughter, Todd Murray in “CROON: When a Whisper Became A Song” | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/12) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Times Square/ Theater District

Posted on 04/12/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, APR. 12, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

‘Billie and the Boys: A Centenary Celebration of Billie Holiday’ –
Jazz (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

Concert: Heart of the World – World Music (7:30pm)

Stephen Petronio Company – Dance (2pm) (7:30pm)

Grace Hightower De Niro – SmartStuff/ Book Talk (2pm)

First Songs: Dawn Upshaw – Classical Music (4pm)

Brooklyn Bloody Mary Festival – Food & Drink (1-4pm)

For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:

‘Billie and the Boys: A Centenary Celebration of Billie Holiday’
“This Billie Holiday tribute features a big band of up-and-coming musicians backing a half-dozen vocalists, including Shenel Johns, Michael Mwenso and Elena Pinderhughes. The musical director is Riley Mulherkar, a smart young trumpeter, and the focus is on Holiday’s unimpeachable work in the 1930s, with bandleaders like Count Basie and Artie Shaw. “ (Chinen-NYT)

“There was never any doubt, but her 100th birthday makes it abundantly clear that Holiday (1915-1959) was one of the domineering influences of the 20th century, and a force to be dealt with for anyone singing either the American songbook or the blues.” (WSJ)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and Broadway,
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.,
212-258-9595, jazz.org.

Concert: Heart of the World
The stars of makam come together in conversation, making innovative music rooted in authentic world traditions. Come witness their shared aesthetic aspirations and get carried away by the power of their music.

Ross Daly on Cretan lyra and his own invention – tarhu, Omer Erdogdular on ney, Yurdal Tokcan on oud, and vocalist Ahmet Erdogdular, are joined this year by Pedram Khavarzamini on tombak, and Goksel Baktagir on kanun for a musical performance that touches the heart of the world.
Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center, 129 W 67th St.
7:30pm / $30
212-501-3330

Stephen Petronio Company
“With his Joyce season, Petronio highlights the inauguration of the Bloodlines series, a five-year project to add masterworks by legendary postmodern choreographers to the company repertory. The first such work is Merce Cunningham’s animalistic RainForest (1968), with music by David Tudor and large, floating silver pillows designed by Andy Warhol. The program also includes Petronio’s Locomotor Non Locomotor, set to an original score by electro musician Clams Casino.’ (TONY)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St
2pm + 7:30pm / $10-$59

Grace Hightower De Niro
“Grace Hightower De Niro, the philanthropist and founder of Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda (and, yes, Robert De Niro’s wife), discusses her book, “The Women of Rwanda.” She will talk about how her company emphasizes direct sourcing, fair trade and ethical practices. A coffee tasting will follow.” (NYT)
Book Culture on Columbus, 450 Columbus Avenue, near 82nd St.
2pm / FREE
212-595-1962, bookculture.com.

First Songs: Dawn Upshaw and the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program
Dawn Upshaw, internationally renowned soprano and Bard Vocal Arts Program artistic director, will perform with pianist and Bard faculty Kayo Iwama, the singers of the program, and the Bard Conservatory Collaborative Piano Fellows. The concert will feature the world premiere of Garden Songs by the acclaimed Argentinian composer Pablo Ortiz on the poetry of Louise Gluck, and written for Dawn Upshaw. The program will also include new and recent works by Kyle Gann (Your Staccato Ways), Shawn Jaeger (Two Songs from The Cold Pane), Matthew Schickele (Since 1500), and Bard composer Tamzin Elliott (When Vera), among others.
The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue
4pm / $35
212-685-0008

Elsewhere, but if you have a taste for Bloody Mary’s, this should be worth the detour:
Brooklyn Bloody Mary Festival
“Bottoms up to the beloved brunch cocktail at this all-you-can-sip celebration. For three hours, taste your way through the best Bloodys from Kings County’s top-notch restaurants and bars that are toppling with garnishes like bacon, chorizo, cornichons and crostini.” (TONY)
Industry City, Sunset Park, 220 36th St. (btw Second and Third Aves)
1-4pm. $30–$35.

BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
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:
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
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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places

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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3 Good Eating places

It’s not difficult finding 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:

Patzeria Perfect Pizza – 231 W46 St. (Btw 7th/8th ave)
Perfect name for a pizza joint. On a street filled with Broadway theaters, this is a real hole in the wall, but don’t let the dive look scare you away. You can never go wrong with a slice of NYCity pizza, and this one is a classic thin crust. Only a few seats here, but pizza was made to eat standing up.

Shake Shack – 691 8th Ave. (Btw 43rd/44th st)
Danny Meyer has revolutionized the high quality burger in this town. Now he has a branch on the West Side that was desperately needed, with a bit less of the insane lines that you find at the Madison Sq. Park location. Worth the wait.

Xi’an Famous Foods – 24 W45th St. (Btw 5th/6th ave)
Try to avoid long lunch lines. Order lamb hand ripped noodles and warm your insides at one of the tables in the back. You’ll return, just remember that even mild is pretty spicy.
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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian / falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed.

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◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, with expanded descriptions, maps with contact info, 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 2015).
◊ Order before May 31, 2015 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.
=========================================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘Billie and the Boys: A Centenary Celebration of Billie Holiday’, Brooklyn Bloody Mary Festival, Concert: Heart of the World, First Songs: Dawn Upshaw, Grace Hightower De Niro, Stephen Petronio Company | Leave a comment

Selected Events (04/11) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/11/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, APR. 11, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”

Sufjan Stevens
“Your favorite indie pop troubadour scales down the arrangement and dials up the emotional wallop, as he presents songs from this haunting latest, Carrie & Lowell.

Having filled the past five years with collaborations, ambitious conceptual projects and even a Christmas album, folk-pop visionary Sufjan Stevens takes a more direct, singer-songwriter–oriented approach on his new LP, Carrie & Lowell.” (TONY)
Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway at 74th St
8pm / $55–$59

‘Beethoven: The Complete Works for Cello and Piano’
Christopher O’Riley, the concert pianist and host of NPR’s “From the Top,” performs Beethoven’s works for cello and piano with the cellist Matt Haimovitz. Mr. O’Riley will play a reproduction of a six-and-a-half-octave Viennese fortepiano, which would have been used around the time of the composer’s death. There will be two performances with different programs, both of which blend sonatas and shorter chamber pieces.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium,
At 3 and 7 p.m.,
212-535-7710, metmuseum.org/events.

‘Diné Spotlight: A Showcase of Navajo Film’
The National Museum of the American Indian partners with New York University’s Center for Media, Culture and History to present screenings of recent movies by Diné (Navajo) filmmakers. It closes Saturday with Blackhorse Lowe’s “Chasing the Light.” (NYT)
National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan,
At various times / FREE
212-514-3700, nmai.si.edu

MoCCA Arts Festival (also Sunday)
The excellent comics festival welcomes more than 300 publishers—major and minor—to display their wares. This year the expo spotlights the Society of Illustrators through its progamming. Hear expert cartoonists, such as guest of honor Bill Griffith, discuss their creative process and the future of their craft.
Center 548, 548 W 22nd St. (btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves)
11:00 / $5 per day
societyillustrators.org

Elsewhere, but this looks like a great excuse to ride the Staten Island ferry:
NYC BBQ Cookoff
New York City’s only Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned cookoff is happening Saturday at Historic Richmond Town. Eat or compete in the NYC BBQ Cookoff — either way, get your fill of classic American BBQ at one of America’s most remarkable living history town and museum complexes.

Plus the ferry ride on a lovely spring day.
Historic Richmond Town, 441 Clarke Ave.
12-4pm / Adults $12, kids $5.
718-351-1611

====================================================================================
♦ 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 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
====================================================================================

Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Here are two current exhibitions that the NYT recommends:
‘In the Studio: Paintings’ (through April 18)
“Organized by a veteran scholar and curator of modern art, this show roams across several centuries and between academic and advanced, well-known and rarely-seen. Full of gems and telling juxtapositions, it explores the studio as subject, beloved sanctuary, container for art and stand-in for the artist. Do not miss it. Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st Street, Chelsea, 212-741-1717, gagosian.com.” (Smith)

Alice Neel: ‘Drawings and Watercolors 1927-1978’ (through April 18)
“Alice Neel is best known for her portraits which, with their controlled painterly drama and psychological nuance, are complete and polished formal statements in a classical genre. Her drawings and watercolors, or at least the 62 in this absorbing show, are closer to diary entries. Ruminative, confiding, sometimes startlingly unguarded in emotion, they add up to a self-portrait sketched in private over some 50 years. David Zwirner, 537 West 20th Street, 212-517-8677,davidzwirner.com.” (Cotter)

*Now plan your own gallery crawl, but 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 tasty selection of FREE appetizers (M-F, 5-8pm).

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/09 and 04/07.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘Beethoven: The Complete Works for Cello and Piano’, ‘Diné Spotlight: A Showcase of Navajo Film’, Beacon Theater, Center 548, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoCCA Arts Festival, National Museum of the American Indian, NYC BBQ Cookoff, Sufjan Stevens | Leave a comment

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

Selected Events (04/20) + Today’sFeaturedNeighborhood: WestVillage

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.

Selected Events (04/19) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Selected Events (04/18) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Greenwich Village

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi / 32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker St./W4th 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.
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3 Good Eating places

================================================================================
“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

Selected Events (04/17) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Selected Events (04/16) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Midtown West

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.

Selected Events (04/15) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/13 and 04/11.

Selected Events (04/14) + Today’sFeaturedNeighborhood: WestVillage

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.

Selected Events (04/13) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Selected Events (04/12) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Times Square/ Theater District

A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places

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

It’s not difficult finding 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:

“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian / falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed.

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

Selected Events (04/11) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

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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.

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

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

3 Good Eating places

================================================================================ “3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

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.

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/13 and 04/11.

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.

A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places

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

It’s not difficult finding 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:

“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian / falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed.

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

Recent Posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

Recent Posts

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” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

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

It’s not difficult finding 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: