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

Selected Events (02/18) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 02/18/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, FEB. 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.”

Silent Films/Live Music — Film & Music (8pm)

Ballet Rakatan — Dance (7:30pm)

Hot Chocolate Festival — Food & Drink (all day)

“Cuba and It’s Music” with Ned Sublette — SmartStuff/ Lecture (6pm)

Great Battles of the Civil War — SmartStuff/ Lecture (6:30pm)

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

Silent Films/Live Music (through February 20, 2015)
Curated by John Schaefer as part of WNYC’s New Sounds Live Series

Experience two unforgettable evenings of contemporary and classic silent film screenings accompanied by live music! The avant-rock band SQÜRL (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan) handpicked four silent films by the legendary Man Ray, and then created original scores for these performances. Their curated soundscape will breathe new life into these vintage shorts.

This alternates with tonight’s award-winning silent hit “Blancanieves” based on the “Snow White” fairy tale, written and directed by acclaimed Spanish director Pablo Berger in 2012. Alfonso Vilallonga’s original soundtrack will be performed by the composer himself along with the acclaimed new-music ensemble Wordless Music Orchestra. Set in a romantic version of 1920’s Andalusia, the silent black-and-white fantasy swept the 2013 Gaudí awards (known as the Spanish Oscars) winning Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Catalan-Language Film, among others, and was one of the year’s most popular films in Spain.
Winter Garden, Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey Street
8:00 PM – 9:45 PM / FREE
brookfieldplaceny.com/SilentFilms

Ballet Rakatan (through Feb. 22)
“Havana Rakatan,” the touring production of this Cuban troupe, a hit for many years in London, is essentially a night-club revue. Loose in chronology and historical authenticity, it traces the development of Cuban music and dance over two hours of routines: Spain collides with Africa to make the rumba, the mambo, the cha-cha-cha. The choreography, by Nilda Guerra, is undistinguished, yet the tight eight-piece band and the cast of vivacious, flirtatious, extroverted dancers make for an enjoyable show.” (NewYorker)
City Center, 55th St. (btw 6/7 ave)
7:30pm / $25-$95
212.581.1212 / nycitycenter.org

Hot Chocolate Festival (entire month of February)
“City Bakery’s annual Hot Chocolate Festival is underway. Every day in February the famous bakery presents a different hot chocolate concoction. Over the next few days sample “Happy” Hot Chocolate (Wednesday), French Follies (Thursday) and Bourbon Hot Chocolate (Friday). The City Bakery Blog jokingly describes the French Follies drink as “evocative of dark chocolate, sweaty corsets, hand rolled Gitanes and a night of debauchery at Place Pigalle.” (dnainfo.com)
City Bakery, 3 W. 18th St., Union Square.
From 7:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Check out their list of the most decadent and boozy hot chocolates in NYC here.

“Cuba and It’s Music” with Ned Sublette
“Veteran performer Ned Sublette made the jump from urban cowpunk to scholar a decade ago with the publication of “Cuba And Its Music,” the premier history of how the sounds from the island nation came into existence. Here, he discusses the cultural ramifications of President Obama’s proposed normalization with Cuba with Make Music New York president Aaron Friedman.” (SeniorPlanet.org)
Arnhold Hall, The New School, 55 W 13th St
6:00 PM / FREE

Great Battles of the Civil War: The Wilderness and Beyond
The forests of Virginia literally erupted into flames during the 1864 battles for the Wilderness, as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee engaged in a horrific combat in early May. Renowned historians of the era relive all the great military struggles of this period—including Sheridan’s Ride, The Crater, and Jubal Early’s Raid on Washington—a season of thrusts and parries, danger and daring.

James M. McPherson, the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History Emeritus at Princeton University, is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom. His newest book is Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief. Craig L. Symonds is Professor Emeritus at the U.S. Naval Academy and the award-winning author of Lincoln and His Admirals. Harold Holzer (moderator) has written and edited more than 40 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era and is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.
New-York Historical Society
6:30pm / $34, $20 members (that’s a good deal, worth joining)

==============================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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:
‘The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters’ (through March 22) In his printed works, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec chronicled and publicized the music halls, theaters, circuses, operas and cafes of Paris with terrific verve, sly wit and surprising subtlety. This enthralling show presents approximately 100 examples drawn from the museum’s permanent collection. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Johnson)

‘Sturtevant: Double Trouble’ (through Feb. 22) Among the first things you see in MoMA’s taut, feisty retrospective of the American artist Elaine Sturtevant is work by far better known figures: Joseph Beuys, Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp. In each case, however, the pieces are by Ms. Sturtevant herself, who spent much of a long career adopting and adapting the art and styles of others to create a body of work entirely her own, one which raises questions about the value of art, about the hows and whys of producing it, and about the degrees to which quasi-replication can be an exercise in flattery, parody, objectivity, originality and love. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Cotter)

‘The Forever Now: Contemporary Painting in an Atemporal World’(through April 5) Despite being predictable and market-oriented in its choice of 17 artists, this museum’s first painting survey in decades is well worth seeing. About half the artists are exceptional and the rest are represented by their best work. Based on the premise that all historical painting styles are equally available today, the exhibition has been smartly installed to juxtapose different approaches: figurative and abstract, digital and handmade, spare and opulent. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Smith)

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)

Annie Leibovitz: ‘Pilgrimage’ (through Feb. 22) No living celebrities are portrayed in “Pilgrimage,” but lots of celebrated figures from the past are indirectly represented, from Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson to Eleanor Roosevelt and Robert Smithson. In the spring of 2009, Ms. Leibovitz set out on a two-year journey that took her to about two dozen historic sites in the United States and Britain. Most of these were house museums dedicated to famous individuals, where she photographed the rooms they inhabited and objects they owned and used. Though often poetically atmospheric, these pictures are disappointingly less lively than her portraits of famous entertainers. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org. (Johnson)

Rubin Museum of Art:
‘The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide’ (through April 13) 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)

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/16 and 02/14.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged “Cuba and It’s Music" with Ned Sublette, Ballet Rakatan, City Bakery, City Center, Great Battles of the Civil War:, Hot Chocolate Festival, Museum of Modern Art, Ned Sublette, New-York Historical Society, Rubin Museum, Silent Films/Live Music, The New School, Winter Garden | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/17) + Ice Skating in NYCity

Posted on 02/17/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, FEB. 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.”

Brazilian Night w/ Irene Walsh — Brazilian Music (7pm)

Matt Zoller Seitz discusses The Grand Budapest Hotel —
SmartStuff/ Book & Film Talk (7pm)

“Funky Fat Tuesday” — R & B (8pm)

Times Square at a Tipping Point? — SmartStuff/ Architecture Talk (6:30pm)

Metamorphosis: Meatpacking District 1985 – 2013 —
SmartStuff/ Illustrated Lecture (6:30pm)

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

Brazilian Night w/ Irene Walsh (Last Night @ Caffe Vivaldi)
Irene Walsh on vocals
Cesar Garabini on 7-string guitar
Fernando Saci on percussion

The Brazilian music series at Caffe Vivaldi has featured both traditional and experimental Brazilian music by the top artists in NYC. For 16 months this has been a wonderful opportunity to enjoy all forms of Brazilian music. The show has been curated by Irene Walsh, producer/director at Split Rock Films. Every show is completely unique and Irene sings at least one set of classic samba at every show. Many shows are filmed and will be posted on the YouTube channel for Split Rock Film.

Caffe Vivaldi is a special, old time music club in Greenwich Village and even though it looks like we’ll have to go elsewhere to hear Irene, this club should still be on your radar for some fine music every night.
Caffe Vivaldi, 32 Jones St, (near Bleecker St and 7th Ave),
7PM to 10PM / $10 suggested donation for the benefit of the artists.

Matt Zoller Seitz discusses
“The West Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel”
New York Magazine’s Matt Zoller Seitz leads an awesome, dynamic discussion on the production and making of visionary filmmaker Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel in support of Matt’s gorgeous new book, The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Joining Matt for the night’s conversation are two experts on the film: Randall Poster, who was the music supervisor for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Spring Breakers, The Wolf of Wall Street, and many other critically acclaimed films; and Montreal Gazette and RogerEbert.com film critic Olivia Collette, whose essay on the music of The Grand Budapest Hotel is featured in the book.
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, at 12th Street.
The event will be located in the Strand’s 3rd floor Rare Book Room
7pm / Buy a copy of The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel or a $15 Strand gift card in order to attend this event. All options admit one person.
212-473-1452

“Funky Fat Tuesday”
Celebration with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic
“George Clinton keeps it eccentric from his often colorful hair to his platform boots. For a lively Fat Tuesday, join the funky R&B innovator as he hosts a Mardi Gras celebration with his groovy band.” (TONY)
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W 42nd St. (btw 7/8ave)
8pm / $39.50

Times Square at a Tipping Point?
“Government actions in the 1980s and 90s designed to control rampant crime in Times Square, foster the westward expansion of the midtown office district, protect the theater industry, preserve historic theaters, and return 42nd Street as a popular entertainment area have been a success. The bright lights of Broadway were saved from threats of dimming, and even banishment, first by civic groups who organized protests, such as the Municipal Art Society, and then by revised zoning regulations that mandated minimum areas of signage and outlined urban design guidelines. Collectively, these civic and government actions succeeded in articulating and codifying Times Square’s unique, historical sense of place.

As an economic engine for the city and an unparalleled magnet for tourists, Times Square’s turnaround in the past decades is phenomenal. The reduced vehicular traffic and new pedestrian plazas allow almost enough ground space for the 360,000 visitors a day to the world’s #1 tourist ticker. But other forces threaten its future: mega-signs, high rents, corporate homogeneity, and errant Elmos. This program of experts on Times Square past and present will consider pressing questions about its future.” (thoughtgallery.org)
Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place
at 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm / $10
212-683-0023

Metamorphosis: Meatpacking District 1985 – 2013,
with Brian Rose, photographer.
This illustrated lecture tells the story of almost unprecedented urban transformation, from wasteland to epicenter of art and fashion.
Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 5th Ave, at 40th St.
6:30 p.m. / 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 (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
=======================================================================

Ice Skating in NYCity (nycgo.com)
“Winter just isn’t winter without ice-skating in New York City. And though most of us can probably name two or three rinks off the top of our heads, we might be more than mildly surprised to find there are 15 venues open for public ice-skating this holiday season. The best known of the City’s rinks is without a doubt the Rink at Rockefeller Center—tracing figure eights while surrounded by the shops, restaurants and buildings of a NYC landmark provides the quintessential NYC skating experience—but plenty of other (frequently less crowded) options exist.” Here are the ice rinks you want to head to in Manhattan:

Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
Where: Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets
When: Late October to early March
Price: Free; skate rental $15–$19
If you already own skates, this is the most affordable spot in the City—it’s the only rink that offers free admission. Bryant Park also hosts annual holiday shops, a good destination if you want to cross some gifts off your list after your turn on the ice.

Trump Rink in Central Park
Where: Central Park, mid-park between 62nd and 63rd Streets
When: Late October to first week of April
Price: Adults $11.25 (Mon.–Thurs.), $18 (Fri.–Sun.); kids 11 and under $6; seniors $5 (Mon.–Thurs.), $9 (Fri.–Sun.); skate rental $8
Few rinks can match the ambience of Central Park’s Trump Rink, especially after a fresh snowfall. If you’re there at night, be sure to look up for some prime NYC stargazing.

Rink at Rockefeller Center
Where: Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets
When: Mid-October through April
Price: Adults $27–$30, kids 10 and under $15; skate rental $12
Millions of visitors plan trips to the City every year just to catch a glimpse of skaters taking a spin on the ice below the famous Christmas tree and gilded statue of Prometheus; others will wait in long lines to experience it for themselves.
——————————————————————————————————-
Ice Rink at Riverbank State Park
Where: Henry Hudson Parkway between West 138th and West 145th Streets
When: November through March
Price: Adults $5, kids 11 and under $3; skate rental $6
Riverbank, in Hamilton Heights, is the only state park in Manhattan; it offers incredible river views across to New Jersey and gorgeous vistas of the George Washington Bridge.

Lasker Rink
Where: Central Park, northeast corner between 106th and 108th Streets
When: Late October to late March
Price: Adults $7.50, kids 12 and under $4; skate rental $6.50
Up in the northern reaches of the park, Lasker Rink is a bit less discovered than its sister skate center in the park (see “Trump Rink in Central Park” below)—and a much better deal.

See/Change Ice Rink
Where: Fulton and Front Streets, South Street Seaport
When: Late November to early March
Price: Adults $10, kids 5 and under free; skate rental $6
The seaport relaunched itself in 2013 after Superstorm Sandy with the opening of an outdoor ice rink. Bonus: November 28, opening night, coincides with a tree-lighting ceremony.

Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
Where: Pier 61, West 23rd Street and Hudson River Park
When: Year-round
Price: $10; skate rental $5
Want to skate downtown…in mid-July? The enormous rink at Chelsea Piers is the place to head, though it’s a reliable stop-off any time of year.

Standard Hotel
Where: 848 Washington St., between West 12th and West 13th Streets
When: Late November until early spring (weather dependent)
Price: Adults $12, kids $6; skate rental $3
One of the hipper—and more exclusive—hotels in the City has a ground-level rink available to the public. If you can’t find the info on the main website, check standardculture.com for the latest prices and times.

nycgo.com, the website of New York City’s official marketing and tourism organization, has lots of useful NYCity info. This fine site is worth checking out when you are planning your NYCity visit, anytime of the year.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Funky Fat Tuesday", B.B. King Blue’s Club & Grill, Brazilian Music, Caffe Vivaldi, Center for Architecture, George Clinton, Irene Walsh, Matt Zoller Seitz, Metamorphosis: Meatpacking District 1985 - 2013, Mid-Manhattan Library, Parliament-Funkadelic, Strand Book Store, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Times Square at a Tipping Point? | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/16) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 02/16/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, FEB. 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.”

Terry Waldo Gotham City Band, ‘From Ragtime to Jazz’ — Jazz (7:30pm)

Melissa van der Schyff in “The Summer In Winter” — Jazz (7pm)

ASSSSCAT 3000 — Comedy (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra — Jazz (8:30pm) (10:30pm)

Big Quiz Thing — SmartStuff/ Trivia (6:30pm)

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

Terry Waldo Gotham City Band, ‘From Ragtime to Jazz’
“Terry Waldo, who turned 70 a few months ago knows more about the transition from the Ragtime Era into the birth of jazz keyboard than virtually anybody. As a bandleader, he’s also admirably professorial in assembling ensembles; his current lineup that mixes young upstarts with old pros, like the well-balanced two trumpet team of Jon Erik-Kelso and Mike Davis, trombonist Jim Fryer, clarinetist Evan Arntzen, Howard Alden on guitar and banjo, Brian Nalepka on bass and tuba, and drummer Rob Garcia.” (WSJ)
Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Broadway at 60th Street, Fifth Floor,
(212) 258-9595

Melissa van der Schyff in “The Summer In Winter”
The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominee Melissa van der Schyff will perform “The Summer in Winter,” an intimate concert of lush jazz standards, a few country classics and some engaging originals.
Birdland, 315 West 44th St., (btw 8th/9th ave.)
7 pm / $25
212-581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com.

ASSSSCAT 3000
“This wildly popular show, hosted by Leo Allen, is known for always featuring the city’s best up-and-coming comedians. But it’s the surprise special guests—Chris Rock, Louis C.K. and David Cross have appeared—who keep audiences hooked.”

“One of the city’s most popular comedy nights sees NYC’s long-form improv royalty (think folks from Saturday Night Live and some adored Upright Citizens Brigade regulars) play pickup-game–style in this famous long-running show.” (TONY)
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 W 26th St. (btw 8/9 ave)
7:30pm/ $10; 9:30/ FREE – limited number of tickets are distributed at 8:15pm

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
There’s a tradition in many New York City jazz clubs – Monday nights are reserved for big bands. The Village Vanguard, the most storied of clubs, has observed this practice since 1966. The Grammy-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, established by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, is definitely a big band with 4 trumpets, and 4 trombones to accompany 6 reed players. Why not make it your tradition, too.

The band features music with complex yet warm harmonies and memorable melodies mostly written by Thad Jones. We play various styles, from relaxing swing, 70’s-style jazz-funk, ballads with complex harmonic structures, avant-garde tunes with modern rhythms. In addition to the classic Thad Jones charts our library includes music of Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, Slide Hampton, Bob Minzter, Kenny Werner and others. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has gained world-wide respect for their wide-ranging repertoire and rich sound.
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue South, just below West 11th St.
At 8:30 and 10:30 pm / $25
212-255-4037 / villagevanguard.com

The Big Quiz Thing are presenting a multimedia live trivia game show for history buffs, in celebration of Presidents Day, at the New-York Historical Society this evening. From 6:30 p.m. at 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way, 77th St, / $25.
(dnainfo.com)

=====================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
=======================================================================

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

Here are a few current exhibition that TimeOutNY recommends:

Claudia Comte, No Melon No Lemon (until March 21, 2015)
This Swiss artist installs her elegant neomodernist sculptures within equally elegant environments consisting of neomodern paintings and wallpaper patterns. Her work visually name-checks the greats—Brancusi, Noguchi, Moore, Stella, Noland—unapologetically while bringing an added dose of rich, optically buzzy formalism to the proceedings.
Gladstone Gallery, 530 W 21st St.

Katy Moran (until February 28, 2015)
This British artist has made a specialty of using modestly scaled canvases to recapture the muscular expressionism of midcentury abstraction.
Andrea Rosen Gallery,

“Vis-à-vis” (until February 28, 2015)
Oakland’s Creative Growth Art Center—which “serves adult artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities”—has become something like Yale’s MFA program for outsider artists, grooming talents whose works are art-world–ready (the most famous example being Judith Scott, currently the subject of a Brooklyn Museum retrospective). This group show mixes CGAC contributors with insider artists, putting them on an equal footing with the likes of Huma Bhabha and Willem de Kooning (!). The results are as inside-out as they are outside-in.
Andrew Edlin Gallery

Mike Nelson: ‘Gang of Seven’ (through Feb. 21) [this one is liked by the NYT}
This British artist has filled the gallery with a lively crowd of lyrical assemblages made of detritus collected from the beaches and coastal waters of British Columbia. They are cobbled from bottles, driftwood, chunks of plastic foam, lengths of frayed rope, bald tires, pieces of rusted iron and animal skulls. Several pieces consist of weathered, partly charred lengths of wood screwed together to resemble bonfire remains with pieces of orange plastic added to represent low-burning flames. (Johnson)
303 Gallery, 507 West 24th Street, 212-255-1121, 303gallery.com.

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.

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).

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/14 and 02/12.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ASSSSCAT 3000, ‘From Ragtime to Jazz’, Big Quiz Thing, Birdland, Dizzy's Club, Melissa van der Schyff in “The Summer In Winter”, New-York Historical Society, Terry Waldo Gotham City Band, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Village Vanguard | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/15) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Midtown West

Posted on 02/15/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, FEB. 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.”

New York City Ballet / “Romeo + Juliet.” — Ballet (3pm) (7:30pm)

John Zorn at the Vanguard — Jazz? (3pm) (8:30pm) (10:30pm)

“Music Before 1800″ Series: Blue Heron — Classical Music (4pm)

“Let’s Zydeco!” — Cajun Music (8pm)

Billy Ocean and Patti LaBelle — Soul/Pop (7pm)

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

Did you miss celebrating Valentine’s Day? Not to worry.
New York City Ballet / “Romeo + Juliet.”
“The timeless love story, set to Prokofiev’s effective 1935 score, was staged for the company by Peter Martins in 2007. The choreography is fast-paced and stylized—a Martins specialty—and the set designs, by the Danish painter Per Kirkeby, are relatively restrained. A single construction expands and contracts to become Juliet’s bedchamber, Friar Laurence’s monastery, and Verona’s town square. Watch for the “mandolin dance” in the second act, a little jewel performed by five boys from the School of American Ballet.” (NewYorker)
DHK Theater, Lincoln Center,
at 3pm and 7:30pm / $34-$184
212-496-0600, nycballet.com.

John Zorn at the Vanguard (last day)
“The composer, alto saxophonist and ringleader John Zorn made his first Village Vanguard incursion last fall, with results encouraging enough to demand this sequel engagement He’ll close out this repeat appearance in strong form with Bar Kokhba, a chamber-pop Masada ensemble, both sets on Sunday. (A special Sunday matinee, at 3 p.m., will feature the pianist Steve Gosling, the bassist Greg Cohen and the drummer Tyshawn Sorey interpreting an elaborate classical piano piece titled “In the Hall of Mirrors.” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village,
At 3:00, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $20-$30
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com.

“Music Before 1800″ Series: Blue Heron
“Echoes of tradition and the vitality of new voices combine in this week’s early-music concerts. The conductor of this acclaimed Boston chamber chorus, Scott Metcalfe, is well known to New York audiences through his directorship (with Jolle Greenleaf) of the Green Mountain Project; he leads his colleagues here in what should be a vibrant program of sacred and secular works by Binchois, Ockeghem (including the “Missa De Plus en Plus”), and Dufay.”(NewYorker)
Corpus Christi Church, 529 W. 121st St. (E. of Broadway)
4pm / $15-$45
212-666-9266.

“Let’s Zydeco!”
Mardi Gras Party Featuring C.J. CHENIER & THE RED HOT LOUISIANA BAND
The concert series, which brings musicians from around New Orleans to town almost weekly, does its home city right with a pre-Mardi Gras party featuring C. J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band.

Chenier, the son of Clifton Chenier, known as the King of Zydeco, is a high-powered vocalist and accordionist who has appropriately been dubbed the Crown Prince. His shows are authentically rocking affairs.
Midtown Live, 251 W. 30th St. (btw 7/8ave), 2nd floor, the Red Room.
A large space with a large wooden dance floor, full bar & top sound system.
This room has a feel of “Old New York” crossed with “New Orleans Flair and Flavor”.
We will be catering in authentic Cajun Food by Cajun Chef Ken of J Gumbos Flatiron
7pm / $25
letszydeco.com.

Elsewhere, but sure looks worth the detour:
Billy Ocean and Patti LaBelle
“Get outta his dreams, get into his car. But first, get outta your apartment and get onto the train, then get outta the train and get above ground in Fort Greene. Then get into the spirit of seeing the Trinidad-born R&B singer Billy Ocean (purveyor of the ’80s hit “Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car”). He performs a double bill with the prolific soul-pop star Patti LaBelle, who has sold more than 50 million records in her long career and released a powerhouse concert album, “Live in Washington, D.C.,” in 2008. She also died a gloriously campy death on the most recent season of “American Horror Story.” (Anderson-NYT)
Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music,
30 Lafayette Ave. (btw St. Felix St. and Ashland Place)
subway: #2, 3 to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center (about 30 min. from TimesSquare)
At 7 p.m./ call for tickets
718-636-4100 / bam.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 (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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).

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

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.

===========================================================================================
“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 “Let's Zydeco!”, “Music Before 1800" Series: Blue Heron, Billy Ocean and Patti LaBelle, Brooklyn Academy of Music, DHK Theater, John Zorn at the Vanguard, Lincoln Center, Midtown Live, New York City Ballet / “Romeo + Juliet.”, Village Vanguard | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/14) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 02/14/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1 / Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, FEB. 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.”

Today is February 14, so let’s make the “Fab 5” a Valentine Special.

Ice Festival— Special Event (3pm) [FREE]

A Valentine From Rosanne Cash — Pop/Rock (7pm)

Valentine Ice Skate — Sporting Life (10am-10pm)

Dianne Reeves — Jazz (8pm)
and
Gregory Porter — Jazz (8pm)

Renewal of Vows / Times Square — Special event (6pm)

Anti-Valentine’s Day Beer Bash — Food & Drink (12pm-12am)

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

♦ “9 Notable Events-Feb.”, 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
======================================================
Ice Festival
“Central Park’s fourth annual ice festival: master ice carvers from okamoto studio (3-5pm), free sprinkles mini-cupcakes (5pm, limited availability), and a silent disco dance party (5-7pm). milk truck, waffles and dinges, and ungle gussy’s will have food and treats available for purchase” (theskint.com)

This Valentine’s Day, celebrate your love of Central Park at our fourth annual Ice Festival. Witness ice-carving artists from Okamoto Studio use electric chain saws, chisels, and picks to transform more than 3,000 pounds of ice into a glistening replica of the Park’s most romantic statue ― Romeo and Juliet by Milton Hebald (1966).

As night falls, revel among colorful lights as the Mall becomes a 1980s-themed silent disco with live DJs, all as part of Central Park Conservancy’s 35th Anniversary celebration.
What to Wear: Baby, it’s cold outside! Dress warmly; the event is entirely outdoors. Otherwise, dress to celebrate Central Park Conservancy’s 35th Anniversary ― styles from the 1980’s and today are welcome!
Naumburg Bandshell, Mid-Park at 72nd St.
3:00 pm to 7:00 pm / FREE admission

A Valentine From Rosanne Cash
The eminently cool daughter of Johnny Cash is a skilled singer-songwriter in her own right; she also has over 20 Top 40 country singles to her name. For Ms. Cash’s latest release, “The River and the Thread,” which arrived last winter, she nudged some gospel and rock into her twangy formula. She leads a Valentine’s Day performance with assistance from the folk bard and comedian Loudon Wainwright III.” (Anderson-NYT)
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
At 7 p.m. / Sold Out last year, and tickets not available online now.
“Please call 212-570-3949 for ticket availability.”
or try the usual suspects – stub hub, craigslist, etc
212-535-7710 / metmuseum.org/tickets.

Jazz for Valentine’s Day
Dianne Reeves
Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, fifth Floor, 8pm // (212) 721 6500
AND
Gregory Porter
The Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., 8pm // (212) 840-2824

“Can there be any doubt that we are living in a marvelous age of great jazz singers? (If not truly golden like in the Olympian Billie-Ella-Sarah era, than silver at the very least.) With all the formidable talent about, the two artists to spend Valentine’s Day with, in the female and male categories, are Dianne Reeves and Gregory Porter. With his suave baritone and soulful style, Mr. Porter is an overwhelmingly passionate singer, and Ms. Reeves sings Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” (on her current album, “Beautiful Life”) beautifully. Between the two of them celebrating the holiday over two nights, Midtown Manhattan will be well more than 50 shades of romantic.” (WSJ)

Valentine Ice Skate
It’s Valentine’s week! To celebrate we’re offering 2-for-1 skating at the Seaport Ice Rink. That’s right! All day on Valentine’s Day, rink admission and skate rentals will be 2 for the price of 1 as long as you bring a partner to skate with.
South Street Seaport
10am – 10pm / reg. $10 admission, $6 rental.

Renewal of Vows / Times Square
Say “I do” all over again.
On February 14, 2015, couples are invited to celebrate a tour-de-love as only Times Square can deliver by declaring their continued love on the famed red steps of Duffy Square at 6pm. If you’re in love – you’re invited; partners of all ages and backgrounds – whether you are of different religions, races, political stripes, you name it. Wedding attire is welcomed.
Have questions about the event? Visit our Renewal of Vows FAQ page
Duffy Square, 47th St. and Broadway (on the Red Stairs)

And for those without married partners, or lovers, try this One Night Stand:
EATALY NY throws an Anti-Valentine’s Day Beer Bash
ROSES ARE RED,
BEER IS GREAT.
LET’S DRINK ALL DAY;
WHO NEEDS A DATE?
Haven’t been struck by Cupid’s arrow? Not into that flowery, pink-hearted scene?
Eataly New York invites you to spend February 14th with us — and maybe some new friends — at an all-day celebration 15 stories above Manhattan at La Birreria, our year-round rooftop restaurant. We can promise flowing beer, delicious food, and no discussion of l’amore. In other words: we’ve solved Valentine’s Day.

From noon to midnight, our rooftop will be hopping with 20 breweries, more than 50 beers, and sexy food pairings! No need to register for ONE NIGHT STAND: entry is free (and limited to revelers aged 21 and over), and beer and food tickets will be available for $3 at the door.

The event will kick off with a beer-and-chocolate tasting led by Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione! From 12-1 p.m., Sam will offer complimentary tastes of dark beer and Venchi chocolate — no tickets necessary. Check out the menu and list of breweries here
EATALY NY, 200 Fifth ave. at 23rd St.
from 12 PM – 12AM

======================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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:
‘Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection’ (last 2 days!)
This no-strings-attached gift of 81 Cubist works more than lives up to expectations. Concentrating on the four horsemen of the Cubist apocalypse (Braque, Gris, Léger and Picasso), it outlines the style’s heady transformation of art while giving the museum a foundation in modernism commensurate with its holdings in other eras. It’s a stunning show and thrilling event. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Smith)

‘Madame Cézanne’ (through March 15)
Cézanne’s paintings of his wife, Hortense Fiquet, have long stonewalled would-be psychologists, offering few indications of intimacy or interior life. (The poet Rainer Maria Rilke, enthusing over “Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair,” focused on the work’s color scheme and called the chair “a personality in its own right.”) But assembled at the Met, and supported by more tender and informal graphite sketches, these portraits are more forthcoming. They suggest that numbing familiarity was actually, for Cézanne, a form of intimacy; that he could connect with portrait subjects only when they were as reliable a presence in his life as Mont Sainte-Victoire. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Rosenberg)

‘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)

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)

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

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 02/06 and 02/04.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Valentine From Rosanne Cash, Anti-Valentine’s day Beer Bash, Dianne Reeves, Duffy Square, Eataly, Gregory Porter, Ice Festival, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Naumburg Bandshell, Renewal of Vows / Times Square, South Street Seaport, Town Hall, Valentine Ice Skate | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/13) + Today’sFeaturedNeighborhood: WestVillage

Posted on 02/13/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, FEB. 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.”

Documentary Fortnight 2015 — SmartStuff/ Documentary Film (various times)

The Loser’s Lounge Pre-Valentine’s Dance Party — Pop/Rock (7:30pm) [FREE]

Valerie June — Folk/Country (10pm)

Diane Schuur and the Diva Jazz Orchestra — Jazz (8pm) (10pm)

Hollywoodland — Burlesque (7:30pm)

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

Documentary Fortnight 2015 (February 13–27):
MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media is an annual showcase of recent documentary film that examines the relationship between contemporary art and nonfiction practices and reflects on new areas of documentary filmmaking.

This year’s festival includes an international selection of 21 feature films and seven short films, a performance lecture, an archival film program, and a flat-screen installation. Many of the directors will be present, and screenings are followed by discussions.
For a playlist of Documentary Fortnight film trailers, see MoMA’s YouTube channel.
Museum of Modern Art
$12, $10 seniors

The Loser’s Lounge Pre-Valentine’s Dance Party
Bring your valentine or find one at Studio 63! The Loser’s Lounge is New York City’s most entertaining house band, always throwing the best parties and filling the dance floor with great music and interesting people. Founded in 1993 by former Psychedelic Furs Keyboardist Joe McGinty, The Loser’s Lounge canonizes the great songwriting catalogues of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, honoring artists from Abba and Bowie to XTC and The Zombies. Their sold-out public shows validate the love of music fans everywhere, and their enthusiasm is exhilarating. So dress up like you’re going to your favorite night club from the past and dance your way to the future with The Loser’s Lounge!
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, 61 W 62 St.
at 7:30* / Target FREE Thursdays (this week on Friday)
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

Valerie June
“The Tennessee native developed her love of singing in church while she was growing up, and started her career before she was out of her teens. First, she was in a band, Bella Sun, with her former husband, Michael Joyner, but when that act broke up, a little more than a decade ago, June taught herself to play the guitar and learned the banjo and the ukulele. She also started writing songs that combined folk, country, blues, and gospel with an old-timey flair. Her début album, “Pushin’ Against a Stone,” from 2013, showcases her fiercely feminine and unmistakably Southern storytelling abilities, as well as her unique, stunning voice.” (NewYorker)
Zankel Hall, Seventh Ave. at 57th St.
10pm, Late Nights at Zankel Hall series / $52
212-247-7800 / carnegiehall.org

Diane Schuur and the Diva Jazz Orchestra (through Sunday)
“Who wants a Valentine’s day consisting of nothing but hearts, flowers, and soppy love ballads? This all-female jazz orchestra is celebrating 20 years since it was founded by the biggest sweetheart of them all, the late Stanley Kay. In those two decades, they’ve found no shortage of outstanding vocal headliners to collaborate with, such as both the formidable Marlena Shaw and the legendary Nancy Wilson, who both make guest appearances on the orchestra’s new release, “A Swingin’ Life.” This weekend, the headlining front woman is Diane Schuur, a dynamic stylist who is currently doing the best work of her career.”(WSJ)
Iridium, 1650 Broadway,
8pm and 10pm / $35
(212) 582-2121

Hollywoodland
A Valentine’s Eve song & dance homage to the golden age of the silver screen with The Love Show Dancers, Jason Trachtenburg and The Pendulum Swings, Amber Ray, Corn Mo, Tara Quinn, David F. Slone, Esq. + surprise guests! “ (VillageVoice)
(le) poisson rouge, 158 Bleecker St.
7:30 p.m.,/ $10 – $35
212-505-3474

===================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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.

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).
=========================================================
Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Corner Bistro, David Rubenstein Atrium, Diane Schuur and the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Documentary Fortnight 2015, Iridium, LE Poisson Rouge, Museum of Modern Art, The Loser’s Lounge Pre-Valentine’s Dance Party, Valerie June, Zankel Hall | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/12) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 02/12/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1 / Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, FEB. 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.”

Who Wants to Be a Critic? — SmartStuff/ Museum Talk (1:30pm)

Ecstatic Music Festival — New Music (7:30pm)

New Visions of New York in Contemporary Photography —
SmartStuff/ Photography Talk (6:30pm)

Kim Nalley Sings Songs of Love — Jazz (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

‘If These Knishes Could Talk’ — SmartStuff/ Film & Talk (6:30pm)

Missed Connections — SmartStuff/ Book Talk & Party (6:30pm)

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

Who Wants to Be a Critic?
Many of the works in MoMA’s collection were criticized as ugly or deformed when they were first exhibited. Indeed, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Boccioni deliberately altered the shapes and colors of the subjects they depicted. By carefully describing what’s “wrong” with their paintings, join us to explore the specific choices and idiosyncrasies of each artist.

Gallery Sessions, impromptu interactions facilitated by Museum educators, explore the creative process, art history, and the experience of art, take place daily in select galleries.
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., (btw 5/6ave)
1:30PM / Gallery Sessions are free with Museum admission. No registration is required.
meet in the Bass Painting and Sculpture Gallery, Gallery 1, fifth floor

Ecstatic Music Festival
“Now in its fifth year, this adventurous gathering, at Merkin Concert Hall, is a platform for new-music collaboration, combining artists from the worlds of neoclassical, avant-garde, and experimental music. Feb. 12 is a powerhouse night, featuring the composer, saxophonist, and downtown guru John Zorn and New York’s Talea Ensemble, which performs turbulent and innovative orchestral works. The frequent Zorn collaborator Ikue Mori, a master of electronic sound programming and a founding member of the New York City no-wave pioneers DNA, will also be on hand.” (NewYorker)
Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th St.
7:30pm / $25
212-501-3330

New Visions of New York in Contemporary Photography
Join four leading photographers of New York – Jeff Liao, Andrew Moore, Vera Lutter, and Matthew Pillsbury – as they discuss their approach to finding a unique lens on the world’s best documented city. The panel will explore why they have chosen New York as a subject, what special challenges (personal, technical, logistical) it presents, and their inspirations amongst the city’s iconic photographers and rich traditions of visual storytelling. Moderated by Bonnie Yochelson, former Curator of Prints and Photographs at the City Museum.

Co-sponsored by the International Center of Photography, Aperture Foundation, the Taipei Cultural Center, and SVA MFA Photography, Video and Related Media.
Museum City of NY, 1220 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd Street)
6:30pm / $16, $12 students/seniors
212-534-1672 / mcny.org

Kim Nalley Sings Songs of Love
Get a head start on Valentine’s Day.
With vocalist Kim Nalley, pianist Tammy Hall, guitarist Greg Skaff, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Alvin Atkinson.

“Full of sass, skill and authority . . . Nalley embodies the spirit of Billie Holiday without ever losing her own artistic integrity.” DownBeat Magazine
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Fl.,
7:30 & 9:30pm / $35
(212) 258-9595 / dizzys.jalc.org

Elsewhere, but these two unique events look so worth a detour:
‘If These Knishes Could Talk’ (NYT)
A celebration of New York accents.
As part of the exhibition “Mother Tongues: Endangered Languages in New York City and Beyond,” City Lore is screening the documentary “If These Knishes Could Talk,” about New York accents. Afterward, a contest to determine the best New York accent will pit five New Yorkers, one from each borough, against one another.”
City Lore Gallery, 56 East First St.
subway: F to 2nd ave/houston st; walk 1 blk N. to first St.; E. 1/2 blk to venue
6:30 p.m./ $15
212-529-1955 / citylore.org.

Missed Connections
Our 5th annual love in transit party for this City’s would-be romantics!
Calling lovers and love-seekers alike! Join us for a romantic night of crafting, local Brooklyn tastings, and a deep dive into relationship data collected by OKCupid and what it says about our romantic lives.

Learn about our collective love lives from OKCupid cofounder Christian Rudder, who will offer insights from Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One’s Looking) followed by a book signing. Get your PDA on in our token photo booth. Pour your heart out with valentine’s crafts and love poetry inspired by anonymous craigslist posts. Explore our 1936 decommissioned subway station after hours!

Local Brooklyn tastings provided by NuNuChocolates and Brooklyn Winery
Beer lovingly provided by Brooklyn Brewery
Transit Museum, corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn Heights
subway: 2, 3 to Borough Hall,
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM / $15

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

♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
===============================================================================

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/10 and 02/08.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ‘If These Knishes Could Talk’, Dizzy's Club, Ecstatic Music Festival, Kim Nalley Sings Songs of Love, Merkin Concert all, Missed Connections, Museum City of NY, Museum of Modern Art, New Visions of New York in Contemporary Photography, Transit Museum, Who Wants to Be a Critic? | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/11) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Times Square/ Theater District

Posted on 02/11/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″+1 / Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, FEB. 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.”

Zap Mama and Antibalas — Rock/Pop (8pm)

Marilyn Maye — Jazz (7pm)

Boozy Book Swap — SmartStuff/ Book swap (7pm)

Loren Stillman Trio — Jazz (9:30pm)

Lincoln and the Jews — SmartStuff/ Lecture (7pm)

Synth Nights: Eli Keszler — Rock/Experimental (8pm)

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

Zap Mama and Antibalas
“Born in Zaire and raised in Belgium, Marie Daulne founded Zap Mama in 1989, and the group has been releasing records since 1991. The outfit, which traffics in a fusion of traditional African styles and Europop, is particularly interested in exploring the various tonalities of the human voice, and its capacity for blending.

Daulne has made her home in New York since 2000, and she’s on a collaborative tour with the Brooklyn-based group Antibalas. The expansive rhythm machine, infused with Daptone Records horns, was founded by the saxophonist Martín Perna and fronted by the charismatic singer Duke Amayo, and is best known for its onstage work, several years ago, as the band for the Broadway show “Fela!” (NewYorker). If you saw “Fela” you know these guys are good.
Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St. (btw 9/10 Ave)
8pm / $35
212-414-5994 /

Marilyn Maye
“Marilyn Maye, who is 86 going on 35, is presenting a string of Birdland performances emphasizing her jazz side, from Tuesday through Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., with Billy Stritch at the piano. With a voice like a blazing trumpet, she is at her peak, as is the ageless jazz pianist Barbara Carroll whose Saturday evening concerts at Birdland have been selling out.” (Stephen Holden-NYT)
Birdland, 315 West 44th St., Clinton,
7pm / $30
212-581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com.

Boozy Book Swap
“Dating website OkCupid and The Strand Bookstore are joining forces once more for their Boozy Book Swap. Bring a copy of your favorite book to trade while you mix and mingle in The Strand Bookstore’s cozy book room, where the music and wine will be flowing. Feast on treats from Fat Witch Bakery too! “ (dnainfo.com)
7 p.m. / $20
Rare Books Room at The Strand, 828 Broadway, East Village.

Loren Stillman Trio
“Two of the more beguiling jazz albums released last year featured the alto saxophonist’s sinuous improvisations: “Apocryphal,” by Vinnie Sperrazza, and “Going Public,” by Stillman’s own Bad Touch band. In an intriguingly spare setting, Stillman, who displays a lithe grace when he plays, is flanked by the guitarist Nate Radley and the drummer Jared Schonig.” (NewYorker)
Smalls, 183 W. 10th St.
9:30pm / $20
212-252-5091.

Lincoln and the Jews
From the time of Lincoln’s presidency to the present day, American Jews have viewed him as a sympathetic figure. Two leading historians of American Judaism consider how Lincoln acquired his exceptional status.
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place
7:00pm / $15

Synth Nights: Eli Keszler
“The Kitchen is consistently brilliant in its booking of avant-garde performances, but it outdoes itself with this series, whose past curators include Laurie Anderson and Nico Muhly. In this installment, the hard-core rock-cum-experimental innovator Eli Keszler weaves performance art with his compositions in a new piece titled “Filtrations,” comprising exposed piano wires, sculptures and several musicians.” (Anderson-NYT)
the Kitchen, 512 West 19th St., Chelsea,
8pm / $15
212-255-5793 / thekitchen.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 (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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

===========================================================================================
“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.
===========================================================================================

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

“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 Spring 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 Birdland, Boozy Book Swap, Highline Ballroom, Jimmy’s Corner, Lincoln and the Jews, Loren Stillman Trio, Marilyn Maye, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Smalls, Synth Nights: Eli Keszler, the Kitchen, The Strand, Zap Mama and Antibalas | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/10) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 02/10/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, FEB. 10, 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.”

Martha Graham Dance Company — Dance (7pm)

A Walk Through the Gallery — Museum Tour (virtual)

Darwin Goes Digital — Museum Talk (6:30pm)

Pamela Katz — Book Talk (7pm)

Robert Earl Keen — Bluegrass/Country (8:30pm)

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

Martha Graham Dance Company
“Tonight: gala performance, featuring Lamentation Variations, Steps in the Street with design elements by Frank Gehry; and At Summer’s Full with special guests Misty Copeland and Herman Cornejo.

“Shape & Design,” the company’s Joyce season, celebrates the sculptural and architectural aspects of Graham’s choreography. Throughout the run, the dancers perform the Graham classics, including Panorama, Chronicle, Embattled Garden and Errand into the Maze, as well as works by Nacho Duato, Andonis Foniadakis and Annie-B Parson.

In honor of the 85th anniversary of Lamentation, the company showcases four new Lamentation Variations, choreographed by Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Liz Gerring and Sonya Tayeh.” (TONY)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave at 19th St.
7PM / $10–$59
212-229-9200, ext 25 for tickets.

Last day to see “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs.” If you can’t make it, take a virtual tour.
A Walk Through the Gallery
“Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
On Tuesday, New Yorkers will get their last chance to see the Museum of Modern Art’s “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs,” a show that gathers about 100 of the artist’s painted-paper works — the largest and most extensive presentation of these works ever assembled. The exhibition begins in the 1930s, covering work Matisse started producing toward the end of his life. Can’t make it to the museum? Here is the wall-to-wall experience. see it here

Darwin Goes Digital
“Charles Darwin’s Evolutionary Manuscripts include numerous original documents that make it possible to trace the long maturation of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. A panel of noted Darwin experts will mark the Museum’s historic online publication of this entire 30,000-item corpus by speaking on the collection’s never-before-published treasures. The presenters will include Randal Keynes, a conservationist and Darwin’s great–great–grandson; field biologist and historian of evolution James Costa, and David Kohn, director of the Museum’s Darwin Manuscripts Project. Moderated by Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch.” (ThoughtGallery.org)
American Museum of Natural History, Kaufmann Theater, CPark West at 79th St.
at 6:30 pm / $15
212-769-5100

Pamela Katz
“Pamela Katz will read from her book “The Partnership,” which describes the lively working relationship between the playwright Bertolt Brecht and the composer Kurt Weill, famous for “The Threepenny Opera.” She will be joined by Karen Kohler, a cabaret singer who will bring Mr. Weill and Mr. Brecht’s work to life with the accordionist Benjamin Ickes.” (NYT)
McNally Jackson, 52 Prince Street, btw Lafayette and Mulberry Streets, SoHo,
At 7 p.m./ FREE
212-274-1160 / mcnallyjackson.com

Elsewhere, but sure looks worth the short detour:
Robert Earl Keen
“Robert Earl Keen doesn’t have a particularly pretty voice or sing songs about swilling beer in his truck, but this tenacious Texas troubadour writes some of the best story songs (“Shades of Gray,” “The Road Goes on Forever”) and middle-age confessionals (“Dreadful Selfish Crime”) this side of Marty Robbins and Jim Lauderdale. His new album, Happy Prisoner, however, is a springy set of his favorite bluegrass tunes, so expect the sort of fancy picking his crack band — and especially guitarists Rich Brotherton and pedal steel player Marty Muse — has no problem providing. Fellow Texan Bonnie Bishop opens.” (Richard Gehr, VillageVoice)
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn
800-745-3000; 718-486-5400 / musichallofwilliamsburg.com
8:30 p.m. / $35
this is not Manhattan’s WestSide, but it is Brooklyn’s WestSide.
subway:#1-2-3 to 14th St.; transfer to L to Bedford St., (1st stop in Bklyn).
short walk to venue – 2.5 blks West on N 6th St.

=====================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
=======================================================================

Here are a few current exhibition that TimeOutNY recommends:

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/08 and 02/06.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American Museum of Natural History, Darwin Goes Digital, Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs, Joyce Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company, McNally Jackson, Museum of Modern Art, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Pamela Katz, Robert Earl Keen | Leave a comment

Selected Events (02/09) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Tribeca

Posted on 02/09/2015 by GregD

Today’s “Fab 5″ / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, FEB. 09, 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.”

Jon Davis Trio — Jazz (7:30pm)

Muldoon’s Picnic — Music & Literature (7:30pm)

Allan Harris: ‘Black Bar Jukebox’ — Jazz (7:30pm) (9:30pm)

Showgasm — Variety Show (8pm)

Lyrics and Lyricists, ‘Here’s to the Girls: Hollywood’s Leading Ladies’ —
Musical Theater / Burlesque (2pm) (7:30pm)

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

Jon Davis Trio
“Moving Right Along,” the new album by the pianist Jon Davis, sadly has nothing to do with the Muppets, who once recorded a song by that name (give or take). But it’s a document of postbop precision, as delivered by Mr. Davis & partners who rejoin him here: the bassist Yasushi Nakamura and the drummer Shinnousuke Takahashi.” (Chinen-NYT)
Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th Street, West Village,
7:30 p.m. / $20
smallsjazzclub.com

Muldoon’s Picnic
“Okay, it’s not actually a picnic but a music-and-literature extravaganza, and you can hardly complain when the guests are Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Muldoon (and his band, the Wayside Shrines), authors Robert Sullivan and Colm Toibin, and musicians Aoife O’Donovan and Sam and Louise Sullivan.” (TONY)
Irish Arts Center, 553 W 51st St. (btw Tenth and Eleven Aves)
7:30PM / $20

Allan Harris: ‘Black Bar Jukebox’
“Allan Harris is a jazz-cabaret singer of smooth but earthy projection, and on his new album, “Black Bar Jukebox,” he applies it to a hearty celebration of songbook populism. As on the recording, he works with expert accompaniment that includes the pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, the guitarist Yotam Silberstein and the bassist Leon Boykins.”
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway,
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. /
212-258-9595 / jazz.org.

Showgasm
“Ars Nova’s eclectic (and super cheap!) neovaudevillian variety show features a lively mix of music, comedy and burlesque acts hosted by the very funny John Early.” (TONY)
Ars Nova, 511 W 54th St. (btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves)
8PM / $5

Elsewhere, but looks worth the detour:
Lyrics and Lyricists, ‘Here’s to the Girls: Hollywood’s Leading Ladies’
“To those who think of the 92nd Street Y as one the city’s more conservative arts presenting organizations, this show is surprisingly cutting edge, in that it’s being created and hosted by the pre-eminent drag artist, alt-cabaret headliner and Tony-nominated playwright Charles Busch, and yet “retro” at the same time.

It’s a salute to those iconic divas of the Hollywood movie musical, headliners so Olympian that they can easily be identified with only one name, such as Ginger, Jeanette, Betty, and Judy. In case Mr. Busch (whose webisodes on the exploits of Miriam Passman are much funnier than anything on current live action TV) isn’t woman enough for you, the cast is filled out with a multitude of pulchritude that includes five formidable Broadway babies, Andréa Burns, Erin Maguire, Zakiya Young, singing sweetheart Nancy Anderson and the main reason straight guys kept going to see “The Producers” over and over, the original “Ulla,” Cady Huffman.” (WSJ)
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave.
2pm and 7:30pm / $55 – $60
(212) 415-5500

==========================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity (pop. 8.4 million) had 54 million visitors last year and quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
==========================================================================

A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

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

But open that door and a pleasant surprise awaits you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 92nd Street Y, Allan Harris, Ars Nova, ‘Black Bar Jukebox’, ‘Here’s to the Girls: Hollywood’s Leading Ladies’, Dizzy's Club, Irish Arts Center, Jon Davis Trio, Lyrics and Lyricists, Muldoon’s Picnic, Showgasm, Smalls Jazz Club | Leave a comment

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

Selected Events (02/18) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Selected Events (02/17) + Ice Skating in NYCity

Selected Events (02/16) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Selected Events (02/15) + 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 (02/14) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/06 and 02/04.

Selected Events (02/13) + 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 (02/12) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Selected Events (02/11) + 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 (02/10) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Selected Events (02/09) + Today’s Featured Neighborhood: Tribeca

A PremierPub / Tribeca

B-Flat / 277 Church St. (btw Franklin/White 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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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 02/06 and 02/04.

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.

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

A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

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

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

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:

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