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

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, OCT. 15, 2013

BeBrasil Pop-Up Festival
Nearly 5,000 miles separate New York from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But beginning Oct. 15 for a week, the flavors, fashions, foods, and other cultural arts from the South American nation will be on display as part of BeBrasil, a pop-up festival on West Broadway.

BeBrasil will introduce Brazil’s innovations to the world by celebrating new creative products and services developed through inspiring and collaborative work. During the week of October 15-22, 2013, the creativity of Brazil will take over New York. The weeklong festival will bring together Brazil’s most creative professionals and innovative companies from the following sectors: Fashion, Architecture, Design, Food and Beverages, Plastics, Cosmetics, Film, Music, Aerospace and Technology.
372 West Broadway @ Broome St.
12:00 pm to 8:00 pm / FREE

stars of stage and screen salute philip roth:
alec baldwin, john rothman and frances sternhagen read passages of the plot against america, american pastoral and portnoy’s complaint to commemorate the 80th birthday of american novelist philip roth. roth will be in attendance.
temple emanu-el’s leon lowenstein auditorium (10 e 66th st)
1PM / FREE.
(212) 246-4651

Master Class: Pianist Vladimir Feltsman
Featuring pianist Vladimir Feltsman, this master class provides music lovers with a rare opportunity to witness the interaction between gifted students and a great artist as they examine and explore the craft of performance at the highest level.
New School, Mannes College, 150 W. 85th St. btw Columbus & Amsterdam Aves.
at 12:00 pm / FREE
1-212-580-0210

BRIAN WILSON AND JEFF BECK
“Although last year’s Beach Boys reunion tour ended with (yet another) split between the composer Wilson and the lead vocalist Mike Love, the new record they were promoting, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” and the concerts themselves were surprising successes.

Co-headlining the show is the esteemed electric guitarist Jeff Beck, who recently joined Wilson in the studio to lay down some tracks for an upcoming solo album. Further collaborators on the tour include the Beach Boys stalwarts Al Jardine, David Marks, and Blondie Chaplin, who sang lead on “Sail On Sailor,” the opening track on the group’s 1973 album, “Holland.” (NewYorker mag)
Beacon Theatre, Broadway at 74th St.
At 8PM / $59-$250
212-465-6500 / beacontheatre.com

Concert: The Music of Caroline Shaw with Roomful of Teeth
Founded in 2009 by Brad Wells, Roomful of Teeth is eight classically trained vocalists skilled in Tuvan throat singing, belting and pop techniques, yodeling, Inuit throat singing, and vocal traditions from Sardinia and Korea. A Roomful of Teeth concert feels less like a classical new music performance and more like a world music rock concert high wire act. This concert will include several parts of Shaw’s award-winning Partita for 8 Voices, among other works.
Brookfield Place, Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St.
At 7PM / FREE
1-212-417-7000

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ===========================================================================================

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating places – 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 will be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary next 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, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges  – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, OCT. 14, 2013

Archtober /October 1–31
To the design world, October is Archtober, or Design and Architecture Month, in New York City. For 31 days, the entire city opens its doors for design tours, lectures, films and celebrations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the buildings that give this metropolis its distinct character. More than 50 organizations are participating this year, including the Museum of Arts and Design, Queens Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. Archtober.org
Among today’s activities:
AIANY/Center for Architecture
Around Manhattan Boat Tour: NYC Architecture/ 10:00am;1:45pm
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
National Design Week: Drop-in on Design – Family Programs
Building of the Day: NY City Center / Tour Time: 12:00-1:00pm

Amiri Baraka’s Blues People at Fifty
A conversation with Professors William J. Harris, Robert G. O’Meally and John F. Szwed
On September 25, 1963 Amiri Baraka’s classic, Blue People: Negro Music in White America, was published in New York City with a first impression of 5000 copies, and, remaining fresh and relevant, has never gone out of print.

Professors William J. Harris, University of Kansas, Robert O’Meally, Columbia University and John Szwed, Columbia University, will discuss the musical, sociological, aesthetic and theoretical implications of this sociocultural history of African American music and its unique place in American music history and culture. This comprehensive study, the first to be written by an African American, is a precursor to the fields of cultural studies and critical race theory.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR JAZZ STUDIES
622 Dodge Hall, West 116th Street & Broadway, Columbia Main Campus
At 8PM / FREE

Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road
“Clarinet Road” is the name of a pair of recent albums by Mr. Christopher, a superbly gifted clarinetist steeped in the traditional New Orleans style. He appears here under that banner (and under the aegis of the Sidney Bechet Society) with a group that includes the cornetist Randy Reinhart, the singer Hilary Gardner and the pianist Eli Yamin. Joining as an honored guest is Marty Napoleon, a former pianist in Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars. (Chinen-NYT)
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th St.
At 7:15 p.m./ $35, $25 for members
(212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org

The American Brass Quintet performs Gabrieli and others
Program:
SEBASTIAN CURRIER Cadence, Fugue, Fade (2013)
DAVID SNOW Dance Movements
LUCA MARENZIO, ed. Raymond Mase Three Madrigals
GIOVANNI GABRIELI, ed. Raymond Mase Two Canzonas

Recently awarded Chamber Music America’s highest honor, The Richard J. Bogomolny Award, for their significant and lasting contribution to the chamber music field, the American Brass Quintet performs works from the ever-evolving brass chamber music repertoire-works often commissioned or unearthed and arranged by members of the Quintet as part of their efforts to promote the brass quintet as a significant chamber music form.
Julliard School, Paul Hall, 155 W. 65th St.
At 8PM / FREE
1-212-769-7406

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
A popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland every Monday night. For the past nine years, it’s been the spot to mix and mingle with Manhattan show folk and their fans.

The buoyant, sharp and charming Broadway impresario Jim Caruso hosts a combination open-mic, networking event and party, where some nights you may hear the biggest stars on Broadway relax on their night off by performing their favorite songs in an informal setting. Always fun.
Birdland – 315 West 44th St (btw 8th/9th ave)
9:30 pm / $20 (includes a drink if you sit at the bar, which are not bad seats)
(212) 581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ================================================================================

What’s on View:
Special Exhibitions @ 4 Museum Mile / Fifth Ave. Museums:

‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi” (through Nov. 3)
“Legends of the Dead Ball Era” (1900-1919) (through Dec. 1)
“Eighteenth Century Pastels” (through Dec. 29)
“Julia Margaret Cameron” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Medieval Treasurse From Hildesheim” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Brush Writing in the Arts of Japan” (through Jan. 12, 2014)
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1000 5th Ave, at 82nd St.
(212) 535-7710 / metmuseum.org

“Monika Grzymala, Volumen” (through Nov. 3)
‘Tiepolo, Guardi, and Their World: Eighteenth Century Venetian Drawings’ (ends Jan. 5)
Morgan Library & Museum: 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th St.
(212) 685-0008 / themorgan.org.

“Kandinsky in Paris, 1934–1944” (through Apr.23, 2014)
Guggenheim Museum: 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th St.
(212) 423-3500 / guggenheim.org.

“La Bienal 2013: Here Is Where We Jump” (through Jan. 4, 2014)
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue, at 104th St.
(212) 831-7272 / elmuseo.org

========================================================== 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. ========================================================== What’s on View: Top Photography Exhibitions
(NYCity / Manhattan’s WestSide)   

Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street / 212-708-9400
XL: 19NewAcquisitions in Photography (through Dec. 31)
Walker Evans: American Photographs (through Jan. 26, 2014) 

Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) / 212-535-7710
Julia Margaret Cameron (through Jan. 5, 2014)
Everyday Ephiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969  (through Jan. 26, 2014)

ICP 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street / 212-857-0000
All these exhibitions run from Oct 4, 2013–Jan 19, 2014:
Lewis Hine
The Future of America: Lewis Hine’s New Deal Photographs
JFK November 22, 1963: A Bystander’s View of History
Zoe Strauss: 10 Years

American Museum Natural History 
79th St. And Central Park West / (212) 313-7278
Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies (through May 31, 2014)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 10/12 and 10/10.

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, OCT. 13, 2013

OHNY Weekend (last day!)
If you don’t get out and take advantage of OHNY today, you’ll have to wait an entire year for your next opportunity to get behind the scenes of some of the most fascinating parts of NYCity.

“The mission of OHNY is to promote a greater appreciation of the city’s built environment; broaden public awareness by exposing diverse audiences to distinctive examples of architecture, engineering and design; educate and inspire discussion of issues of excellence in design, planning and preservation; and showcase outstanding new work as well as structures of historic merit.” Nobody does it better.

Taste of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s vendors are teaming up for the neighborhood’s first fall food crawl! Taste of Brooklyn Bridge is a weekend food festival for those who love sampling a little bit of everything delicious, all while surrounded by real fresh air and beautiful fall foliage!

Team Brooklyn Bridge Park is an all star team and includes:
Luke’s Lobster most recently the winner of the People’s Taste Prize at the Vendy Awards, –Blue Marble Ice Cream, one of Food & Wine’s “Best Ice Cream Spots in the US,”–Calexico, a former winner of the top prize at the Vendy Awards,– and Ample Hills Creamery, rated best ice cream in New York by the Village Voice and Zagat!

Only $20 gets you tastes from seven brooklyn bridge park food and drink vendors including 1/2 lobster roll from luke’s lobster, chicken taco from calexico, maple + pumpkin ice creams from blue marble ice cream, and to wash it all down autumn harvest cocktails from brooklyn bridge garden bar.

all at the new Brooklyn Bridge Park with spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, and of course, the Brooklyn Bridge.
(easy to get to via subway: #2 or 3 express to Clark St., the 1st stop in Bklyn.)

Horizons Conference
Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics is an annual forum that examines the role of psychedelics in science, healing, culture and spirituality.

In recent years, a growing community of scientists, doctors, artists, activists, seekers and scholars have orchestrated a renaissance in psychedelic thought and practice.

Horizons brings together the brightest minds and the boldest voices of this movement to share their research, insights and dreams for the future.
Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square Park South
From 2-6PM / $40
horizonsnyc.org

Stanley Clarke and the Harlem Quartet
“On electric or acoustic bass, Mr. Clarke is a fleet-fingered marvel with a particular gift for funk and soul. He has been working in recent months with the Harlem Quartet, a chamber string ensemble, which joins his trio, featuring Beka Gochiashvili on piano and Michael Mitchell on drums.” (Chinen-NYT)
Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village
At 8 and 10:30 p.m./$45 cover at tables, $30 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
(212) 475-8592, bluenote.net

New York Comic Con and Anime Festival (last day!)
“With geek culture having established an undeniable influence over mainstream entertainment, Comic Con is always a much anticipated event. This annual fan convention at the Javits Center is dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television and will feature writers and illustrators, along with celebrities like Sigourney Weaver and Gillian Anderson.

Panels, screenings and the ability to have your comic book signed by your hero will all be on tap. The New York Anime Festival alliance is still in effect, too, so expect to see cosplayers (costumed participants dressed like fictional characters). They’ll provide plenty to gawk at, even if you don’t hit the fest’s many booths, panels and screenings.” (nycgo.com)

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change ==============================================================================

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating places – Tribeca

B-Flat  /  277 Church st (Btw Franklin/White)

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 1 blk E to Church; 1 blk N to bFlat

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

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

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, OCT. 12, 2013

OHNY Weekend (through Sunday)
“Open House New York is an annual weekend-long event during which historic buildings, architectural masterpieces and sundry landmarks welcome the public for tours and nosing around. It’s the perfect opportunity to explore normally off-limits parts of New York and have a good old snoop

Gain access to more than 150 of the city’s coolest and most exclusive architectural sites, private homes and landmarks, plus behind-the-scenes tours and programs. This year, get a sneak peek of the 72-story 4 World Trade Center before it opens to the public, see the inner workings of the Sims Sunset Park Recycling Facility—designed by cutting-edge firm Selldorf Architects—and tour the exterior of the new Whitney Museum building alongside the High Line. You’ll also have another chance to see many places you might have missed last year, including the ornate Grand Lodge of Masons, the dramatic Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant with its giant stainless-steel digester “eggs,” Philip Johnson’s masterful modernist interiors for the Four Seasons, and Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center at JFK

Many sites are free and open to all. However, some of the big-ticket draws do require reservations costing $5—and these can go fast, in part because of limited space.” (TONY mag)

Crafts Festivals (Saturday and Sunday)
The annual Autumn Crafts on Columbus — the 34th — will run for two more consecutive weekends from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the sidewalk of Columbus Avenue, near the American Museum of Natural History, Columbus Avenue, between 77th and 81st Streets; craftsoncolumbus.com. This gathering of artisans brings together a selection of leather, textile and brass crafts from all across the United States as well as Australia and Israel. 250 stalls showcase woodwork, glassware, ceramics and other mediums. Demonstrations in pottery, metal and other crafts are offered on both days. Refreshments, including poached pear tarts or strawberry stack cakes from New Amsterdam Baking Company, will be available when you finish perusing the stands.

And at Lincoln Center, the Autumn Crafts Festival, in its 24th year, will run on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; craftsatlincoln.org. This sidewalk showcase features 100 artists hawking their jewelry, ceramics, paintings, photography and other crafts.

Anat Cohen Quartet
There haven’t been many great clarinetists in Jazz since the days of Sidney Bechet, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. That changed a few years ago when Anat Cohen came on the scene. Run, don’t walk, to hear live jazz clarinet by the Jazz Journalists Association’s clarinetist of the year for the last six years. She will blow you away.
Miller Theater, Broadway at 116th Street, Morningside Heights
At 8 p.m./$35
(212) 854-7799, millertheatre.com

Dance Gallery Festival (through Sunday)
“Some dancegoers prefer the assurance of a vetted artist; others delight in the discovery of something new. For the second group, there is the Dance Gallery Festival. Started in 2007, the mini-fest culls emerging artists from around the country and gives them a platform to shine. Ensembles perform on Friday night and Sunday afternoon; solos, duos and trios take the stage on Saturday night; and on Sunday evening, three chosen troupes will have 25 minutes each to make their mark.” (Schaefer-NYT)
Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th St.
at 7:30 p.m./$20
(212) 868-4444, dancegalleryfestival.com

TOM HARRELL (through Oct. 13)
Jazz has had its share of triumph-over-adversity tales, but few have been as inspirational as that of Harrell.

Harrell is widely regarded as being among the most creative and uncompromising jazz instrumentalists and composers of our time. He is a past winner of both the Down Beat Readers and Critics Polls in the trumpet category, whose roots go back to an early-seventies run with Horace Silver, Harrell is also a diagnosed schizophrenic.

Yet his condition hasn’t kept him from establishing himself as an active bandleader. While his communication with audiences is minimal, his forthright skills as a player are not affected. He begins a two-week engagement, splitting the time between two different ensembles; his longtime quintet, featuring the saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, is up first.(NewYorker mag)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St.
at 8:30 & 10:30PM / $25 cover with a one drink minimum
(212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 3 MUSEUMS
(Manhattan’s WestSide & the BrooklynMuseum) 

‘Walker Evans: American Photographs’ (through Jan. 26, 2014)
American Modern: Hopper to O’Keefe (through Jan. 26, 2014)
America’s cultural landscape shifted rapidly in the early 20th century. American Modern at the Museum of Modern Art looks at this change via some of the iconic works produced between 1915 and 1950. Artists highlighted include George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz and Andrew Wyeth. In organizing the art thematically, American Modern will highlight the connections between the artists’ works.
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.
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The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit will be the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and will feature brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

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‘Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn’ (continuing)
This eclectic, imaginatively thought-out one-gallery immersion experience in world art, all from Brooklyn’s collection and installed in the museum’s revamped Great Hall, serves as a teaser to the fabulous collections in the galleries beyond.
‘Divine Felines: Cats of AncientEgypt’ (through Dec. 29)
Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park,
(subway: easy ride from midtown on #2 or #3 express to Eastern Pkway/Bklyn Museum)
(718) 638-5000 / brooklynmuseum.org

WHAT’S ON VIEW: Top Photography Exhibitions
(NYCity / Manhattan’s WestSide)

  Museum of Modern Art
XL: 19NewAcquisitions in Photography (through Dec. 31)
Walker Evans: American Photographs (through Jan. 26, 2014)
New Photography 2013 (through Jan. 6, 2014)
11 West 53rd Street / 212-708-9400

  Metropolitan Museum of Art
Julia Margaret Cameron (through Jan. 5, 2014)
Everyday Ephiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969 
(through January 26, 2014)
1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) / 212-535-7710

  American Museum Natural History 
Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies          
(through May 31, 2014)
79th St. And Central Park West / (212) 313-7278 

   ICP
All these exhibitions run from Oct 4, 2013–Jan 19, 2014:
Lewis Hine
The Future of America: Lewis Hine’s New Deal Photographs
JFK November 22, 1963: A Bystander’s View of History
Zoe Strauss: 10 Years
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street / 212-857-0000

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (10/10) and (10/08).

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, OCT. 11, 2013

Archtober /October 1–31
To the design world, October is Archtober, or Design and Architecture Month, in New York City. For 31 days, the entire city opens its doors for design tours, lectures, films and celebrations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the buildings that give this metropolis its distinct character. More than 50 organizations are participating this year, including the Museum of Arts and Design, Queens Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. archtober.org
Among today’s activities:
   AIANY/Center for Architecture
Around Manhattan Boat Tour: NYC Architecture/ 11:00am
   Guggenheim Museum
Urban Film Series: Cinematic Sites / 3:00pm
   Building of the Day: Shake Shack / Tour Time: 12:00-1:30pm

Tony Bennett

“Can’t go wrong ’cause he’s in right.
 At 87, Bennett is America’s walking, talking musical unconscious: When he sings “It Had to Be You” or “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” he brings back a whole musical tradition, a whole lost world. Bennett doesn’t have the godly bel canto pipes that he once did. But his voice is still a technical marvel, and no one else on Earth can make a lyric written eight decades ago sound as natural as a conversation at a coffee shop.
” (NewYork mag)
Radio City Music Hall,
At 8 p.m./$61 to $156.
858-0008, radiocity.com

Poe in the House of Morgan
The spirit of Edgar Allan Poe will haunt the Morgan House in this one-hour reading of Poe’s most chilling tales. Performed by Staten Island OutLOUD, the community-based organization chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts as a 2013—14 awardee to present The Big Read: The Stories & Poems of Poe. With musical accompaniment by Kazuo Nakamura, bass, and Yuuki Koike, woodwinds.
THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM, 225 Madison Avenue @ 36th St.
At 8PM/Free with museum admission, but tickets are required.
(212) 685-0008 ext. 560 /  themorgan.org

KENNY BARRON
“The masterly pianist, who recently turned seventy, is in peak form. He’s one of jazz’s most profound improvisers, and his recent work has only become more nuanced, economical, and insightful. With his Platinum Band, Barron takes on the role of wise mentor, shepherding an ensemble of younger, still evolving players.” (NewYorker mag)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and Broadway
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m./$35 to $45 cover, with a $10 minimum
(212) 258-9595, jalc.org

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
===============================================================================

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Upper West Side

Dinosaur /  700 w125th St. @ 12th ave.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/
Phone #: 212-694-1777
Hours: M-Th 11:30am-11:00pm; Fr-Sa 11:30am-12:00am;
Su 12:00pm-10:00pm
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day; $1 off all drinks
Music: Fri / Sat 10:00pm
Subway: #1 to 125th st
Walk 2 blk W on 125th to Dinosaur Bar-B-Q,
just past the elevated highway

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

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

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, OCT. 10, 2013

New York Comic Con and Anime Festival (through Oct 13)
“With geek culture having established an undeniable influence over mainstream entertainment, Comic Con is always a much anticipated event. This annual fan convention at the Javits Center is dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television and will feature writers and illustrators, along with celebrities like Sigourney Weaver and Gillian Anderson. Panels, screenings and the ability to have your comic book signed by your hero will all be on tap. The New York Anime Festival alliance is still in effect, too, so expect to see cosplayers (costumed participants dressed like fictional characters). They’ll provide plenty to gawk at, even if you don’t hit the fest’s many booths, panels and screenings.” (nycgo.com)

New York City Ballet* (through Oct. 13)
“The company’s vibrant and varied fall season continues with an evening of contemporary choreographers including Angelin Preljocaj’s unabashedly hokey “Spectral Evidence” (an unfortunate addition to the repertory), alongside the much lovelier “Soirée Musicale,” by Christopher Wheeldon, and Alexei Ratmansky’s “Namouna, A Grand Divertissment.” (Burke-NYT)
Lincoln Center, DHK Theater,
7:30pm / $29-$159
(212) 496-0600 / nycballet.com

Rodriguez*
The subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” rides his folk Cinderella story from longtime cult favorite in South Africa to headliner of Barclay’s Center, the pop epicenter of Brooklyn. This is the soulful troubadour’s highest-profile performance to date in the city, yet one rooted in his familiar modesty; in fact, he was fast asleep at his home when “Sugar Man” received the Oscar. After Brooklyn, he’ll head into Manhattan for a performance at Radio City.” (Anderson-NYT)
Radio City Music Hall,1260 6th Ave (btw 50/51 St.)
at 8 p.m./ $39.50 to $79.50.
(866) 858-0008, ticketmaster.com

DanceNOW Joe’s Pub Festival (through Oct. 12)
“This festival, featuring 10 choreographers per night, cultivates creativity through constraints: each artist gets just five minutes onstage, and that stage — the one at Joe’s Pub — is beyond small. The audience, meanwhile, doesn’t have to hold back: viewers vote for their favorite act; the winners get a weeklong creative residency, and the Top 10 return for an encore performance on Oct. 19.” (Burke-NYT)
Joe’s Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place,
At 7 p.m., $15 in advance, $20 at the door
(212) 967-7555, joespub.com

Ginger Baker (through Oct. 13)
“In the excellent 2012 documentary “Beware of Mr. Baker,” Eric Clapton can only snort when asked to compare the drumming skills of Ginger Baker with those of his contemporaries Keith Moon and John Bonham. Though the volatile, unstable Baker made Clapton’s life miserable as his bandmate, first in Cream and then in Blind Faith, he had no equal as a musician, Clapton assures us. The phenomenally talented Baker, who participated in titanic drum battles with Elvin Jones and Art Blakey and, in the mid-nineties, fronted a group with Charlie Haden and Bill Frisell, will be performing for five nights.” (NewYorker mag)
Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street,
At 8 and 10 p.m., /$50 and $60 cover, with a $15 minimum.
The early shows are sold out.
(212) 582-2121, theiridium.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ===============================================================================

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 – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.

WHAT’S ON VIEW: Here are a few Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you may want to see:

Matthew Day Jackson, “Something Ancient, Something New, Something Stolen, Something Blue” (until Sat Oct.19)
“Space missions, military hardware and anatomy are some of the points of departure for the artist’s latest works, which, as usual, plumb the darker reaches of American history, life and popular culture.” (TONY Mag)
Hauser & Wirth New York 511 W 18th St. (btw 10th/111th Ave)
Tue–Sat, 10am–6pm / FREE
212-794-4970 / hauserwirth.com

Sol LeWitt (until Oct. 12)
“Reincarnated here for the first time since its presentation in the 1988 Venice Biennale, Sol Lewitt’s “Wall Drawing #564: Complex forms with color ink washes simperimposed” offers 2,448 square feet of visual sumptuousness covering three walls of Paula Cooper’s main exhibition space. Bold, black lines about half a foot wide divide the surface into rectangular compartments occupied by multicolored, crystalline forms surrounded by single-color fields. It’s beautiful.” (Johnson-NYT)
Paula Cooper Gallery, 521 West 21st St.
255-1105, paulacoopergallery.com.

Taner Ceylan, “The Lost Paintings Series” (until Oct.26)
This Turkish painter employs photorealist techniques to deconstruct Orientalism, a 19th-century genre in Europe and the United States that featured exotic scenes of the mysterious Levant. Some artists relied on pure fantasy; others traveled to North Africa and elsewhere to base their visions on some observable reality. Either way, Orientalism went hand in glove with colonialism, as the stereotypes it helped foster were essential to the psychology of Western empire building. Ceylan plays with and against these same stereotypes, portraying dusky, alluring women as well as men in fezzes and kaffiyehs, though with notable twists (the inclusion of evidently gay subjects, for instance). More to the point, he juxtaposes one sort of illusion (paintings that look like photographs) with another—the myths and misconceptions that have emerged about the Middle East.
Paul Kasmin Gallery, 515 W 27th St. (btw Tenth/Eleventh Aves)
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-563-4474 / paulkasmingallery.com

Josh Smith (until Oct.19)
Smith’s painterly spin on bad-boy aesthetics is given ample room in this two-space show, taking up Luhring Augustine’s Chelsea and Brooklyn locations.
Luhring Augustine, 531 W 24th St. (btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves)
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-206-9100 / luhringaugustine.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) ==========================================================

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (10/08) and (10/06).

Today’s “Fab 5”+1/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, OCT. 09, 2013

NYCity’s Biggest PIZZA PARTY
All slices are just $1 each at the annual “slice out hunger charity event”. with 40+ pizza shops including di fara, grimaldi’s, lombardi’s, motorino, two boots and more, plus 4 gluten-free and 7 vegan options, there’ll be a slice for every taste and budget. all proceeds benefit the food bank for nyc. this sells out quickly, so arrive early!
St. Anthony’s church (154 sullivan st @ houston)
6pm / FREE

New York Cabaret Convention
Features Cahn and Van Heusen

The show, “Come Fly With Me: the Songs of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen,” brought another infusion of youth and animal spirits to the convention in its 24th season. The pop music historian Will Friedwald, was the curator for the evening, and the television personality Bill Boggs hosted. The show’s special guest, the snowy-maned pop-jazz crooner Jack Jones, making his convention debut, was introduced by Mr. Friedwald who described him as the last of an all-but-vanished breed of Las Vegas entertainer.

ICP Lecture Series: New Media in the Museum
These distinguished panelists will address questions about the most recent developments in new media and whether the term itself continues to have meaning.

Panelists include Karen Archey, art critic and curator; Julie Lazar, founder and director of the International Contemporary Arts Network; and Glenn Wharton, Clinical Associate Professor of Museum Studies at New York University. This panel will be moderated by ICP Curator Carol Squiers.

Watch the lectures live online on each date at 7 pm ET at lectures.icp.edu.
School at ICP, Shooting Studio, 1114 Avenue of the Americas
at 7:00pm / $15
212-857-0000

Brad Mehldau and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Leaderless, but not directionless.
 In Beethoven’s youth, what a composer did in public was extemporize at the piano and then write the best improvisations down. That’s precisely what the jazzman Brad Mehldau does today, and the conductor-less chamber orchestra Orpheus opens its season with Beethoven, Brahms, and some fresh Mehldau (Variations on a Melancholy Theme).—(Justin Davidson/NYMAG)
Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
At 8 p.m./ $14.50 to $110
(212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org

“Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us,” with Jesse Bering 
Part of the NYPL Midtown Branch’s Author @ theLibrary presents series.
The author of “The Belief Instinct” and “Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?”, Jesse is a frequent contributor to Scientific American and Slate.

This illustrated lecture builds on the author’s Scientific American columns to look at the rich and misunderstood topic of human sexual deviance. From the perspective of a psychological scientist, he casts a wide-ranging eye over the field of sexual deviance, including clinical case studies, basic details of sexual development, research practices in the scientific study of sexual behavior, and debates about diagnosis and treatment. The material presented will be explicit. Discretion is advised.
MID-MANHATTAN LIBRARY, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
455 FIFTH AVENUE (40TH STREET AND 5TH AVENUE)
At 6:30PM / FREE
212-340-0989 / nypl.org/events

Ethan Iverson, Oliver Lake, Sam Newsome, Andrew Cyrille*
“A convergence of four fearless improvisers stationed at slightly different aesthetic coordinates, these musicians are more than capable of finding communion. Mr. Lake, a saxophonist, and Mr. Cyrille, a drummer, are the elder statesmen of the bunch, both well-traveled within the post-1960s avant-garde. Mr. Newsome is a brilliantly expressive soprano saxophonist, and Mr. Iverson is a pianist of limitless inquiry; both should find plenty of stimulus in this setting.” (Chinen-NYT)
Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th Street, West Village
at 9:30 p.m. / $20 cover
smallsjazzclub.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
===============================================================================

A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi  /  32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker/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. I should note that 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

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

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

3 Good Eating places 

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

Fish – 280 Bleecker St (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $8 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. You may have to wait a few minutes, because everything is freshly made, but it’s worth it. Can you believe – an unheard of 26 food rating by Zagat.

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

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

There are also some casual dining, chain restaurant locations in this neighborhood that have decent food, provide a good hotel breakfast alternative, and have free Wi-FI:

A. Pret a Manger @ 821 Broadway (betw 12/13 st)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st; transfer to n/q/r to 14th st/union sq

B. Potbelly @ 41 W14th st (betw 5th/6th ave)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th st

C. Cosi @ 53 E 8th st (betw greene/mercer)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st; transfer to n/r to 8th st

◊ For a few more PremierPubs and Good Eating places see previous Featured Neighborhoods in the right sidebar.

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places and descriptions of my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods (plus 27 casual dining places with free Wi-Fi) order a copy of my e-book: “Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($3.99).
(available Winter 2013)

Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, OCT. 08, 2013

Archtober /October 1–31
To the design world, October is Archtober, or Design and Architecture Month, in New York City. For 31 days, the entire city opens its doors for design tours, lectures, films and celebrations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the buildings that give this metropolis its distinct character. More than 50 organizations are participating this year, including the Museum of Arts and Design, Queens Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art.
archtober.org

The Columbus Avenue Match: 
West Side Wines and Gastronomie 491 Cheese
Yes, the days are growing shorter and the nights are growing chillier but that isn’t the most important change of the season!  The wines are different and so are the cheeses.  Autumn is prime time for amazing wines, richer and more sublime, and this is the best time of year for cheese, so many full bodied flavors in every ounce.

Andy Besch, owner of West Side Wines, and author of “The Wine Guy: Everything You Want to Know about Buying and Enjoying Wine from Someone Who Sells It,” will present six awesome wines, which will be chosen to match six extraordinary cheeses from the Gastronomie 491 selection. Martin Johnson, the lead cheesemonger at Gastronomie and one of the leading cheese wits in the city (or at least the New York Times thinks so, http://bit.ly/VSYuhe), will present the cheeses.
Gastronmie 491, 491 Columbus Avenue (btw 83rd and 84th St.)
at 7 pm / $20
(212) 974-7871 / http://www.gastronomie491.com

TOM HARRELL (through Oct. 13)
Jazz has had its share of triumph-over-adversity tales, but few have been as inspirational as that of Harrell.

Harrell is widely regarded as being among the most creative and uncompromising jazz instrumentalists and composers of our time. He is a past winner of both the Down Beat Readers and Critics Polls in the trumpet category, whose roots go back to an early-seventies run with Horace Silver, Harrell is also a diagnosed schizophrenic.

Yet his condition hasn’t kept him from establishing himself as an active bandleader. While his communication with audiences is minimal, his forthright skills as a player are not affected. He begins a two-week engagement, splitting the time between two different ensembles; his longtime quintet, featuring the saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, is up first.(NewYorker mag)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St.
at 8:30 & 10:30PM / $25 cover with a one drink minimum
(212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Mary Oliver
Rare appearance by the Dog Songs author.
Oliver, whom nature would probably appoint poet laureate were it in a position to do so, has a new book out about the subset of the natural world with four legs and waggy tails. Normally a scarce public commodity, she’ll read from Dog Songs twice this week in New York. “Said Ricky to me one day, ‘Why is it you / don’t have a tail?’ / Well, I just don’t.” I can’t guarantee she’ll read that line, but I hope so. —K.S./NY mag
Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E 17th St.
7PM / FREE
212-253-0810 

Jorge Drexler
The best Uruguayan song you’ll hear this week.
The producer Gustavo Santaolalla has an ear for genius, and one of his finer inspirations was to use the song “Al Otro Lado Sel Rio” in the movie The Motorcycle Diaries. The man who wrote it is the velvet-voiced, big-hearted singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, and he’ll be onstage, courtesy of the World Music Institute, at Ethical Culture. —J.D. / NY mag
New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th St., nr. Central Park West
At 7:30PM / $45
212-874-5210 / nysec.org

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ================================================================================

What’s on View:
Special Exhibitions @ 4 Museum Mile / Fifth Ave. Museums:

‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi” (through Nov. 3)
“Legends of the Dead Ball Era” (1900-1919) (through Dec. 1)
“Eighteenth Century Pastels” (through Dec. 29)
“Julia Margaret Cameron” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Medieval Treasurse From Hildesheim” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800” (through Jan. 5, 2014)
“Brush Writing in the Arts of Japan” (through Jan. 12, 2014)
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1000 5th Ave, at 82nd St.
(212) 535-7710 / metmuseum.org

“Monika Grzymala, Volumen” (through Nov. 3)
‘Tiepolo, Guardi, and Their World: Eighteenth Century Venetian Drawings’ (ends Jan. 5)
Morgan Library & Museum: 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th St.
(212) 685-0008 / themorgan.org.

“Kandinsky in Paris, 1934–1944” (through Apr.23, 2014)
Guggenheim Museum: 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th St.
(212) 423-3500 / guggenheim.org.

“La Bienal 2013: Here Is Where We Jump” (through Jan. 4, 2014)
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue, at 104th St.
(212) 831-7272 / elmuseo.org

========================================================== 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. ========================================================== What’s on View: Top Photography Exhibitions
(NYCity / Manhattan’s WestSide)   

Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street / 212-708-9400
XL: 19NewAcquisitions in Photography (through Dec. 31)
Walker Evans: American Photographs (through Jan. 26, 2014) 

Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) / 212-535-7710
Julia Margaret Cameron (through Jan. 5, 2014)
Everyday Ephiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969  (through Jan. 26, 2014)

ICP 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street / 212-857-0000
All these exhibitions run from Oct 4, 2013–Jan 19, 2014:
Lewis Hine
The Future of America: Lewis Hine’s New Deal Photographs
JFK November 22, 1963: A Bystander’s View of History
Zoe Strauss: 10 Years

American Museum Natural History 
79th St. And Central Park West / (212) 313-7278
Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies (through May 31, 2014)

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

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 09/30 and 09/28.

Today’s “Fab 5”+1/ Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, OCT. 07, 2013

Kurt Weill on Broadway
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of One Touch of Venus, along with excerpts from other incomparable Weill scores, including Lady in the Dark, Street Scene, Love Life, and Lost in the Stars. Ted Chapin hosts a stellar cast including Melissa Errico, Brent Barrett, Judy Blazer, and Ron Raines, alongside winners of the Lotte Lenya Competition. Musical direction by Weill specialist James Holmes, stage direction by Richard Jay-Alexander. The evening’s orchestra is Le Train Bleu with conductor Ransom Wilson.
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway
At 8PM / $47
212-864-5400 / symphonyspace.org

Concert: Country singer Cassadee Pope
See the winner of The Voice Season 3, Cassadee Pope, perform from her CD “Frame by Frame”, the day before she is set to release her forthcoming debut album.
Bryant Park, Southwest Porch, Sixth Ave. & 42nd St.
6:00PM / FREE
1-212-768-4242

‘Norma’ at The Met
“A revival of Bellini’s “Norma” is pointless without a powerhouse soprano, and Sondra Radvanovsky—once a stalwart, now a star—proves herself worthy of the challenge, embodying the Druid priestess’s trusting vulnerability and eruptive temper and unleashing high notes mighty enough to level the occupying Roman Army. Aleksandrs Antonenko stands out as a genuinely heroic Pollione. Also with Kate Aldrich and James Morris; Riccardo Frizza conducts.” (NewYorker mag)
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center
At 7:30PM / $27 to $445
212-362-6000, metoperafamily.org

Steely Dan (through Oct. 8.)
Steely Dan is giving their fans another opportunity to hear the band delve deep into its three-decade-plus discography, as Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Walter Becker and Donald Fagen will stage complete performances of several classic albums in their entirety, along with selected hits and fan-requested favorites.

Onstage, Donald and Walter will be joined by their eight brilliant supporting musicians, now appearing as The Bipolar Allstars (featuring Keith Carlock on drums, Freddie Washington on bass, Jim Beard on keyboards, and Jon Herington on guitar), along with The Borderline Brats — three sublime, soulful songbirds.

Tonight features “Aja” and select hits; tomorrow it’s Greatest Hits Night!
Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th St.
At 8 p.m./$59.50 to $220.
745-3000, beacontheatre.com

Marques Toliver
“This classically trained violinist from Florida now shifts his considerable talent to the unusual hybrid of baroque R&B. In his hands, it is fascinating: Mr. Toliver croons fitfully about spirituality over intricate string solos, joking dryly between songs to break up the bleak tension. He released his lovely first full-length album, “Land Of CanAan,” last spring. He opens for Alice Russell on this night.” (Anderson-NYT)
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea
At 8 p.m./$25 at the door
777-8932, highlineballroom.com

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.
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue South, just below West 11th St.
At 8:30 and 10:30 pm / $25
212-255-4037 / villagevanguard.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places / 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; 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 some nights includes a sax player with a younger, trimmer piano man.

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

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, OCT. 06, 2013

Archtober /October 1–31
To the design world, October is Archtober, or Design and Architecture Month, in New York City. For 31 days, the entire city opens its doors for design tours, lectures, films and celebrations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the buildings that give this metropolis its distinct character. More than 50 organizations are participating this year, including the Museum of Arts and Design, Queens Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art.

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR (last day!)
In the early nineties, Will Ramsay had risen to the position of captain in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, but by 1996 he had left the British Army to lead a new charge: that of affordable contemporary art. He founded Will’s Art Warehouse, a user-friendly gallery for collectors on a budget. Three years later, the Affordable Art Fair was born, and it has since spread to fifteen cities. At the four-day, family-friendly fair here, prices start at less than one hundred dollars a work, and more than half of them cost below five thousand dollars.
The Tunnel, 269 Eleventh Ave., btw 27th and 28th Sts.
Affordableartfair.com

MUSIC BEFORE 1800
Ensemble Peregrina – Sacer Nidus, The Holy Nest: Polish Medieval Music
The international vocal quartet Ensemble Peregrina based in Basel specializes in Western European music from the 9th through 14th centuries. Extensive touring brings the singers to the U.S. for a debut performance, offering the earliest extant Polish music—songs and sequences from 1000 AD—written for St. Adalbert, Boleslaw I, and Otto III.

This concert is part of the New York Early Music Celebration, a Service Project of the Early Music Foundation, in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute of New York. Partial funding is provided by the West Harlem Local Development Corporation via a re-grant program admnistered by the EMF.
Corpus Christi Church
529 W. 121 Street (at corner of Broadway across from Teachers College)
At 4:00pm / $27.50 – $45
website: Peregrina.ch

McCoy Tyner Quintet
“The thunderclap power that used to rattle the walls of the clubs may arise only in fits and starts these days, but the seventy-four-year-old pianist retains the harmonic keyboard signature that has made him a key influence since his sixties stint with John Coltrane. His quintet features the saxophonist Gary Bartz and the violinist John Blake, Jr.” (NewYorker mag)
Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village
At 8 and 10:30 p.m., $45 cover at tables, $30 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
475-8592, bluenote.net

The New Yorker Festival (last day!)
“The literary smorgasbord known as The New Yorker Festival is offering ample servings of readings, discussions and screenings with writers, actors and others, at several locations. Online sales are closed for many events, but tickets to some notable ones are still available.

Among them are a talk on Sunday at 2 p.m. by Jill Lepore (“Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin,” just released by Alfred A. Knopf) at the SVA Theater 2, 333 West 23rd Street, Chelsea.
Tickets are $35. A schedule is at festival.newyorker.com.” (NYT-Anne Mancuso)

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 3 MUSEUMS
(Manhattan’s WestSide & the BrooklynMuseum) 

‘Walker Evans: American Photographs’ (through Jan. 26, 2014)
American Modern: Hopper to O’Keefe (through Jan. 26, 2014)
America’s cultural landscape shifted rapidly in the early 20th century. American Modern at the Museum of Modern Art looks at this change via some of the iconic works produced between 1915 and 1950. Artists highlighted include George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz and Andrew Wyeth. In organizing the art thematically, American Modern will highlight the connections between the artists’ works.
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.
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The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit will be the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and will feature brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

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‘Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn’ (continuing)
This eclectic, imaginatively thought-out one-gallery immersion experience in world art, all from Brooklyn’s collection and installed in the museum’s revamped Great Hall, serves as a teaser to the fabulous collections in the galleries beyond.
‘Divine Felines: Cats of AncientEgypt’ (through Dec. 29)
Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park,
(subway: easy ride from midtown on #2 or #3 express to Eastern Pkway/Bklyn Museum)
(718) 638-5000 / brooklynmuseum.org

WHAT’S ON VIEW: Top Photography Exhibitions
(NYCity / Manhattan’s WestSide)

  Museum of Modern Art
Walker Evans: American Photographs (through Jan. 26, 2014)
New Photography 2013 (through Jan. 6, 2014)
11 West 53rd Street / 212-708-9400

  Metropolitan Museum of Art
Everyday Ephiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969 
(through January 26, 2014)
1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) / 212-535-7710

  American Museum Natural History 
Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies          
(through May 31, 2014)
79th St. And Central Park West / (212) 313-7278 

   ICP
New Exhibitions begin Oct.4
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street / 212-857-0000

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (10/04) and (10/02).