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

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, AUG 06, 2013

Early Elton: A Tribute to Early Elton John
Jeff Kazee, John Conte and Rich Pagano perform this rare tribute concert to the the classic music of the Elton John, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson trio tours of 1970-1972 at the 5th annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival, a fun, free, postwork fete.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase at this “After-Work Backyard Party” held every Tuesday from June 4th through August 27th. Look for an assortment of wines from City Winery, ice cold beer from Radeberger, ice cream and ice cream sandwiches from Jacques Torres, and hot dogs and other snacks offered by Great Performances.
City Winery, 155 Varick St., at Vandam St.
At 5:30PM / FREE
212-608-0555 / citywinery.com/newyork/

AN EVENING WITH AUTHOR JOHN STRAUSBAUGH AND FRIENDS
John Strausbaugh, “a particularly gifted chronicler of Newyorkiana” (Atlantic Monthly), speaks about his widely-hailed history of Greenwich Village, The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues. His special guests will include longtime Villager Dermot McEvoy, author of Our Lady of Greenwich Village. With Q&A and book signing.

John Strausbaugh was the editor of New York Press in its heyday. He has also written for The New York Times and Washington Post. His previous books include Rock ‘Til You Drop and Black Like You.
Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St.(btw Bleecker/W4th St)
At 6PM / $8.00 includes a drink
(212) 989-9319 / corneliastreetcafe.com

“BALLET V6.0” / BalletX
“This new mini-festival, at the Joyce, looks beyond the walls of traditional brick-and-mortar ballet institutions. In the course of two weeks, the festival showcases six ballet start-ups from across the country, each with its own approach to making and presenting ballets for a new audience. First up is the Philadelphia ensemble BalletX, which was founded in 2006 by two former Pennsylvania Ballet dancers, Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan. The troupe’s New York run includes a stark mood piece, set to Baroque music, by the Netherlands-based Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as well as an intimate portrait by Neenan, “The Last Glass,” set to songs by the indie-rock band Beirut.” (NewYorker mag)
JOYCE THEATRE, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St.
At 7:30PM / $10-$39
212-242-0800 / joyce.org

Paquito D’Rivera and Panamericana* (through Aug. 11)
“The clarinetist, alto saxophonist and longtime Cuban exile Paquito D’Rivera favors bright extroversion in his music, which usually incorporates Latin rhythm. As on “Panamericana Suite” (MCG Jazz), which won a Latin Grammy a few years ago, he leads a group that includes Oscar Stagnaro on electric bass and Pernell Saturnino on percussion.” (Chinen-NYT)
Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village
At 8 and 10:30 p.m. / $35 at tables, $20 at bar, with a $5 minimum.
212-475-8592 / bluenote.net

Derrick Hodge* 
“A bassist equally admired by observers of modern jazz and contemporary R&B, Derrick Hodge is kicking off a tour to support his first album as a leader, “Live Today” (Blue Note), which features the rapper Common, the singer-songwriter Alan Hampton and the pianist Robert Glasper, among others. The album, which will be released on the day of this performance, is a sturdy showcase for Mr. Hodge’s gift for accessible melody and offhandedly deep grooves.” (Chinen-NYT)
the Cutting Room, 44 East 32nd St.
At 8:30 p.m./$25 day of show, with a $20 minimum.
thecuttingroomnyc.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 + 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, cocktail lounges, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

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

Patzeria Perfect Pizza – 231 W46 st (Betw 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 NYC 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 (Betw 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 none of the insane lines that you find at the Madison Sq. Park location. Plus, it may be the cleanest joint to eat in all of Hell’s Kitchen.
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“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 other casual dining options in this neighborhood that provide good food, especially as alternatives to overpriced hotel breakfasts, and most importantly,
have free Wi-FI:

>Pret a Manger @ 11 W 42nd st (Betw 5th/6th)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st / times square

>Potbelly @ 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Betw 49/48 st)
Subway: #1 to 50th st

>Pret a Manger @ 1200 6th ave (Betw 47/48)
Subway: #1 to 50th st

For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places and extended descriptions of 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide”

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, AUG 05, 2013

‘The Fence’ in Brooklyn Bridge Park (through Oct. 1)
When is a fence not a fence? When it is the backdrop for a free display of over 200 jury selected images of people, animals and daily life by 39 photographers from the United States and abroad. Presented for the second year by United Photo Industries, a Brooklyn arts cooperative, as a showcase for young photographers, the display consists of a 1,000-foot-long waterproof mesh banner superimposed with color and black-and-white photos.

The banner stretches through Brooklyn Bridge Park, from Pier 15, at Joralemon Street and the East River in Brooklyn Heights, to Main Street in Dumbo. (Anne Mancuso-NYT)
Pier 5, Joralemon Street and the East River
From 6am to 1am / FREE
(718) 215-9075, fence.photovillenyc.org

‘Making Room’ (through Sept. 2)
Living in tight quarters — something very familiar to New Yorkers — is the subject of this exhibition of architectural designs that includes an example of a furnished micro-studio apartment of 325 feet; imaginative designs for equally small living spaces elsewhere in the country and abroad are included in the show.
Museum of the City of New York ,Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
Daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m./$10, $6 for students and 65+,
492-3395, mcny.org

Ali Jackson Quintet (Monday through Thursday)
“Ali Jackson, a spirited drummer best known for his affiliation with Wynton Marsalis, leads a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra subunit of sorts, with a front line of Sherman Irby on alto saxophone and Vincent Gardner on trombone. The run is said to feature “surprise special guests,” which could mean a number of things (but one in particular).” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th St. and  Broadway
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m./$30 cover, with a $10 minimum
258-9595, jalc.org

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

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
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.
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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.

Here are a few Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you shouldn’t miss:

Francis Upritchard, “War Dance” (through Aug 09)
New Zealand’s representative at the 2009 Venice Biennale, Francis Upritchard has been showing throughout Europe and Asia for the past 16 years. Aside from a 2005 project-room showcase at Andrea Rosen and a few group exhibitions at Salon 94, however, Upritchard’s strange sculptural output has been largely unseen here. In May, Anton Kern presented a group of her delicate figures at Frieze New York; now, with this solo show, the uniqueness of her artistic pursuit is finally being revealed.

For “War Dance,” Upritchard fills the front gallery with eight spindly characters—resembling attenuated elves—each engaged in some sort of weird ritualistic movement. The back room, meanwhile, holds a ninth figure, along with an assortment of quirky drinking vessels. Upritchard uses polymer modeling clay pressed over wire armatures and hand-sewn garments to create her works, which recall the wood carved Moriskentänzer (Morris dancers) by the Northern Renaissance sculptor Erasmus Grasser, or the warriors from the Bayeux Tapestry. Upritchard’s war dancers, however, are unarmed, and with their half-closed eyes and turned-down mouths, appear more somnambulant than aggressive as they gesture with skinny arms atop stylish metal plinths.

Along with the pitchers, flasks and mugs, these objects evoke a medieval celebration deep in a forest somewhere—led, perhaps, by the chap in the back room, who sports scraggly hair and harlequin-patterned skin. Whatever the case, they all seem to exist in a realm where past, present and future both oddly and vividly collide.” (Paul Laster, TONYmag)
Anton Kern Gallery
532 W 20th St (btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves0
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-367-9663 / antonkerngallery.com

Simon Fujiwara, Studio Pietà (King Kong Komplex) (through Aug 09)
Andrea Rosen Gallery, 525 W 24th St., (btw 10/11Ave.)
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-627-6000 / andrearosengallery.com

“Reinventing Abstraction” (through Aug 31)
“Curated by poet and critic Raphael Rubinstein, this show looks at a group of painters who, to varying degrees, undertook an individualistic, even eccentric, approach to abstraction during the 1980s, when the attention of the art world was otherwise focused on Neo-Expressionism, Neo-Geo and appropriation art. Carroll Dunham, Mary Heilmann, Bill Jensen, Elizabeth Murray, Joan Snyder and Terry Winters are some of the artists with works on view.” (TONY mag)
Cheim & Read, 547 W 25th St, btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-242-7727 / cheimread.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)
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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 (08/03) and (08/01).

Today’s “Fab Three” / Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, AUG 04, 2013

Visits Aboard a Spanish Galleon (through Aug. 22) For the next few weeks, vintage ship enthusiasts can board “El Galeón,” a copy of a 16th-century vessel, that is docked at Pier 84, near 43rd Street and 12th Avenue, Clinton. The ship, owned by the Nao Victoria Foundation of Seville, Spain, is part of Viva Florida 500 Voyage, a celebration of the voyage of the explorer Ponce de León and the 500th anniversary of his arrival in Florida. Daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with special hours on Wednesday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Thursday (10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). Tickets, available through Circle-Line Sightseeing, are $15, $8 for children 3 to 12. (212) 563-3200; circleline42.com.

Pilobolus LAST DAY!
“Any evening with Pilobolus is like a magic show, with bodies balancing and contorting in seemingly impossible ways. In “esc,” a New York premiere in the first of two programs at the Joyce, the troupe joins forces with Penn & Teller, combining its own corporeal stunts with the duo’s Houdini-inspired exploits. Program B features another new work, “Licks,” in which the frequent Pilobolus collaborator Trish Sie envisions a zany world for 6 dancers, 12 ropes and a rollicking soundtrack by Tijuana’s Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich & Fussible.” (Burke-NYT)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea,
at 7:30 p.m. / $10 to $75.
(212) 242-0800 / joyce.org

Ben Wolfe Quartet
The bassist Ben Wolfe admires elegance however it comes, and on “From Here I See” (MaxJazz), he finds it in a familiar form. The album features a dozen of his compositions for jazz combo and string quartet, with tasteful interjections; this one-nighter will feature the combo alone, with Stacy Dillard on saxophones, Orrin Evans on piano and Donald Edwards on drums. At 8 and 10 p.m., Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121, theiridium.com; $25 cover, with a $15 minimum. (Chinen)

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 and 3 Good Eating places – West Village

Corner Bistro   /   331 W. 4th St. at Jane 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) ==========================================================
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, cocktail lounges, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge. ================================================================================

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, AUG 03, 2013

‘The Woolworth Building @ 100’ (through Sept 8, 2013)
An exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of this Cass Gilbert-designed building — when completed in 1913 it was considered the tallest office building in the world — features blueprints, photographs, contracts and other items.

“Eighty thousand incandescent bulbs illuminated the New York night on April 24, 1913, when the Woolworth Building opened with a ceremony attended by 800 dignitaries. Witnessed by multitudes and wired to press around the world, …

The great Gothic tower-the Cathedral of Commerce-became the preeminent silhouette on the New York skyline and took the title of world’s tallest office building.”
Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place, Lower Manhattan
The exhibition can be viewed Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
$5, $2.50 for students and 65+
(212) 968-1961 / skyscraper.org

Summer Streets
For the next three Saturdays, portions of Park Avenue will be closed to traffic and open for recreation as part of the Summer Streets program sponsored by the Department of Transportation. There will be recreational and cultural events as well as rest stops along the route: Lafayette Street, from the Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street, and Park Avenue, from 14th to 72nd Streets. From 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets.

ZviDance
Inspired by the Arab Spring, the Israeli-born, New York-based choreographer Zvi Gotheiner created “Dabke,” named for the traditional, celebratory line dance performed at Muslim weddings in the Middle East. (The title means “stomping the ground” in Arabic.) A free class in Lebanese dabke and its Israeli offshoot, debka, precedes this Lincoln Center Out of Doors performance, which is a split bill with El Gusto, the recently reunited Algerian band of Muslim and Jewish musicians. At 7 p.m., with the dance class starting at 6 p.m., Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500, lcoutofdoors.org; free. (Burke)

Steve Turre and the Bones of Art (Friday through Sunday)
“Steve Turre regroups with several fellow trombonists — Frank Lacy, Robin Eubanks and Steve Davis — to pay homage to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, the hard-bop institution to which they all belonged, at different times. Drawing from a forthcoming album on the HighNote label, they rely on the steam locomotion of the pianist Xavier Davis, the bassist Kenny Davis and the drummer Willie Jones III. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 258-9595, jalc.org; $35 to $45 cover” (Chinen-NYT)

Craig Taborn and Gust Burns*
Craig Taborn, who has proven himself a pianist of nearly boundless imagination, teams up here with Gust Burns, a Seattle native who approaches pianism, and improvisation, from a complementary angle. They recently played a brief duo set as part of the one-year anniversary celebration for the Sound It Out series; returning to the series here, they’ll have more space to stretch out. At 8 p.m., Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street, West Village, (212) 242-4770, greenwichhouse.org; $15, $12 for students. (Chinen-NYT)

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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Special Exhibitions @ 3 Museum Mile / Fifth Ave. Museums:

‘Subliming Vessel: The Drawings of Matthew Barney’ (through Sept. 2)
Morgan Library & Museum: 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th St.
(212) 685-0008 / themorgan.org.

‘At War With the Obvious: Photographs by William Eggleston’ LAST DAY! 
‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’ (through Aug. 14)
“African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde” (through Sept. 2)
‘The Civil War and American Art’ (through Sept. 2)
‘Photography and the American Civil War’ (through Sept. 2)
‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi’ (through Nov. 3)
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1000 5th Ave, at 82nd St.
(212) 535-7710 / metmuseum.org

“New Harmony: Abstraction Between the Wars, 1919-1939” (through Sept. 8)
“Aten Reign” (through Sept. 25)
……the centerpiece of James Turrell’s first exhibition in a New York museum since 1980, recasts the Guggenheim rotunda as an enormous volume filled with shifting artificial and natural light. {see review below}
Guggenheim Museum: 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th St.
(212) 423-3500 / guggenheim.org.

Light and color wash the Rotunda. 
“Turrell works in a single medium: light. He has sliced into walls, designed seamless rooms with holes in the ceiling, and spent four decades building a giant naked-eye observatory in the Arizona desert—all to provide unexpectedly intimate and mysterious views of the sky, the sun, and the stars. For this segment of a three-part show running concurrently in L.A. and Houston, he’s turned the museum’s atrium into a giant light box. —J.D.” (NYMag)

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Ten museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:
• 110th Street – Museum for African Art
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York
• 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum
• 91st Street –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
• 89th Street – National Academy Museum
• 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York
• 83rd Street – Goethe-Institut
• 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.
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 08/01 and 07/30.

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, AUG 02, 2013

 ‘100 Years of Flamenco in New York’
This exhibition traces the popularity of the dance form in the city, from the mid-1800s to the present, through engravings and photographs, printed materials, costume pieces and films and recordings.
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts:
111 Amsterdam Avenue, at 65th Street, Lincoln Center,
Mondays from noon to 8 p.m. / FREE
(917) 275-6975 / nypl.org/lpa

Visits Aboard a Spanish Galleon (through Aug. 22) For the next few weeks, vintage ship enthusiasts can board “El Galeón,” a copy of a 16th-century vessel, that is docked at Pier 84, near 43rd Street and 12th Avenue, Clinton. The ship, owned by the Nao Victoria Foundation of Seville, Spain, is part of Viva Florida 500 Voyage, a celebration of the voyage of the explorer Ponce de León and the 500th anniversary of his arrival in Florida. Daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with special hours on Wednesday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Thursday (10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). Tickets, available through Circle-Line Sightseeing, are $15, $8 for children 3 to 12. (212) 563-3200; circleline42.com.

Mark Gross Quintet (Friday and Saturday) A well-traveled alto and soprano saxophonist from Baltimore, perhaps best recognized for his tenure in the Dave Holland Big Band, Mark Gross has a new album, “Blackside” (Jazz Legacy Productions), that features Freddie Hendrix on trumpet and Dezron Douglas on bass. Those partners rejoin him here, in a quintet that also includes the pianist Benito Gonzalez and the drummer Corey Rawls. At 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m., Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, (212) 864-6662, smokejazz.com; $38 cover. (Chinen-NYT)

Pilobolus (through Aug. 4)
“Any evening with Pilobolus is like a magic show, with bodies balancing and contorting in seemingly impossible ways. In “esc,” a New York premiere in the first of two programs at the Joyce, the troupe joins forces with Penn & Teller, combining its own corporeal stunts with the duo’s Houdini-inspired exploits. Program B features another new work, “Licks,” in which the frequent Pilobolus collaborator Trish Sie envisions a zany world for 6 dancers, 12 ropes and a rollicking soundtrack by Tijuana’s Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich & Fussible.” (Burke-NYT)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea,
at 7:30 p.m. / $10 to $75.
(212) 242-0800 / joyce.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 – 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, cocktail lounges,  tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, AUG 01, 2013

Broadway in Bryant Park  (Thursdays through Aug. 15)
A series of music from the most popular Broadway and Off Broadway shows performed by the shows’ cast members. Today’s performances includes excerpts from: “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark”, “Kinky Boots”, “Big Fish”, “Let It Be”, and “First Date”.

Presented by 106.7 Lite FM, the series also features a guest D.J. from the radio station as well as cast members from other shows – this Thursday the D.J. is Bob Bronson, and the show is “Buyer & Cellar”.
Bryant Park, the Lawn, 6th Ave., (btw 40th/42nd St.)
At 12:30 p.m. / FREE
(212) 768-4242 / bryantpark.org.

A Tale of Two Nations
Open rehearsal with Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante and Nation Beat
An open rehearsal with the powerful percussionists and dancers from the Northeastern Brazil carnival champions and their NY counterparts.
Lincoln Center, Josie Robertson Plaza
Lincoln Center – 63rd St. bet. Columbus & Amsterdam Ave.
At 6PM / FREE (RSVP required)
1-212-875-5000

River & Blues with Bill Sims, Jr.
Enjoy sunsets and live blues along the Hudson River.
Internationally respected master of the Blues, Bill Sims, Jr., plays a broad spectrum of songs from his catalog, a career spanning over 50 years.
At 7:00PM / FREE
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park – Battery Park City (access: Battery Place)
1-212-267-9700

PanTones Quartet: Flute Forward
From Pan, the mythological figure who played the flute and tones, PanTones Quartet offers a versatile repertoire that explores the vast array of music created or the flute. Produced by Felipe Tristan, the Quartet celebrates flute works from the 20th and 21st centuries highlighting innovative music for a new generation. Flashing forward through milestones of the modern and contemporary flute literature, the program includes works that play a crucial role in the development of the instrument and its ever evolving expressive possibilities.

The PanTones Quartet consists of Anna Conigliari, Megan Szymanski, Julian Rose, and Felipe Tristan, who share the enlightened experience of being William R. Kenan, Jr. Performing Arts Fellowship alumni from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Lincoln Center Institute. (Please note: Flutist Rebecca Jordan will be filling in for Megan Szymanski for this performance.)
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center,
Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets
at 7:30PM / FREE
1-212-875-5377

The Soundtrack Series – The 80’s
Writers, musicians, actors and comics tell stories they associate with songs of their choosing at ‘the soundtrack series’.

tonight: a special ’80s edition with mandy stadtmiller, cammi climaco, james bewley and isaac butler, plus the golden age of music video’s stephen pitalo shows some best/worst clips and author mindy raf (the symptoms of my insanity) sings a musical love letter to tony danza. hosted by dana rossi.
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St.
AT 8PM / $8
212-505-fish

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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SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS @ 3 Museums (WestSide & the BklynMuseum) 

‘Claes Oldenburg: The Street and the Store’ and ‘Claes Oldenburg: Mouse Museum, Ray Gun Wing’ (through Aug. 5)
‘Performing Histories (1)’ (through Aug. 5)
‘Bill Brandt: Shadow and Light’ (through Aug. 12)
‘Ellsworth Kelly: Chatham Series’ (through Sept. 8)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St,
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.
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‘Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design’* (through Sept. 15)
Museum of Arts and Design: 2 Columbus Circle,
299-7777, madmuseum.org.
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‘Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui’ (through Aug. 4)
‘LaToya Ruby Frazier: A Haunted Capital’ (through Aug. 11)
‘the Bruce High Quality Foundation: Ode to Joy’ (through Sep 22)
‘Divine Felines: Cats of AncientEgypt’ (through Dec. 29)
Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park,
(easy ride from midtown on #2 or #3 subway to Eastern Pkway/Bklyn Museum)
(718) 638-5000 / brooklynmuseum.org
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 07/30 and 07/28.

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, July 31, 2013

The Geek Street Fair
The Geek Street Fair hosted by Google is a public event to highlight the City’s technology community and inspire New Yorkers of all ages to take interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Think a traditional street fair, but replace funnel cakes and tube socks with virtual games, robotics and electronic tinkering.
12:00PM to 6:00PM / FREE
Hudson River Park, W 14th Street @ 10th Ave. (in Meatpacking District)
1-212-627-2020

Readings in Bryant Park
Two literary events are scheduled as part of the park’s free Word for Word author series.
At 12:30 p.m., Lily Koppel (“The Astronauts Wives Club: A True Story”) hosted by Alina Simone (“Note to Self: A Novel”)

At 7 p.m., Sam Roberts of The New York Times will talk about his new book, “Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America.”
Bryant Park reading room, 6th Avenue at 42nd St.
(under the trees at the 42nd st side of the park)
At 12:30PM and 7PM / FREE
(212) 768-4242 / bryantpark.org

Indie Pop: Erin McKeown / Lake Street Dive
Erin McKeown has been touring the globe for the last 12 years as a writer, performer, and multi-instrumentalist with eight full-length records and three EPs under her belt. McKeown’s compelling and energy-packed stage show teamed with her seemingly effortless ability to bridge genres has garnered her international acclaim.

Lake Street Dive, composed of drummer Mike Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney, vocalist Rachael Price, and trumpet-wielding guitarist Mike “McDuck” Olson, encompasses a myriad of possibilities within its members’ collective experiences, and the resultant music is a vivid, largely acoustic, groove-driven strain of indie-pop.

This is the eleventh season of Mad. Sq. Music: Oval Lawn Series, which presents award-winning performers in an eclectic range of genres, including folk, jazz, bluegrass, soul/R&B, and Americana. Set against the magnificent backdrop of historic Madison Square Park, the Oval Lawn Series is an enjoyable and relaxing way to hear live music by some of the most acclaimed and respected artists on the national scene.
Bring a blanket for lawn seating; no chairs are allowed.
Madison Square Park, 23rd St (btw 5th/Mad Ave)
At 6pm / FREE
212-538-1884 / madisonsquarepark.org

Dezron Douglas All-Stars 
“A bassist with a deep and soulful sound, Dezron Douglas has started making his name as a bandleader, notably with a strong recent album called “Live at Smalls” (SmallsLIVE), featuring a band with David Bryant on piano. For this Keystone Korner Nights appearance, Mr. Douglas presides over a group that includes the searching saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and the seasoned drummer Louis Hayes.” (Chinen-NYT)
Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st St.
At 8 and 10 p.m. / $30 cover, with a $10 minimum.
(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.
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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 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 W. Side Hwy., all may open before a table inside the main dining room. Otherwise, try Dinosaur for lunch, or come very early or 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

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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.
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Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, July 30, 2013

A Tribe Called Red, a Cross-Cultural Musical Mash-Up
A Tribe Called Red’s trio of DJs – NDN, Bear Witness, and Shub – create a unique, never-before-heard sound built from a foundation of Native American chants combined with hip-hop, dance hall, and dubstep, to form a cross-cultural musical mash-up they call “pow wow step.” Based in Ottawa, this crew reimagines pow wow music for Canada’s increasingly urbanized aboriginal youth, reclaiming clichés and transforming them into club beats.
Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center), 220 Vesey St.
At 5:30PM / FREE
1-212-417-7000

Hidden Harbor: Brooklyn Tour
Do you know where Heineken and Amstel Light come into New York, or where Macy’s loaded 40,000 shells onto four barges for the July 4 fireworks spectacular? Brooklyn!

Visit Places Along Brooklyn’s Shoreline that Can Only Be Seen from the Water
On this insider’s tour of the Brooklyn waterfront, you will:
· Visit the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
· Learn all about Brooklyn Bridge Park
· See the home of Phoenix Beverages (the folks that import those Heinekens)
· See the Red Hook Container and Cruise Ship Terminals
· Explore Erie Basin (home to the fireworks barges)
· Travel along the historic Sunset Park and South Brooklyn waterfront where intermodal shipping was born, where Elvis shipped out for his military service, and where many new maritime uses are being developed
· See tugs, barges and container ships at work
· Get a great photo-op view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline
· And much more.
South Street Seaport, 
Special Two-Hour Brooklyn Tour,
Departs Pier 16, at 6:30 p.m.

The Knights perform works by Stravinsky, Bach and Britten
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Sinfonia in C Major, Wq. 182, No.3
Igor Stravinsky Concerto in D
Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Oboe & Violin in C minor, Bwv. 1060
Benjamin Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn, & Strings, Op. 31

The Knights are “on a fast track to the top of the chamber orchestra ladder.” (Cleveland Classical)
Central Park, Naumburg Bandshell
Closest entrances: Fifth Ave. & 72nd St. and Central Park West & 72nd St.
At 7:30PM / FREE
1-212-310-6600

Burton Cummings
former lead singer of The Guess Who, performs his great solo material, and will, of course, perform those Guess Who classics! Blues & Folk artist Jonah Tolchin opens for Burton.

Burton Cummings, OC, is a Canadian musician and songwriter who was the lead singer of The Guess Who from 1965 to 1975. During that time Burton sang, wrote and co-wrote the lion’s share of the Guess Who music, including successes like These Eyes, Laughing, No Time, American Woman, Share the Land, Star Baby, and Clap For the Wolfman.
City Winery, 155 Varick St., at Vandam St.
At 8PM /$45 at the bar, $50 at a table
212-608-0555 / citywinery.com/newyork/

Johnny O’Neal*
Still something of a best-kept secret in jazz circles, Johnny O’Neal is a pianist in the Art-Tatum-and-Oscar-Peterson lineage, and a singer of gruff erudition. His standing engagement at Smalls, on Sunday nights, has become a prized institution; next week he also performs at an earlier hour, in a shinier uptown room, probably to a slightly different clientele.”  (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway
at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $30 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.
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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.

Here are a few Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you shouldn’t miss:

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, “Fragments” (through Fri Aug 2)
Gagosian Gallery, 522 W 21st St. (btw 10/11Ave.)
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-741-1717 /gagosian.com

Rosalind Solomon, “Portraits in the Time of AIDS, 1988” (through Fri Aug 2)
Bruce Silverstein Gallery, 535 W 24th St. ((btw 10/11Ave.)
Mon–Fri 10am–6pm / FREE
212-627-3930 / brucesilverstein.com

Lucien Samaha, “The Flight Attendant Years: 1978–1986” (through Aug 2)
“A native of Lebanon who now calls New York home, Lucien Samaha is a photographer born with jet fuel and salty snacks in his veins: His father was a flight attendant, and the artist became one himself on his 20th birthday, in 1978.

Over the ensuing decade, he documented his life serving countless passengers aboard TWA, in both color and black-and-white images. Picturing himself and his former coworkers on duty and off, Samaha offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrayal of the jet age as a series of family snapshots, capturing a close-knit tribe of global nomads with few ties to the ground.” (TONY mag)
Lombard Freid Projects
518 W 19th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Ave.
Tue–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 11am–6pm / FREE
212-967-8040 / lombard-freid.com

Simon Fujiwara, Studio Pietà (King Kong Komplex) (Until Fri Aug 9)
Andrea Rosen Gallery, 525 W 24th St., (btw 10/11Ave.)
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-627-6000 / andrearosengallery.com

“Reinventing Abstraction” (through Aug 31)
“Curated by poet and critic Raphael Rubinstein, this show looks at a group of painters who, to varying degrees, undertook an individualistic, even eccentric, approach to abstraction during the 1980s, when the attention of the art world was otherwise focused on Neo-Expressionism, Neo-Geo and appropriation art. Carroll Dunham, Mary Heilmann, Bill Jensen, Elizabeth Murray, Joan Snyder and Terry Winters are some of the artists with works on view.” (TONY mag)
Cheim & Read, 547 W 25th St, btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm / FREE
212-242-7727 / cheimread.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)
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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 (07/28) and (07/26).

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, July 29, 2013

Meet the Creator and Cast: Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, and Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”

Join Vince Gilligan and Emmy-winning actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as they discuss the final season of their critically acclaimed series, “Breaking Bad.” In the highly anticipated upcoming season, a newly empowered and increasingly remorseless Walter White (Cranston) is attempting to control a tenuous empire. At the end of season four, Walt’s war with Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) ended in triumphant victory, and his transformation from a well-meaning family man into Heisenberg, a ruthless drug kingpin, is almost complete.

Apple Store, SoHo, 103 Prince Street
at 7PM / FREE
(212) 226-3126 / apple.com/retail/soho/

books beneath the bridge: proust’s swann’s way 
independent bookstores curate free outdoor readings with q+a and signings at brooklyn bridge park’s pier 1 granite prospect. tonight: a 100th anniversary reading of proust’s swann’s way with paul auster, siri hustvedt, the paris review‘s lorin stein, carmela ciuraru, and damion searls. presented by community bookstore.
brooklyn bridge park’s pier 1

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Dawn McCarthy
Punk with a twang.
“Who’s hiding behind that great big beard? Why, it’s Bonnie “Prince” Billy, né Will Oldham, a.k.a. Palace, Palace Brothers, and Palace Music. He’s a man of many pseudonyms and a musician of many styles (folk, country, punk). Under whatever moniker, Oldham’s music holds tunefulness and an unshakable melancholy. —J.R.” (NYmag)
Town Hall, 123 West 43rd St.
At 8 p.m. / $39.50 and $47.
(800) 982-2787, the-townhall-nyc.org

Ben Howard
“This British singer-songwriter unmistakably influenced by floor-quaking, drawling late 1960s and ’70s psychedelic rock, Mr. Howard has a sharp mastery of his dynamics, allowing his lengthy folk tales to unspool slyly while working to mammoth apex. His debut studio album, “Every Kingdom” (Island/Republic), nominated in 2011 for the prestigious Mercury Prize in Britain, suggests a bright talent. With Michael Kiwanuka.” (Anderson-NYT)
SummerStage Mainstage
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, midpark at 70th St.
At 6 p.m. / sold out (get thee quickly to stub hub)
212-360-2777 / summerstage.org
Cityparksfoundation.org

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
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.
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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, wine bars, cocktail lounges,  tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

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3 Good Eating places 

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

Fish – 280 Bleecker St (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $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.

The focus for “3 Good Eating places” is on Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style
(pizza,  burgers,  food trucks/carts,  vegetarian/falafel,  soup & sandwiches,  salad bars,  hot dogs,  bbq,  picnic fixins’,  raw bars & lobster rolls – no reservations needed).

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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).

Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, July 28, 2013

NYCity Poetry Festival
“The 3rd Annual New York City Poetry Festival will be held on Governors Island’s Colonel’s Row on July 27th and 28th, 2013. The Poetry Society of New York will once again invite New Yorkers to come together for this two day festival to celebrate NYC’s vibrant poetry community.

The event will include over 50 poetry organizations and 200 poets on its three stages; a Vendor’s Village where local booksellers, artists and craftmakers will sell their wares; the 3rd annual Ring of Daisies open mic; The Poetry Brothel tent; a boozy area sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery; healthy and delicious food options; a spontaneous generation house where we’ll be writing collaborative poems; and, of course, the Children’s Festival at NYCPF, this year sponsored by Writopia!”
Governors Island
From 11am-5pm / FREE ($10 suggested donation)
212-825-3045 / poetrysocietyny.org
Directions: Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Bldg., 10 South St.,
adjacent to the SI Ferry in Lower Manhattan.

“Pogopalooza 10″
The 10th Annual World Championships of Xpogo (extreme pogo) is the largest interactive pogo stick event in the world.

The main event of the weekend – the world’s best Xpogo finalists go head-to-head for bronze, silver, and gold medals, in three disciplines: Big Air, Best Trick, and High Jump. Titles, prizes, and glory are on the line. Pogo companies will be on-site demoing and selling all types of sticks from classic to extreme – the public is able to ride any stick (or learn how to pogo) in the Free Jump area.
Union Square North Plaza
17th St. between Broadway & Park Ave.
1PM – 5PM / FREE

Aaron Diehl Trio  – MoMA Summergarden
Programming at this popular concert series held outdoors in MoMA’s walled-in Sculpture Garden alternates between new-music presentations featuring Juilliard School performers and jazz nights booked by Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Tonight you can swing with pianist Aaron Diehl, and his trio.

The exhibition galleries are closed during Summergarden. The Garden Bar sells gelato and seasonal sorbetto from Il Laboratorio del Gelato, with sweet and savory treats from Cafe 2. Prosecco, New York State wines, American craft beer, specialty coffees, and bottled water are also available for purchase.

This is likely to be a popular event, so show up early for prime seating.
Museum of Modern Art, 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th/6th Ave.)
At 8PM / FREE
212-708-9400 / moma.org

Fred Hersch Trio with Joe Lovano*
“The unfalteringly elegant jazz pianist Fred Hersch has been in an especially sociable mode lately: he has new or forthcoming albums made in collaboration with the trumpeter Ralph Alessi, the pianist Benoît Delbecq and the guitarist Julian Lage. His featured conversationalist next week will be Joe Lovano, a saxophonist who shares his knack for articulating emotional truths within the frame of a song; they’ll work together with Mr. Hersch’s regular rhythm team of John Hébert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums.” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $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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Special Exhibitions @ 3 Museum Mile / Fifth Ave. Museums:

‘Subliming Vessel: The Drawings of Matthew Barney’ (through Sept. 2)
Morgan Library & Museum: 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th St.
(212) 685-0008 / themorgan.org.

‘At War With the Obvious: Photographs by William Eggleston’ LAST DAY! 
‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’ (through Aug. 14)
“African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde” (through Sept. 2)
‘The Civil War and American Art’ (through Sept. 2)
‘Photography and the American Civil War’ (through Sept. 2)
‘The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi’ (through Nov. 3)
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1000 5th Ave, at 82nd St.
(212) 535-7710 / metmuseum.org

“New Harmony: Abstraction Between the Wars, 1919-1939” (through Sept. 8)
“Aten Reign” (through Sept. 25)
……the centerpiece of James Turrell’s first exhibition in a New York museum since 1980, recasts the Guggenheim rotunda as an enormous volume filled with shifting artificial and natural light. {see review below}
Guggenheim Museum: 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th St.
(212) 423-3500 / guggenheim.org.

Light and color wash the Rotunda. 
“Turrell works in a single medium: light. He has sliced into walls, designed seamless rooms with holes in the ceiling, and spent four decades building a giant naked-eye observatory in the Arizona desert—all to provide unexpectedly intimate and mysterious views of the sky, the sun, and the stars. For this segment of a three-part show running concurrently in L.A. and Houston, he’s turned the museum’s atrium into a giant light box. —J.D.” (NYMag)

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Ten museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:
• 110th Street – Museum for African Art
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York
• 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum
• 91st Street –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
• 89th Street – National Academy Museum
• 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York
• 83rd Street – Goethe-Institut
• 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.
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 07/26 and 07/24.