Phish at the Garden, drag shows in Brooklyn, jazz in the Village, comedy perilously close to Times Square and more: Where to laugh, dance, mosh and jam in 2019.
DAVID AMRAM There’s no more suitable send-off for the Cornelia Street Café — which will close next week after 41 years as a home of offbeat poetry, jazz, cabaret and theater in Greenwich Village — than a David Amram show. A remarkable musical polymath and conservationist of beatnik culture, he has played at the club monthly for 13 years and has come to epitomize its essence. At 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, Manhattan; 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com . (Giovanni Russonello)
AS THE CROW FLIES AND THE MARCUS KING BAND Chris Robinson has had a prolific career outside the Black Crowes, whose throwback British blues-rock made them a multimillion-selling band in the 1990s; the band announced its breakup in 2015. But hits are hits, and Robinson has put together As the Crow Flies to play them along with some cover songs — probably in jammier versions than the originals. The Marcus King Band, a Southern-rock group with a horn section, shares the bill. Dec. 30 at 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve at 10 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, N. Y.; 877-987-648, thecapitoltheatre.com .
A SWING SWANG SWINGIN’ NEW YEAR’S EVE Jim Caruso, the buoyant showman who brings Broadway, jazz and cabaret talent to Monday-night open mics, hosts a holiday special showcasing the fluid and charismatic vocalists Veronica Swift, Gabrielle Stravelli and Benny Benack III, and the musical theater veteran Lesli Margherita. (Swift will do double duty, also performing a few numbers with the Birdland Big Band in a separate 11 p.m. set.) They’ll join forces at 8 and 11 p.m., accompanied by the pianist Matt Baker, the bassist Pat O’Leary and the drummer Curtis Nowosad, along with hats, horns, balloons, a complimentary champagne toast and an à la carte menu. At Birdland, Manhattan; 212-581-3080, birdlandjazz.com . (Elysa Gardner)
SANDRA BERNHARD AND GARLAND JEFFREYS The singer, songwriter and Brooklyn native Jeffreys is back with the grittily astute, texturally eclectic rock he has been crafting since the 1960s, most recently for the 2017 album “14 Steps to Harlem.” After his 7 p.m. set, Bernhard also returns to welcome 2019 in her irreverent and fabulous fashion, promising a “mélange of musings, music and whimsy” she has titled “Quick Sand,” with performances at 9 and 11 p.m. At Joe’s Pub, the Public Theater, Manhattan; 212-539-7778, publictheater.org . (Gardner)
BON BURLESQUE The Puerto Rico-born, Bronx-bred choreographer, performer and fitness guru Marlyn Ortiz, who is also Madonna’s personal trainer, found time to co-create (with choreographer Emmanuel E. Hernandez) and direct this group of professional dancers in a show that sets traditional and neo-burlesque elements to Latin rhythms. Performances begin at 9 p.m., with D. J. Miss Dakota providing music, and “cigarette girls” dispensing candy; tarot card readings are also on offer. The evening starts at 8 p.m. and includes a four-hour open bar, with a three-course dinner available before the show, beginning at 5 p.m. At the Green Room 42, Manhattan; 646- 449-7792, theGreenRoom42.com . (Gardner)
CHRIS BOTTI A genteel crowd-pleaser, Botti plays trumpet as if swimming through his band’s sound — that is, he sounds like he’s defying gravity, but not achieving any kind of liftoff. More than jazz or pop, the genre that suits him best might be holiday music, so it makes sense that he’s held down a December residency at the Blue Note for the last 14 years. He appears here with a nine-piece band. At 7 and 10 p.m., the Blue Note, Manhattan; 212-475-8592, bluenotejazz.com . (Russonello)
CHARLES BUSCH AND AARON TVEIT Busch, who was long one of cabaret’s most beloved drag artists, will be “dressed as my own wonderfully androgynous self” for “New Year’s Eve with Charles Busch and Friends.” The creator and star of “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom,” “Psycho Beach Party,” “Die, Mommie, Die!” and other evocatively named, adorably outré plays and films (he also wrote the Tony Award-nominated “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife”) will hold court at 7 p.m. with his musical director, Tom Judson, and a bevy of Broadway vets: Andréa Burns, Peter Flynn and Howard McGillin, along with the actress and comedian Ashley Austin Morris. The robust-voiced Tveit, whose own credits include “Next to Normal,” “Wicked” and the Broadway-bound stage adaptation of “Moulin Rouge!” will follow at 11 p.m.; the cover charge includes a two-course prix fixe dinner, dessert buffet and open bar. (Premium seats include a half bottle of champagne per party and an individual dessert.) At Feinstein’s/54 Below, Manhattan; 646-476-3551,54below.com . (Gardner)
THE CITYFOX ODYSSEY This 27-hour electronic marathon extends all the way through New Year’s Day at Avant-Gardner, which has a lineup of more than two dozen house and techno D. J.s, among them Lee Burridge, Honey Dijon, Tale of Us, Patrice Baumel and, promising a “hybrid set,” WhoMadeWho. The beats may turn minimal, but they will continue quite awhile. At 9 p.m., Avant-Gardner, Brooklyn; avant-gardner.com . (Pareles)
CLUB CUMMING NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL The East Village night spot’s co-owner Alan Cumming, the versatile actor, entertainer and eternally impish host, will join guests including the singer/songwriter Jill Sobule, the night-life mainstay performer Daphne Always, the drag provocateuse Christeene and the burlesque diva Velvetina Taylor. Festivities begin at 9 p.m., with the Club Cumming Orchestra in residence until midnight; service then continues, with D. J.s Sammy Jo and Darren Dryden holding forth, until 8 a.m. New Year’s Day. At Club Cumming, Manhattan; 800-838-3006, clubcummingnyc.com . (Gardner)
DARK STAR ORCHESTRA A tribute band grounded in punctilious research, the Dark Star Orchestra doesn’t just play the Grateful Dead’s repertoire. It plays the full sets from specific nights of the Dead’s 50-year itinerary, and some audience members can probably name the original date. On Dec. 30 and New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m., Wellmont Theater, Montclair, N. J.; 973-783-9500, wellmonttheater.com . (Jon Pareles)
JOHN DIGWEED After six years, the durable Williamsburg dance club Output is closing following this New Year’s Eve party that goes until 8 a.m. John Digweed — the long-running British house D. J., producer and label head — will provide the soundtrack for this farewell event, putting both the year and the club to bed. With Tara Brooks, Desna, Chilly Mox and Alex Raouf. At 10 p.m., Output, Brooklyn; outputclub.com . (Jon Caramanica)
NATALIE DOUGLAS A witty, ebullient entertainer with a sweetly dusky, soulful voice, and a winner of 10 MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) Awards, Douglas will mark her 20th anniversary ringing in the new year with reflections on the year gone by and a mix of familiar and new material. She’ll take requests, too. “A Very Natalie New Year” unfolds at 7:30 p.m., then again at 10:45 p.m., with music direction by Mark Hartman. At the Duplex, Manhattan; 212-255-5438, theduplex.com . (Gardner)
‘EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE!’S NEW YEAR’S EVE IN NEW YORK CITY!’ Best known for collecting hilariously awful videos (and, in a related yet unrelated project, amassing the world’s largest pile of “Jerry Maguire” VHS tapes), the Everything Is Terrible performance group will present this all-ages bash featuring all-new video finds, free merchandise, a photo booth and an after-show dance party. (Those under 18 will need a parent or guardian.) At 9 p.m., Brooklyn Bazaar, Brooklyn; bkbazaar.com . (Sean L. McCarthy)
GOV’T MULE Warren Haynes, the guitarist, singer and songwriter of Gov’t Mule, is a jam band all-star who has done long stints with both the Allman Brothers Band and the Dead.
