We interviewed co-owner of Luna Lounge Rob Sacher in 2004, and he told a little story about Elliott Smith (who wrote his album XO at the bar at Luna). The story starts out, "Before I knew who Elliott Smith was, I knew him as this very quiet guy that had discovered the bar (at Luna) and would stay there till closing or near closing most nights, writing constantly in a journal with some kind of dark whiskey drink on the rocks or straight-up in front of him; he always had some kind of bourbon or something like that in front of him. Week after week after week."

We hope the Luna Lounge in Brooklyn will have a little bit of whatever the feeling was that drew Smith (pictured, at Luna) in to the original bar, and even if it doesn't - we're anticipating the opening none the less.

The Lower East Side club that housed the first shows of bands like Interpol, The Strokes and Stellastarr* and comedy nights with Janeane Garofalo and Sarah Silverman, will reopen on Friday night in Williamsburg. From the press release:

"We are very excited to be able to recreate ourselves here in Williamsburg and to be completely embraced by this community of musicians and artists," says Luna Lounge co-owner and booking agent Rob Sacher. 'We have been working quietly on this building for over a year and have taken our time to build a world class music venue for the people of New York City."

The opening night will include a show by The Comas and Falcon, with many more shows to follow. You can find the new location at 361 Metropolitan Avenue at Havemeyer Street. And note that the nightclub will be open weekends in January and early February with a full schedule starting in the spring. And as noted by Rob in our comments, "I will be booking Luna, not Live Nation. However, the folks at LN will be helping me out and will book a show or two each week."