Results tagged “bowerypresents”

Bowery Presents has efficiently taken over the New York music scene with some of the most successful venues in town. It seems that for every non-Bowery venue door that closes, a new Bowery one opens. So where is a burgeoning company to go once they've planted Mercury Lounges and Music Halls around NYC? New Jersey, of course.

The historic 2,000-capacity Wellmont Theater in Montclair, N.J., will re-open its doors this fall under a recently formed partnership between the principals of New York-based independent concert promoter the Bowery Presents and longtime promoter Andy Feltz.

Continue reading "Bowery Presents...New Jersey"

Josh Moore is a part of the almighty Bowery Presents organization that runs just about every venue you've been to around town -- from Mercury Lounge to Bowery Ballroom and beyond. Most recently the team opened up the Music Hall of Williamsburg (with a bit of a delay), and we asked the man who runs the old Northsix space a few questions.

Last night Bowery Presents new Brooklyn venue, the Music Hall of Williamsburg, was supposed to open with 'ol New York rocker Patti Smith. Perhaps it's fitting that the opening night didn't go as planned, and instead the new New York rock regime (Brooklynites Matt & Kim) will now christen the new stage tonight.

This really is turning out to be the year of the venue -- with more openings, closings, re-brandings, re-namings and articles written about the places we go see music than ever before. Now with the latest Bowery Presents venue (The Music Hall of Williamsburg) opening next week, there's another article in The Times.

Sick of all that boring "indie" music polluting your fresh Greenpoint air this summer, Mr. cynical anonymous Gothamist commenter? Well maybe you prefer the jam-trance mania of the Disco Biscuits instead! No? Well a whole crowd of people did, comfortably filling McCarren Pool earlier this week with people who (no joke) bought their tickets on 4/20 @ 4:20 in the afternoon. Those in attendance seemed to have a blast, despite some complaints about the sets being a bit too short (openers Umphrey's McGee only got 90 minutes.) If you missed the show, NYC Taper recorded the whole thing and posted both bands sets online the day after. Check em out. (pic via i y e r's flickr)

In their quest to take over New York, Bowery Presents is opening yet another venue! Ask just about anyone (and we have) and they'll say that the Bowery Ballroom is their favorite place to see and/or play music - so who better to open even more spaces than the creators of that one?

North 6th Street has been quiet with music venue Northsix shutting its door in January, and with Galapagos pretty much closing its doors this summer. However, after murmurings of the upcoming Music Hall of Williamsburg opening, not opening, having problems opening...for months, there's finally a date to mark on the calendar for the venue, which has been slowly taking over the Northsix space (and thensome?).

Earlier this week, Interpol (who if you haven't noticed is suddenly on the verge of massive international superstardom) played a local, intimate show at Bowery Ballroom to a select group of friends, label people and fans lucky enough to snag tickets when they quietly went on sale last week. The show was excellent and the band certainly proved that they've got the chops to push it to much bigger stages, even if their lonely, isolated sound feels much warmer from close up. The more exciting development, however, is that Bowery Ballroom seems to be the go-to spot for big bands playing intimate shows these days. Next week the club will play host to both Franz Ferdinand and the suddenly semi-respectable Maroon 5. As the battle for venue and promoter dominance heats up, we can only hope for more shows like this, in an effort to one-up the competition. Looks like so far, Bowery Presents is winning this battle. (Though Rufus Wainwright at the Gramercy Theatre is a strong counter). (Pic via Bao.)

With brick and mortar sales declining, and the future of the music industry uncertain - at least live shows are always dependable. Sure, there are a lot of venues closing, but how about the ones thriving? The NY Times reports on some of the big players in the New York venue scene.

Ever wanted to know what it might be like to join Iggy and The Stooges on stage? Last night they played United Palace Theater, and some of those who made the journey to 175th Street were rewarded by being invited on stage with the band. Here's a video which describes the chaos more accurately than words could:

(pic via tammylo's flickr)

Last Friday The Wrens headlined a benefit show for Planned Parenthood, celebrating the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The band played their usual Meadowlands-heavy mix of old songs, and made an announcement that it would more than likely be their final show supporting their now nearly 4 year old album. They will be working on putting together something new this summer. It's always a treat to see the Wrens live, who for our money is one of the best straight-up rock acts around these days, but even more so in an intimate club such as the Knitting Factory. Speaking of which, perhaps nudged along by the Bowery Presents recent power play to control the live music scene in NYC, The Knit gave a serious makeover to their main room, significantly upgrading their sound system and adding a fancy new array of animated stage lights for the performers. As if it wasn't already one of our favorite local venues, (um, 2 years of Movable Hype?) it now has even further separated itself from the midsize club pack by creating an environment that has the bands looking and sounding that much better than ever before. The ball is now back in Bowery's court to see if any of their many new venues will step up to match this level of quality, or will they rest on their laurels as being the go-to venue empire. We'll have to wait and see. (More pics like the one above here.)

We've been waiting for this day: Libation is closing! Libation was, of course, the first official landmark of douchebaggery in the LES, spearheading a (and we use this term loosely) movement to class up the joint. Well the tip of the knife has broken, does this mean the uptown, velvet rope crowd "lost"? Doubtful, as we're sure an equally horrific quadruple-level, overpriced club will open in its place. Unless, of course, Bowery Presents snatches it up in its recent shopping spree.

Things are starting to pick up around here. The weather was nice, people were out leaving the cave from the post-New Years hibernation and getting back on their feet. It's still coming around, but the rock scene is starting to show some life as well...

With 2006 coming to a close, there's a lot to look forward to in the new year. Some expected highlights:

In 2004 we asked a bunch of New York bloggers to suggest sonic stocking stuffers. This year, we asked New York bloggers, bookers, musicians and more, what they'd give as a gift this holiday season. Here you go...commence shopping!

During CMJ, everything becomes a venue - from a living room to an abandoned storefront. During the rest of the year, Todd P keeps that sort of thing going on. And in the more "legit" world of venues, new ones are popping up everywhere.

If you like quiet music, you can't beat the CMJ-sponsored lineup at Living Room tonight (Tuesday). Jose Gonzalez, making his U.S. debut, is a superstar in his home country of Sweden. You'll know why if you listen to his songs at Myspace. Doveman plays the show too. You might remember them from their appearance at Gothamist's Movable Hype and BroolynVegan's pre-CMJ concert. Up-and-comers Mike Wexler and Emm Gryner are also on the amazing (and amazingly cheap) bill. If that's all too laid back, there's always the faster and louder show right door at Pianos where Other Passengers continue their residency with special guest Saints & Lovers. Run upstairs between bands to see whats going on at Cross Pollination. It's free.