Rob Sacher, who owned the legendary bar/venue Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side, has gone and written a book that's sure to make one nostalgic for the good ol' days, even you didn't experience them yourself. The memoir is called Wake Me When It's Over, and covers growing up in 1960s Brooklyn, becoming a musician and songwriter, and "ultimately finding my niche as the co-owner of three rock nightclubs, Sanctuary (1981-1986), Mission (1988-1993), and Luna Lounge (1995-2008)." For those who don't know, he says: more ›

Owner of the now shuttered Luna Lounge, Rob Sacher, has spoken out about the closing. As the space transforms into the new Knitting Factory (which is moving over from Manhattan), he explains: "I was unable to get enough shows on a regular basis. I still own the name Luna Lounge and am interested in finding another space in which to work with bands. In the meantime, I will soon be opening a new bar called The Satellite Lounge on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg." The new space holds up to 75 people, and will not have live music (but allegedly will have a jukebox). Meanwhile, over in Greenpoint Studio B has put up notice on their website that they are "not closing," however in an email they told us they "will be open at least until the beginning of February for sure. Mid February the decision will be made to whether or not the club will keeps its doors open." more ›

Word has come in via The NY Times that the Knitting Factory will officially make the move to Brooklyn...and Boise? Jared Hoffman, who took over the good ship Knit five years ago, announced that both the Idaho and a new Spokane, WA venue have already hung up signs -- something that Brooklyn may see soon as well, as the venue has just received the borough's approval. The Times reports they "won community board approval to begin moving into 361 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the former site of the Luna Lounge." The space will give them a smaller New York presence, moving their multi-level, multi-room venue that's been housed on Leonard Street for 14 years, into one room with a smaller capacity (around 300). Look for a grand opening between 4 and 9 months from now, and don't expect to see the same look as Luna Lounge, as they'll be doing some renovations. more ›

With the Knitting Factory looking for a new home, and Luna Lounge being closed since April, all signs are pointing to the former moving into the latter. In fact, a sign on the front door of the now defunct Luna Lounge says as much. more ›

Is Luna Lounge the latest casualty of the Department of Health? Eater reports that the venue "was shuttered on Friday and has yet to re-open." Recently another Williamsburg fixture, Sound Fix, was forced to close its doors after being harassed by the DoH -- they told us the irony of being "shut down for not having a food permit - and WE DON'T SELL FOOD! Ice is considered food in the health dept's eyes, I kid you not." more ›

THEATER: Eugene O’Neill’s early one-act plays get a rare blast of daylight in The Pioneer, a new production that stages four of his nascent gems plus a whimsical monologue O’Neill wrote from the point of view of his dog. The plays boast O’Neill’s signature assortment of furious, flailing characters that would come to dominate his full-length work. Writing for the Times, Rachel Saltz notes that the plays range from “interesting” to “wonderful” and concludes that... more ›

PARTY: Nostalgic for the Blackout of 2003? Someone has put together an event that will recapture the night of no lights so we can all enjoy it once again (with reassuring knowledge that the contents of the fridge aren't melting back at home). Stain's blackout party will be complete with candles, canned goods, beer, a battery-run boombox, board games, grilling and other non-electricity-dependent activities. more ›

If you aren't at a BBQ, aren't watching the fireworks or a big budget summer movie...below are some options for you. Whatever you do, though, bring sparklers! more ›

MOVIE: The L Magazine kicks off their summer movie series, Summerscreen, tonight at McCarren Park Pool. We're pretty sure we'll be attending most of these this summer (even though we feel there is a lack of horror filcks on their schedule). So bring something soft to sit on and head over tonight for the cheerleading film that introduced us all to spirit fingers, Bring It On. In two weeks: Dazed and Confused! Alright, alright, alright. more ›

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?). more ›

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. more ›

FILM: A tribute to Jean Genet on film begins tonight at BAM. The focus will be on films inspired by the French writer, as well as Genet's own Un Chant D'Amour. BAM describes the festival further: more ›

READINGS: Papermag points out an interesting reading tonight for "Queens of the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks." more ›

Some venues close and reopen in lower rent areas (like Luna Lounge) and some shut their doors forever (CBGB). Most recently, the Roxy called it quits and Sin-e and Tonic have announced their closings as well. Tonic was saved two years ago (we interviewed one of the owners at the time), and they have not yet announced why they're closing for good this time (they'll shut down in two weeks). As far as smaller downtown venues go, we're left with some less than ideal spaces: the Annex, the Delancey and Fat Baby - none of which have ever been a favorite to see a show at. Seems if Pianos, Cake Shop and the recently made-over Knitting Factory can manage to keep their doors open, they'll be the places to go (though the Todd P shows and their ever-changing venues are probably the best option in town). more ›

SCIENCE: The UnCoolKids always know about all the best science events. Tonight is The Revolution in Physics at the Turn of the 20th Century, featuring “a presentation by Richard Liboff, Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Central Florida, formerly Professor of applied physics, applied mathematics, and electrical engineering at Cornell University, author of the best- selling college text book, Introductory Quantum Mechanics, featured in “Spider-Man 2" movie.” more ›

Back in January of 2004, those two gentleman you see at the right - Jonny Kaps and Nat Hays - started +1 (a PR, Management, Digital and Special Events company). On their roster are bands such as Editors, Ambulance LTD, Stellastarr* and Two Gallants. Tonight they'll be celebrating their 3 year anniversary just down the street from their office, at Luna Lounge. The party is private, sure to have some special musical guests...and they want to invite YOU. Check out details after the interview. more ›

ART: A Cloudy Day's Epiphany is an exhibit including artists Devendra Banhart, Andrew Guenther, Brent Ridge, Dash Snow and Valaire van Slyck. You love Dash Snow, right? The idea is to explore the ephiphany as artistic inspiration. More on the show here. more ›

MUSIC: Of course we suggest you come hang out with us tonight at our 4th Birthday Party, and 11th Movable Hype show. The show starts at 7:30pm, here are the details and some mp3s: more ›

Our 11th Movable Hype show, and also our 4th Birthday, is coming up this Thursday! You can buy tickets here, and we suggest coming early. There will be gift bags (first come, first served), and a select amount will have special treats from clothier Le Tigre! Those will go fast, kids. more ›

Our 4th Birthday party and 11th Movable Hype show is just around the corner. We've introduced you to two of the four bands already: White Rabbits and Ford & Fitzroy. Now we've got a host for you: Adira Amram! We interviewed her back in October and recently saw her host a show, and knew this was the girl to host ours! more ›

Speaking of new venues...this one may not be new, but we're just hearing about it: Zebulon. It's in Willliamsburg (has been around since at least 2005 from what we can gather) and hosts every type of music your little ears could ever desire, including (but not limited to): jazz! Finally, a jazz venue we can afford. Zebulon may very well be the (more eclectic) version of the old Luna Lounge, offering no cover every night. Tonight Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio will be there playing a free show. more ›

Last Friday we announced that White Rabbits are playing our next Movable Hype show. Now we'd like to introduce you to another band playing the show: Ford & Fitzroy. more ›

This isn't the first track, listen: Love Song No. 7.mp3 more ›

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." more ›

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

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. more ›

We won't lie, pretty much every band is in Austin right now. But don't let that get you down, there are still some things worth seeing in this city over the next four days - and we bet you'll have a more enjoyable time. With everyone out of the city there will be less crowds and less waiting for a drink at the bar...take advantage of it! more ›

This weekend marks the last two days you have to find love before Valentine's Day. So get out there! Quick! You don't want to be alone on a fake holiday do you?! It's okay, we love you, and we'll show you this by giving you a list of things to do this weekend. But we'd never actually pressure you to do them, we're just not like that: more ›

The Bottom Line's management tells the Post they are still looking for a new venue. And another club that is closing due to the hot real estate market (in this case, condos in the Lower East Side) - Luna Lounge. more ›

Jeff Singer, Comedy Producer more ›