Do you miss the old days when MTV used to play music, and when Guns n' Roses was good... like really good? So good you would come home from school and call 1-800-DIAL-MTV to vote for one of their epic videos? Well, next month the band will try to recreate that era right here in New York. Guns n' Roses has just announced that they'll be playing some intimate shows around town during Fashion Week, followed by a little northeast tour, which includes a revisit of their MTV concert, "Live at the Ritz" (though, no word on if they'll be recreating this song-by-song or if we'll be getting a little bit of Chinese Democracy stuff, too). more ›

Special Paul Simon concerts in New York City usually happen in massive spaces like Central Park, but last night the musician took the more intimate Webster Hall, where his pal David Byrne joined him on stage for "You Can Call Me Al," and "Road To Nowhere" (see Byrne take a graceful tumble in the former): more ›

Earlier this week Shane Rhooms, who earlier had spent three weeks in prison for allegedly firing at police officers, was cleared of all charges when video and cell phone records showed he was clearly at a reggae concert at Webster Hall when the Flatbush shootings occurred. But the police aren't backing off their story. Not only did a spokesman say on Tuesday that they "remain skeptical of the purported alibi" but then Police Commissioner Ray Kelly went and offered more support for the officers who made the ID Wednesday. Maybe he should have done a little more research into who he was defending? more ›

A good reason to use your phone when you are at a concert? Good alibi. That's the lesson we're taking from the story of Shane Rhooms. It starts like this: On September 6 an assailant got off six shots at cops in Flatbush before running away. Those same officers later picked Rhooms mugshot out of a photo lineup and insisted he was their guy and locked him up in Riker's. Only problem? He kept insisting he was nowhere near Flatbush at the time, in fact he said he was at a reggae concert at Webster Hall. more ›

How many people are interested in attending the "Largest Paint Party on Earth" at Webster Hall? Surprisingly, a lot! The party was held this weekend at the venue, and got so big that the FDNY and the NYPD (and their horses) shut it down before any paint even got on attendees' white clothes (we assume that is what happens at these things?). The mass exodus from the venue was described to EV Grieve as a "Douche Parade." Here's a look at the scene on the inside when the presence of the police was announced to attendees: more ›

Click on the images for more about this Week in Rock; this week features Kanye at Webster Hallt, Spank Rock at Siren and on the Williamsburg Bridge, and a Gothamist House (at CMJ) announcement! more ›

This weekend marks the 2nd annual All Points West festival, and Jay-Z (filling in for the Beastie Boys) is set to headline the first night at the Liberty State Park venue. What's the best way to warm up for a mostly indie crowd? Secretly join the lineup tonight for the pre-APW Diesel party going down at Webster Hall; the lineup features The Roots, Passion Pit and Drake. Blackbook says they have it on good authority this rumor's got legs, providing a detailed list as to why (Lykke Li fans, they also say she'll be stopping by)—#5 on that list claims, "an unnamed source close to the event says that Hov’s showing up to jam on a few songs at the end of The Roots’ set.“ Oh, and his sister-in-law, Solange Knowles, was already announced as a special guest. And a quick note for those heading to APW this weekend: the Observer talked to organizer Paul Tollet, who says the kinks should all be worked out this year—regarding the lines, he told them, “We felt there were a lot of things we didn’t like about last year. I walked around as a fan and stood in those lines, and when you go stand in that line, you get mad." more ›

You'd think over-charging for drinks (including water) for all these years would have given them a nice financial cushion...but allegedly Webster Hall is in debt and in danger of closing. DBTH reports that "the club is in serious arrears to the City, State and vendors, and may be on the verge of declaring bankruptcy." It's the usual story of overdue rent, bounced checks, back taxes, bills piling up and creditors knocking on the door. "They are looking for some kind of bail out from the state (for the taxes issues) and the landlord (apparently they would like their rent lowered by half until things "get better")." Guess their new Studio venture hasn't been bringing in the cash, but maybe the bridge & tunnel crowd that pack into the place on club nights can help bring in the $600K they need. Nightclub shenanigans aside, it would be a shame to see the place shutter, considering it's been open since the late 1800s and hosting music since the 1950s. more ›

It used to be that only Phish and Dead fans got to hear live recordings of the shows they attended, thanks to the band's many taping fans. Now the NY Times reports that, following building a recording studio downstairs, Webster Hall will give fans the option to buy a freshly pressed CD of a show after the curtains are drawn. "This downtown New York club, a haven for indie rock bands, has reached an agreement with Best Buy to sell recordings of live shows at the chain’s stores in the New York area. Performances will also be available through iTunes and Webster Hall’s own Web site. Bands that choose to take part will receive half the revenue from the recordings and be exempted from the cost of recording and producing discs, with the right to pull out if they don’t like the way they sound." Could this kind of idea save the sinking music industry? more ›

After recent renovations, the rock club Webster Hall is attempting to bring more rock to counterbalance its heavy "club" reputation. The Times takes a peek at the new look of the 123-year-old club trying to span the gamut of musical genres in the same way that big music festivals around the country have been able to succeed in the iPod era. One fellow club owner said, “It’s not an easy transition to become a rock club, and they’re not necessarily going after the same audience...But they have a great location, and...they should do fine.” The Times went to a recent CSS show at Webster and noted how "cheesy dance tunes" like Marky Mark's "Good Vibrations" served as house music before the band hit the stage. A 22-year-old woman in attendance said, "When I was 10 and listening to Z100, they would keep saying, ‘Come hear the beats at Webster Hall.' I guess I finally did.” more ›

Recently landmarked Webster Hall is undergoing some renovations, building a venue inside the venue called The Studio. The new downstairs performance space will hold around 275 people, and is set to open just in time for CMJ (around October 21st). A venue rep tells us that they plan on having shows "every night of the week" but would like to include a party night on Mondays and a comedy night on Sundays. Don't fear, B&T crew, the club nights upstairs will still go on. more ›

A tipster points out that after 90-minutes of playing Webster Hall last night, "Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes got into a disagreement with the sound man over the volume of the monitor. The next thing we knew he was being escorted off the stage. We all stood around yelling obscenities at the management and throwing plastic cups at security. This lasted for about an hour until we were slowly corralled onto the street." The crowd eventually left what this tipster calls a "rotten facist venue." Whoa there, let's fill in the gaps. more ›

Staten Island singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson found fame through the small screen before hitting airwaves nationwide. Last year one of her songs was featured in the season finale of Grey's Anatomy (video), only to be followed by another one of her songs being picked up for an Old Navy ad (video). Needless to say she went from getting write-ups in the Staten Island Advance, to getting them in the NY Times. more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. more ›

Kevin Drew (myspace) is one of the founding members by the wildly successful Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene. The daring, inventive band boasts a fluctuating roster of artists who shift in and out of the line-up depending on their various other musical pursuits; another BSS member, Leslie Feist, is currently absorbed with her suddenly massive solo career, which exploded into mainstream America after her song “1 2 3 4” became an iPod commercial. As... more ›

EVENT: Tonight Duncan Sheik (ah, we still remember when he sang "Barely Breathing" at the Peach Pit After Dark) and Steven Sater pair up for a Spring Awakening book signing. They will be joined from 5–5:30pm by Spring Awakening cast members Jennifer Damiano and John Gallagher, Jr., who will perform acoustic versions of two song selections from the show at the signing. 5 to 7pm // Drama Book Shop [250 W 40th St] // Free... more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. more ›

EVENT: Berlin takes over New York this month with the Berlin in Lights Festival. Through the 18th you can soak up the German city through film, music, art, architecture and more. This evening you can check out a couple of Berlin-esque events. First up is the "Urban Design and Memorials" dialogue. A panel discussion which will touch on the "challenges of integrating memorials into the urban fabric, and how Berlin and New York address issues... more ›

Jens Lekman is one of our favorite songwriters, so any opportunity to see the funnyman crooner play is a treat, no matter the circumstances. The set at Webster Hall was generally excellent. Bordering on Magical, in fact, a perfect mix of his old and new -- mixing in Swedish deadpan quips and stories the whole time through. The only knock we had came from the venue, which we usually enjoy. The sound was fine, the site lines were good, the bands came out on time, but on this night, they started opening up the night club a little bit earlier. Around 30 minutes into his set, the thumping dance beats could be felt through the floor loud and strong enough that you could actually make out the song at times. It was distracting, to say the least, especially during the quieter songs. It even forced a puzzled Jens to ask what was going on during his encore, before attempting to play along to the beat. Webster Hall has taken giant strides over the last few years to become a perfectly good rock venue, but an extra layer of soundproofing would go a long way to remove the cheesy dance club stigma for the concert attendees. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr) more ›

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted yesterday to landmark eight new sites in four of the city's boroughs - the Bronx loses out. City Room details the new landmarks, which include the Lord & Taylor building, the white brick Manhattan House, two homes on Grand St., the Standard Varnish Works Factory building (its owner thinks the designation is bad for business) and the Greek-Revival style Fillette Tyler Mansion in Staten Island and the Voelker-Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden in Queens. There's a more detailed account of LPC's hearing on Monday here. East Village institutions like Webster Hall and the brick and terra-cotta 11th St. bathhouse, among others, are proposed for designation. The Sun's Eliot Brown has more. more ›

These days people tend to complain about Webster Hall more than they praise it. The drinks are expensive (even a water will set you back 4 bucks), the shows are too early and the nightclubs below the venue's main room are hopping with the B&T crowd. On the other hand, the stage has hosted some great bands, and the lighting always looks nice...so it may just be time to pay some respect to the place as it gets one step closer to being Landmarked. more ›