New York City Music Clubs and Venues
Most recently updated 5/18/12, this list of over 200 clubs includes pretty much every New York establishment that has music frequently, as well as a small handful who host only the occasional live show. We update this constantly. However, we avoid places frequented by narcissistic, rude one-percenters, so the information on the trendiest or most shi-shi spots listed here might be a little out of date. Your input, as always, is welcome.
Every year, we pick a new spot, one each from Manhattan and Brooklyn, as “Best Venue of the Year” - keeping in mind of course that our picks from previous years are no less enjoyable now than they were a couple of years ago, other than the three which are now closed. The winners so far are:
2007
Manhattan: Lakeside Lounge (now closed)
Brooklyn: Luna Lounge (now closed)
2008
Manhattan: Rodeo Bar
Brooklyn: Barbes
2009
Manhattan: Drom
Brooklyn: Spike Hill
2010
Manhattan: Banjo Jim’s (now closed)
Brooklyn: Hank’s Saloon
2011
Manhattan: Shrine
Brooklyn: The Jalopy
2012
Manhattan: Lakeside Lounge (now closed)
Brooklyn: The Jalopy
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156 Rivington St. between Norfolk and Suffolk
F/J/M to Delancey
Oldschool DIY punk central, one of the last oases of decency in New York, a throwback to the early days of the fight against gentrification back in the 80s. They bought the building from the city, and it now serves as all-purpose gallery/poetry club/activist center/venue. Their Saturday punk/hardcore matinee has been going on since forever and can be incredibly fun: no Nazi punks allowed. This is the rare kind of place in New York where you can go all by yourself and meet random people who will become your friends. The sound is totally DIY and dodgy as you would expect, but that’s the price you pay for sanity. Please remember that this is not a bar or club, it’s a community center, a valuable resource for musicians, artists and photographers. So treat the place respectfully.
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20 W 29th St. at Broadway
R to 28th St. or B/D/F to 34nd St.
Occasional Sunday night concerts in the lobby of the formerly scuzzy Breslin Apartments, newly yuppified so the latest arrivals from Boca Raton and Bloomfield Hills can feel just as safe and suburban as they did back home before all their trendy friends convinced them to “do New York” for a few years until their trust funds kick in. None of us have been here since the days when this place was a glorified SRO and the only music here was something you played by yourself in your tiny room.
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57 Waterbury St. (at Scholes), Bushwick
L to Montrose Ave.
When they first started having shows at this lo-fi loft space, the emphasis was on loud, assaultive and psychedelic, with all sorts of metal and sometimes hardcore. Lately the space has been discovered by the doucheoisie (including the douchiest blog in Brooklyn), who have been hosting shows here, so now there’s twee and trendoid stuff as well as the hardcore and death metal. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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16 Beaver St., financial district
2/4/6/A/C/M/Z to Fulton St., walk south along either Broadway or William to Beaver
Although relatively little-known to the general public, this Arab cultural center is very popular with immigrants from every corner of the diaspora and fills up quickly: early arrival is highly recommended. They don’t have music every night, but when they do, it is outstanding, a mix of traditional sounds, jazz and even experimental stuff. They also host a wide variety of literary and dramatic events. Admission is cheap ($10 or $15, typically), considering what you get here, with a student discount available. You come off the elevator and immediately you’re in the space, which is set up like a small auditorium. Seating is not reserved. Beverages or light snacks are available in the office to the left as you walk in. The staff here are uncommonly professional and helpful. This is a great place to see groups or performers with a wide following in the Arab community who may be flying under the radar otherwise.
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Columbus Ave. at 66th St.
1 to 66th St./Lincoln Center
Weekly free Friday shows starting around 5:30 PM, an eclectic mix of acoustic Americana acts and singer-songwriters, in the museum’s boomy, high-ceilinged first-floor atrium which you can see as you enter. Museum admission is also free, and the staff here are nice. Wine is also sometimes available. The sound is what you would expect – not much – but these shows can be a great way to start the weekend if you work or go to school in the neighborhood or can get out in time to get there.
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253 West 125th Street
Between Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd.
A/B/C to 125th St.
“It’s showtime!” Yeah, besides the televised open mic frequented by hordes of drunk kids booing timid performers off the stage, they have plays, musicals and the infrequent concert, mostly hip-hop or corporate pop. The dingy, multi-tiered interior is actually nowhere as big as the tv cameras would have you believe, in fact smaller than the Beacon. The sound isn’t bad but it isn’t pristine either. But this place is a landmark where pretty much everybody who was anybody, from the 30s through the 60s played at one time or another. Advance tix available at the box office. Compared to the staff at the other big theatres, the Apollo’s staff seem considerably brighter, more friendly and competent. There’s also a smaller cafe space on the ground floor which also has live music, mostly lame corporate pop with the occasional jazz act.
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Stanton between Orchard and Ludlow, south side of the street
F to 2nd Ave.
There’s a small bar as you walk in, with the music room to your left and down the stairs. This place has the potential to be an excellent-sounding room but seldom is, more a fault of the sound personnel rather than their excellent system. This isn’t really a hangout (other than the adjacent bar which becomes a tourist trap on the weekends). Drinks are on the pricy side although they have shot-and-shitbeer specials, and the bartenders are nice. The Nazi factor depends on who’s working the door – beware the meth head with the runny nose and the runny mouth. This is a rock joint, and booking here is all over the place – it can be excellent one month, with plenty of good under-the-radar talent as well as frequent national touring acts, and then abysmal the next. And the segues here are ridiculously jarring: singer-songwriter, hip-hop, death metal back-to-back without a thought of how much more money they’d make at the bar if the bands had something in common.
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57 Grove St. just west of 7th Ave. South
1 to Christopher St. or any train to W 4th St., walk west on Waverly
Oldschool west village jazz dive. Long-running weekly residencies: vocal trio on Thursdays, blues on Sundays, etc. Cheap cover if in fact there is one, relatively cheap drinks, nice bar staff, extremely comfortable vibe in worn-down, lowlit ambience. Equally popular with budget tourists as well as an aging neighborhood crowd.
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61 W 62nd St. (across the street and a little south of the big main complex: enter on Broadway, middle of the block between 62nd and 63rd)
1/A/C/B/D to Columbus Circle
Frequent free Thursday concerts at 8:30 PM – a wide range including world music, classical and jazz, some acts who will probably play there in the coming years for pay - lots of it. Bands play on the stage in the middle of this long, rectangular, groundfloor space. It’s a good place to see up-and-coming talent. Expect there to be crowds filling the tables; expect to stand (along the side) or even be shut out unless you get there early (an hour isn’t too soon – this is an upper westside phenomenon). Expensive eats and surprisingly reasonably-priced drinks ($4 bottled beer) are available. The staff seem to be enjoying themselves and the vibe is contagious.
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155 Bleecker at Thompson St.
A/B/D/C/E/F to W 4th St.
Actually not a bad place to hang out at, if you must kill time in this neighborhood. They have cheap beer and a surprisingly nice bar staff. The music is typically Bleecker St. lame, usually singer-songwriters doing covers on the stage to the right of the bar. The sound isn’t bad, but it doesn’t really make a difference, considering who’s playing.
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136 2nd Ave. (just north of St. Mark’s, east side of the street)
F to 2nd Ave.
So oldschool it’s not funny: a throwback to the 90s with cheap, strong drinks, a laid-back vibe and complete absence of little hitlers. You pass a long bar to your right as you walk in; the back room has a wide stage, surprisingly good sound, a few chairs and stools and lots of standing room as well as a little bar in the left corner. Popular with a pink-collar afterwork happy-hour crowd, it hasn’t been discovered yet for music: it’s too dark and dingy for yuppies, too unpretentious to appeal to the Williamsburg/Bushwick crowd. Music is only an occasional weekday thing here right now, mostly singer-songwriters after the open mic that runs til around 9; mediocre sound and a sparse crowd, mostly performers who trickle out as the show goes on.
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444 7th Avenue
(corner of 15th Street & 7th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn
F to 7th Ave.
Cozy, pleasant Park Slope neighborhood bar with frequent acoustic shows. Little stage in back, bar on the left as you walk in, a couple of couches on the right. Very mellow ambience, nice bar staff, drinks on the pricy side probably because of the size of the place. The sound is better than you’d expect because it’s an intimate space. Music not an everyday thing here, although they pull some surprisingly good acts for an out-of-the-way joint (actually it’s not that out of the way, a short six-block walk from the train).
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129 MacDougal between W 3rd and Washington Square South, right around the corner from the Blue Note
Any train to W 4th St.
A cynic would say that if you’re thinking of going to the Blue Note, you ought to go here instead. Better known as la Lanterna (the upstairs restaurant, which runs this little walk-down joint), it’s a great place to see A-list talent for D-list prices. It also tops the charts among NYC jazz joints for best food (pizzas and pastas are consistently excellent). Small ensembles (usually trios, a mix of traditional and more adventurous jazz styles) play in the corner by the fireplace; early arrival is advised because it’s not much bigger than Barbes. You’re pretty much on top of the band. Service is refreshingly oldschool West Village and laid back. Sets at 8:30/10 Sun-Thurs.; 7, 9 and 11 on weekends.
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Bar on A
no website
170 Ave. A at 11th St.
L to 1st Ave. or any train to Union Square, take the M14A bus which will drop you at the corner.
Like Lakeside around the corner, this place is a throwback to the early days of the East Village. Sadly, in the case of Bar on A, that means scuzzier, sleazier and more scam-oriented. This place is bait-and-switch central. The gentrifier bargirls in their skintight outfits lure people in with promises of two-for-ones, but when it comes time to settle up, they come up with all kinds of excuses why you’re supposed to pay full price. The sound in the back room is pretty primitive; if you must see your friend do his or her singer-songwriter thing here, wait til showtime and then casually make your way to the back where there is no waitress service. If you need a drink, go to Lakeside instead. These scuzzballs don’t deserve your business.
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Bar Tabac
the club’s website is useless
128 Smith St., corner of Dean, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
F to Bergen St.
Owned by the same people who brought you Jules, Le Singe Vert and Cafe Noir, this pricy, popular corner bistro has Belgian beer, mediocre faux-French food and occasionally jazz acts who play in the window by the door. The staff are nice and there’s absolutely no Nazi factor, but be aware that in the summer, they frequently leave the doors open, so it can get uncomfortably hot here.
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***RATED BEST BROOKLYN VENUE 2008***
corner of 6th Ave. and 9th St., Park Slope, Brooklyn
F to 7th Ave. and walk downhill
Believe the hype: there is a good act playing here virtually every night, something no other New York area venue can boast. Basically, this is what Tonic used to be, relocated to Park Slope. Day in, day out, Barbes books more exciting music than any other venue in town (maybe anywhere in the world), a diverse, rotating cast of jazz, oldtimey, Americana, latin, gypsy and world music acts from every corner of the globe. Some of the creme de la creme of the old Tonic scene have gravitated here. Barbes’ theme is Gallic, taking its name from Barbes-Rochechouart, a sadly gentrified former Arab ghetto in Paris. The back room here is tiny, smaller than even Pete’s Candy Store and just a tad bigger than the Rockwood, and the bands who play here always fill it. Consequently, it’s best to show up early (about 15 minutes before showtime) if you want to get into the music room, especially if you want a seat. Since it’s cozy back there, the sound is usually superb. They frequently pipe the music from the back room in over the bar, but it’s generally inaudible, whenever the bar is crowded (like it usually is). Like Tonic, Barbes draws a mixed crowd: jazzcats, trendoids, neighborhood folks and friends of the bands who play here. Drinks aren’t overwhelmingly expensive and as you’d expect from a place run by Frenchmen, they have a good wine list. The Nazi factor is nonexistent. Although the waitress will very strongly suggest a $10 contribution to the bands’ tip jar on nights when there is no cover charge, your donation is strictly voluntary if you’re low on cash. The most popular acts (and the Random Jazz Wednesday night series) both have a $10 cover.
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432A 6th Ave (9th and 10th Sts)
Any train to W 4th St.
Formerly one of the Cin-M-Art spaces with occasional music, mostly bland suburban bands up to this point. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Fulton Ferry Landing, Dumbo, Brooklyn
F to York St.; A to High St. and walk to the water
Chamber music inside a renovated barge at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, all year long. Expensive, highly regarded as a date spot and accurately so: with the almost imperceptable sway of the boat, the view of lower Manhattan and the marvelous acoustics, this can be a very romantic experience. Early arrival is advised, as the below-decks space is fairly small and sells out fast, especially in the summertime; the box office typically opens about an hour before showtime, when you may buy tickets to the current show as well as later events. The staff are helpful; the seating is a little tight with the folding chairs, but that’s a small price to pay for the quality of the music – an adventurous mix of classical, modern and jazz – and the ambience.
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1/2/9 to Bowling Green or 4/6/A/C/J/M/Z to Fulton/Broadway-Nassau, walk south and east about 10 minutes
There are occasionally free shows here during the summer, including an annual 4th of July show. Attend at your own risk: parts of the park are fenced off for no apparent reason other than to severely limit the amount of space for concertgoers. As a result, you have to show up ridiculously early to get in, or take your chances and wait forever in a ridiculously long line that reaches almost all the way around the park. You may not get close enough to the stage to hear much. There will be only one entrance/exit, further complicating matters when it’s time to leave. Not the funnest place you could be on the 4th.
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237 West 42 St
B/D/N/R/1/2/9 to 42nd St., or walk from the A/C/E or the 6
New York’s most underutilized venue. Despite its Disneyland location – and the fact that the King of the Blues has no more to do with this than Roy Rogers had to do with all those fried chicken places - this isn’t a bad place to see bands. It’s easy to get to, the sound is excellent, staff are shockingly laid-back and unobtrusive, minimums are fairly cheap if you want to sit, and if you don’t there’s plenty of room for standing. It’s a pretty big downstairs space, a long bar to your left as you walk in, tables toward the front by the big stage, and usually plenty of standing room between them and the bar. Sadly, while they have occasional soul music, hip-hop, metal and Americana acts, most of the music here is either top 40 has-beens from the 70s or atrocious cover bands that the New Jersey tourists could see for half the price back home. Drinks are predictably pricy and the food isn’t anything special. Although cover isn’t usually more than $25, be aware that some shows are obscenely expensive, $75 or more. They also have free blues, pretty much nightly, at the adjacent, smaller Lucille’s bar (use the door on your right).
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74th and Broadway
1/2/9 to 72nd St.
Gilded Age beauty at a price to match. Now part of the Madison Square Garden empire, the Beacon’s steadily decreasing number of concerts don’t justify those prices, considering that most of the acts who play here are aging corporate bands or 70s has-beens (the Allman Brothers do a monthlong thing here once a year). If in fact you can find a show that’s under $75, you’d do best to get tix at their box office, open 11-5 PM Mon-Fri. The sound here is terrific, as you would expect from the ambience. Don’t try to bring alcohol or other beverages in here: you will be frisked. And be discreet when you record the concert - keep that little red light hidden. Don’t waste your money on the tiny drinks they serve in little clear plastic cups. There is only one way in or out, through the front doors; you might want to station yourself close to an exit at the end of the show to beat the crowd. Be careful not to fall onto the tracks at the 72nd St. subway station: it’s the narrowest platform in the entire system.
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149 7th St. between 2nd and 3rd Aves., Gowanus, Brooklyn
F/N/R to 4th Ave. (due to construction, the F may not be running – make sure to check mta.info before you leave)
Worth a trip to Gowanus, Brooklyn, not as far as it might seem. This high-ceilinged, midsize club (a little bigger than Santos, or the latest Knit space in Williamsburg) is brought to you by the same people behind Union Hall, but it’s more like the Brooklyn version of le Poisson Rouge. They do literally everything here – barbecues, lectures, strip shows and beer-tasting nights as well as concerts - and a lot of the music is quite good. You get everything from oldschool soul to Asian hip-hop to oldtimey, country and garage rock along with frequent indie touring bands. You enter through the bar on the Red Hook side, which has one of the best tap beer selections of any New York venue. The main room, laid out in the same fashion as Santos or Sullivan Hall has a big, high stage, little bar on your left and plenty of room for standing. The sound is excellent. As with pretty much all venues of this size, the crowd depends on who’s onstage; the staff are refreshingly laid-back. Discounted advance tickets for more popular acts are available at their box office and highly recommended.
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89 Varet St. (Humboldt & Graham), Bushwick
L to Morgan Ave.
This place seems to have picked up some of the indie spillover from when Bruar Falls closed. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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315 W 44th between 8th and 9th Ave.
A/C/E to 42nd St/Port Authority
Legendary, pricy restaurant row jazz club named after Charlie Parker. Swanky as you can expect: table service, expensive drinks and mediocre, overpriced food.Slightly cheaper than the Blue Note, with a similarly touristy crowd and less harried waitstaff, along with a more adventurous booking policy including latin and big band jazz. The sound is as good as you would expect for what you pay (the cheap seats by the door are your best value). The staff are surprisingly nice, but the Vanguard and the Jazz Standard are still your best bet for marquee-caliber jazz in New York.
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Bleecker between LaGuardia and Thompson
A/C/E/B/D/F to West 4th St., take the exit on the south side
The stage is to your right as you enter, with tables in front of it and then beyond it all the way to the back of the club. Being on the Bleecker St. strip, this place books mostly out-of-town suburban acts lost in the past century: lots of Dashboard Confessional and Journey wannabes. Which is a shame, because the sound has become excellent here. There’s a cover: people don’t just come here to drink and hang out. The staff here are surprisingly nonchalant: if you aren’t an obvious NYU student with fake ID, you won’t have any trouble getting in. Not that you’d want to, considering the kind of acts who play here. Drinks are predictably Bleecker St. expensive. Once in a blue moon they’ll have a good New York songwriter or rock act.
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W 3rd just east of Sixth Ave.
A/C/E/B/D/F to W 4th, take the southside exit
A cynic would ponder who’s going to go here after the Fukushima reactor takes its toll on this club’s usual clientele: the sign over the entrance should be in Japanese. This place was a great jazz club, most likely before you were born, and vestiges of that remain: the sound is superb. But the prices are beyond the reach of the average New Yorker: cover, dinner and drinks will set you back over $100 apiece, and the food is lousy. Even “bar seating” – which means that you’ll be on your feet for the duration of the show, and will have to crane your neck to see much of anything – will probably set you back at least $50 if you include the two-drink minimum. And the booking here is a mixed bag, with Pan-American or European performers and the occasional jazz legend interspersed among Lite FM-style elevator jazz acts. Occasionally they’ll have a rock act. On Friday and Saturdays nights after the main acts are done, or for Sunday brunch, they have funk and fusion at reduced prices. Surprisingly, there’s no Nazi factor: the harried waitstaff has a hard enough time squeezing through the crowds of tourists to make sure everybody gets their check.
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Delancey St. just east of Bowery
J to Bowery or F to 2nd Ave., walk south and west
New York’s best-sounding midsize venue, a big, high-ceilinged space with a horseshoe-shaped balcony and bar upstairs, a spacious bar with couches downstairs, through which you go to get into the main room. After the bands are done the downstairs bar is open to the public: it’s a great place to be away from all the tourists in the wee hours. Most of the bands who play here suck, a mix of the most limp-wristed, lame stuff you’ll find at pitchfork or stereogum: once in awhile they’ll have a good singer-songwriter or reggae band on tour. Drinks except for beer are pricy. The door people and staff look imposing but are actually nice. If you have to choose between seeing a band here and a similar-sized venue like Irving Plaza or Webster Hall, go to the Bowery Ballroom show. Note that this place frequently sells out: advance tickets are a must, available at the Mercury Lounge before 7 PM.
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327 Bowery between 2nd and 3rd Sts.
F to 2nd Ave. or B/D/6 to Broadway-Lafayette
Located in the split-level downstairs space that formerly housed the dreaded tourist bar the Remote Lounge, this comfortably lowlit saloon is nothing like its predecessor or its sister bar Niagara on Ave. A. At the bottom of the stairs, there’s the bar to your right, with the lower level about half-occupied by a surprisingly big stage for a space this size (similar to the Fortune Cookie Lounge under Lucky Cheng’s). Music is not an everyday thing here, but when they have it, it’s often top-shelf rock acts. The sound is surprisingly good. Drinks aren’t overwhelmingly expensive, cover is cheap if there is one, the vibe casual, the crowd somewhat oldschool a la Otto’s and the staff are nice.
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308 Bowery just south of Bleecker, across the street from the old CBs Gallery
B/D/6 to Broadway-Lafayette/Bleecker St.; F to 2nd Ave.
Frequent live music at this long-running Lower East Side institution. Depending on the band, there may or may not be chairs set up in the lowlit space with its remarkably big stage. The sound is surprisingly good, cover is cheap – usually $10 or under – the staff are laid-back and the music diverse, with funk, hip-hop, jazz and many styles of rock from garage to punk to trendoid bands. Drinks are surprisingly expensive, given the dingy milieu, but they also have excellent, surprisingly cheap premade salads and sandwiches behind the desk in the entryway (and a scary-smelling “loose meat” sandwich stand straight out of the Roseanne show). Early arrival is recommended for more popular acts, especially if you want a seat; be aware that if the band has put you on the guest list, the doormen conveniently seem to “forget,” in which case you will need to be persistent. When there’s no music here, there are frequent readings as well as literary, film and theatrical events as well as the occasional strip show. They also frequently webcast their shows here.
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603 Vanderbilt Ave. at Bergen St., Brooklyn
2 to Bergen St.; B/Q to 7th Ave.
Expensive western-themed gentrifier bar/restaurant with requent midweek and Saturday night shows here, mostly acoustic stuff, a mix of singer-songwriters, oldtime stuff and country bands. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn Heights
The closest train is actually the G to Fulton St.; BAM is only half a block away. Otherwise take any train to Atlantic Ave.
Ironically, BAM has mostly movies these days although they frequently have free Friday night concerts upstairs in the spacious, high-ceilinged BAM Cafe. The performers are usually first-rate, drinks are expensive, Nazis conspicuous in their absence, and the PA is underpowered: find yourself a spot in the alcoves along the left wall, where nobody will hassle you as long as you don’t stand in front of the metal grates between them. And get there early if the act is popular – security may not let you in if it starts to get crowded. The big, main space has tiered seating; the excellent sound and high ticket prices (advance tix from the BAM box office are a must) are comparable to the Beacon Theatre.
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61 Wythe Ave. between N 11th and N 12th., Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
Spacious, high-ceilinged venue comparable to the Bell House, barely five minutes from the train. When it’s not a venue, it’s a bowling alley also open in daylight hours. Bands play in the far corner past the lanes; the sound is excellent, carrying well to the bar in the opposite corner. They also serve pricy pseudo-southern food. It’s sort of the Brooklyn version of Sullivan Hall, i.e. stoner central, with the occasional trendoid band. Tickets are surprisingly affordable (virtually always under $10); because they draw a touristy crowd, the door crew and security can be annoyingly overzealous.
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Brooklyn Concerts
Scroll down for Coney Island Concerts or Prospect Park Bandshell.
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120 Ingraham St. at Porter Ave., Bushwick, Brooklyn
L to Morgan Ave.
Yet another old warehouse space now home to a high-ceilinged gentrifier bar/restaurant and gallery with occasional music. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Right at the Union St. R train stop (exit at the front of the train if you are coming from Manhattan), otherwise take the F to 4th Ave. (if it’s running) and walk back toward Brooklyn Heights about 9 blocks, past the UHaul place.
During the day, this space-for-hire has many functions. Downstairs, it’s a gym, frequently rented out for theatrical events. Upstairs is a makeshift coffeehouse. The owners don’t seem to involve themselves in anything other than renting out the hall. At night, they frequently have bands in the bare, brickwalled, spacious downstairs area and, generally once a week, there are singer-songwriters in the small upstairs room. The sound upstairs is actually quite good; downstairs is hit-and-miss since the club doesn’t have their own PA. Absolutely no Nazi factor (you could probably sneak in if you really put your mind to it); bottled beer and wine are available in small plastic cups upstairs, but both are pricy. Several promoters use this place for classical music, jazz and rock.
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317 Clermont Avenue at Lafayette, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn
G to Clinton/Washington, C to Lafayette Ave. or any train to Atlantic Ave. and about a 15-minute walk.
Big place – none of us are Masons or Illuminati so we’ve never been there. Concerts here in the big main room 3-4 times a year, these days not much of interest: TV on the Radio, Broken Social Scene, other trendoids du jour. Snooze. Not reviewed as of 2012.
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Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
2/4 to Grand Army Plaza
How to describe? Well, it’s full of books. You can see the big, massive old edifice from the subway. They occasionally have free concerts here, outside on the steps during the warmer months, sometimes in one of the small public rooms on the second floor which you reach from the main entrance. Acts are diverse, ranging from jazz to hip-hop to world music. Their site also lists events at the many local BPL branches.
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59 Kent Ave (N 10/11), Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
This place is a genuine sportsmens’ lodge, now with music again, booked by the folks over at Brooklyn Country, which means it’s consistently excellent. And eclectic, with jazz, blues and other oltimey sounds as well. Shows start around 9, the vibe is laid-back, with cheap cover and eats available sometimes, depending on who’s running the show on a particular night. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Cafe Bar
their website is useless
32-90 36th St., Astoria, Queens
E/M/R to Steinway St.
Rock en Espanol central, hidden away in Queens. Several popular groups who play stadiums in latin America have done NYC dates here. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), Bushwick
L to Morgan Ave.
Although composer Valerie Kuehne took her vast network of A-list indie classical and uncategorizable new music talent to Vaudeville Park, music at this brightly lit gentrifier coffeeshop continues, a mix of songwriters and indie classical . Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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433 7th Ave. at 14th St., Park Slope, Brooklyn
F to 7th Ave.
An “Austrian comfort food” restaurant catering to the Park Slope monster-stroller crowd. Ten years ago this place would have priced itself out of the neighborhood in six months. Alas, no more. It’s cramped, noisy, and the occasional screaming rugrat does nothing to enhance your experience. Music is usually Sundays and Wednesdays, mostly jazz and old-timey acts with the occasional country performer. As you may have surmised, it’s also an afterthought; nobody listens, the PA doesn’t have the juice to drown out the crowd and besides, nobody comes here for the music anyway.
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115 MacDougal St. between Bleecker and W 3rd St.
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
Talk about living off your reputation: Hendrix played here frequently, forty-five years ago. Apparently the owners also own the building, because the place is still here. Not that it needs to be: this stuffy little tourist bar caters strictly to an out-of-town crowd, and late at night and on the weekends, an unsophisticated black clientele for whom rap apparently never happened. Expensive drinks, overzealous door crew, clueless bar staff, overly loud, generic funk and cover bands phoning it in on the little stage. Ugh.
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32 Jones St. off Bleecker (west of 6th Ave)
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
Cramped, stuffy, underventilated bistro with nightly music, a frequently excellent and adventurous mix of singer-songwriters, Americana, jazz and sometimes world music. There’s a piano and a pretty lo-fi sound system, some acts actually preferring to play acoustic without any amplification. Cover is cheap, if there is one, food and drinks are expensive as you would imagine (no draft beer) but the staff are very pleasant and sympathetic to the fact that people are crammed in on top of one another - the bar in the back is tiny and there’s virtually no standing room, so early arrival is a must because the tables fill up fast. This is the kind of place where it’s hardly rude to tell the folks at the adjacent table to shush if they’re making too much noise, because they’re basically in your face and vice versa. Can’t vouch for the quality of the food, although some of the dessert portions are enticingly humungous.
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152 Ludlow St. (Stanton/Rivington), east side of the street
F to 2nd Ave.
You could live here. Taken strictly as a venue, Cake Shop is one of the two or three best in all of New York, Brooklyn included. So many reasons to like this place: the yummy treats at the upstairs bakery; the casual, laid back vibe; the cheap cover and relatively inexpensive drinks, nice bar staff, and most importantly, their uncommon dedication to providing excellent sound in a dingy basement space that seems like the last place you would find it. Now if only they’d book a good band once in awhile! While they have the occasional national touring acts or garage band night, mostly it’s just the same tuneless pitchfork.com indie garbage you find at Union Hall or Pianos. The crowd depends on the band: it’s a very gay-friendly space. To the club’s further credit, they’ve managed to avoid the Nazi factor entirely: nobody will give you a hard time here. Interesting that such a friendly place would sit right next door to the concentration camp that is the Living Room.
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93 N 6th St. (Wythe/Berry), Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
If the game plan is to keep the music pretty well hidden so as not to disturb the neighbors, they’ve succeeded beyond their dreams. Shows take place out back of the lowlit confines of the Loving Cup Cafe, straight down a long corridor on the left past the bathrooms. It’s a high-ceilinged space with a surprisingly big stage considering the size of the room, about half the size of Spikehill. The vibe is refreshingly oldschool DIY Williamsburg: cover is cheap (under $10), the staff, such as they are, are laid-back; drinks are available at a small bar on the right as you enter the gallery. The sound is a work in progress, but can be excellent if the act onstage isn’t overwhelmingly loud. Booking is diverse, including country, garage rock and funk in addition to the expected hordes of tuneless indie bands. Nice place.
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285 W Broadway, corner of Canal
A/C/E to Canal St. or 6/N/R/J/M/Z to Canal St. and walk west
On the edge of where Chinatown and Tribeca intersect, this swanky, lowlit lounge caters primarily to a New Jersey crowd with cheesy cover bands, although they’ll surprise you sometimes. The setup of the club is the reverse image of what it was when it was known as Shine, about ten years ago: long bar to your left as you walk in, big stage in front and a raised area with tables in back where the stage used to be. The sound is excellent, staff are remarkably laid-back and drinks aren’t any more expensive than they are elsewhere in the neighborhood. There are soft, cushiony chaise lounges up front by the stage which give you the feeling that you’re watching the show from your bed. Cover is relatively cheap, usually under $15, frequently under $10.
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881 7th Ave. at 57th St.
A/B/C/D/1/2/3 to Columbus Circle
Tickets are sometimes remarkably cheap, sometimes stratospherically expensive, but either way the sound is great (don’t let oldtimers distract you with hairsplitting comparisons of pre- and post-1985 sound here). There are actually three separate halls here: the big,venerable 1891 Stern Auditorium, the recent, considerably smaller Zankel Hall and the third-floor Weill Hall for chamber music, small ensembles and solo performers. Whether it’s the location or the old New York vibe, the crowds here are noticeably more oldschool, less bridge-and-tunnel than what you get at Lincoln Center. Most of the western world’s great classical and new music ensembles come through here eventually. Advance tickets recommended for everything, since whatever you’re thinking of seeing is likely to sell out. And early arrival is an absolute must, to beat the last-minute crush: you’d do well to get there at least twenty minutes before showtime. The people who run this place are pros: you’ll be treated well. And be sure to check their calendar for the frequent free neighborhood concerts they sponsor, typically at local library branches. And please – turn off your phone and leave that crinkly bag of Reese’s Pieces at home.
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The Castello Plan
their website is useless
1213 Cortelyou Road (at Westminster), Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
B to Cortelyou Road
Gentrifier wine bar/restaurant with occasional acoustic music. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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On the water along the middle edge of Battery Park
1/9/2 to Bowling Green or A/C/E/4/6/J/M/Z to Fulton/Broadway-Nassau and walk south and east about a dozen blocks.
At 5 PM during the summer on show days, park personnel will distribute two free tickets per person to everyone on the line which forms along the benches leading to the old stone fort, meaning that you need to sneak out of work to get here no later than 4:30 PM and a half-hour earlier than that for more popular acts. The show will probably start at around 6:30 or 7. Since it’s outdoors, don’t expect great sound. Overpriced canned beer is available inside. Be aware that your bag will be searched as you enter (although lately they’ve been pretty cursory, and it’s been possible to bring beverages in). Also be aware that they will throw away any beverages they catch you with. You have to show up early to get a seat, although there’s always ample standing room in back behind the rows of plastic chairs. Since the music plays while the sun is setting over the river, wear a hat and shades. The acts here vary: NPR folk and country stuff with the occasional indie band.
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Central Park, 72nd St. entrance, closer to the east side
6 to 66th St.
As a venue, it’s mellowed. Gone: the wire-fence holdings pens for unsuspecting concertgoers; the phalanxes of rent-a-pigs searching everyone; the labyrinth inside and the no-man’s-land of fences keeping visitors at a considerable distance from the arena. Most of the interior space and bleachers in the rear are again open to the public. You still can’t bring in any kind of drinkables – your bag, if you have one, will be inspected – and your best bet is still to plan on arriving when the space opens, i.e. 3 PM even if the act you want to see doesn’t hit the stage til five. But the sound isn’t bad for an outdoor arena, with everyone taking pictures, making videos and recording the show, and nobody hassles you. The tents serving beer and food are predictably overpriced; there’s also a bank of porta-potties back by the bleachers in case you need them. Volunteers will still make sad-puppy faces at you as you enter, begging for a donation, but don’t be fooled: all this is paid for with taxpayer money and donations from corporations who can well afford it. If you get there too late and the place is sold out, you can still lurk on the perimeter and pretty much hear everything, although you won’t be able to see. Sadly, the private parketeers who run the concert series have whitewashed it to the point that except for a few token latin and hip-hop acts who seem to have legacy deals with the organization, most of the music is the same kind of terminally bland, G-rated stuff you’d find at a state fair in Georgia or Minnesota in the summer months. Be aware that the ever-increasing number of ticketed shows here are not worth your while: all the acts who play those kind of gigs here always end up playing somewhere else with better sound and air conditioning, i.e. the Bell House. Nothing much here for 2012.
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652 Lexington Ave. at 55th St.
6/F to 53rd St./Citicorp Center
This sonically exquisite historic landmark – beautifully remodeled after a fire about ten years ago – has frequent free lunchtime organ concerts. They also have lectures as well as literary and film events. The synagogue’s Moorish-inspired interior decor is a feast for the eyes.
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on the boardwalk at Coney Island close to Stillwell Ave. next to Nathan’s
Take any train to Stillwell Ave., walk to the boardwalk and take a left
Abruptly shuttered in local developer Joseph Shitt’s boardwalk land grab and then reopened – but its days appear to be numbered. A long-running Coney Island institution, this was the kind of dingy place where everybody in the joint looked like a bookie or a smalltime mob enforcer. Drinks weren’t super cheap, the sound in the spacious backroom was awful and loud, but it was a slice of history, definitely a throwback to another time and place. And because it was so loud it was usually easy to hang out on the boardwalk and hear the band if there was a cover to get inside to hear the impressive variety of rock, country, punk and ska acts who played here.
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Corner of Bedford Ave. and N 7th, Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
Williamsburg’s first music venue, the newest incarnation of the bar is much the same as it was before, minus the sour-faced old man who would accost you the second you walked in the door: “You have to buy a drink!” Now run by the same people who brought you the Alligator, you get a free slice – a slice, not a pie – when you buy a drink. There’s also a shi-shi faux-southern soul food joint serving trendoids too clueless to know the difference that’s recently opened up in the space. They don’t have music every night. Bands still play in the walk-down space in the front of the club, booths along each side, standing room in the middle. Sonically, it’s still a work in progress although better than it was in its previous incarnation. Booking is a mixed bag: because it’s on the dreaded Bedford Ave. strip, it’s mostly trendoid bands playing to random tourists from out of town along with the permanent-tourist class who’ve come to stay for a few years until their trust funds kick in. You’ll probably enjoy yourself more a half a block south at Spike Hill.
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Cheap Storage
no website
49 Wyckoff Ave.(Willoughby/Starr), Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn
G to Myrtle-Willoughby
Occasional lame indie rock here. Not reviewed as/of 2012 and not likely to be.
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Not a venue but a symphony orchestra, a welcome addition to the New York classical and new music scene. The Chelsea Symphony serves up imaginatively thematic, frequently holiday-themed (Halloween, Valentines Day, etc.) programs including numerous New York and world premieres. They also frequently include choral, operatic and even pop music in their programming, and have a sense of humor about it. The quality of the performances is every bit what you’d hope for in an artistically-inclined New York neighborhood. Lately St. Paul’s Church, 315 West 22nd St. has been their home. Admission is cheap (typically a $20 donation); early arrival is recommended, because the orchestra has quickly built up quite a following on their home turf.
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155 Varick St. at Vandam
1/2 to Houston St.; C/E to Spring St., walk north and west; or A/B/D/F to W 4th St., walk south and west.
Owned by one of the founders of the Knitting Factory, this big, expensive, hangar-like new club seems to want to draw the demographic who went to that club back in the 80s who’ve grown old, moved to Jersey and switched their voter registration to Republican. And seating is a further concession to the hedge fund set, tables pricier and pricier the closer you get to the stage, with limited bar seats. Depending on the act, there may or may not be standing room closer to the stage – if so, there’ll be lots because this is a big room. The sound is excellent. Most of the shows here skew toward lite FM-style singer-songwriters along with the occasional world music act or rock band. Their weekly Sunday klezmer brunch – which is cheap, with no food or drink minimum – features a rotating cast of first-class bands and seems to serve as ownership’s lone remaining vestige of edginess. The menu is extremely expensive – we’re talking Blue Note expensive – as are drinks (the club name is no misnomer: they actually make wine here) although the staff are very pleasant and casual. And they ought to be: what’s the tip on a $300 tab? During the summer, the club also puts on frequent free 5 PM shows in the parking lot around the corner.
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2485 Broadway (92/93)
1/2/9 to 96th St.
Somewhat pricy white-tablecloth restaurant with nightly jazz on the little stage in the back. The sound isn’t bad, considering that the place draws a big after-work crowd for the half-priced wine and martinis 4-7:30 PM and is a popular neighborhood dining spot. Jazz usually starts at 8, a lot of good under-the-radar talent including many regular faces. Wednesday is open mic night followed by the weekly jazz jam that starts around midnight. No cover, only a $10 minimum at tables. Foodwise, you’ll do best with their excellent Middle Eastern menu which is more diverse and adventurous than what’s available at your typical falafel joint. Be aware that even on the hottest summer nights, they may leave the windows wide open, meaning that it won’t be any cooler inside.
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W 21st St. and Surf Ave. next to Cyclones Stadium
Any train to Stilwell Ave.
Moved adjacent to the baseball stadium in the wake of a lawsuit by ultra-orthodox Jews who claimed their civil rights were violated by the loud music in Asser Levy Park, where the concerts had been held since the 80s. The free series – mostly nostalgia acts from the 60s to the 80s – usually has a calendar up by mid-June.
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Local chain of Irish pubs: the branch where they have live music is 121 W 45th St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway.
B/D/F to Rockefeller Ctr. or any train to 42nd St., walk north and east or west as necessary.
Connolly’s wins on every level: great sound, good people, good Guinness, cheap cover and decent if not particularly cheap pub grub on the ground floor. The music room is three flights up, big stage to your left, long bar in front of you as you walk in with tall tables and stools to your right. Irish-American rockers Black 47 – a New York institution that you should see at least once in your life – play the odd Saturday night here when they’re not on the road or in Ireland. Otherwise – music is typically only a weekend thing here – it’s a grab-bag of New York acts with the occasional Celtic outfit. Drink prices are on par with the neighborhood; service is professional and cordial. The crowd depends on the act onstage, although the unpretentious, laid-back vibe tends to draw a clientele who appreciates it. In other words, despite the location, no amateurs and no trendoids either. All of these reasons make this place one of the half-dozen best music venues in town.
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29 Cornelia St. north of Bleecker
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
The music room is downstairs from the restaurant, which is pricy as you would expect from the location, but actually pretty good, food also available on the lower level. The sound is excellent, rows of tables in a somewhat long, rectangular room a la the Jazz Gallery, with the stage up front. Cover is cheap, always under $15, sometimes much less, with many first-class, under-the-radar or up-and-coming jazz acts along with the occasional poetry reading, cabaret show or singer/songwriter night. Popular with tourists, Europeans and an older neighborhood crowd; very mellow waitstaff, expensive drinks, absolutely no Nazi factor. Be aware of a $15 minimum food/drink order in addition to the cover charge.
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9 Clinton St. just south of Houston
F/J/M to Delancey St.
Walk-down takeout sandwich joint with surprisingly good prices on both food and beer. There’s also a back room, about the same size as at Lakeside, that does double duty as art gallery and occasional music venue. Music is infrequent but often good, a mix of adventurous indie classical and jazz. Unfortunately, the bench seating basically puts you in your neighbor’s face and vice versa, and there’s very little standing room.
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The Cutting Room
no website
44 E 32nd St. (Madison/Park)
6 to 33rd St.
Run by the same people from the original location on 24th St., there’s been no official launch yet – a good thing, because the sound is a disaster and as/of December 2011, there’s only a single bathroom for space that can accommodate a few hundred drinkers. But the old venue also had problems and eventually fixed them, let’s hope they can do it a second time around.
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out back of Lincoln Center
1/9 to 66th St., or just take the 1/2/3/B/C to Columbus Circle and walk north
This is the park where the the annual Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival’s main events are held are held every August, daily concerts scattered around the Lincoln Center plaza: a mixed bag of A-list Americana artists, jazz and world music including some good New York performers. Pharaoh Sanders’ concerts here in the late 90s are the stuff of legend. To get a seat in the rows of white plastic chairs, get there at least 15 minutes before showtime. Nazi factor: absolute zero, although you’re not supposed to smoke. The park is somehow situated so that there’s no sonic competition with the screeching alarms on the city buses running up and down the adjacent avenues.
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49 S. 2nd St. (Wythe/Kent), Williamsburg
J/M/Z to Marcy Ave., walk up Havemeyer past the bus depot, go under the BQE to S 2nd.
Nice, shockingly laid-back place: an unexpectedly cool club in the bowels of trendoidland, sort of the Brooklyn equivalent of Cake Shop, right around the corner from Glasslands. Not a lot of good bands pass through here – it’s mostly boring, conformist pitchfork/stereogum crap – but they’ll surprise you sometimes with a good night of garage or noise-rock. Enter through the door closer to Kent Ave., the one without the building number over it. You go around the corner and then past the curtain into the space, the big main room with its old linoleum floor that appears to have once been the old industrial building’s office. There’s a small bar in the back. Drinks are cheap, and this place is a real throwback, not only to the pre-Bloomberg era but to the pre-Dinkins era – you can do pretty much anything you want here as long as you don’t disrespect anyone. The sound is dodgy, but to the club’s credit, they actually make an attempt to get it right. While because of the location and the booking here, it’s a mostly trendoid crowd, a cooler, more oldschool contingent has also discovered the place, along with the occasional posse of younger people from the south side looking for a place to hang that isn’t shishi or impossibly arch and pretentious. Be aware that shows often run behind here, an hour or more.
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It’s on that little service road that runs parallel to Delancey St. on its north side, just east of Clinton.
F/J/M/Z to Delancey or B/D to Grand St. and walk north and east.
The Delancey is most respected for being home to Small Beast, Botanica keyboardist Paul Wallfisch’s legendary Monday dark rock night, which has fallen on hard times lately. Occasionally, they’ll have a bill that evokes its 2008-09 glory, with free admission plus open bar or drink specials, usually two-for-one happy hour all night. That’s upstairs on the little stage across from the bar. Downstairs in the long, rectangular basement space there are frequent rock shows about half the time: after all this time, this place still remains a work in progress. The sound downstairs is much better than what you would expect; upstairs, it’s what you would expect. As a bonus, the door staff are vastly less attitudinous here than at most of the other LES clubs, and the Delancey has the best air conditioning of practically any other club in town. Fairly cheap cover; drink prices are about average for the neighborhood. Be aware that they have New York’s nastiest men’s room: those disgusting troughs make the old Mars Bar seem spotless by comparison. Use the adjacent unisex stalls instead.
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433 Park Ave. S., Murray Hill
6 to 28th St.
Irish bar/greasepit restaurant that’s been there for decades (Veronica Lake reputedly worked here) with regularly scheduled live music in the back room where there are booths and tables. Drinks are predictably midtown expensive. The place has a pretty college vibe, unsurprisingly since Baruch is just a few blocks away. The sound is pretty bad; it’s not really set up to be a music venue, and nobody comes to listen, it seems. They don’t seem to pull many New York bands, or bands with a New York audience. Although their Irish staff are predictably pleasant and professional, the door crew are clearly sick of chasing off underage yuppie puppies and may take out their hostilies on you.
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Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, southwest corner of Broadway at 60th St., 5th floor
A/C/B/D/1/2/9 to 59th St./Columbus Circle
Coming off the elevator, walking down the hall and then into this semicircular room with its modernist decor and big window facing south, you wouldn’t expect the sound to be very good. But it is. This a remarkably pleasant place to take in a show, a prospect made even more enticing by the wide variety of jazz here: small combos, big bands, singers, European acts, and perhaps most notably, A-list New York players who’ve been plying the scene for years and have now been rewarded for all their toil with decently paying gigs here. Cover is pricy, usually around $35 but seldom more than that; bargain shoppers should reserve or get advance tix and show up for bar seating early; otherwise, you’ll be stuck with a food bill as well. While the menu may be as overpriced as at all the other swanky jazz joints, it’s on the adventurous side, vastly superior to what you’d get at, say, the Blue Note. The comfort level here is also a cut above: there’s enough space between the tables for customers and the remarkably pleasant, casual waitstaff to make their way through without stepping on your feet or spilling drinks on you. Shows are typically 7:30 and 10:30 PM on weekdays with the possibility of a late show on the weekends plus brunch and late-night acts from time to time. Box office hours are Mon-Sat noon-6 PM.
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428 Lafayette St. (Astor Pl./E 4th St.)
6 to Astor Place
The old Undochine space has been remodeled and expertly tricked out for sound: this is a sonically great room. You walk down into the basement entryway, go left and into a narrow, rectangular bar, then down the hall into the music space, about the same size as Union Pool or Trash. Music isn’t an everyday thing here, but when they have it, it can be adventurous: Asian rock, jazz of all kinds and the occasional singer-songwriter. Cover is cheap, never more than $10 although drinks are expensive. The staff are surprisingly laid-back, especially considering the kind of gentrifier trash who hang out in this neighborhood after dark.
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90 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn
J/M to Hewes St. or L to Montrose Ave.
For a millisecond this place was an oasis of coolness right on the Williamsburg/Bushwick border, but with a change in booking agents, the music took a turn in the trendoid direction and then pretty much ceased. Music isn’t an everyday thing here, but when they have it, it tends to be good, emphasis on loud sounds: punk and garage rock, mostly. The front room is a Latin bar, where they also serve food; the back room, about the same size as Trash, has a stage to the left and a handful of tables on the right with plenty of standing room in the middle and on each side. The sound is better than you would expect, given the comfortably dingy milieu and the untreated cinderblock walls. Drinks are relatively cheap, although they don’t have draft beer. The place has a longstanding reputation for being cool and laid-back, and cover is cheap.
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13 Monroe St. (Catherine/Market), Chinatown
About equidistant from the East Broadway (F train) and Canal St. (6/N/R/Q/M) stations: they’re downtown like never before. Comfortably lowlit, dingy, wonderfully eclectic downstairs record store – if the outer fringes of jazz are your thing, it’s next to impossible to walk out of here without buying something. Frequent free early evening Sunday shows in the front of the store from a similarly eclectic parade of global talent, usually duos or trios since space is tight. Folding chairs are provided on both sides of the stacks of cds and vinyl. Hours are Thurs through Sun, noon to 8 PM plus Monday noon to 6.
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***RATED BEST MANHATTAN VENUE 2009***
85 Ave. A between 5th and 6th Sts.
F to 2nd Ave. or J/M to Delancey, walk north.
Drom is back! Among NYC venues, only Barbes (and maybe Zirzamin) rank with these guys for diversity and consistent quality of the acts they book here. Starting in the spring of 2009, for about a year, Manhattan’s only fulltime world music club was the borough’s most happening live music venue; then they decided to be more or less a fulltime restaurant. But the music is back, and it’s welcome, an astonishingly eclectic global mix from the Middle East, to Asia, to Africa, to Latin America, in addition to frequent jazz and the occasional avant garde show or singer-songwriter.The sound on the big stage in the back of this basement spot is outstanding. You enter through a foyer; down the hall is a long bar to your right, with the big, spacious stage and plenty of standing room to your left. There are also rows of booths in back, and a row of tables along the left wall. Drinks aren’t cheap (no draft beer), although their menu is delicious, and cheaper than you would think considering the lush, lowlit surroundings (the peppered eggplant spread that comes with the mezze plate is to die for). Cover is generally inexpensive, usually under $20, with advance tickets at the club’s box office highly recommended for more popular acts. Nice waitstaff, a casual yet romantic vibe, no Nazis anywhere.
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Spring St. between Washington St. and the highway, south side of the street
C/E to Spring St.
This is the place with the butcher paper and the crayons, where everybody draws on the tables. You’ve been there. Everyone has. It’s a NYC rite of passage, and it’s straight out of 1975, a little oasis of normalcy way over on the west side far from SoHo Eurotrash hell. Beer is fairly cheap, they have decent bar food and live music that starts late (midnight-ish) and goes much later, even during the week. Country, blues, jazz mostly. They don’t update their calendar often so you either have to know who’s performing here or just happen to be here on a good night. The music is on a tiny stage to the right of the door as you walk in. The PA system is pretty primitive, so the sound is iffy, but this is the kind of place where if you’re still there in the wee hours, pretty much anything starts to sound good. The Sunday, 7:30 PM hot jazz show hosted by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (usually) guitarist Matt Munisteri is a New York institution that everyone should experience at least once.
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510 E 11th St. between Ave. A and B
L to 1st Ave.., or take the M14A bus which goes south on A.
Popular Midtown-style Irish bar in a strange location, a back street in the East Village. Drinks aren’t cheap, as you can expect, although the staff is nice. Absolutely no Nazi factor. Singer-songwriters occasionally play through the tiny PA system in the back where there are tables: the closer you are to the music, the better you’ll hear it. Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan got her start here.
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98 Meserole Avenue at Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, Brooklyn
G to Nassau St. or L to Bedford Ave., walk to Manhattan Ave. and go left, it’s about a 10 minute stroll.
This big, beautiful bi-level Polish nightclub has frequent rock shows – these days, mostly metal – on the second floor. The big stage faces rows of tables, with ample space on the dance floor for standing room. Drinks aren’t overwhelmingly expensive, the staff is shockingly friendly and laid-back and the sound is good. Upstairs is a ticketed venue, so the only people who hang out here are neighborhood Polish kids who seemingly come here no matter who’s playing, and they’re pretty laid-back as well. Downstairs they’ll have the occasional free indie rock show.
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112 Rivington St. between Ludlow and Essex, north side of the street
F/J/M to Delancey St.
Something of an anomaly among the usually tourist-infested LES watering holes, this little triplex bar makes up in coolness for what it lacks in personality, with more of a dingily generic oldschool feel than its cluelessly starstruck neighborhood counterparts. Enter the door on your right; the main bar is a long, rectangular space with a low-ceilinged balcony overhead. Music is downstairs in a space that reminds of Lit, and it’s not an everyday thing: when they have it, it tends to be loud rock. Like Arlene’s, Cake Shop and Fontana’s, a lot of the A-list filter through here eventually. Drink prices are pretty much what you’d expect (they do have draft beer), and the sound is actually pretty good. The staff are shockingly cool and casual (for this part of town, anyway): no Nazis to be seen anywhere.
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75 Christopher at 7th Ave. S.
1 train to Christopher St.
The sister jazz bar to Small’s is a similarly dingy, surprisingly decent-sounding room (considering that it’s a busy pool hall) and frequently shares acts with its larger sibling. Drinks are very cheap for a jazz joint, and cover is cheap, usually $3; the staff, like the ambience, are laid back. A lot of the same faces filter through here on a regular basis, a mix of traditional and modern styles (a lot of the Smalls crowd basically uses this place as a rehearsal room). The club likes residencies: Mondays at 7 the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play chamber music; Fridays it’s Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens at 9.
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506 5th Ave (12th & 13th Sts), Park Slope, Brooklyn
F to 7th Ave.; R to Prospect Ave.
Tuesday is drummer Diego Voglino’s jazz jam, featuring many players who you’d have to pay megabucks to see at the Blue Note or someplace similar. Rock bands play on weekend nights. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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55 Christopher St. between 6th and 7th Ave.
1 train to Christopher St. or A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St. and walk west
Small, low-ceilinged basement space where Jack Kerouac used to hold court fifty years ago. It hasn’t changed much since then. A couple rows of tables to the left of the bar, remarkably cheap cover if in fact there is one at all, no Nazi factor whatsoever, iffy sound . Mostly jazz here nightly, a rotating cast of mostly familiar faces with the occasional soul or blues act frequently making use of the club’s ancient, rickety Fender Rhodes electric piano. Drinks are on the pricy side despite the dingy milieu. Plan on getting here early if you’re thinking of seeing a show as it’s popular with both tourists and an older neighborhood crowd.
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First Unitarian Church
50 Monroe Pl. at Pierrepont St., downtown Brooklyn
2/4/N/R to Borough Hall
Folk and jazz once or twice a month in the church basement’s comfortably spacious, remarkably good acoustics. A friendly neighborhood crowd brings homemade goodies and beverages; seating is not reserved, so early arrival is advised. A cheaper and far more pleasant alternative to folkie places like City Winery.
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137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, Queens
7 to Main St./Flushing
Frequent jazz and world music concerts here, some extremely expensive, some not. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Eldridge St. between Grand and Delancey, Chinatown
B/D to Grand St, J/M to Bowery or F to 2nd Ave., walk south and a block east.
Two completely separate crowds here: the tourists who hang at the big, spacious bar upstairs, and the crowd that goes downstairs to see their friends play. Live music here most every night: like Arlene’s and the Delancey, they get their share of good bands, including the occasional rock en Espanol bill. The downstairs music area has the stage at the other end of the bar in a somewhat narrow rectangular space. Drinks are expensive, whether upstairs or downstairs; the sound is pretty good, considering that this is the basement of an old police station. The Nazi factor is pretty much the same as the Ludlow Street strip: you will be carded.
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36 Ditmars St. (Broadway/Bushwick Aves.), Bushwick
J/M to Myrtle Ave.
Occasional trendoid rock at this lo-fi loft space. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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The Fortune Cookie Lounge
The club’s website is useless
24 1st Ave. (2nd/3rd. Sts.)
F to 2nd Ave.
The basement room under Lucky Cheng’s is nothing like you might imagine, i.e. no furtive activity in the shadows. You walk past a little bar right at the front door, down a hallway past the bathrooms and then you’re in the space, couches with tables along the walls and some but not a lot of room in front of the stage for standing. Both the stage and PA here are oversize for the room, perhaps because that the room was not originally designed for music but as a theatrical or dance space. The sound is loud and kind of iffy: vocals may not be very high in the mix if the band onstage is cranked up. But that’s a small price to pay for the totally oldschool vibe, the cheap cover and the surprisingly high quality of the acts who play here (not every night). The drink selection is limited and pricy, but the staff are laid-back and despite the fact that the upstairs is a notorious tourist trap, there’s absolutely no Nazi factor.
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627 5th Ave. at 17th Street, Park Slope/Sunset Park, Brooklyn
R to Prospect Ave. or F to 7th Ave and a ten-minute walk.
The bar that fought the good fight and finally lost to sleazeball developer Bruce Ratner’s land grab has reopened in a new location. They brought the actual bar from the old space; the front room is somewhat nicer than before, and Donald’s crazy, psychedelic video mashups still play on the tv over the bar. The back room is about the same size as at Pete’s and is more suited to acoustic acts than the loud rock that they used to have in the old downstairs room. Same nice people, different place: stop in and enjoy a rare asshole-free oldschool NYC atmosphere with cheap beer and some good music.
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Pier 63, west of the highway between 23rd and 24th St.
C/E to 23rd St. or M23 bus to the end of the line, going west
This is an old Coast Guard lightship tied up at one of the Chelsea Piers, where they have live music occasionally as well as frequent art installations. Now under new management. In the past, bands typically played on the stage at the stern of the ship; singer-songwriters played in a small room below decks further aft. The sound was pretty much what you would expect, whether outdoors or inside the boat. Food and drinks – on the pricy side – available at the centrally located bar/grill. It’s a great date spot: the views are marvelous, and so is the breeze off the river in the warmer months.
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16 Main Street at the corner of Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn
F to York St., walk toward the water and then left.
Expensive gay bar with occasional live music, much of it very adventurous indie classical stuff along with occasional gypsy or world music. Their move to a much bigger, former warehouse space in Dumbo is an unexpected and resounding success. The new space, roughly comparable with the Music Hall of Williamsburg, has benefited greatly from some badly-needed sonic improvements – it’s amazing what enclosing the stage and adding some heavy fabric curtains can do. It’s actually a rather pleasant place to take in a show. In literally all ways, the new space has nothing in common with the old one in Williamsburg. There’s a big stage in front, balcony above with benches and tables. Ground level seating is provided in four circular pods with tables, Tilt-A-Whirl style, that you reach via a walkway surrounded by water (what is it with these folks’ water fixation, anyway?). Strangely, considering how relatively few people those pods can seat, they really minimize the club’s potential capacity. Sonically, it’s best suited to quieter acts. Perhaps most auspiciously, the vibe is 180 from what it was at the old location: the staff are pleasant, even eager to assist, and cover is still fairly cheap even if drinks aren’t.
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48th Ave. and the river, Long Island City
7 to Vernon-Jackson, take 48th Ave. straight to the river, or G to 21st/Van Alst, take 45th Ave. as far toward the water as you can and then make a left.
Surprisingly easy to get to, this little amphitheatre-like park is situated between the old crane gantries left behind when the Pepsi bottling plant was razed, and a complex of shoddy, hastily thrown up luxury condos across the street. The free, early evening concert series here from June through August is booked by the Queens Council for the Arts, which means a terrifically diverse mix of music from all over the world. You can see acts here who would otherwise cost you a hundred bucks at Lincoln Center. Bands play on the flagstones in the middle of the park, looking up at the audience who typically gather on the park steps facing the cranes and the water. The sound is iffy (the PA isn’t very powerful), but the breeze off the river is nice and once the sun goes down behind the skyscrapers across the water, it’s a lovely place to be. Bring a date.
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99 7th Ave S at Christopher
1 train to Christopher St.
“More live jazz than any other NY venue,” the restaurant’s website boasts, and they vary it considerably, big bands as well as small combos, typically two acts a night plus jazz brunch on the weekends. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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7 E 27th St.
6 to 28th St.
Jazz, chamber music and the occasional cabaret or rock act at this comfortably old-school bohemian Curry Hill spot, along with frequent film and dramatic events. The performance space is straight ahead past the front desk, behind the curtain, with folding chairs and a few couches. There is no bar in the room, but you can bring drinks in from the hotel bar. Because the PA is pretty primitive, the space is best suited to quieter acts. Cover is cheap, almost always $15 or less.
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16 W 8th St. (MacDougal/5th Ave.)
A/B/C/D/E/F/M toW 4th St.
Occasional singer-songwriters on Thursdays and Fridays at this no-frills, overpriced coffee/bagel deli. Not reviewed as of 2012.
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289 Kent Ave, Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave., walk south and west or J/M/Z to Marcy Ave., walk up Havemeyer past the bus depot, go north and west.
Along with Death By Audio, this old post-industrial space is ground zero for amateurish, flavorless Williamsburg trendoid rock (although once in awhile they’ll have a good garage rock bill – the Chrome Cranks actually played here once). You walk down into the sweatbox. It’s not air-conditioned or particularly well ventilated, so if there is a crowd of trendoids in the house like there usually is, the stench of the unwashed bodies can be overwhelming., It’s not that big, bar to your right, stage past it, a small underhang with a bench to your left and a loft above it with a few seats. Even by DIY standards, the sound is atrocious. Then again, nobody comes here to hear music: they come to be seen, and to take blurry iphone photos to post on their blogs to prove they were here. The people who run it are nice, drinks aren’t overwhelmingly pricy, and there are no Nazis working the door: you could probably sneak in if you really wanted to. But who would.
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Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
53 Prospect Pk. W at 2nd St., Park Slope, Brooklyn
Equidistant from the 2 train stop at Grand Army Plaza or the F station at 7th Ave. and 9th St.
Semimonthly bluegrass, Americana, folk and jazz in a beautiful Gilded Age space in an old brownstone across the street from the park. Cover is around $15; space can be limited, so get there early. It’s not really set up for music, but the room is small and the crowd comes to listen.
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1087 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn
J/M/Z to Kosciusko St., the venue is a block away from the subway rear exit
Be aware that bands frequently get very little time onstage here: unless you’re a rabid fan and you don’t mind shlepping all the way out to Bushwick for twenty minutes of your favorite trendoids, it might not be worth your while. This is a junk shop posing as venue, the only caucasian-owned business on this otherwise decayed ghetto block, ostensibly a descendant of the legendary West Village punk rock hangout the Scrap Bar. Everything in the place is for sale but nothing has a pricetag: caveat emptor. There isn’t much of a sound system although on what serves as a stage in the back, there is a piano (for sale, but in tune? Anybody’s guess). Sometimes during the warmer months they’ll have bands outside in the backyard as well. They have fairly cheap beer and wine; when Sidewalk closed for renovations, this place picked up some of the slack with the dorky, awkward singer-songwriter types who’ve made that place their home for years.
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23rd just west of Lexington Ave.
6 to 23rd St.
Like Irving Plaza, a Live Nation venue where cancellations seem to outnumber concerts in recent months. It’s about the same size as Bowery; this former movie theatre still has tiered seating in the back, and the floor for standing rooms slopes down to the stage for something of an amphitheatre effect. Sightlines are good and so is the sound. Advance tickets are required and available at the Irving Plaza box office: this is where they seem to be hiding all the metal acts. As at Irving Plaza, the bathrooms are nasty. Overpriced beer and drinks are available. No Nazi factor to speak of, at least.
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245 Grand St. (Driggs/Roebling), Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
They don’t have music every night here, but it’s surprisingly good considering what neighborhood they’re in, a mix of soul, punk and lots of country along with the endless amateur hour parade of stinky trust fund kids practicing their poses and showing off their latest dumpster fashions from the 70s. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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44 Charlton at Varick, enter on Charlton
1 to Houston, C/E to Spring or any train to W 4th St., walk south and east
In what was until recently a deli/soup place, WNYC has built a brand-new, sonically immaculate studio for live broadcasts, lectures and the occasional concert, some at which you can chat up your favorite WNYC on-air talent. It’s not overwhelmingly big (smaller than Sullivan Hall), so advance tix are highly recommended. The staff seem psyched to be here and sightlines are good. If you’re there for a live broadcast, turn off your phone, keep your eye on the “on-air” light to the right of the stage and unwrap that crinkly bagel somewhere else. If you can’t make it to the event, tune in at 93.9 FM and AM 820 or go to the live webcast.
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The Greenwich Village Orchestra
They’re an orchestra, not a venue, a terrifically talented ensemble who deliver concerts as good or better than you’ll see at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center for half the price or less. Conductor Barbara Yahr brings out their best in Romantic material; they are also passionate advocates of new music, featuring many world premieres and New York premieres from some of today’s best composers from around the globe. Concerts are held in the sonically excellent Washington Irving High School auditorium (Irving Place between 16th/17th Sts.), which actually has an old pipe organ as a reminder of its Gilded Age past (who knows if it actually works). Your $20 donation and admission to the concert may also include a reception with wine and munchies afterward.
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W 3rd St. and Thompson St.
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
Homeless guys thrusting flyers in your face try to lure tourists into this Israeli-owned bar with a stage in the back that caters mainly to an aging black crowd. Cover bands and the occasional funk act play on the stage at the back. Drinks aren’t cheap and although there’s no Nazi factor, the sound is lousy and loud. It’s hard to think of a reason why you’d ever want to go here.
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NJ Path train to Grove St.
Outdoor free music series during the spring and summer, usually starting early (5ish) on the occasional weekend night at the Grove Street Path train station in Jersey City, an eclectic mix of rock, soul, funk and Americana.
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200 N 14th St. (Berry/Wythe), Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave. or G to Nassau Ave.
A predecessor of the Brooklyn Bowl, this slightly less upscale trendoid bowling alley has occasional music in the back room. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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*** RATED BEST BROOKLYN VENUE 2010***
corner of 3rd Ave. and Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn
Take any train to Atlantic Ave./Pacific St., get out via the 4th Ave. exit, the venue is a block away, past the falafel joint and the Arab grocery, across the street from the YWCA.
This dingy Falafel Hill old man bar was an oasis of decency for years, and had a long run as Brooklyn’s country music central. It’s been up for sale as a “development site” for almost as long – that they’ve managed to survive as long as they have is a minor miracle. It’s still a nice, laid back place to hang, although beer prices have risen. Lately there’s been a return to their old punk and country roots, with much less of the exploitative booking situation (where the booker counts every penny and if a band didn’t bring 40 people at 11 PM on a Monday night, they can forget about getting another gig here) that plagued this place starting in about 2010. The sound is still shockingly good, the bar staff are nice and the place has a great history.
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431 W 16th St., north side of the street just past Western Beef
A/C/E to 14th St.
Big second-floor space, smaller than Irving Plaza but larger than Santos Party House. The stage faces you as you walk in, with bars to your right and your left, elevated areas with seats (that get taken real fast) adjacent to the bars. Depending on the act, there may or may not be tables set out in the middle of the floor; if so, you may want to stand since there is a food/drink minimum if you want to sit (although their drinks are not super-expensive, and they’re strong). The sound is excellent. Booking has become impressively diverse, including rock, folk and world music. It’s a ticketed venue (although tix are typically not overwhelmingly expensive, usually under $25), so people don’t hang out here. The Nazi factor is what you would expect: there is a doorman and you may be frisked as at Irving Plaza. Advance tix, available daily at their box office, are usually cheaper than day of show and highly recommended. Their box office is also where you get tickets for the excellent Rocks Off Concert Cruise shows.
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30 W 26th St.
F to 23rd St.
Sort of the Flower District equivalent of Radegast Hall: this expensive barbecue restaurant is a magnet for oblivious tourists who bellow over the music. Which is too bad, because it’s free and it’s consistently good, a mix of mostly country, bluegrass and the occasional blues, zydeco or western swing band, established New York groups as well as national touring acts. The big stage is downstairs at the split-level space: the PA is good and loud, but the clueless bridge-and-tunnel yuppie crowd could not care less and make it next to impossible to hear during quieter moments. The bar along the left wall is your best bet for seating: drinks are surprisingly a lot cheaper than the menu, although they don’t have draft beer. There’s no Nazi factor and the staff are pleasant. Keep in mind that a considerable number of the acts who play here also play Rodeo Bar or the Jalopy, both sonically superior places.
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88 9th Ave. (16/17th Sts)
A/C/E/L to 14th St.
Something happened when they moved the entrance here to the 9th Ave. side: all of a sudden, the door crew turned easygoing, the crowds got younger and less touristy, the music got better and the sound improved 200%. The basement spot is set up much like Santos, and is about the same size with a slightly oversize stage, bars cattycorner to it with lots of standing room. They don’t have music here often but when they do it can be excellent: reggae, ska, world music and the occasional rock or country act. Drinks are pricy; the crowd depends on the act onstage. Advance tix are available at the Highline Ballroom box office.
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168 7th Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn
F/R to 4th Ave.
Trumpeter Dave Douglas’ rehearsal space/recording studio that does double duty as adventurous jazz venue. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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349 W Broadway (Broome/Grand), Soho
C/E to Spring St. or R to Prince St.
Occasional bands play in the window by the bar, through a primitive PA, at this overpriced rice-and-beans joint with delusions of grandeur. Some of the music is quite good, with ska and jazz along with singer-songwriters. Last Sunday of the month the house reggae band plays from 3 to 7, no cover.
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1650 Broadway, downstairs, just south of 51st. St.
B/D/F to Rockefeller Ctr.
A jazz club that’s seen better days. Les Paul played a Monday residency here for the last decade of his life; these days, former members of his band have continued the weekly gig backing a series of has-been corporate rock types from the 70s. The club also has frequent fusion, elevator jazz and even heavy metal on the weekends, often after the jazz is done. The sound is as good as you would expect in lowlit basement ambience; drinks are expensive; the staff remain pleasant and professional. Cover is usually in the $30-$35 range, sometimes less. Get here early if you want a seat at the little bar to your left at the bottom of the stairs, otherwise you can take a table. They serve food, which we can’t vouch for, being as expensive as it is. A couple of things you may not know: Iridium tix are half-price with a reservation and student i.d., and the club is all-ages.
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Irving Place (which runs parallel to the avenues, between Lexington and 3rd Ave.) and 16th St.
4/6/N/R/L to 14th St.
Lately cancellations outnumber actual shows at this Live Nation venue: and no wonder, since corporate rock tours are tanking left and right. Since the venue is part of the TicketBastard empire now, it probably won’t be closing anytime soon unless there’s a bankruptcy sale. As at all Live Nation venues, tickets are ridiculously overpriced, as are drinks. The upstairs room is a little larger than Bowery Ballroom, similarly laid out with horseshoe-shaped balcony and bar behind it, with loud and inferior sound. The downstairs bathrooms are a disgusting swamp and to be avoided at all costs . Opening acts here typically start at 9, headliners around 11. We haven’t been here in a long time (2007, to see Radio Birdman): the security crew was surprisingly mellow that night, and even told us truthfully what time the band would actually hit the stage.
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110 Livingston St., downtown Brooklyn
Take any train to Borough Hall
Comfortable, plush new theatre space with even more remarkably good acoustics than they had at their old digs on Gowanus. It’s most notable sonically for its banks of custom-made, flying saucer-like speakers that hang from the ceiling and which can be tuned to reflect minute fragments of the sonic spectrum, a bonus for the adventurous avant-garde, jazz and modern classical artists who perform here along with the occasional dilettante with laptop. Not everything here is cutting-edge but a remarkable amount of it is, a global (and increasingly bicoastal) mix of ambient, electroacoustic, vocal and instrumental acts. Cover is usually cheap, almost always $15 or less; beverages are available at the front desk, but this isn’t a bar, it’s a space for listening. Which audiences usually do, but sometimes they don’t – the trendier acts draw a trendier crowd, which can mean rude and stinky. The staff are pleasant and low-key; it’s also worth checking their website periodically since they offer a ton of intriguing free downloads, including many works recorded live here. Have money to burn? Assuage your bourgeois guilt and throw some of it their way: Issue Project Room’s programming is gutsier than just about anybody else’s.
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***RATED BEST BROOKLYN VENUE 2011 AND 2012***
315 Columbia Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn
Many ways to get here without having to resort to the B61 bus which actually leaves you at somewhat of a distance from the venue. Fastest route is to take the F/G to Carroll St., exit front of the Brooklyn-bound train, walk straight on Smith to First Place. Take First Place to the BQE, then take the walkway over it. Continue in the same direction one block on Summit St., left on Columbia, the Jalopy is a block and a half away. It’s about a ten-minute walk. Alternately, take the 2 to Clark St., walk down Henry about fifteen minutes, take a right on First Place and continue as above. It’s not nearly as far as it seems.
NYC’s oldtimey music central, doing quadruple duty as guitar and fretted instrument store, music school, venue and bar. Cover is cheap, never more than $15, often less than $10, the staff are just about the nicest, most laid-back folks you’ll find at any NYC venue and the music is consistently first-rate. The bar is to the right as you walk in and has a good quality tap beer selection, and remarkably decent prices. The charmingly quaint, dimlit performance space is straight ahead: take a seat in a church pew or in a row of chairs. The sound is superb: many acoustic acts choose to use a single, central mic for amplification, and it works remarkably well. Music here includes country, bluegrass, blues, ragtime, Balkan and other styles of world music and sometimes jazz. Strong contender for best Brooklyn venue, year after year, well worth the slight extra effort to get here.
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290 Hudson St. between Dominick and Spring
C/E to Spring St.; 1 to Houston St. or B/D/F to W 4th, walk south and west
Comfortably dingy, rectangular upstairs venue that sells out frequently: get there early if you’re going. Like Smalls and, to a lesser extent, the Cornelia St. Cafe, the Jazz Gallery is a fertile incubator for topnotch, up-and-coming jazz talent: some of the acts from the Tonic scene have gravitated here. The gallery also frequently commissions works by an impressively diverse list of composers (their 2009 big band commissions have been outstanding), with an emphasis on African and Latin sounds. The sound is good and the staff are refreshingly nonchalant – nobody notices or cares if you bring a bottle with you or step outside for a smoke. Admission is cheap, especially considering the quality of the acts, virtually always under $20, sometimes much less; if you see shows here frequently, consider a membership which entitles you to even more of a discount.
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116 E 27th St. east of Park Ave.
6 to 28th St.
Downstairs from the Blue Smoke barbecue restaurant, with whom they share ownership. Along with the Village Vanguard, this is your best bet for top-echelon jazz in New York City. The sound is just as good, and the comfort level is 180 degrees from the competition: this place is an oasis. For one, it’s a lot more spacious: a small bar area to your left as you walk in, larger tables past a barrier straight ahead and then a more cozy space with smaller tables to your right. What will strike you fastest is how casual and laid back the vibe is: the staff are pleasant and professional, drinks are cheaper here than at the other swanky jazz joints (they have draft beer), and most of all, there’s no minimum. Cover is also more affordable, typically in the $20-30 range, seldom more, frequently less. Booking here is also vastly more adventurous and diverse than at the other big-ticket clubs: Monday is Mingus night, with either the Mingus Big Band, Orchestra or Mingus Dynasty; they also have regular latin jazz as well as pretty much every modern or vintage jazz style. Food is typically pricy, although the menu has many tasty snacks, all under $10 and some under $5 (the mac and cheese is deliciously decadent, NYC’s best). You can’t go wrong with a show here.
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Lafayette St. just south of St. Mark’s Place, next to the Public Theatre (of which it is a part)
B/D/F to Broadway/Lafayette or 6 to Astor Place
The renovations are a work in progress: for the moment, the size of the bar has been slashed (it now sits in the club’s northwest corner), replaced by a long row of individual stools along a long railing. There are now tables beyond them, and downstairs as well: the old railing that used to separate the two levels is gone, perhaps in an attempt to maximize seated customers (who are subject to a food/drink minimum). The pillars still block your view, and the sound is even worse than ever, which is too bad because booking here can be excellent and eclectic: every kind of music from around the world, plus reggae or rock late at night, plus the occasional theatrical or gay event. Tix aren’t cheap – $15-$30, usually; sets tend to be short, especially when there’s an opening act. The poor staff look discombobulated – nobody seems to have his or her own office or work space anymore – and from what they’ve had to deal with, you can’t blame them.
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Bleecker between Sullivan and Thompson, north side of the street
A/C/E/B/D/F to West 4th St., take the exit on the south side
For a second this consistently excellent-sounding club seemed like they wanted to vault into the ranks of the elite, but now the Pearl Jam and Ani DiFranco wannabes are back. It’s Bleecker Street, anyway, no great surprise. The bar is in front to your left as you enter, rail on your right where you can stand, the stage with tables and waitress service in the back. Beer is fairly cheap although drinks aren’t, and the club personnel are surprisingly laid-back and pleasant. Depending on who’s playing, it can get pretty loud, so you might want to think about taking a seat at the front bar or standing along the rail to your right. As you leave, the door staff will still thank you for coming. No joke.
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66 Park Avenue at 38th Street
6 to 34th St.
Swanky, Japanese-owned hotel bar with jazz Weds-Sat. Shows are free with $15 min. Weds-Thurs, $25 plus $15 min. on the weekend. Res. recommended to 212-885-7119. Lots of quality acts filter through here. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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512 W 19th (10th/11th Ave.)
C/E to 23rd St. or L/A to 14th St. and a long walk north and west
Dance, film, art but not a whole lot of music anymore at this once-happening but now upscaled Chelsea performance space. Tix not overwhelmingly expensive (you should get them in advance for popular performers), nice enough people running the place, diverse cultures and ethnicities represented here, and the sound in the surprisingly comfy auditorium is good. There’s just less going on than there used to be. Although that could be said for the city in general.
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361 Metropolitan Ave. at Havemeyer, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Lorimer St., left on Metropolitan at Kellogg’s Diner, walk under the overpass, ther club will be on the right across from the old Black Betty space
If you’re old enough to remember the Knit in its old location on Houston, you’ll love the new place in Williamsburg. Forget any negative experience you may have had at the club’s second location in Tribeca – the new digs are 180 degrees the opposite. The vibe is mellow, the staff are casual and pleasant, the drinks aren’t any more expensive than they were in Manhattan, cover is fairly cheap, booking is diverse and eclectic and the sound is excellent (as you would expect in the former Luna space). And there are no Nazis anywhere (nor are there the legions of annoying interns you’d jostle with for space at the previous location). The music room is small, even smaller than the Mercury, although they’ve left the big stage as it was. The front section has been turned into a separate bar with windows looking in on the stage, which is where they cage the trendoids, who stare disdainfully at the crowds watching the show. Discount advance tix for more popular shows are available at the ticket window as you walk in. What a pleasant and completely unexpected development – goes to show that left to their own devices, pulled out of the shadow of cheap luxury condos whose greedy developers tried for years to drive them out of the neighborhood, the Knit has emerged resurgent. Here’s hoping they survive the transition.
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667 5th Ave. (19th/20th Sts), Brooklyn
R to Prospect Ave. or F/G to 7th Ave. and a comfortable ten block walk
Frequent Tuesday jazz at this relatively new Eastern bloc restaurant in the nebulous not-quite-Park-Slope, not-quite-Sunset-Park area. Lots of first-class players swing through here as they work up new material, break in new combos or supporting musicians. Not reviewed as of 2012.
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***RATED BEST MANHATTAN VENUE 2007 AND 2012***
92 Ave. B just north of 10th St., around the corner from Life Cafe
L to 1st Ave or 4/6/N/R/L to Union Square, you can catch the M14A crosstown bus if you want a shorter walk, exit on Ave. A and 11th St.
Shuttered on April 30 to make way for yet another gentrifier bar with no music. That Lakeside once again earned a Best Manhattan Venue rating here, and then closed before the year was half over, speaks for itself as far as the state of the NYC rock scene is concerned. A monumental loss. RIP.
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721 Franklin Ave. (Park Pl/Sterling Pl), Bed-Stuy
2/3/4/5 to Franklin Ave. or Franklin Ave. Shuttle to Park Pl.
Yoga center with occasional live music on the weekend, from indie classical to rock. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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288 Lenox Ave. (124/125)
Any Westside train to 125th St.
This long-running Harlem jazz club has their own vintage Hammond B3 organ onstage. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Lincoln Park Tavern
no website
49 Lincoln Rd. at Flatbush Ave., Crown Heights, Brooklyn
B/Q to Prospect Park
Relatively new gentrifier bar/restaurant. Occasional music here as well. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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93 2nd Ave between 5th and 6th Sts.
F to 2nd Ave., 6 to Astor Place or R to 8th St.
The prototypical loud bodega basement room, high frequencies bouncing all over the place. Bands play downstairs in the long, narrow stone cellar, a little stage up front, small bar in the back. The vibe is refreshingly laid-back and casual: no Nazis to be found anywhere, a nice plus. Lit picked up some of the spillover from when the Continental and Sin-e closed, i.e. the louder trendoid bands along with what’s left of the Brooklyn/Queens punk contingent, and frequently has good under-the-radar acts ranging from singer-songwriters to loud rock. Drinks are kind of pricy. Avoid the upstairs bar mobbed with tourists and NYU kids.
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622 Degraw St. between 3rd and 4th Ave., Gowanus, Brooklyn
R to Union St. or F to 4th Ave., walk back in the direction of downtown Brooklyn; or if you’re up for a walk, it’s only about ten minutes downhill on 4th Ave. from the Atlantic Ave. station (use the 4th Ave. exit, not the one at BAM).
Fairly recently converted warehouse space hidden in the middle of a quiet Gowanus block that seems to be shooting for the same thing that le Poisson Rouge does so well in Manhattan. You walk in through a foyer with a little bar to the right; the music is down the corridor to your left, in a spacious, high-ceilinged room about the same size as Santos and with terrific sound. They’ve obviously put plenty of effort into tricking out the room sonically. A few tables to your left, plenty of room for standing, and excellent, powerful air conditioning. The staff are refreshingly friendly and laid-back; drinks are pricy and on the small side although the door charge is cheap, virtually always $15 or under, frequently much less. Music is not an everyday thing here but when they have it, it’s eclectic and often adventurous, including hip-hop, the avant garde, chamber music and jazz in addition to the occasional trendoid band. They also have frequent gay events.
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Ludlow between Stanton and Rivington, east side of the street
F/V to 2nd Ave.
Seemingly driven by a seething animosity toward their customers that begins at the very top, the Living Room has earned the dubious distinction of being not only New York’s worst music venue, but also arguably the worst music venue in the entire world. And convincing proof that what goes around comes around: this place treated their customers like shit for years, and was rewarded with a nasty bedbug infestation. For that reason alone, visit this place at your peril. Not that you’d want to, considering that the expensive drinks are watered down, the staff exude paranoia from the moment you enter – if they let you in at all – to the second the harried waitress swoops in on you and harrasses you to order something – to the hostile security crew who have been known to try to confiscate customers’ personal property including cellphones and cameras. The sound is horrid, and the music is a joke, mostly wannabe James Blunts and Avril Levignes. They also have an ID scanner here – if you think you’re immune to those nasty little critters who leave big painful bites, bring your passport because that way the sketchy door guy can’t scan it, sell your personal info to some shady friend of his or hack into your email. And then tell all your friends that now you have bedbugs.
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269 E Houston St. at Suffolk
F to 2nd Ave.
The old Meow Mix space has music again, and it’s diverse. When Local 269 opened, it seemed sort of like the Stone for young people, i.e. ambitious and interesting jazz and jazz-related acts who didn’t fit a cookie-cutter mold. It’s since gone in more of a rock direction, although some jazz remains, including fairly regular nights of free jazz. In the bar’s newest lowlit incarnation, the size of the stage to the left as you walk in has been reduced, and there are now tables where there used to be standing room. The sound actually isn’t bad (and a LOT quieter than Meow Mix used to be), cover is cheap if there is one, drinks are about on par, pricewise with the rest of the hood and the vibe is very cool and laid-back – at least during the week. If only by default, a quiet but perennial contender for best Manhattan venue. One problem – they only haphazardly post a calendar of who’s playing here.
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45-58 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City
G/7 to 21st St./Court House Square
This popular, laid-back local hangout has music on frequent weekday nights and also on the weekends, an impressively eclectic mix of singer-songwriters, rock and jazz. Bands play on the little stage just around the corner past the end of the bar, with several tables nearby. During the warmer months, they may also have music outside in the back yard. The vibe is casual and friendly, drinks not overwhelmingly expensive and the crowd surprisingly diverse: this seems to be a definite 99-percenter bar.
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237 W 42nd St. between 7/8th Aves.
Any train to 42nd St.; walk east or west as necessary.
To the right of the big main downstairs room, B.B. King’s, is the more recent of New York’s two blues bars (long-running Terra Blues on Bleecker is the other). It’s pretty much what you would expect for this neighborhood, a swankily appointed, dimlit tourist bar with overpriced pub grub. But the staff are nice! And they don’t charge a cover. Performers generally play two sets starting at 8; sadly, it’s mostly “whiteboy blues,” i.e. Clapton wannabes and metalheads showing off their chops. . Drinks are pricy; the crowd is a mix of tourists who just wandered in and people who actually came for the music, and listen. The sound is excellent, just as good as it is in the larger room. Absolutely no Nazi factor, a nice plus.
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Lucky Mojo’s
the website is useless
5-14 51st Ave., between Vernon Blvd. and 5th St., Long Island City, Queens
7 to Vernon-Jackson
Combination barbecue and sushi joint with frequent live music. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Madison Square Garden
For a laugh, we decided to include this venerable basketball arena which began life decades ago as a boxing ring at 23rd St. and Broadway, migrated uptown and eventually found a permanent home at 34th St. and 7th Ave. Home of the Knicks (and regional basketball tournaments, which are a far better bargain, plus they don’t blast nonstop, earsplitting hip-hop and endless commercials at you like they do before, during and after NBA games here). This place no longer has any shows worth seeing: tickets are stratospherically expensive, priced to the hedge fund contingent, frequently hundreds of dollars apiece: the Van Halen reunion tour, Fall Out Boy, Bon Jovi, ad infinitum. About ten years ago – that’s how long it’s been for us, for concerts here - security was surprisingly lax (we smuggled in booze and other stuff), tickets were obscenely expensive (almost $40 for Iron Maiden), Bud was $8 for a little plastic bottle, the sound was boomy as it always is and we were stuck way up in the rafters. There is also a theatre under the arena, formerly known as the Felt Forum, whose name seems to change every few months and while slightly less expensive, is still beyond the means of most New Yorkers.
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north of 23rd St. at Broadway
N/R to 23rd St. or take the F or 6 and walk to Broadway
There are a few free concerts here during the summer and fall and they are typically excellent: Mose Allison and Sharon Jones have played here in recent years. Unlike some NYC parks concerts, this is a very mellow scene: they don’t indiscriminately rope off half the park and cram the audience into a tiny space. Fun fact: since alcohol is sold in the park, it’s legal to drink here, regardless of the fact that it’s a public space. The sound isn’t all that great, but you’ll probably be able to get pretty close to the stage, which faces west.
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Manhattan Center
no website
34th St. between 8th and 9th Ave., north side of the street
This building houses both the Hammerstein Ballroom and Grand Ballroom, both large, Gilded Age style theatres with tiered seating in the back and floor seating between the tiers in the back and the stage. Advance tix – which can be ridiculously expensive – are a must, sometimes available at the Irving Plaza box office. The door staff aren’t very pleasant and you will be frisked: don’t bring anything drinkable in here. But the sound is excellent. They only have music here a few times a year these days.
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632 Manhattan Ave. at Nassau Ave., Greenpoint
G to Nassau Ave.; L to Bedford
Owned by the Glasslands folks, this gentrifier bar/restaurant has piano music 7 days a week. Ex-Psychedelic Fur Joe McGinty does live piano karaoke here Tuesdays starting at 10:30 along with occasional free chamber music, jazz, rock and Americana music as well. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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120 Claremont Ave., Harlem: main entrance west of Broadway at 601 W 122nd St.
1 to 125th St.
Frequent free and cheap concerts – jazz, classical, funk and new music – featuring luminaries from across the musical spectrum along with the school’s talented ensembles.
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557 Manhattan Ave. at Driggs Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford Ave.
Like Spike Hill, Matchless is a throwback to a cooler, less trendy Williamsburg. It’s a great place to see a band or just stop in for a beer and escape the tourists and trust fund kids. The biker bar theme makes itself apparent in the cheap drinks, casual atmosphere (at least until around eleven at night when the trendoids invade), relatively cheap pub grub, and comfortably roughhewn, lowlit ambience. Music here is in the back room, which you enter to the left of the bar. Cover is cheap (under $10), there are no Nazis anywhere and the sound in back is first-class – Matchless rivals Cake Shop and far larger venues for sonic excellence. It’s a diverse mix of garage and punk rock, country, singer-songwriters and indie stuff, even jazz sometimes. Like Public Assembly, the club doesn’t do anything to promote shows here – until the last couple of years, they didn’t even keep an online show calendar.
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1039 Washington St. at 12th St., Hoboken
Path train to Hoboken, walk 2 blocks from the Path to Washington St. (Hoboken’s main street), then 12 long blocks to the club. You can catch the Path at 34th, 23rd, W 9th and Christopher west of Hudson.
If Maxwell’s was in Manhattan, it would instantly be one of the two or three best venues in town. Many bands far too popular to play a room as small as this one will do a gig here right before or after a New York date for a little extra cash. The adjacent bar/restaurant is cheap and serves excellent bar food, the sound is pristine, the cover is inexpensive, the bands start on time and the staff is laid-back and friendly. For all of these reasons, this place sells out very fast. Not all shows are ticketed, but for those that are, tix are available at the club and in Manhattan at Other Music. Given the choice between a show at most Manhattan venues and this place, the trip under the river is well worth your time. Hoboken may have suffered the same gentrification as many New York neighborhoods, but it beats the hell out of the Lower East Side.
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113 Ludlow St. just north of Delancey, west side of the street
F/J/M/Z to Delancey
Even with the disco in the basement and the upstairs railings with tables that encircle the club, the legendary Bulgarian bar’s new digs are about a third the size of their former Chinatown location. Enter through the door on the right (the one on the left doesn’t work); the bar is in the back to your right. Drinks aren’t cheap, but they have several brands of exotic Eastern European bottled beer. They don’t have music every night but when they do is is consistently excellent, gypsy music or variants thereof, from Macedonia to the Ukraine and all points in between. Bands play in the area that serves as the stage in front of the non-working door. The sound is a work in progress: the staff seems to be learning on the job. And during quieter moments, the thud from the disco sometimes clashes or even drowns out the music, which can be jarring, to say the least. The crowd is the same pan-global bon vivants who frequented the club’s former location. There are no trendoids to be found anywhere, since trendoids are by nature xenophobic and think places like this are “weird.” Even more shockingly, there are no Nazis to be found here either: the staff all have the same bemused expression, as if to say, “Stupid Americans, why don’t you loosen up?” Bulgarian sax virtuoso and his band play Thursday and Friday nights and are excellent. Be aware that on nights when there is live music, there is usually no cover before 10:30 PM. While the sonics here can be iffy, Mehanata is by far the best bar on the LES.
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Houston just west of Essex
F/V to 2nd Ave
What CBGB was in its last few years, the Mercury is today, a relic of a bygone era, which is sad. For a good ten years beginning in the early 90s, this was the place to play in New York: pretty much anyone who was anyone in the rock world, here or elsewhere, played here because the sound was so great and it was a nice late-night hangout. These days, dwarfed beneath a hastily thrown up “luxury” condo building that threatens to collapse on top of it at any minute, the quality of acts who play here have deteriorated just like the neighborhood. Drink prices have risen to match the hood’s newfound wealth, so people don’t hang out at the bar anymore. And the sound, once so pristine, is hit and miss now. Every now and then they’ll have a good indie band or songwriter here, but mostly it’s just dilettantes playing the showbiz game until their trust funds kick in. And the club’s staff, always on the attitudinous side, have become really nasty in recent years. The Mercury is also the box office for advance tix for Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Terminal 5 shows, open weekdays 5-7 PM.
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129 W. 67th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.
1/9 to 66th St. or A/C/B/D to Columbus Circle and walk north
Recent renovations have done wonders for this late 70s-vintage concert hall with tiered seating which has become a popular Upper West attraction and a remarkably cost-effective alternative to Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. Orchestral, chamber music and mellower jazz sounds best here: while places like this weren’t built for amplification, the sound here has become truly superb. If the lower level sells out, they may open up the balcony, where the sound is just as good as it is in the orchestra. Programming is diverse and imaginative, running the gamut from various classical styles to jazz, world and sometimes folk music. Conspicuously and happily absent are the nickel-and-dime concessions to the hedge fund set that you find at the other classical halls: the overpriced coat check, the booze, the officious staff and the ubiquitous corporate vibe. The staff here are competent and courteous; advance tix at their box office, open Tues-Sat til 7, are highly recommended, as are their numerous subscription options which are a real bargain (you can bring a friend free) if you plan to see several concerts here. Note that for shows where there is no assigned seating, early arrival is very highly recommended.
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5th Ave at 82nd St
6 to 86th St.
Two things a lot of people don’t know about the Met: A) you can pay what you want, a quarter or a dime and they’ll still let you in, and B) they have some excellent concerts that are free with museum admission, as well as frequent chamber and world music concerts in the auditorium just past the Egyptian section on the first floor, and on Friday nights on the second floor balcony they often have chamber music or jazz as well. And if you’re lucky you’ll catch someone good playing the vintage 1830 Appleton organ on the balcony in the musical instruments section.
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At the end of Myrtle Ave. between Jay and Bridge Sts., downtown Brooklyn
F to Jay St. (rear exit if you’re coming from Manhattan) or 2/4 to Borough Hall
Located amidst scam artist developer Bruce Ratner’s first failed project, BAM books free weekly noontime concerts here on Thursdays during the summer, a mix of Hot 97/Mariah Carey style “R&B” and older soul, blues and reggae acts. The park draws a mix of local retirees and blue collar workers on their lunch break, predominantly West Indian. The sound is surprisingly good. The park staff puts out plastic chairs, which quickly get taken by the lunch crowd and groups of daycamp kids out for the afternoon.
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Miles Cafe – see Something Jazz Bar
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Moto
their website is useless
394 Broadway, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Located right at the exit of the Hewes St. J/M stop
There’s a bicycle hanging over the door: shouldn’t this place be called Velo instead? Like Barbes, the decor is Gallic, with tables and a horseshoe-shaped bar. This expensive, low-lit bistro in a former check-cashing space has been expertly tricked out to look like it’s been there a hundred years, right down to the pull-handle toilet downstairs. The food is excellent; drinks are on the pricy side, but they have an uncommonly good wine list. The music is frequently excellent as well. They do nightly themes: bluegrass, jazz, oldtimey and even gypsy music, generally from about 9 to midnight. Musicians squeeze in behind the door where you walk in. Unfortunately, due to the prices, the place pulls an annoying, pretentious trust-fund kid crowd. Since this is Brooklyn, there’s no Nazi factor. Be aware that there is a bus stop directly outside: the earsplitting screech of the alarms that go off as the bus doors open will jolt you out of whatever reverie you manage to slip into. For that reason, this isn’t a place you’ll want to spend any time at during rush hour.
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53rd between 5th and 6th
V to 53rd/5th Ave.; B/D/F to Rockefeller Ctr.; 6 to 51st
The $20 cover charge is unconscionable, and Friday free day, starting at 4 PM, is a nightmare: the staff set up a wire holding pen in the adjacent lot, and it can take literally hours to get in (and by then, the museum is about to close: how about that for free?). Occasional concerts here with paid admission: jazz, rock, chamber music.
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Museum of the City of New York
1220 5th Avenue at 103rd St.
6 to 103rd St.
Along with some of the most fascinating historical exhibits anywhere in town, they have occasional concerts in the basement auditorium: classical, jazz and world music. Free admission for upper eastsiders living or working north of 103rd St. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM.
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The Music Hall of Williamsburg
N 6th St. between Wythe and Kent, next door to the old Galapagos space, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford Ave.
The former Northsix space was taken over by the people who own Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury and to their credit, they did a good job. The silly bleachers downstairs are completely gone, opening up a lot of room on the floor. Like Bowery, there is a balcony with a bar upstairs, accessible only via elevator. It’s unclear if this is merely a concession to people with disabilities, or to the crowds of trendoids who are too effete to walk up a flight of stairs. The downstairs dressing rooms and smaller, seldom-used performance space are also gone, replaced by a large, open bar area. Same with the bank of bathrooms formerly to the right of the stage, replaced by a slightly elevated catwalk where the sightlines are best. The sound is vastly improved and the staff is nice. Now if only they’d book a good band once in awhile. Considering the general popularity of the acts who play here, advance tix are highly recommended, available at the Mercury Lounge box office 5-7 PM Mon-Sat. And if you find yourself in the balcony, you might want to move downstairs before the show ends: otherwise, you may find the line for the elevator giving new meaning to the phrase “it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll.”
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The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C
6 to 125th St. or 2/3/B to 125th St. and walk east
Frequent free concerts and rare film screenings, plus they book events all over town, many of them free and featuring some of NYC’s best players. One of NYC’s underrated treasures.
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159 Houston St. between Allen & Eldridge, south side of the street
F to 2nd Ave.
Split-level bar located in the space that housed two somewhat similar tourist traps in recent years. The upstairs with the small stage in back past a series of railings is where they have music; downstairs is a gay bar with a cover charge. This place was a country joint for about two seconds before becoming a mainly singer/songwriter place (it’s owned by one; there’s another branch in Nashville). Now it’s a mix of acoustic and electric acts, with a number of country, soul and Americana artists, some with weekly residencies. Like the Living Room – whom they could put out of business, if they wanted - it’s basically a tourist bar: pricy drinks, a bland suburban vibe and music to match most of the time.
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New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
1 Center St., Newark
Path or NJ Transit train to Penn Station/Newark and about an eight-block walk.
Big auditorium with frequent expensive concerts: easy listening, latin and classical. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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55th St. between 6th and 7th Aves., north side of the street
B/D to 7th Ave./53rd St.
Big, beautiful auditorium, a la Manhattan Center or the Ethical Culture Society, that only occasionally has concerts: mostly plays and ballets here with the occasional ethnic, classical or jazz act. Tickets are often stratospherically expensive, especially the closer to the stage you are. Although you do get comfortable seats, pleasant ushers, clean bathrooms, and good AC in the summer.
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Not a venue but an orchestra (they make Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center their home when they’re not on tour). Some of you may notice that that this is a relatively recent addition to the list here: until Alan Gilbert took over the reins as conductor in the fall of 2009, the NY Phil was more or less off our radar, a collection of first-rate players running through the same old tired repertoire over and over again along witha jarring, seemingly random selection of 20th century stuff that all too often missed the mark. No more. Resurgent, with a newfound energy and focus, they’re once again the vital force that a great city deserves. In addition, their chamber ensembles perform in smaller concert halls throughout Manhattan, and during the summer there’s always a series of free concerts in city parks (where you should arrive REALLY early). And their ensemble series CONTACT, dedicated exclusively to the avant garde, is a very auspicious development. Tickets can be astronomically expensive, depending on the program, but many aren’t; advance tickets are always highly recommended, as is early arrival (half an hour before showtime isn’t too soon). Or stop by the ticket window at the Atrium at Broadway and 65th for cheap day-of-show tickets, which pop up more frequently than you might think. Smartly, a considerable portion of the orchestra’s concerts are recorded and available via itunes; there are also the weekly, nationally syndicated WQXR broadcasts The New York Philharmonic This Week and Live from Lincoln Center.
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92nd St and Lexington Ave.
6 to 86th St.
Did you know, if you’re under 35 you can get discounted tix to shows here for around $25? That makes the popular Upper East auditorium a real bargain compared to the other swanky classical/jazz halls. Otherwise, prices here are frequently beyond the pale, even more than at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. They also have frequent free chamber music in the smaller Weill Art Gallery space. Because this place is an institution (in both senses of the word: there’s always a crisis being narrowly averted), early arrival is a must.
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200 Hudson at Canal, east side of the street
A/C/E to Canal (front of trains headed uptown/back of trains headed downtown) or N/R/Q/W/6/J/M/Z to Canal, walk west and then take a left on Hudson. Be careful of drunks driving home to New Jersey, especially at night: nobody cares if you get hit.
Not sure how you pronounce the name of this spacious, swankily appointed new place, the long-running Upper Eastside cultural center’s southern outpost. Along with movies, literary and dramatic events, they also have music. For awhile it looked like they wanted to keep things diverse, with a slight emphasis on Jewish artists, a worthy goal - lately they’ve had everything from gypsy bands to singer-songwriters to trendoid rock. The music room is down a long corridor past the ticket counter, a spacious, modernist venue (a little bigger than Santos or Sullivan Hall) with a few tables in front by the stage and off to the left, and plenty of standing room as well as a pricy bar to your right as you enter. Sightlines are compromised by several big pillars; early arrival is advised if you must see the band. The sound is excellent. The staff are pleasant and professional, no Nazis anywhere. Tickets are typically reasonably priced – usually under $20 – with advance tickets for more popular acts highly recommended at the counter, open daily except Satuday. There’s also a coffee shop/bakery selling drinks and lighter fare to the left of the ticket window if you’re hungry.
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1515 Broadway at 45th St.
Take pretty much any train to 42nd St., walk east or west as necessary
Formerly operated by the WWF and known as the World, this big, spacious theatre most recently had multiple levels of seats looking down on the stage. Tix for shows here are typically more expensive than at Irving Plaza or Bowery Ballroom but not as outrageous as at the Garden. Box office hours are Mon-Sat noon-6 and on show nights until a half-hour before showtime. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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62 Ave. C (4th/5th Sts.), east side of the street
F to 2nd Ave. or L to 1st Ave. – or wait for the M14D bus which will drop you at Ave. D and 5th St.
Hidden behind a nondescript awning in an Alphabet City residential building, sax player Ilhan Ersahin’s small, lowlit, laid-back club specializes in dance music: funk, gypsy music, hip-hop, jazz and world music. There’s a small bar to your left as you walk in, with a handful of tables in a semicircle around the stage. The sound is iffy, but the space is cozy so that no matter where you are, you’re close enough to the band to hear pretty much everything. Cover is usually ten bucks; no little Hitlers anywhere. Because of the location, the place occasionally draws random crowds of tourists who absolutely don’t get this place (there’s something of a stoner vibe here). Be aware that shows here start much, much later than advertised, as much as two hours later, and go well into the wee hours.
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263 E 3rd St. between Ave. B and C
F to 2nd Ave.
This friendly, socially conscious neighborhood institution has been around forever and still has regular Latin jazz shows, with the occasional band, songwriter or aspiring reggaeton artist. Booking here is diverse and imaginative, reflecting what the neighborhood used to be ten years ago. They have a liquor license but the bar is still as makeshift as it probably was when they first opened the place. Bands play on the stage in the back, where there are a few tables and plenty of standing room. Cover is cheap, there are no Nazis whatsoever, the sound is surprisingly good and so are the acts who play here: people you’d usually drop $100 on at the Blue Note come through here on a regular basis. Also frequent, well-attended Wednesday and Thursday hip-hop slams.
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In the middle of little Byrne Park, bordered by Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Third and Fourth Streets, Park Slope, Brooklyn
R to Union St. or any train to Atlantic Ave. and about a 10 minute walk
Reconstruction of a 1699 Dutch farmhouse that served as a pivotal site during the Battle of Brooklyn and was eventually razed in 1890. Kind of small and quaint with occasional jazz, classical or folk concerts on the weekend. Relatively cheap cover (under $15 usually), wine and pricy snacks are available. Get there on time if you want a seat: they get taken quickly by the oldtimers and neighborhood people.
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116 Bar
No website
116 MacDougal St. (W 3rd/Bleecker)
Any train to W 4th St.
The dark brickwalled basement space that until recently was the fratboy bar Alibi – and back in the 80s was legendary punk hangout the Scrap Bar – has occasional music as well as comedy. The bar doesn’t do anything to promote it either. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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14th St. just west of Ave. B, south side of the street
L to 1st Ave. or 4/6/N/R to Union Square and walk east or take the M14 bus to Ave. B
Most important thing you should know about this place; bring your passport! They have an ID scanner and use it mercilessly on pretty much everybody under 40: unless you’re comfortable with some random sketchy character at the door making a digital copy of your personal info, you’ll need it (ID scanners don’t work on passports). Which is too bad: with the ongoing demise of the East Village, Otto’s has become become more and more of a landmark and a prestige venue despite the little back room’s dodgy sound, the obnoxious door crew and sometimes pleasant, sometimes aloof bar staff. And with the demise of Banjo Jim’s and Lakeside, many of the best artists on the NYC Americana roots scene now make Otto’s their home: the early Saturday night shows at 7 after the open mic can be fantastic. This dark, dingy oldschool rock bar also has Unsteady Freddy’s surf music extravaganza the first Saturday of every month as well as an eclectic mix of punk, ska, and even jazz acts playing in the back while retro 60s and punk rock blasts at the front bar. Drinks are cheap and other than on the weekend, when the tourists invade, it almost feels like it’s 1999 again.
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519 2nd Ave. at 29th St.
6 t0 33rd St.
Guinness, Guinness and more Guinness. That’s all they serve at this legendary Irish pub. Live music isn’t the staple it used to be here – Black 47’s Saturday night residency at the club’s old location a couple of blocks south in the 80s and 90s is stuff of legend – but they still have traditional jam sessions and frequent Irish bands here in the back on random nights. Absolutely no Nazi factor: even if there’s no music, it remains a great place to hang out after all these years, drawing a mix of neighborhood folks, unpretentious young people and expats.
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Houston and Attorney Sts.
F to 2nd Ave.
Old-school LES bar with a music room in the back. The sound is erratic; the PA here sometimes has problems with feedback, and the sound guy is frequently absent from the board at the very moment when he should be paying attention. The crowd at the bar is surprisingly mixed: since it’s so far east, it tends to draw locals who’ve been driven away from the Ludlow Street strip by the tourists. Beer is fairly cheap but everything else isn’t. The Nazi factor is pretty nonexistent. There are door personnel on the weekend, but they’ll let you in without carding you if you’re obviously of age. They do weekly theme nights: comedy, salsa, singer-songwriters, etc. A handful of A-list acts play here frequently.
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929 Broadway just west of Myrtle Ave., Bushwick
J/M to Myrtle Ave.
Don’t let the location scare you away – this is a nice place! It’s sort of the Bushwick equivalent of Death by Audio. The blackwalled, rectangular former retail store space has music in the back: the vibe is totally laid-back DIY, no stage, a couple of big speakers and a bar along the left wall. While the sound can be loud and somewhat boomy, they really make an effort here to try and get it right. Cover is cheap (under $10), the people who work here are nice, there’s no stupid velvet rope or Nazi doorman. Because of the location, it does draw a gentrifier crowd sometimes, but because booking here is so diverse, with garage and punk along with the usual trust fund bands, the crowds are diverse as well.
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131 Christopher St. at Hudson
1 to Christopher St.
Acoustic music daily at this pricy little boite just a stone’s throw from the Path, with a full slate of singer-songwriters on the weekend as well as a Thursday night open mic. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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40 E 35th St. (Madison/Park) in the church basement.
6 to 33rd St. or B/D to 34th St.
Frequent 8 PM Saturday shows, Americana, folk and singer-songwriters. Cover is typically $15, “no one turned away” for lack of funds. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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Lorimer between Frost and Richardson, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L/G to Lorimer St., walk along Union toward the BQE (downhill), take a right, walk along the BQE to Lorimer, left on Lorimer, under the BQE and about 5 blocks to the venue
There’s a bar as you walk in, the music room straight ahead. When bands are playing you need to go through the walkway to your right, into the small room. It’s a tiny little place with what can be great sound (bands do it themselves). Beer is fairly cheap and they also have delicious pressed sandwiches (although prices have risen in recent months). Also, they’ve had a doorman lately on the weekends (at what used to be Brooklyn’s coolest venue: a sign of the times, or what?). Pete’s started out ten-odd years ago as the place to see Brooklyn people playing country, bluegrass or oldtimey acoustic music, but when co-owner/booking agent Juliana Nash left, the place went into a steep decline and the trendoids took over. After a brief resurgence with some adventurous classical and jazz-inclined acts, now it’s mostly lame suburban gentrifier acoustic types. The front bar is a totally gentrifier scene, and the back garden where you can smoke gets packed on the weekends.
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Ludlow between Stanton and Rivington, east side of the street just north of the Living Room
F to 2nd Ave.
There’s a bar/restaurant as you walk in, another bar upstairs, with live music in the back room. The sound is lousy: a place with as good a system as they have here shouldn’t sound this bad. The original LES doucheoisie hangout, it draws a Jersey/Westchester/Long Island cokehead crowd with a big out-of-town pickup scene. Drinks are fairly expensive: good luck muscling your way to the bar through the throngs of fratboys, Britney Spears wannabes and drug dealers. If you carry a purse, keep it close at hand. As at the Living Room, they’re Nazis: they have an ID scanner (bring your passport if you have one: the machine can’t read it and capture all your vital info), the staff is rude and so is the clientele. They also don’t treat bands well. Those who play here typically do so once and don’t come back. You’d do well to see your favorite band elsewhere.
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13th St. and the highway
A/C/E/L to 14th St., if you’re lucky you can catch a M14 bus to 10th Ave. and walk from there (the bus abruptly goes north to 18th St. and the highway after that)
It’s a long shipping pier with a big stage at the end, by the water. Not really a viable option for the occasional free summer concert: gates typically open at 6, but it can take as long as an hour for the crowd lined up for blocks and blocks along the highway to make their way in. Security is fierce: you can’t even bring in water, even though the setting sun will be blasting you like a flamethrower. There are numerous concessions selling food and drink, all ridiculously overpriced as you would expect. If there are multiple, popular rock bands on the bill, forget about seeing the opener: instead, show up a little after 7 and catch most of the headliner’s set. You’ll have much better luck at the occasional salsa or blues show here, although the security dragnet may prove even more vicious for nonwhites. Otherwise, this is strictly for diehard fans who can’t miss a single show by their favorite band. Only three shows scheduled here for 2012 and they all suck.
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70th St. and the river, upper westside: walk down the stairs at Riverside and 68th St.
1/2/9 or A/C to 72nd St.
This is an actual former shipping pier, not a home decor store. There’s a brief free outdoor concert series here in July and August. Most of it is smarmy kiddie entertainment straight out of Capturing the Friedmans, but there’s an occasional jazz or classical act. There are plenty of chairs but no one listens: it’s an upper westside yuppie hang. To get to the pier you have to walk down a series of stairs over the highway from the north; go out the way you came in unless you’re up for a long stroll.
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158 Bleecker St. just west of LaGuardia, south side of the street
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
French for “goldfish.” Early in the evening, it’s basically a classical/jazz room; later on, it becomes a gay bar with a cover charge. Once in awhile they’ll also have indie rock or world music. Downstairs from the space that formerly held the Village Gate jazz club, it’s a beautifully appointed room, expertly tricked out for sound. Coming in from the street, you walk downstairs past a small bar and into the music area, the stage immediately to your left with tables in front and some standing room along the back wall. Drinks aren’t cheap but not overwhelmingly expensive either (bizarrely, they carry Night Train crack wine – ask your waitress). The staff are strikingly pleasant and professional, especially considering the location; tickets usually under $20 (advance tix highly recommended at their box office, open 12-5 Mon-Sat and also on show nights).
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116th St. and Amsterdam Ave., in the basement of St. Paul’s Chapel on the Columbia campus
2 to 116th St.
Back uptown after a brief detour to Alphabet City. Performers typically play acoustic without amplification on a little stage in this little crypt-like room, which fills up very quickly – it’s a Columbia institution, open only Friday and Saturday nights during the school year. Sometimes they have booze and drinks, sometimes not. No cover – a terrific place to see top-quality talent in a refreshingly low-key, mellow setting. Here’s wishing them luck back in their old digs.
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Prospect Park West at 9th St., Park Slope, Brooklyn
F to 7th Ave. and walk uphill on 9th St., the entrance will be on your left. Accessible via other trains, but as you walk through the park you will realize how large and difficult to negotiate it is.
Free concerts are held here from June through August, mostly a mix of the kind of stuff you’ll hear on NPR: popular world music and folk acts, with the occasional rock band. Sometimes the vibe is totally chill – you just walk in. Other times (especially for the most popular acts) the rent-a-pigs here start giving out wristbands at 5 in the evening, a dead giveaway that you’ll either have to wait in line for hours or you simply won’t get in at all. Doors typically open around 6 for a show that starts at 7:30. At the gate, they’ll try to get you for $3, but just tell them you paid on April 15 – or go through the playground to the right of the main entrance, past the bathrooms and go in the back where nobody will hassle you. As with Central Park Summerstage, the free shows here are being phased out by expensive “benefit” concerts subsidized by your taxpayer money. Since all this takes place during the summer and there is very little breeze beneath the trees here, it can get brutally hot. The sound is good, although the place is crawling with cops (don’t even THINK of bringing in a bottle, rolling trees, etc.) and the seats get taken within seconds of when the gates open. But if the space is full, there’s still plenty of space in the park to the rear of the arena where you can hear the show and probably see it as well.
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70 N 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford Ave.
The old Galapagos space is now owned by the same people who run Southpaw in Park Slope, and it’s improved to the point that it’s a lot better than their main venue! That silly moat that greeted you as you walked in is finally gone, replaced by a wide floor space with a few tables. Music in both the front by the bar and in the larger, equally dumpy back room, although not every night, and the sound is vastly improved. They’ve stopped serving beer in flutes – thank god – and the vibe is shockingly comfortable and laid-back – seems that unlike the Galapagos folks, they’ve realized that spending for an army of bouncers in a relatively small space like this might not be cost-effective. Booking is a mixed bag, a throwback to the early days of the space around the turn of the century.
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Ave. A between 6th and 7th St.
F to 2nd Ave.
This legendary East Village dive did double duty in the 80s as punk rock club and gay disco. These days, it usually alternates between hip-hop and the 80s disco nights they’ve been having since…the 80s. Apparently, playing the same Wham and Dexys Midnight Runners records over and over and over again is an effective moneymaking scheme. Lately at 7 PM on Sundays they’ve been serving as home to the excellent, long-running live hip-hop show hip-hop show End of the Weak here, a cheap way to discover some of the best under-the-radar lyricists around. But watch your back and your wallet: the staff can be nasty and drinks aren’t cheap.
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In the middle of Corona Park, across the street from where Shea Stadium used to be, past the tennis stadium and the skeletal remains of the Globosphere.
7 to Shea Stadium/Willets Point and no more than a ten minute walk: go back in the direction the Manhattan-bound trains are running, cross the street and take your first accessible left.
Located close to the Queens Art Museum in the park, this small theatre with a single level of tiered seating only has occasional concerts, usually in the summer and around the year-end holidays. Tickets range from cheap ($10) for less-popular or ethnic acts, to prohibitively expensive, and are available at their box office. Frequently, they’re cheaper if you buy a subscription. The acoustics are surprisingly good. Surprisingly cheap wine and bottled beer are available. The staff and volunteers here are remarkably pleasant and professional, no Nazis anywhere. If you don’t know the neighborhood (or feel lost in Queens), there will be a free shuttle van which runs from the old Shea Stadium parking lot to the theatre: look for flyers on surrounding lampposts as you exit the train.
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218 Bowery between Delancey and Rivington
J/M to Bowery or F to 2nd Ave.
Vastly underutilized lower Bowery space, formerly the Pioneer, a high-ceilinged, Midtown-style tourist bar which achieved recent notoriety when a trust fund kid from Boston was captured on the spycam here during a coke-fueled nightcrawl which came to an end when she was murdered a few blocks west. The space has been remodeled since then and is now the reverse image of what it used to be. The big bar is still to the left as you walk in, but the stage in back is to the right, not the left, and the space as a whole doesn’t seem as deep as it was before. Then again, nothing seems as deep as it was before. The vibe here is uncommonly casual for this neighborhood, the bar staff is nice, cover is fairly cheap, and the sound isn’t bad. Music has been scaled back here recently.
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113 N 3 Street, corner of Berry, Williamsburg
L to Bedford Ave.
Considerably smaller than Bohemian Hall in Queens but still cavernous with wooden booths along the walls, restaurant seating adjacent to the bar area, and an outdoor space with picnic tables where the bands may or not play (there’s also something of a stage to your left as you walk in). As at Zebulon, the owners here are blessed with good taste in music – gypsy bands Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 and jazz on Fridays – and cursed with an awful location. Meaning that if you came here to hear music, you may not because the roar of the trendoids yapping at each other can drown out everything else unless the band is really loud. The menu is pricy ($4 for a pretzel), though they have an excellent beer selection. A nice place to drink when it’s quiet, maybe, but unfortunately not a destination for listening.
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48th St. and 6th Ave., enter on the avenue
B/F to Rockefeller Ctr.
Legendary art-deco theatre whose equally legendary sound is actually only adequate when rock acts play here. Enter on the southeast corner, walk past the ticket window on your right and then straight into the hall. Red plush seats upstairs and down; bathrooms in the basement. They don’t often have concerts here anymore, and when they do, they’re typically popular indie rock or corporate acts. Surprisingly, this place is anything but Nazi: nobody frisks you unless you obviously have a fifth of whiskey down your pants. Advance tix are a must, available at the box office, and ridiculously overpriced (it’s booked by the same people who book Madison Square Garden): you’d do well to wait til your favorite band who is playing here does a gig at Bowery Ballroom.
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320 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook
It’s a bar. Live music (mostly acoustic and oldtime acts) on the weekend. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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The Red Lion
no website
151 Bleecker at Thompson St.
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4 th St.
The prototypical Bleecker St. bar: blue-collar Long Island tourists pay a cover to see a rotation of singer-songwriters phoning in James Taylor and Counting Crows covers on the tiny stage along the wall of the bar’s inner room. Drinks aren’t cheap and the sound isn’t very loud: nobody listens here. It’s more of a post-Long Island Railroad meetup spot.
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249 4th Ave. (President/Carroll Sts.), Gowanus, Brooklyn
R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.
The Bowery Ballroom empire makes its second incursion into Brooklyn at this former gay bar space, ostensibly a sports bar (?!?!) when it’s not a Mercury Lounge-type venue. About the size of Bowery Electric, this ground-floor space has a narrow bar in front, relatively small rectangular space in back with a stage somewhat outsized for how big the room is. The sound isn’t anything special; drinks are on the pricy side, as at the Mercury, although the door staff are far more nonchalant and cool. Very few worthwhile shows here, mostly bland, non-threatening trendoid bands. Be aware that shows here are sometimes more expensive than at the Mercury: looks like they’re trying to maximize their profits in limited space.
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Chambers St. and the water, Battery Park City
1/2/9 to Chambers
This is the park with all the cool brass sculptures, a stunningly transgressive mix of the same New York caricatures who populate the A train platform at 14th St. Free outdoor concerts are held here on the big lawn from June through August, a diverse mix from country to blues to reggae. Shows typically start around 7. The stage faces the water; the PA is good and powerful and if you’re discreet, you can party pretty much any way you want, just watch your back: the po-po have quotas to make. Bring a blanket, sunscreen, hat and shades: the evening sun over the water is intense.
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One of the funnest things you can do during the warmer months. Boats sail rain or shine with an impressively good mix of party bands: funk, reggae, ska, soul and occasionally world music. Chicha Libre even played one of these. There are two boats: the smaller Half Moon, leaving from behind the heliport at 23rd Street and the FDR, and the Temptress, a 500-capacity ship that usually departs from 41st Street on the West Side. The Half Moon heads south along the East River and passes underneath the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges to the Statue of Liberty and then goes back the way it came: prepare for as much as three hours of revelry. The Temptress goes north on the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge, then turns around, heading straight for the Statue of Liberty and then back to the harbor. For what you get, tix are not overwhelmingly expensive (almost always under $30, sometimes considerably less), the staff are laid-back and friendly – the fun is contagious – and the boats are immaculate. Even the restrooms are clean. Drinks are pricy but generous, cheap snacks like hot dogs and empanadas are available and the sound is pretty good considering where you are, under a canopy topside (if you prefer to remain below decks away from the crush of people, they pipe the music down there). These cruises are extremely popular and frequently sell out so advance tix (available online or at the Highline Ballroom box office) are a must, as is early arrival. Believe it or not, tourists for the most part have not yet discovered this: it’s usually a pretty hometown crowd. They also have the occasional Mets cruise, a leisurely way to get the party started and get you to the ballpark in time for the game. Be aware that bottles and other containers are not allowed onboard: you’ll have to leave them on the dock and then retrieve them afterward.
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Allen St. just south of Houston, east side of the street south of the overpriced pizza place
F to 2nd Ave.
Two spaces here. The original Rockwood is New York’s smallest venue (smaller than even Barbes), separated from the sidewalk outside by only a big plate glass window. Someday someone is bound to fall through it. Don’t be that person. The sound here is sublime, to rival any jazz club in town. Mostly singer-songwriters here along with the occasional Americana act or rock band that somehow manages to squeeze onto the little stage. They pipe the music from here into a small, adjacent bar on the north side. Immediately to the south, in the basement of the giant plastic-and-glass “luxury” condo monstrosity, there is a second and considerably larger room where louder and more popular acts play, occasionally with a cover charge, and the sound here is excellent as well. Due to the size of the original room, drinks here are priced almost double what they would be if they’d had the space to serve more people – and the waitresses make sure to ask you what you’re drinking. For a singer-songwriter joint, the vibe is refreshingly laid-back and pleasant, and there’s no Nazi factor either: just walk in and watch owner Ken Rockwood (half of the folk duo Professor and Maryann) doing a meticulous job with the sound up on his little perch at the board.
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***RATED BEST MANHATTAN VENUE 2008***
27th St. and 3rd Ave., Murray Hill
6 to 28th St.
Best Manhattan venue: Rodeo Bar?!?!? You have to be kidding, right? No. While to a certain extent an indication of the steep decline of New York nightlife in recent years, it’s also testament to the Rodeo’s singleminded dedication to booking consistently excellent music in a space which for many reasons is one of the last places you would expect to find it. Disabuse yourself of any notion that the Rodeo might be an uncool place. It’s one of the few joints in town that serves deep-fried pickles, reason alone to stop by “New York’s only honkytonk.” The restaurant takes up the south side of the club, separated by a wall from the adjacent bar and venue. You can hear the music if you take a table at the back of the restaurant. Rodeo Bar books some of the best music of any Manhattan venue, comparable with Lakeside, a mix of nationally touring country acts along with the creme de la creme of the New York country scene and the occasional singer-songwriter or rock band. The sound can be excellent if you’re close to the stage, just make sure you’re in front of the legions of drunken Baruch college kids who boink in the bathrooms, have zero interest in the music and bellow over it. Drinks aren’t cheap but the food is good and greasy if a little pricy: if you’re planning on eating, take a table in the front and enjoy the show. There’s absolutely no Nazi factor here. You can take a seat across from the bar, eat their free peanuts and nobody will bother you.
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239 W 52nd betw Bwy/8th Ave.
B/E to to 50th St./7th Ave.
Up through the decade of the 90s, it was a real ballroom for Latin dancing. Since it wasn’t built with amplified music in mind, the sound is predictably bad and often downright abysmal. National touring bands too popular for Bowery Ballroom or Irving Plaza but not big enough to sell out Madison Square Garden play here. Tickets are available at the Irving Plaza box office, and usually very expensive. Depending on who’s playing here and how many tickets they expect to sell, they may or may not have bleachers for seating on both sides of the big dance floor. Drinks are way overpriced. Roseland is notorious for having the nastiest door crew in New York, to rival the Living Room. If you absolutely must go to a show here, plan on arriving at the last minute because if you show up with everybody else, you will be left in an interminably long line, harrassed and maybe even physically assaulted by the steriod-addled ex-con bouncers who scream at you in thick Long Island accents through their bullhorns if in fact they don’t smack you around. And don’t even think of bringing any contraband in: they really like to feel you up before they let you through the doors. This applies to both men and women.
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509 Atlantic Ave. at 3rd Ave. (across the street from Hank’s), Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Any train to Atlantic Ave.
This is oldschool avant garde central, more jazz-inclined than Issue Project Room, with an older crowd than you see at the Tank. Roulette was basically the prototype for the Stone, a slightly larger, high-ceilinged SoHo first-floor space with shockingly good sound, considering the lack of acoustical work. A lot of people you would pay $100 to see at the Blue Note come through here to play their more cutting-edge stuff. Shows typically start around 8, cover is around $15-20, the staff are very cool and casual and most recently, they were looking to get a liquor license.
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5th Ave. between 50th and 51st St.
E to 53rd St. or B/D/F to Rockefeller Center
A few years ago, one of the local television stations aired an alarmist piece about germs on door handles. One of the doors tested happened to be right here at the church, and for some mysterious reason – you be the judge – it turned out to be the only one in town that was completely germ-free. The “world’s most famous U.S. gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral,” as they bill themselves has world-class acoustics, a world-class organ with the most powerful, low bass pedal stops in town, and a dynamic and talented music director and head organist in Dr. Jennifer Pascual. Their series of organ, classical and choral music concerts is outstanding, and admission is usually free. Organ concerts are typically held on a Sunday at 4:45 PM sharp. Because the sonics here are the best in town and among the best in the world (and because tourists are constantly wandering in and out), concerts here tend to be very well-attended: early arrival is advised. Please remember that you are in a church and behave respectfully: no talking, no snacking, no cellphones.
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53rd and 5th Ave.
B/D/F to Rockefeller Center
The sound is as incredible as you would expect from an architecturally beautiful old stone church. There isn’t much of a crowd for the free, weekly 5:15 PM Sunday organ concerts here, mid-September through the end of May, mostly older folks. This is a beautiful, historic landmark, and you can hear a pin drop, so please turn off your phone, refrain from talking during the music and don’t litter. Also, men wearing headgear should remove it as they enter the sanctuary. All the best organists on concert tour want to play here because the sound and the organs are so good (the old Skinner in the front is scheduled to be replaced in the next couple of years, so, carpe diem). Acts here are booked several months in advance, and there’s a handy schedule on the website. Be aware that the church’s main organist John Scott (who recently performed an acclaimed Buxtehude marathon here) is extremely popular, so get here a half-hour early if you want to see him. As you would expect, it also gets extremely crowded around Christmas or Easter. They also have frequent choral music concerts.
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1120 Manhattan Ave. (Box/Clay), Greenpoint
G to Greenpoint Ave. or a long walk from the Bedford Ave. L stop
Good loud music, both metal and punk, and cheap beer at this laid-back far-Greenpoint watering hole. 2 for 1 happy hour til 8 PM.
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100 Lafayette St. south of Walker, Chinatown.
N/R/Q/6/J/M to Canal St.
Don’t be scared off by the phalanx of scary-looking bouncers or the velvet rope: they’re there for the Connecticut and New Jersey tourists who frequent the downstairs disco, not the upstairs club where they have frequent live shows. It’s a pretty big room, about the same size as Sullivan Hall with comparably good sound (although be aware that if the act you’re seeing here is on the quiet side, the thud of the computer-simulated percussion emanating from the basement can be somewhat jarring). There are bars on the left as you walk in, and in the far right corner, possibly with tables in front of the big stage for quieter acts, along with a little alcove of booths on the right behind the sound board. Drinks aren’t cheap, as you can imagine, although the staff are surprisingly nice, and word on the street is that bands are treated well here which is always a plus. Booking here runs the gamut from hip-hop, to hardcore punk, to the occasional gay act. Advance tix for more popular acts are recommended and available at their box office.
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20 Meadow St. between Stagg and Bogart, Bushwick, Brooklyn
L to Grand St.
Big cavernous old commercial loft in the middle of nowhere, although a short, barely three-minute walk from the train. It’s so big that although people live here, their presence really doesn’t make itself known (although because they do, please treat the space with the respect you’d accord someone’s home). There’s an actual makeshift stage in the center with a PA; cover is cheap; you might be able to get a drink, but maybe not; the vibe is totally mellow and the bands start on time. As an added plus, they do theme nights here or groups of related bands. Worth the slightly extra effort to make the trip out here. Extra props to the crew here for memorializing what may have been a dump – although it was OUR dump.
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***RATED BEST MANHATTAN VENUE 2011***
2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (133-134 St)
B/2/3 to 135th St.
This scruffy storefront restaurant/bar/club, just three blocks from the train, wins on just about every count: it’s simply one of Manhattan’s three or four best venues. Vaguely African-themed restaurant in front, music in the back in a small space about the same size as the back room at Lakeside with impressively good sound. Music is as about as diverse as it gets here: reggae, ska, jazz, singer-songwriters, indie rock, jam bands and world music. Cover is cheap, if there is one. The place and the people who run it have a strikingly casual, laid-back vibe: no Nazis anywhere. The food is excellent, fairly inexpensive and there are a lot of vegetarian options (their homemade habanero sauce is heaven for hot pepper addicts but should be avoided at all costs if you can’t handle spicy food). Draft beer is expensive and drinks are even more so but they are extremely strong. One thing you should know is that the service here seems to run on African time so settle up fast if you have to be somewhere afterward.
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Ave. A and 6th St.
F to 2nd Ave., walk north and east, or take the M101 bus uptown (or the M102 downtown) to St. Mark’s.
The redesign at this long-running acoustic spot fails on every conceivable level. First, the reconfiguration of the bar area – with bleachers, of all things – makes it impossible to get through when there’s any kind of crowd there. And the faux-sophisticated, new ash-blond woodpaneled look predictably draws a loud crowd of fratboys and douchettes in tiaras whose roar is so deafening that it drowns out the music in the back room during quieter moments. And this being a primarily acoustic club, there are many of those moments. The food and drink are no better than they used to be before the redesign, but they’re more expensive. And the sound in back is as dodgy as always. At the moment, there are two separate crowds: the bar crowd, and what’s left of the dorky acoustic punk types who made this place their home for years and are gingerly making their way back after realizing that they could never get a gig anywhere else. Those two crowds don’t talk to each other, and odds are that one with the most money will win. Expect to see “celebrity djs” here in lieu of music in a year or so.
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325 E 6th St.
6 to Astor Place/F to 2nd Ave.
A somewhat unlikely spot for one of New York’s best venues. It’s Tonic reborn – most of the adventurous eclectic Jewish jazz rockers who made that Lower East spot so great before it got priced of the neighborhood in 2006 have regrouped here. Tuesdays at 8 there’s klezmer; Wednesdays at 9 features a rotating cast of Tzadik artists; Thursdays is jazz rabbi Greg Wall’s night to jam on tenor sax with his various projects including the phenomenal Ayn Sof Bigger Band. Cover varies, $10-15 and often includes a free drink. With this kind of booking, this place ranks with Barbes and Drom – there’s literally something good almost every night of the week here.
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68 Jay St., Dumbo, Brooklyn
F to York St.; walk downhill, the bar will be on your left at the corner of Water
A throwback to another, vastly more pleasant era when the streets down here were strictly for the adventurous and the down-and-out. This dark, narrow little rectangular space in the old Grand Union tea warehouse has consistently first-rate oldtimey and Americana roots music, everything from bluegrass to delta blues, on Wednesday and Saturday nights, booked by A-list songwriter Jan Bell. Mississippi hill country bluesman Will Scott plays here frequently and is reliably excellent. In the early evening, many of the neighborhood trust fund kids wake up and come here. But when the music starts, they all leave, because it’s good. Relatively cheap drinks, a nice bar staff, casual atmosphere and no little Hitlers to be found anywhere.
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183 W 10th St. just west of 7th Ave. S, north side of the street
1/9 to Christopher St.; A/C/E/B/D/F to W 4th St. and walk west
This lovable basement-level dump remains as fertile an incubator for jazz talent as it was in the 90s: ever notice how so many bands from the Smalls scene during that era are playing Lincoln Center now? Cover is typically $20 and the level of talent is outstanding, a mix of up-and-coming artists and better-known acts playing diverse styles from traditional to latin to vocal jazz. A lot of familiar faces seem to make this place their home. The sound here is much better than you would expect from the junk-shop decor – several live albums have been recorded here. Drinks are as pricy as you would expect; the staff are casual and pleasant. Early arrival is always a good idea because this place sells out frequently. If you miss a show here, you can always watch it afterward on their webcast.
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2751 Broadway (105/106)
1/9 or C to 103rd St.
New York, NY 10025
Formerly Augie’s, now a popular, fancy uptown jazz club. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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204 Varick St. at Houston
1 to Houston St. or any train to W 4th St., walk south and west
Mostly latin, Brazilian and hip-hop at this long-running, swanky west village Brazilian restaurant/club. The sound on the big stage is typically good, and surprisingly, there’s absolutely no Nazi factor. Tix tend to be expensive – over $20 – at the box office. The food is mediocre and at their prices, to be avoided. Be aware that while sometimes the club opens up the floor for more popular acts, sometimes (especially for older acts) they don’t, meaning that unless you take a table for dinner, you may be squished into a narrow corridor between the dining area and the relatively small bar space.
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Something Jazz Bar (formerly Miles Cafe)
212 E. 52nd St., 3rd Fl. (2nd & 3rd Ave.)
6 to 51st St.
The NYC branch of a famous Tokyo jazz club. Cover is typically $20 including a drink and “snacks,” lots of first-rate talent. Not reviewed as of 2012.
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Fulton St. at the river, 4/6/A/C/J/M/Z to Fulton/Broadway-Nassau
There are a lot of free shows here during the summer, during the day as well as the evening. Daytime shows are typically Latin and soul music at lunchtime; nighttime concerts are generally trendoid rock. It’s a very mellow place, not what you would expect: the loud, drunken Wall St. trash who usually hang out here en masse are conspicuously absent. The stage is across South St. right next to the tall ships. The sound is good, considering that it’s outdoors, and surprisingly there’s never much of a crowd. Surrounding stands sell draft beer in plastic cups, so it’s actually legal to drink here, even though you are technically outdoors in a public space. There’s a small seating area, but the chairs get taken quickly.
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***RATED BEST BROOKLYN VENUE 2009***
184 Bedford Ave close to N 7th St., right at the Bedford Ave. L train stop.
This shockingly laid-back bar with a big stage in the back was a breath of fresh air when it opened on the dreaded Bedford Ave. strip in 2008. Spike Hill enjoyed a solid three-year run as the borough’s best rock bar, with eclectic and adventurous booking and a fondness for Americana. But as the gentrifiers kept encroaching, drink prices went up, the music got worse and now it’s sort of a minor-league Mercury Lounge with comparable prices and sound that runs hot and cold. They still have the occasional country music lineup on Sundays, but otherwise it’s mostly bland, content-free Pitchfork bands – although the staff are as friendly as always, and it can still be a good spot to duck into if you want to get away from all the tourists.
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Ave. C and 2nd St.
F to 2nd Ave.
Actually a real nice, laid-back place to see a lot of top-quality jazz and jazz-oriented acts, even if it can get stuffy and hot if there’s a big crowd. Outsider jazz guy John Zorn’s little Alphabet City corner room is where most of his late 80s Knitting Factory crowd has gravitated since Tonic closed. It’s smaller than you would think; they may or may not have seating, depending on the popularity of the act onstage. The sound isn’t what you get at the Jazz Standard, but the crowd usually comes to listen. Booking is all over the place: since a rotating cast of musicians from Zorn’s circle take turns booking the place, there will be months where the acts here are consistently excellent, then they’ll hit a dry spell. Cover is typically $10, sometimes less, seldom more. They don’t serve alcohol, although you can bring it in.
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214 Sullivan St.
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
FKA the Lion’s Den; stoner central. This place draws a mix of weedhead NYU kids and smelly hoons with dreadlocks who would have congregated at Wetlands ten years ago. Once in awhile they’ll have a decent reggae, ska or jam band here, otherwise it’s NYU bands and lame cover acts, which is too bad because this is a great room. The sound is excellent and there’s plenty of space to either take a table or stand in front of the big stage. Drinks aren’t overwhelmingly expensive either, although the door staff is as Nazi as you would expect in this neighborhood. Don’t even think of using your phone inside the club because you may be ejected – they vigorously enforce a no-cellphones policy (which, considering the usual clientele, actually isn’t such a bad idea). And be aware that whenever crowds are sparse, the club may yank a band offstage unexpectedly after just a couple of songs. So if it’s raining, it’s snowing or late on a weeknight and your friend’s band is playing here, it might not be worth coming out. For the most popular touring acts, advance tix are recommended at their box office, open 7:30 – 11:30 PM Wed – Sat.
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253 Conover St., Red Hook
B61 bus (which you can pick up on Fulton St. or Atlantic Ave. in front of Damascus Bakery) to Beard St. (next to last stop; ask the driver).; walk 1 block, opposite direction of bus, to Conover St., take a left, it’s in the middle of the block.
Semi-legendary little Red Hook neighborhood watering hole, open starting at 8 PM Weds-Sat only with frequent live music, mostly Americana roots and most of it pretty good. As you would imagine, it pulls a captive audience now mixed with a scattering of gentrifiers who can afford the $30 car service back to Bushwick – although their cash-only policy keeps most of them out. Not much of a stage or a PA system, but it’s a party atmosphere and it’s contagious.
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1118 Cortelyou Road between Stratford and Westminster, Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
B/Q to Newkirk Ave., walk three blocks on 15th St. to Cortelyou and make a left
Relatively new space doing triple duty as bar, flower shop and frequent weekend music venue. Doors at 9; cover is typically ten bucks. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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1/2/3 to 96th St.
95th St. & Broadway
There are two rooms here: the long, cavernous ground-floor auditorium with floor seating in front and tiered seats in the back, and the downstairs Thalia Theatre which usually shows movies but which sometimes features music as well. They’ve been doing jazz, classical and world music here forever, along with frequent dramatic and literary events (a couple of NPR shows tape here). The sound is very good upstairs, fine for movies in the downstairs room but a little lacking otherwise. Tickets are expensive, usually over $30. No Nazi factor whatsoever. There’s now a shi-shi bar on the way down to the theatre which serves predictably overpriced little glasses of wine and fancy sandwiches. Tickets for many of the world music events here are available at the World Music Institute box office, 49 W. 27th Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway, 9th floor, Suite 930, open Mon-Thurs, 10 AM – 6 PM , Fri 10 AM – 1 PM , not open on weekends.
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152 Orchard St. (Stanton/Rivington)
F to 2nd Ave.
Formerly the Annex, a place we avoided like the plague. It seems to be a gay bar with occasional live shows by rock bands or singer-songwriters. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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151 W 46th St. (6th/7th Aves), 8th floor
1 or R train to 49th St.; B/D/F to 42nd St./Bryant Park
Not reviewed in the new location. The old one a couple of blocks west was a comfortably dingy nonprofit theatre space with frequent drama and comedy in addition to music. When they have concerts, the music is adventurous, everything from indie classical to jazz to world music. Drinks and snacks were available for cheap at the front desk; the sound wasn’t bad, and the staff casual and helpful; tix remain seldom more than $10, often less.
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837 Union St., Park Slope, Brooklyn.
R to Union St., walk uphill or F to 4th Ave., walk back toward Brooklyn Heights and uphill. Local coffee shop chain. Or take the 2 to Grand Army Plaza, walk downhill when you get to Union.
Best known as the Monday night home of trombonist/bandleader JC Sanford’s big band jazz night: it’s becoming for big band jazz what CBGB was for punk back in the 70s. Interesting, because the crowd is mostly local kids doing their homework or sharing a flash drive, everybody huddled over their laptops. Java and draft beer – many different kinds – are available and aren’t cheap, probably because the big, cavernous former delivery truck garage has free wifi. The sound isn’t all that great but the music so often is: frequent singer-songwriters, jazz and the occasional rock band as well during the week.
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Teneleven
No website; the club’s myspace is never updated
171 Ave. C between 10th and 11th St.
L to 1st Ave.; look for the M14D bus which will drop you at the corner of C and 10th.
The former Mickey’s Blue Room hasn’t changed a bit since the space reopened, something of a throwback to a vastly cooler, pre-luxury condo Alphabet City. Although they don’t have music every night, acts now play the inner room to the right of the bar and around the corner where they have a few tables. The vibe is impressively laid-back, local artists displayed on the walls, relatively cheap drinks – for this neighborhood, anyway – and no Nazis anywhere, either! Plus, the suburban tourists who clog the sidewalks down here are mostly absent except for on the weekends. The PA, such that it is, isn’t very powerful, meaning that most of the people who play here do it acoustic.
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610 W. 56th St.
B/D/E to 53rd St./7th Ave. or B/D/1 to Columbus Circle and a long walk west either way
Booked by the Mercury Lounge, where you can buy advance tix, this venue – a little bigger than Bowery Ballroom, with a similar layout (a couple of balconies with tables, big stage on the right as you walk in, and plenty of floor space) features the same type of acts who used to play Roseland, i.e. those not big enough to fill Madison Square Garden. It’s also a lot nicer than Roseland – no bullhorn-toting security ex-con Nazis anywhere - and the sound is superb. Although because it is smaller, concerts here very frequently sell out: advance tickets very highly recommended. Those familiar with Philadelphia will see a striking resemblance, layout-wise, to the Theatre of the Living Arts there.
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Bleecker between LaGuardia and Thompson, north side of the street, upstairs
A/C/E/B/D/F to West 4th St., take the exit on the south side
One of New York’s only two remaining blues bars (Lucille’s is the other) has terrific sound, and cover is cheap even if drinks are not. Usually it’s the same lame Clapton wannabes playing here week after week, but sometimes they’ll have some really good acts (Hazmat Modine frequently plays here on the weekends). Considering the neighborhood, the staff is surprisingly friendly. Tables up front with waitress service; bar straight ahead of you as you walk in. Take a seat along the rail on your far right, along the wall, if you don’t feel like drinking: usually, you’ll be left alone.
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Third Street Music School Settlement
235 E 11th St (2nd/3rd Ave)
Free classical concerts every Friday during the school year, usually at 7:30 PM in the comfy first floor auditorium with a few rows of chairs as well as seating along the walls, amphitheatre-style. Seating not reserved, prompt arrival advised. Something of a shock that this isn’t better-known than it is – so far it draws a mostly older neighborhood crowd. The performers are reliably first-rate, players you’d usually have to fork over fifty bucks or so to see at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. The school also books the outdoor free Thursday lunchtime concert series at St. Marks Church at Second Ave. and 9th St., a mix of first rate jazz and world music acts.
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1041 Manhattan Ave. (corner of Freeman), Greenpoint, Brooklyn
G to Greenpoint Ave.
Oldschool NYC rock central, located unexpectedly on a little-traveled stretch of Greenpoint. Tommy’s Tavern is sort of like the Brooklyn version of Lakeside Lounge, without the photo booth. Although music is now only an occasional thing here, the place is still a perennial contender for best venue not only in Brooklyn but all of NYC. The bar staff are not only not hostile, but actually personable, and they play real rock music over the PA between bands, not the kind of indie garbage you hear a few blocks south. Drink prices are straight out of the 1990s, happy hour prices even better. Music is in the lowlit back room, through the swinging doors. The sound is loud and dodgy, but the bands are an adventurous and interesting mix of garage, punk and metal, with other styles mixed in. The sonics may not have jazz club clarity, but that’s a small price to pay for a place that doesn’t disrespect you, doesn’t rip you off, where the bands start on time and the people in the crowd don’t glare at you if your beard isn’t the right length.
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123 W 43rd St. just west of 6th Ave
B/D/F to 42nd St.
This big old 19th century theatre, a favorite with the folkie crowd back in the 60s, was parodied in the film A Mighty Wind. Tickets are expensive, often ridiculously so (advance tix a must, and generally not through their box office: you may have to go to a Ticketmaster outlet like Irving Plaza). Ironically, the sonics here work best when there’s a loud rock band onstage. Acoustic acts sound lost in this boomy, spacious room. Unlike at the Beacon, they’ll let you out to smoke (there’s frequently an intermission), and if you’re not obvious about it, you can sneak alcohol in (forget about their small, overpriced drinks). Bootlegging is a piece of cake. These days they book a mix of world music, classical, jazz and Americana, mostly older artists.
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Grand between Roebling/Havemeyer, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford (walk on Bedford south as the streets get smaller, left on Grand) or J/M/Z to Marcy (walk up Havemeyer past the bus depot and under the BQE, up to Grand where you make a left)
There’s a bar in front as you walk in, a fairly spacious music room with a small bar in the back. The sound is better than you would expect, and fairly loud: this is one of the better sounding rooms in town. The bar is predictably a trendoid scene, but avoid that, pay the cover charge and go to the back where there’s one of the best deals in town: open bar with wells and PBRs with paid admission, 8-9 PM. At the main bar, they have free tater tots on the hour and are very generous with them. To their immense credit, the vibe here is 180 from what it once was: the Nazis have vanished, and it’s actually a good place to hang out. Drinks at the front bar are as expensive as they are elsewhere, but with power hour in the back, who cares. Booking here is impressively diverse: although given the location, there’s still a lot of trendoid twee and indie rock, they also have punk, metal and even the occasional singer-songwriter (which creates some of the most jarring segues of any club in town). Bands should be aware that everyone is paid AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, not after they play, meaning that if you play early, either you have to stick around or send a bandmate back to collect your cash in the wee hours.
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Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Borough of Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers St. east of the Westside Highway
1/2 to Chambers St.
This is the BMCC auditorium, occasionally used for concerts. Jazz, world music, classical mostly. Tix, which can be pricy, are available onsite, check the website for details. Cushy folding chairs, good acoustics, friendly and laid-back staff but not much of a PA system.
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Broadway at Wall St.
2/3/4/5 to Wall St. or any train to Fulton St., walk south and west
A beautiful historic landmark and a remarkably progressive institution, especially considering how close it is to enemy lines. They have frequent classical, jazz, world, choral and organ concerts throughout the year, most of them free – their Thursday 1 PM series now includes jazz and a surprising amount of avant garde music. The acoustics here are superb as you would imagine; because these shows are popular, early arrival is always a good idea. Please remember that you are in a house of worship and be respectful: no talking, no cellphones, no crinkly bags of potato chips, no screaming rugrats.
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164 East 56th St. (2nd/3rd Aves.)
6 to 53rd St.
New York’s home of Afro-Peruvian music Thurs-Sat with tapas and drinks. Music director Gabriel Alegria plays this little basement space with his phenomenal combo Fridays and Saturday at around 9 along with as diverse a mix of latin and jazz sounds as you’ll find anywhere in New York, from klezmer to free jazz to singers. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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2nd St. and Ave. A
F to 2nd Ave.
Occasional acoustic music upstairs at this long-running, relatively oldschool neighborhood watering hole: once in awhile, they get some big names here. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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514 2nd St. btw 7th and 8th Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn
Just about equidistant from either the R at 4th Ave., the 2 at Grand Army Plaza or the F at 7th Ave. and a ten minute walk either way.
This considerably upscale branch of the local chain has free live music most Fridays and Saturdays from ten to midnight. The stage is in the back past the booths; the sound actually isn’t bad. Be aware that they don’t sell single slices here; your best bet is to take a table with friends and share a pie, or get there early and grab a seat at the tiny bar on the left as you walk in. The bands who play here are consistently good, including oldtimey, country, gypsy and ska acts. Unfortunately, the pizza is not, and is overpriced: you’ll do better for less at Pino’s just around the corner on 7th Ave., or Joe’s a few blocks away past Garfield Place.
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UC Lounge
no website
87 Ludlow St. (Delancey/Broome), Chinatown/LES
F/M/J to Delancey St.
This expensive Chinese karaoke bar, popular with affluent second-generation kids, hosts the occasional songwriter or rock show, some of them run by sleazeball promoters who will sneak four or five unannounced, unsophisticated New Jersey or Long Island bands onto the bill for fifteen-minute mini-sets just to fill the bar with a few more bodies. So shows here run way, way behind schedule, as much as three hours, plus even if you’re willing to wait it out, you may not see your friends’ band play more than a couple of songs. The folks who run the bar are nice; it’s the subcontractors who are the creeps. The sound in the back room, around the corner from the front bar, is pretty awful. Sometimes they’ll open up the basement as well, where the sonics are even worse. A place to avoid at all costs.
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West End Ave. at 107th St.
1 train to 103rd St.
Eclectic sounds – singer-songwriters and bands – at this relatively new Upper West spot. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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702 Union St. at 5th Ave., Park Slope, Brooklyn
R to Union St. and walk a block back toward Brooklyn Heights or F to 4th Ave., walk about 9 blocks back toward Bkn. Hts.
Although the basement music room is much smaller than you would think considering the cavernous bocce court and bar above it, this is one of Brooklyn’s superior venues. Booking is all over the place, with garage rock, country, bluegrass and frequent national touring indie rock bands, and can be excellent. As a plus, they like theme nights of related bands. Cover is cheap, typically under $10, always under $20; advance tix are available at the Bell House box office, but the space seldom sells out (it’s about the same size as the old downstairs room at Freddy’s). The sound is iffy, but the staff are casual and laid-back. Upstairs is a yuppie puppy meat market.
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corner of Union and the BQE, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L or G to Lorimer, walk straight down Union toward the BQE, club is on the corner on your right.
The music is usually in the back building at this two-building complex, once a pool supply dealership, that you reach after crossing the courtyard outside. It’s a high-ceilinged room with iffy, generally loud sound. Avoid standing under the little balcony in the back if you can: someone might spill their beer on you. Ten years ago, this place was rockabilly central, now it’s mostly tourists and trendoids. Not a place where you’d want to hang out. Drinks aren’t cheap. The Nazi factor is pretty nonexistent – there’s a door guy on the weekends, but if you’re obviously of age you won’t have any problem getting in. The quality of the acts here depends; they like theme nights, and on a good night you can see several good bands…if you know who’s playing here, that is. These folks set a new low in making the artists who perform here do all their own promotion. They’ve always been iffy about it, they don’t advertise, and their current website hasn’t been updated since October of 2011. Rev. Vince Anderson – a New York institution and incredibly charismatic performer who you should see at least once in your life – plays a deliriously fun dance party here on Mondays at 11. Be aware that shows here start on time these days: arrive an hour late for a 9 PM act and you’ll miss them.
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26 Bushwick Ave. at Devoe, Bushwick
L to Graham Ave.
Cellist/impresario Valerie Kuehne of the Super Coda books shows here, a reliably interesting mix of jazz, indie classical and theatrical performers. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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1/2/9 to Christopher St. or A/C/B/D/E to W 4th St. and walk west
178 7th Ave. S
This small, legendary basement venue has booked pretty much every jazz legend since the end of World War II (believe it or not, CBGB owner Hilly Kristal got his start here). Drinks are notoriously expensive and tiny (although you get a drink ticket with paid admission), as are the little chairs and tables they squeeze you into. But the sound is pristine (there’s a reason why so many jazz groups have made live albums here), the staff is professional if obviously harried – you have to be something of an acrobat to work here – and the acts are reliably first-rate. It’s pricy but cheaper than the other jazz clubs – $20 cover plus a $10 drink minimum during the week, $35 cover plus $10 drink minimum on weekends. Despite its limitations, this is your best bet for big-name jazz in New York.
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261 Driggs Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford Ave. or G to Nassau St.
Big, beautiful, cavernous Polish wedding banquet hall booked by the Knitting Factory. Plus cheap Polish draft beer and cheap steam-table Polish eats. Since this place dates from before the turn of the previous century, the architects did not predict the advent of rock n roll and the sound can be boomy: the closer you are to the stage, the better you’ll hear, and there’s plenty of room here. Music is only an occasional thing here these days, although the acts they get are frequently topnotch: Gogol Bordello, Rasputina, Patti Smith. Advance tix are available at the Knit, there’s absolutely no Nazi factor, and on nights when there are no events, the bar and the snack bar are open to the public. For the most part, the crowd is neighborhood Polish kids: the trendoids, being xenophobic, generally stay away.
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683 Washington Ave. at Prospect Place, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn
Any train to Grand Army Plaza
Americana roots and oldtimey music, strippers and gay events at this neighborhood bar – they do a lot here. Not reviewed as/of 2012.
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E 11th between 3rd and 4th Aves.
Any train to Union Square
This place just makes you laugh: it’s an atrocity exhibition straight out of central New Jersey with a clientele to match. Two spaces here. The big main-floor room, known a long time ago as the Ritz, roughly the same size as Irving Plaza with similarly erratic, loud sound, is booked by the folks over at Bowery Ballroom. This is where they hide the acts who don’t fit the Bowery’s effete cookie-cutter indie mold: Americana, punk and the occasional world music act or singer-songwriter. Downstairs is the “studio,” similar to the lower level at Bowery Electric with its oversized stage taking up considerably more of the floor space than necessary, and the sound is even worse down there. Be aware that there are other rooms here where tourists from Long Island and New Jersey can congregate, meet similarly minded yuppie puppies, drink $20 cans of Bud Lite and listen to Journey on somebody’s ipod blasting through big speakers. As a result, the lines outside are a zoo, the club’s officious staff in their black turtlenecks snarling at anyone who might be in the wrong place. Furthermore, shows here, both upstairs and downstairs, routinely start an hour or more behind schedule: arrive at showtime and you may have to stand in line outside the club for thirty minutes or more, rain or shine. For the big shows, advance tickets – available at the Mercury Lounge, 5-7 PM Monday-Friday, are an absolute necessity: your best bet is to arrive an hour after scheduled showtime, avoid the line for the downstairs room, head for the main entrance up the steps, and good luck with that. If you end up missing some of the concert, don’t blame us because we warned you about this place.
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Kent Ave., on the water between North 11th and 12th Sts.
L to Bedford Ave.
A triumph of democracy for the 99%: the local community got together, fought the crowds of narcissistic one-percenters who made the big Summerstage-like outdoor space such a living hell for a couple of years, and won. So now the private parketeers who ran it are moving their summer concert series north to a lot on the water on Kent between North 11th and 12th, scheduled to open in the summer of 2012. As with the southside space, don’t expect much in the way of good music: it’s run by gentrifiers, for gentrifiers and has been very bland and twee since the days when the series was held at McCarren Pool.
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Wingate Field, Crown Heights, Brooklyn
2 train to Winthrop Street, walk 2 blocks east or by bus: B12 on Clarkson Avenue to New York Avenue, walk north; B44 on Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenues to Winthrop Street, walk east. Park entrances on Brooklyn Avenue (Rutland Road and Winthrop Street)
This is the Monday night ghetto version of the free concerts at Coney Island, held from the end of June through August. Unsurprisingly, it’s mostly older black acts from the 70s, with the occasional reggae or old-school hip-hop act. The Nazis who made Central Park Summerstage such a hellacious experience until recently seem to have relocated here: in order to get into the space, you either have to arrive right at 7:30 when the gates open, or late, at 9 or so, otherwise you’ll be trapped within a labyrinth of fences with perhaps thousands of other people, completely unable to move. To get inside, you have to enter the labyrinth on Winthrop Street: it runs a full block down the street and then all the way back again in the opposite direction. You will then be subjected to a rigorous full-body search and then a search of anything you’re carrying (no beverages allowed) by as many as three security goons (like at Roseland, they REALLY like to feel you up here, regardless of whether you’re a woman or a man). Bring a chair if you want to sit because the bleachers running around the back of this sports field fill up fast. The stage is big and the PA is loud and powerful, but as at Coney Island, the sound is iffy unless you’re close to the stage. The crowd tends to be older and mellow, but watch your back: 5-0 is out in full force, looking to make his quota of “quality of life offenses.” That means no smoking anything, tobacco or otherwise. Be extra careful if you’re going to see hip-hop: the crowd is fine, it’s the cops you have to worry about.
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31 E 28th St. (Madison/Park)
6 to 28th St.
Up-and-coming French-owned classical hall with frequent, first class concerts: lately WMP has been home to both violinist Gil Morgenstern’s Reflections Series and pianist Alexandra Joan’s exciting Kaleidoscope Series. Tix are relatively cheap ($25 or under) for what you get here. Excellent sonics in the long, rectangular room; be aware that it can get stuffy in warmer weather. Pleasant staff and a clientele that’s typically a lot younger than the Lincoln Center crowd. They also have a weekly Wednesday lunchtime concert series at half past noon for reduced prices ($10 usually).
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E to World Trade Center, take the walkway on the north side of Ground Zero over the highway and then hang a left at the bottom of the stairs.
Infrequent free concerts here during the colder months and lots in the summer, both inside the Winter Garden on the ground floor and outside on the plazas, mostly classical and jazz. The annual Bang on a Can avant garde music marathon takes place here as well.
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101 Lafayette St. #801 (White/Walker), Chinatown
Any train to Canal St.
Not a club: this is the box office. They’re promoters of an astonishingly good range of music from around the world. Lately they’ve been putting on a lot of shows at Symphony Space, though they move around a lot. Typically, they choose venues with excellent sound. Tickets are available at their office (open Mon-Thurs 11-5, Fri 11-1) and also at Symphony Space and Roulette for shows at each of those venues. Tix are also available online for some shows, with a processing charge. Season subscriptions and membership (which includes a 20% discount on show tix, which could be worth it if you see a lot of them) are also available.
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689 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Fl. (enter on 54th St.)
E to 53rd/5th Ave.; Q to 57th St.; B/D/F to Rockefeller Ctr.; 6 to 53rd St.
Occasional recitals here: classical, jazz and avant. Surprisingly large, long rectangular venue: some shows here are free but require a reservation.
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258 Wythe Ave. between Metropolitan and S 3rd, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford Ave., Wythe runs parallel to Bedford: go two blocks west (slightly uphill), then take a left.
Nightly music here is free, and can be interesting – mostly instrumental stuff, jazz, funk and world music. Zebulon’s theme is French-African – the lowlit, slightly cavernous bar/restaurant with a bunch of tables close to the bar and the stage up front can get crowded as the night goes on, so early arrival is advised. When the place first opened it was trendoid central, but since the douchiest, loudest Williamsburg trendoids have taken their act to Radegast Hall around the corner, it’s now actually possible to hear the music here as well as see it. Absolutely no Nazi factor; drinks can be extremely expensive, i.e. $20 for a glass of wine.
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82 West 3rd Street (btw. Thompson & Sullivan)
A/B/C/D/E/F to W 4th St.
The move from their old digs on Houston to the old Sun Mountain/Baggot Inn space is a resounding success: the room has never sounded this good. The layout is the same: long bar on the left as you walk down, tables and couches in front where there is a minimum. Cover is cheap, usually $15 or less; while they still feature a lot of tropical and African jazz, they seem to have phased out the regular residencies. Relatively laid-back bar staff, drink prices are average for the neighborhood, cheap cover considering the quality of the acts here.
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90 W Houston St. at LaGuardia, in the old Zinc Bar space
B/D to Broadway-Lafayette; 6 to Bleecker
The best new venue to pop up in Manhattan in years. This place has everything going for it: exquisite sound, an easygoing, friendly staff, good music and relatively cheap drinks plus a Tex-Mex party food menu. The name is Persian for “underground;” it’s run by the same musicians who made the Austin club Momo’s such a great place, before taking a stab at turning Hill Country into a hard-ticket country bar. So far there’s a mix of singer-songwriters, Americana-flavored bands and even the occasional world music or jazz act. Some shows are free, others around $10, occasionally expensive (over $30). Music is in the back room which you reach by going through the curtain and then past the kitchen; there’s waitress service in case you need a drink but don’t want to miss any of the show.
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