« Living in a Cobble Hill Townhouse/Time Capsule Busted Down on 14th Street... »
December 17, 2007
Bottom Line: Brooklyn's Where It's At For Venues?
There was an interesting piece in the Times yesterday about how the owner of the legendary Village venue The Bottom Line is looking to open a new spot in Brooklyn. A few years ago, the Bottom Line's owner, Allan Pepper, was booted from his 4th Street space (pictured above) by his landlord, NYU, for failing to pay back rent; Pepper has since started scouting Brooklyn for a place to open another Bottom Line with an adjacent pub. The story is chock-a-block with great quotes about how Manhattan is "dead to live music" and Brooklyn is a better bet for the intersection of art and commerce. “In Manhattan I’ve found that it’s really about dollars and cents,” say Pepper, “and even when you attempt to talk to people that you think could understand on some kind of aesthetic level what you’re trying to accomplish, I haven’t got the same reaction that I’ve got with Brooklyn.” We still make the trip across the East River for a lot of concerts (and we've liked some of the Manhattan venues that opened this year, like Terminal 5 and the Highline Ballroom), but it's not surprising that the island's crazy high real estate values and ever-increasing corporate homogeneity mean more and more venue operators are eying Brooklyn.
A Fabled Club Seeks an Encore in Brooklyn [NY Times]
Photo of the old Bottom Line space by fotemas.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/3252
Comments
The Bottom Line hadn’t been relevant to current music in like 30 years before it closed. Booking Jefferson Starship reunion shows, dated 2nd and 3rd-tier folkies, and other assorted flotsam, no wonder they went out of business. Great history there, but times had long since passed them by. Sort like what happed to another place that was one block away from the BL, on the corner of Broadway and West 4th…
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 9:42 AM
Yeah, Brooklyn.
NO one is money grubbing here. NO greedy realtors or landlords here.
Come to Brooklyn! You could get a music venue for ONLY like 20K a month!
Bargains galore!
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 9:43 AM
While I share 9:43's suprise that there are no greedy landlords here, I would be thrilled to have a significant music venue in my neighborhood. Maybe a new space would inspire an interest in some newer music, too.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 9:54 AM
He should look at Cellar's old spot on DeKalb Ave. or it's owners second place, across the street. (THe bar used to be called Erik's but Tommy Sellers turned it into a private club). Both places are on the corner of DeKalb and Washington Ave.
That Navy Yard Bar down on Flushing would be a great spot too.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 10:41 AM
Venues, clubs and restaurants come and go in Manhattan. Always have and always will. Not a new phenomenon.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 10:54 AM
Oops. 10:41 again. Both spots are on the corner of DeKalb and Venderbilt Ave. I meant.
On Washington, you have a dentist's office, which isn't for rent : )
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 10:56 AM
While I would love to see more Brooklyn venues for live music, I agree with 9:42. The Bottom Line only booked artists long past their prime and whose musical styles had faded ages ago. Reviving that formula in Brooklyn would be like opening a large club featuring only big band music.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 12:15 PM
Terminal 5 a good venue?!!! Terminal 5 should be avoided at all costs. I showed up at 8 for a Ween concert (doors opened at 7) only to wait in a 45-minute line in the freezing cold while 2 sub-human bouncers checked every ID. The city should shut them down for shear incompetence.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 1:26 PM
this guy is clueless. leave the Brooklyn venues to the williamsburg club owners who run Luna Lounge and the music hall of Williamsburg or even Union Pool.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 2:59 PM
you showed up at 8pm for the (sold-out) Ween concert that was supposed to start at 8pm? What a dumbass.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 6:12 PM
Thanks for plugging my new salon, Shear Incompetence, 1:26.
Posted by: guest at December 17, 2007 7:20 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.