Music Hall of Williamsburg Announces Initial Lineup of Shows

A few weeks ago, The Music Hall of Williamsburg announced Patti Smith as the opening night show (and the show sold out very quickly). Bowery Presents has just released the initial bookings for the club and there looks to be a number of solid acts.

The initial Fall lineup for the Music Hall of Williamsburg is as follows:

September

4: Patti Smith and Her Band (previously announced)

7: Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts

8: Vampire Weekend

10: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
*fan presale July 10

14: The Walkmen

15: Bonde do Rolê with Plastic Little

19: The Black Lips with The Selmanaires and Nice Boys

21: Les Savy Fav
*tickets on sale July 18, presale July 14

27: Medeski, Martin & Wood

28: Fujiya & Miyagi with Dirty on Purpose

29: Jose Gonzalez
*tickets on sale July 17

October

3: BORIS and Damon & Naomi with Michio Kurihara

8: Sunset Rubdown

9: High On Fire with Mono, Panthers, Coliseum
*tickets on sale July 20, presale July 13

Tickets for the initial September and October shows will go on sale Friday, July 13 at noon, unless otherwise noted. Additional Music Hall of Williamsburg shows will be announced soon.

Through the new agreement with Ticketmaster, fans will be able to purchase tickets for events at all Bowery Presents venues at a fee structure virtually the same as that of former ticketing partner, TicketWeb.

"This decision to move to Ticketmaster allows us to maintain our dedication to providing easy access to tickets and entry into clubs, given our recent expansion," said Michael Swier, a partner in The Bowery Presents. "Considering our solid history with Ticketmaster as the owners of TicketWeb, we believe they have come to know not only our market but also our commitment to low ticketing fees."

In September, The Bowery Presents will open a second box office at the Music Hall of Williamsburg that will sell tickets to all of The Bowery Presents' venues -- Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge and Webster Hall - and to select Bowery Presents concerts. As at the Mercury Lounge box office, this outpost will offer cash-only ticket sales with no additional fees.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg will open on September 4th with a sold-out performance by Patti Smith and Her Band and will be the first Brooklyn music venue to be managed and operated by The Bowery Presents. Inspired by the look and feel of the Bowery Ballroom, and committed to providing the best experience possible for bands and fans, the 550-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg will have a focus on acoustics, sightlines and space. The venue will feature state-of-the-art sound, lighting, broadcasting and recording systems, which will also have the capability to be used for Internet, TV and radio broadcasts.

Please visit www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com for ticket information and schedule updates.

About The Bowery Presents

The Bowery Presents is an independent promotion company based in New York City. With a core business based around great music, its mission is to bring the best bands to the NY metropolitan area and to provide the best concert experience for fans and artists, along with reasonable ticket prices. Over the years The Bowery Presents has worked with a vast cross-section of some of the most talented performing artists, including Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Bright Eyes, Billy Corgan, Guster, Interpol, John Mayer, Moby, Modest Mouse, Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Sonic Youth, The Sea & Cake, The Shins and The White Stripes. Michael Swier and John Moore of The Bowery Presents have presented music at the Mercury Lounge, the Bowery Ballroom and Webster Hall over the past 15 years. Jim Glancy, former president of the New York division of Live Nation joined the company as partner in 2006. In addition to opening the Music Hall of Williamsburg in September 2007, The Bowery Presents, headquartered on Manhattan's Lower East Side, will open a larger venue in Manhattan in October 2007. For more information, visit www.bowerypresents.com.

Patti Smith to Headline Opening of Music Hall of Williamsburg (the old NorthSix)

I am glad to see NorthSix reopening (as the Music Hall of Williamburg) and Patti Smith is playing opening night. Check out the details in the press release below. I would recommend getting tickets right when they go on sale (this Saturday, June 23rd at noon) as this is going to be one of those shows where tickets will go quick.

THE BOWERY PRESENTS TO OPEN MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG ON SEPTEMBER 4 WITH PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND
***
Music Venue To Open In Williamsburg

(NEW YORK) June 19, 2007 - The Bowery Presents, an independent New York concert-promotion company, today announced the Music Hall of Williamsburg will open on September 4th with Patti Smith and Her Band. The Music Hall of Williamsburg will occupy the former space of Northsix, on 66 North 6th Street, and will provide a first-rate, mid-size venue for bands to play in Brooklyn.

Patti Smith is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in rock history and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March. Well-loved by her New York fans, Smith, for the eighth consecutive year, sold out her annual New Year's Eve/Birthday run at The Bowery Ballroom as well as an April record release show at Hiro Ballroom in support of her latest album, Twelve.

"To have Patti and her band, who have become so much a part of our lives, open the Music Hall, for me, is the perfect beginning to our life in Brooklyn," said Michael Swier, a partner in The Bowery Presents. "We've been fortunate to have a lot of support for the Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury Lounge over the years, and we hope that with our continued dedication to the music and the fans, the Music Hall will become a well-loved neighborhood music destination."

The 550-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg will be the first Brooklyn music venue to be managed and operated by The Bowery Presents, which has promoted shows in Brooklyn since 2006 and will promote a line-up of shows at McCarren Park Pool and Keyspan Park at Coney Island this summer. Inspired by the look and feel of the Bowery Ballroom, and committed to providing the best experience possible for bands and fans, the Music Hall of Williamsburg will have a focus on acoustics, sightlines and space.

The re-designed layout of the Music Hall of Williamsburg will be three levels, including a lower level lounge, where guests can congregate around the U-shaped bar, one of three bars in the facility. The ground floor lobby leads into the Music Hall performance space, which will feature 28' ceilings, side balconies and a back mezzanine. The venue will feature state-of-the-art sound, lighting, broadcasting and
recording systems, which will also have the capability to be used for Internet, TV and radio broadcasts.

Josh Moore, who previously worked at AEG Live's Nokia Theatre Times Square and is a founding partner of Jam Cruise, was brought on board in March to book the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

"The Bowery Presents has a vision of developing and working with quality artists from the ground up, and the Music Hall provides an amazing new place for artists to play Brooklyn," said Moore. "I couldn't be more excited to be booking this venue."

Tickets for the opening night Patti Smith show will go on sale Saturday, June 23 at Noon, for $35 each. Additional shows will be announced on July 10.

Links:
Music Hall of Williamsburg (link)
Patti Smith's Main Website (link)

Luna Lounge Is Booking Some Solid Acts

Well, NorthSix closed with a fizzle as ConEd turned off the power a day early (See BrooklynVegan's site for more details) but it looks like some strong acts are being booked into Luna Lounge. Right now, Rob Dickinson (former vocalist for The Catherine Wheel) is playing on Feb. 28th (tickets are $12) and The Young Knives and The View are playing on March 3rd (tickets are $10).

With all the hype around The View's show at The Merc last month, I am surprised tickets are still available.

Below is a picture from The Comas show from the club's opening night (thxs Rob)

Carnivore to Play Northsix in Brooklyn on Jan. 13th, 2007

Carnivore, Peter Steele's pre-Type O Negative band, is back for a one-night reunion show at Northsix. Carnivore plays very infrequently these days so fans will want to catch this show.

This show is sponsored by Duff's Bar in Williamburg and they are hosting a meet & greet with the band after the show. (Check out the bar's website as there is a video of the meet & greet with Carnivore after last year's show at BB King's)





Carnivore's lineup for this show is:
Peter Steele - Vocals, Bass
Paul Bento - Guitar, Vocals
Joey Z - Guitar, Vocals
Steve Tobin - Drums, Vocals

Also on the bill are Krieg (one-time reunion), Lair of the Minotaur, Anal C*nt, Embalmer, Dimentianon, and Annunaki. Advance tickets are $30 and went on sale through Ticketweb on 12/24. (This show will likely sell out so buy your tickets now!)

Chris Pennie & Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan) Live @ Northsix, 12/2/06

Chris (Drums) and Ben (Guitar) from Dillinger Escape Plan were the last act to play at Northsix on Saturday. This is a new, un-named project by Chris and Ben and their take on instrumental rock was much more jazz oriented than the acts that proceeded them. Both musicians are extremely talented and it was nice to see them shine outside of Dillinger's math-core structure.

While the duo's set was predominately instrumental, they did bring Alie up to sing one song. (See picture below - Unfortunately, you can see in the last two pictures that my flash batteries were all but dead by this point in the evening)

Zombi Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn Dec. 2, 2006

Relapse recording artists Zombi followed Maserati. Zombi is a two-piece band that plays a style of prog-rock that would be easily comparable to mid-period Genesis or Tangerine Dream. For having just a keyboard/bass player and a drummer, Zombi produces complex, multi-layered music with a very big sound.



Zombi has been in town a few times over the past few months including a spot opening for Isis at the Avalon in June. Zombi has become a very strong live act and I would expect to see them start to headline some shows in the area in the near future.

The band is currently finishing their tour of the Northeast with Maserati and have a few remaining dates in Canada and Buffalo. Upcoming tour dates are:

12.06 Ottawa, ON @ Cafe Deckuf w/Maserati
12.07 Hamilton, ON @ The Underground w/Maserati
12.08 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's w/Maserati
12.09 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab w/Maserati

Maserati Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn Dec. 2, 2006

It was an interesting night at Northsix last night as all the bands were (predominately) all instrumental. Maserati drew the biggest crowd of the night with its brand of space/ psychedelic rock. Maserati's website describes the band's music as "Pink Floyd for hipsters...[t]his is stoner rock for the working man." I can't think of a better description. Just to be clear -- this isn't the Roger Waters era of Pink Floyd that the band is referring to. Maserati's sound goes straight back to the Syd Barrett/Piper at the Gates of Dawn era. Many of the tracks played last night would fit well along side of Pink Floyd tracks like Interstellar Overdrive.

Maserati hasn't done a show in the area for almost two years but they are returning next Sunday night (Dec. 10) for a Todd P show @ Uncle Paulie's.

Here is the scoop on Uncle Paulie's:

[ UNCLE PAULIE'S ]
$2 beer! Uncle Paulie's is totally a temporary structure built out of blue canvas and two by fours and plywood on a slab of concrete next to the huge under-construction death star minaret upside-down hot-air-balloon lookin' sewage treatment plant in Greenpoint. During the daylight, men in hard hats eat fried food here. Totally patio, but totally inside! Easy to get to but so far out nobody cares! Noise & djs till the wee hours! $2 beer! Bring yr ID for the beverages.
-- MYSPACE --> http://www.myspace.com/unclepauliesnyc

Maserati has a new CD/LP Inventions for the New Season due out in the Spring on Temporary Residence, Ltd. A couple tracks from this release have already been posted to the band's MySpace page. The pre-release tracks sound great and band's set last night was phenominal so this upcoming release will be something to look forward to.

I have a couple additional pictures from the show posted below:

Thee Majesty Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 2006

Thee Majesty headlined the show at Northsix on Friday night. It has been almost two years since the band's last show and it is always good to see Genesis P-Orridge, Lady Jaye and Bryin on stage together. For those who aren't familiar, Thee Majesty is Genesis' spoken word project. Thee Majesty is quite an intense experience if you are open to the experience. If you aren't, you probably should stay home as Genesis stopped the show twice to inquire what one person was shouting about at the bar. (I was close enough to hear that he was shouting about California punk bands like The Adolescents. What this had to do with the bands playing that night, I have no clue)

The last few times that I have seen Thee Majesty, Genesis used a lyric book and I was able to pick up one of the pages from the book after the show.

Int'l Shades Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 2006

Int'l Shades (or IS as they are sometimes called) took the stage after The Star Spangles. The band has been around since 2002 but they play this side of the river way too infrequently often.

For anyone who hasn't seen Int'l Shades, last year Time Out NY said this about the band:

"Int'l Shades is the sort of band NYC needs more of - kind of an odd thing to say about a decidedly untrendy quartet of veterans (including Bob Bert, once of Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore, and Mark C of Live Skull.) But when musicians who've been around the block (and not just clockwise, either) set down rough-edged melodic rock songs, their assured nature rips the white belt off the local scene."

Since the Time Out piece was written, the band has added Alexa Georgevich on keyboards and vocals which gives the band more of a Fall like sound (but the band doesn't succumb to any of Mark E. Smith or Brix's excesses).

IS has one release (CD/LP) out on Cass Records. I haven't heard this release but if it is anything like the band's current and past live shows, it is worth picking up.

Star Spangles Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 2006

It was Summer 2003 when the Star Spangles held their release party at CBGB for Bazooka, their first release on Columbia Records. At that time, critics either loved or hated the band (there was no middle ground) and it looked like the band was going to break big. For whatever reason, the band severed their ties with Capital, the long awaiting follow up to Bazooka was never released and the band faded from the scene.

The band has now regrouped with a new rhythm section (Nick and Joey are gone -- new members are Chris and Todd) and opened for Genesis P-Orridge's Thee Majesty at Northsix on Saturday night. The band is in great form and it is good to see them back in action. According to the band's MySpace page, the long delayed second record is "comin soon".

I was at the front of the stage when the band finished its set and picked up a copy of the setlist. The last song of the set, "I Don't Want to be Crazy Anymore", is the perfect power-pop song that ranks up there with anything by Cheap Track or The Plimsouls.

Star Spangles set list from show @ Northsix, Brooklyn 11/24/06

Bathtub Shitters & Navicon Torture Technologies Play NorthSix On Nov. 22

Japanese grind-core Bathtub Shitters are playing Northsix on Wed., Nov 22nd. along with ID, Navicon Torture Technologies, Defeatist and Negativehate.

Bathtub Shitters are one of those bands that has to be seen to be believed. As you would guess (or maybe not), most of their songs focus on an obsession about sh*t, toilets along with anything and everything else related to these items. The band's music has a good high-voltage energy and Masato Henmarer Morimoto can rival Butthole Surfers' Gibby Hayes for "the most demented vocalist" award.

It looks like a fun show and tickets are only $8.00.