The Quadrangle

Issue date: 11/29/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment

The former site of CBGBs sits vacant. The awning is gone and the doors are locked for good. Perhaps even the urinal that Johnny Ramone once used is packed up and ready to be shipped off to Las Vegas. But across the street there is a crowd outside the Bowery Poetry club, one of the other venues that are trying to pick up where CBGB's left off.
"CBGB's had no filters that made them great," says Professor Michael Ayers of the Sociology Department who teaches a class on the sociology of popular music, "anyone could get a show. But no filters could have also been their downfall."
New York City has long been a destination for local hardcore and punk acts that look for a place to play and a chance to pick up the ever-elusive record deal. CBGBs was the place to play because of its storied history. Playing in the small club was a dream for most of these bands that started off in basements and garages in front of their friends. Now that the club has shut down, artists and music fans are both wondering, where to now?
Venues like the Bowery Poetry Club have started to host shows featuring hardcore bands. The club, which is located across the street from the former CBGBs site, is a unique venue with a dual personality. The club is a hot spot for NYC poetry enthusiasts, hosting readings and jams almost everyday of the week as well as hip-hop and jazz shows.
The Knitting Factory is another venue that host shows that feature hardcore and punk bands. Much like the Bowery Poetry Club, The Knitting Factory hosts a variety of other genres, such as jazz and hip hop, even some modern day swing bands.
Unfortunately, smaller venues focus more on profit from bar tabs and selling drinks because the hardcore and punk genres are not very profitable. Because most of the fan base for bands in the hardcore and punk genres is under 21, there is less of a desire to book those types of bands because there is little money to be made. With clubs' lack of desire to host hardcore and punk shows, there is a possibility of the music returning to basement and rooftop shows.
Scott Miller, a Manhattan College freshman, recalls playing at a temple with his former Queens-based punk band because it was a place they were able to play and be heard.
There are also larger venues for bands and artists that are signed and have already reached a large fan base. "Bowery Presents" is an NYC promoter that "aims to be the local, independent alternative to the larger, corporate-establishment-national promoters, offering the best experience we can along with reasonable ticket prices." The promoter books primarily for the Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury Lounge, but they also book for larger venues such as Madison Square Garden.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools