Knitting Factory leaves the island: Buys tight-fitting jeans and moves to BillyBurg

(picture: me the last time i played the Old Office at The Knitting Factory Leonard St. location with GhostMeat! Halloween 06)

So the Knitting factory is officially closing up shop on all 3 of its Manhattan stages this January.

Some of my fondest concert memories are from the various stages on Leonard St. (even if the place was a bitch to get to) The Knitting Factory was a diamond in a rough of high end residential development. I remember hanging outside the club and having the neighbors screaming at all the kids below. "Keep it down!" "Get out of my neighborhood!" "Hey you Punk! Y'Know People LIVE here!" I always found those people to be such hypocrites. There they were, shouting out the window of their brand new condo, at the patrons of a club that had been there for over 10 years.

My favorite part about the venue was that I could go see my favorite artists on the Main stage one night, and then take my buddies down to the Office or Tap Bar stage and play a set or put on a whole night later that week. It gave a great community vibe to the whole place. It's something the Brooklyn spot will lack. The venue is moving from being a 3 stage, 4 bar establishment to 1 bar, 1 stage.

Even though I love the fact that Brooklyn's Music scene is growing, I am sad to see the place go. In a sense, its not even a growing music scene in Brooklyn, it just Manhattan's being transplanted. It's hard to complain though. New York artists are in a constant state of flux and homelessness. They move to neighborhoods that are cheap and spacious. They make that cheap run down neighborhood cool and trendy. (and paint cool things on public walls) Wealthier people want to be cool and trendy and build condos in run down neighborhood. (and paint over cool things on the walls)

It's kind of ironic that the space the Knitting Factory plans on vacating is the de facto Luna Lounge. (another club that closed in Manhattan and moved to Williamsburg) The Knitting Factory is going to have to offer something the Luna did not, and I don't think a sheik name will suffice. (Hipsters hate lame shit like that)

It's worth noting that literally right next to the new Knitting Factory are brand spankin' new condos on BOTH SIDES. I actually used to live 2 doors down from the space Luna Lounge was, and it's amazing how much the neighborhood has changed in just 3 years. Imagine what it will be like in another 5. Good Luck Knitting Factory!

Below are some good tunes played from the soon-to-be-condo-ized stages.

Kaki King


Click here for a video of Elliot Smith playing there in '96.

Sufjan Stevens

Phish re-unites as a wedding band!

It's been 4 years since we've seen the guys from Phish play together. After the band's 2004 Coventry Festival, trustafarians and frat boys have been forced to look elsewhere for their heady jams, until now. Who knew that the boys would go from sell-out stadium residencies to weddings!

All summer rumours have been flying around of a Phish reunion. Some even went so far as to say that they were in the studio up at Trey's Barn, recording new matertial for a Fall Tour. Whether or not the studio rumour is true, the Vermont-based quartet has been jamming out.

This past weekend the guys from Phish attended Brad Sand's wedding. (an old road manager for the band) What ensued was a inpromptu jam on Julius, Suzy Greenberg, and Down with Disease. Thank the JamBand Gods someone was there with camcorder in hand to capture the event. They got the tail-end of Julius on camera. Check it out below.

This is a Drunk Man's World

Chris Bergson: Modern Day Blues Man

I saw this guy a while back at Rockwood Music Hall. Me and a friend went on a random night to see what was playing and stumbled upon his show.

Rockwood was pretty noisy that night. We caught the tail end of a previous set, over which the audience talked and laughed at jokes and what not. Although the performer got a good reception after the music had finished, it didn't seem as if the crowd was there to see music.

Chris stepped on stage and I assumed it would be more of the same. He looked a tad shy; a short humble white guy coming to play the blues. Once he opened his mouth, however, the audience dynamic changed drastically. Everyone shut up as soon as they heard this deep, warm, soulful voice coming from such a small package. It only took about 5 minutes for everyone to warm up to the music, and from that point on, everyone was dancing, singing, drinking and having a great time.

Chris is a Brooklyn-based Blues man. I'm assuming he's from Gowanus Heights as that's the first track on his new album. Chris finger-picks a chinky Gibson guitar and sings with the soul of a 50 year-old delta man. His backing band lays down some nice funky grooves and Chris just goes at it. His signature voice is equally matched by his guitar work, he rips gritty blues rock with the twang of an acoustic finger picker. He played for about an hour that night. Each song had its own unique vibe and he managed to make an hour of relatively straight forward blues tunes go by in an instant.

Chris is playing a few times in the New York area in the upcoming month:

July 30th, 2008 - in Hoboken, NJ @ Scotland Yard - take the path train from Manhattan to Hoboken, it's about 2 blocks from the station. It's a pretty awesome pub/blues joint.

August 21st, 2008 - Rockwood Music Hall - on Allen St. just below Houston St. The best sound in the city. Go early because it's a tiny spot.