Webster Hall is a fun night out
By Katia Diaz
Photo from Webster Hall
On Saturdays, one can go to Webster Hall and experience live performers, including acrobats and stilt-walkers, as part of the club’s weekly circus-themed extravaganza.
Photo from Webster Hall
On Saturdays, one can go to Webster Hall and experience live performers, including acrobats and stilt-walkers, as part of the club’s weekly circus-themed extravaganza.
WEBSTER HALL – highlights from a record breaking year
WEBSTER HALL – highlights from a record breaking year
New York, NY, December 16, 2011
Webster Hall celebrated its 125th year as New York City’s premier nightclub, entertainment venue, and event
space. It was one hundred years ago that playwright Eugene O’Neill came out at one the famous Pagan Balls, establishing Webster Hall as a home for the entire artistic community. It was 50 years ago that Bob Dylan’s first ever recording took place as part of a Harry Belafonte session at the Webster Hall RCA recording studios. And it was 30 years ago that U2 landed in America and played a series of landmark shows at Webster Hall when it was known as the Ritz.
The Ballinger family re-established Webster Hall over two decades ago, and 2012 has proven to be its most fertile year with the following highlights:
- On New Year’s Day after a sold out celebration Bloody Beetroots packed the ballroom at 6AM.
- Best Club Awards were presented by the Village Voice, Paper Magazine and Nightclub & Bar Magazine.
- Bloomberg TV/Tech Stars presented its acclaimed “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained” series.
- Origins presented a private showcase with Train, performing their chart topping hits.
- MTV put the emphasis back on music with the Hive webcast series, live from the Studio at Webster Hall with Two Door Cinema Club, the National, and the Horrors.
- Webster Hall hosted once in a lifetime radio showcases in the Studio with Grace Potter, Foster the People, and The Naked & Famous.
- There were sold out shows in the Ballroom by the biggest electronic acts like Skrillex, Porter Robinson, and NERO Live.
- Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes & others came down to party on the famous Thursday ladies nights.
- Rock and roll hall of famer Patti Smith performed for the French consulate and brought the house down with a career-spanning set.
- Paul Simon recorded the Live at Webster Hall DVD which was broadcast on PBS, his most acclaimed live work in decades.
- The “Halloweek” 5 day celebration culminated in the official Halloween parade after party (a Webster Hall mainstay), as well as Wyclef’s birthday bash.
- Green Day chose the Studio at Webster Hall for a late night Halloween themed show and rocked until the wee hours.
- Webster Hall celebrated the opening of Hanky Panky, its first ever exclusive VIP club within a club.
- The Black Lips produced a live video stream from the Marlin Room.
- The Skateboard Marketing CMJ event in the new Draft & Pizza Bar was featured in Billboard.
- The Hoodie Allen concert was quickly moved from Studio to the Ballroom due to overwhelming demand for tickets.
- The Ballroom also hosted packed shows by Lucinda Williams, James Blake, the Kooks, and dozens more of the world’s premier artists.
- Motionless In White filmed its “Immaculate Misconception” music video in the Studio, featuring a cameo by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider.
- Susan Sarandon appeared in one of the many feature and indie film shoots, “What Maisie Knew.”
- Webster Hall again hosted the 56th annual off-Broadway “OBIE “ awards in conjunction with The Voice, where Alec Baldwin, Liev Schreiber, and Ethan Hawke feted the crowd.
- The Black Keys performed an invite only showcase to launch its new album and sold out tour. And those are just some of the highlights of 2011!
NEXT UP: The Sports Bar will be transformed into THE STADIUM at Webster Hall, a totally unique experience for soccer & sports.
The STUDIO at WEBSTER HALL opens to greater capacity, enhanced amenities, and museum- like homage to Webster Hall’s glorious past.
WEBSTER HALL RECORDS, which has sold millions of recordings in the past, re-launches with a revolutionary audio and visual digital platform.
For more information please contact: alex@websterhall.com
Where Music and Passion are Always in Fashion
ByDrew – July 18, 2011Posted in: East Village
The grand ballroom of Webster Hall (image via websterhall.com)
Just last week the famed Copacabana nightclub reopened yet again. At its newest incarnation at Times Square, guests were treated to an opening night performance by salsa great Willie Colón. One of the most recognizable names in nightclub history, the Copa opened its doors in 1940 at its original location at 10 East 60th Street. Over the years it hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz among countless other music notables. By the mid-1970s it transformed itself into a discothèque (as Barry Manilow can tell you), and after a series of openings and closings in new locations, in 2007 it was forced out of its last home at 34th Street and 11th Avenue to make way for the extension of the 7 subway line. Its new home in Times Square will offer a new generation the chance to participate in a 70-year-old tradition of dancing the night away.
But far from the pulsing lights of Times Square, a dancehall in our neighborhood has been keeping that tradition going for an incredible 125 years!
Webster Hall ca. 1900 (via LPC)
Webster Hall on East 11th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues has been home to dancing and so much more over its incredible lifespan. From the start, Webster Hall was a “hall for hire” where groups could rent either certain rooms in the building or the entire space for whatever functions they chose. In 1886, the New York Times noted that the hall was “intended for balls, receptions, Hebrew weddings, and sociables.” By the turn of the twentieth century, the area near and south of Union Square was packed with large and small structures housing theaters, dance halls, and other forms of entertainment, but today very few of these buildings remain intact or are not used for their original purpose.
Webster Hall was designed in 1886 by architect Charles Rentz in the Queen Anne style and topped with an elaborate mansard roof. Six years later in 1892, Rentz was hired to design an addition to the building, occupying the site of 125 East 11th Street and designed in a Renaissance Revival style using the same materials as the original building. Throughout the early twentieth century the building was plagued by fires, which occurred in 1902, 1911, 1930, 1938, and 1949. The original mansard roof was likely lost in one these fires.
The spaces at Webster Hall were always popular places for gatherings of the working class, whether it was for union rallies or for evening entertainment, and were the site of significant events in social and labor history. In 1888, the Brooklyn Eagle described Webster Hall as “a big, bare, dingy place, where all the year round discontented men meet to discuss their wrongs and sympathize with one another, and where secret societies and political organizations, labor unions and similar associations make a business of pleasure. It is a grimy neighborhood, where the rattle of trade continues all day and leaves poverty to toss itself to sleep at nightfall.” The hall hosted notable figures including labor leader Samuel Gompers, who visited the Hall for a meeting of striking brewery workers in 1888, and social activists like Emma Goldman and Dorothy Day. The founding convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America also took place at the hall in December 1914.
A costume ball at Webster Hall (date unknown). From the Alexander Alland, Sr., Collection.
By the 1910s and 1920s, Webster Hall became famous for its masquerade balls, following the success of a 1913 fundraiser for the socialist magazine The Masses. The parties, which attracted the bohemians of the Village and beyond, grew more and more outlandish–and the costumes, skimpier and skimpier. Although Prohibition could have killed the momentum of the parties, in fact, it had the opposite effect. As liquor consumption was driven underground, Webster Hall became a speakeasy, and the legends of the parties grew. Gay and lesbian Villagers first attended the parties of accepting organizations like the Liberal Club, but by the mid-1920s were putting together dances and celebrations of their own at the hall. These celebrations were able to continue without harassment, as long as the police were paid off properly. When Prohibition was finally repealed, a large ball called the “Return of John Barleycorn,” was thrown on New Year’s Eve to celebrate.
The dulcet tones of Perry Como among others filled Webster Hall during its stint as an RCA recording studio.
By the end of the 1950s, RCA converted the building into their East Coast recording studio and called it the “Webster Hall Studios.” Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, and Julie Andrews all sang at the studios, and several musicals, including Hello, Dolly! and Fiddler on the Roof, were also recorded here.
Webster Hall reemerged on May 1, 1980 as The Ritz nightclub, and until its relocation in 1986, it was a leading venue for rock shows in New York City. The roster of Ritz performers included, Madonna, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Prince, Sting, Guns N’ Roses, KISS, among many others. In 1990 the building was purchased by the Ballinger Family from Toronto, and returned the Webster Hall name to the reborn dance club and concert venue which remains today.
Webster Hall has designated an individual New York City landmark in 2008.
As real estate development pressure grew exponentially in the East Village during the 2000s, and historic sites like St. Ann’s church just one block north were lost to out-of-scale developments, GVSHP and others saw the need to protect the scale and character of many of the East Village’s unique historic structures. In the summer of 2007 GVSHP supplied the Landmarks Preservation Commission with extensive research on the history of Webster Hall, and urged the LPC to landmark the site. Shortly thereafter the LPC commissioners voted to consider the building for landmark designation and in spring 2008 the building was officially designated a New York City landmark, recognizing its extraordinary role in the cultural development of the Village.
>>Click Here for Original Post: http://gvshp.org/blog/2011/07/18/where-music-and-passion-are-always-in-fashion/
Green Day Preview Stadium-Ready New Songs at New York Halloween Show
By ERICA FUTTERMAN
October 28, 2011 11:40 AM ET
Green Day in costume at New York Halloween Show
Bob Gruen
“We’re playing a lot of new songs,” Billie Joe Armstrong acknowledged about a third of the way through Green Day‘s intimate New York City show last night. “People hang onto that shit like it’s a sacred cow. I say fuck it – cows are meant to be eaten.” And so, much like the band’s last-minute Los Angeles show in August, last night’s surprise gig on the East Coast served as a test run of sorts for Green Day’s upcoming album, with about half of the set list consisting of new material. The show was also being documented for a film about the band’s creative process on the new album.
The show at New York City’s 300-person capacity Studio at Webster Hall was announced Wednesday morning, and $20 tickets quickly sold out, with offers climbing into the hundreds of dollars on Craigslist. While Armstrong acknowledged the next Green Day album technically doesn’t exist yet, last night’s performance showcased songs that are certainly stadium-ready. The sound of last night’s set continues the lush arrangements of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, incorporating tight harmonies, big hooks and power guitars. On the new material, though, lyrics seemed less about making a big statement and more about a straightforward assessment: “Wow, That’s Loud” and “Make Out Party” leave little question as to their subject matter. The former was an up-tempo tune with plenty of catchy guitar riffs; while Armstrong introduced the latter as a slow dance, it had more of a gritty sexual drive that found Armstrong spitting out the lyrics at points.
Other new music included the blistering Ramones-tinged “Let Yourself Go” (“Shut your mouth ’cause you’re talking too much and I don’t give a fuck anyway”), the driving beat and sing-along chorus of “Carpe Diem,” and the strut of “Oh Love.” After focusing on new material for over an hour (plus Elvis cover of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and three raucous renditions of the Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments,” just ’cause), Green Day returned to the stage to tear through a collection of fan favorites. The mood immediately shifted – while the crowd had listened enthusiastically to the newer songs, the tiny room had the feel of an early-era Green Day performance as soon as they launched into “Murder City.” “Letterbomb,” “Hitchin’ a Ride,” “Geek Stink Breath,” “She,” “Paradise” and “2000 Light Years Away” followed in quick succession, each generating a furious crowd energy to match the band’s playing.
In addition to an intimate performance, the show was billed as a “Halloween Party and Concert” and Green Day did not disappoint. When they took the stage at 11:45 p.m. Armstrong channeled Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, Tre Cool wore a pink fairy dress and blonde wig, and Mike Dirnt sported all black and zombie make-up. At one point, Armstrong acknowledged an Edward Cullen look-a-like in the crowd (and rumors that Robert Pattinson was Armstrong’s pick for a role in the American Idiot film), joking, “Thanks for trying out for theAmerican Idiot movie. But I’m sorry, you just didn’t make the cut.”
Still, Armstrong and Co. embraced their real American Idiot Broadway family during the night: three-fourths of the opening band starred in the show (John Gallagher, Jr., Michael Esper and Gerard Canonico) and the night’s set open and closed with a cover of “Monster Mash” with backing help from the show’s Rebecca Naomi Jones and Alysha Umphress. After reciting the lyrics from “Monster Mash” to close the show, Armstrong bid the audience good-night with a simple, yet characteristic, “You’re all quite welcome” and walked off stage.
Webster Hall and Mr. Black join forces to launch HANKY PANKY – a new VIP cocktail and dance experience
New York, NY On September 23rd the dance den and cocktail lounge HANKYPANKY opens its doors and begins a new chapter in New York nightlife. HANKYPANKY holds court in the lounge high above Webster Hall’s Grand Ballroom,offering a prime view of Webster Hall’s legendary entertainment as well as itsown exclusive entertainment. HANKY PANKY promises to be sexy, sassy,fiercely independent and defiantly fun.
Superstar DJs, the world’s biggest hip-pop stars and legendary rock shows havecemented Webster Hall as the nightclub and concert venue for “the people.”Owner Lon Ballinger feels strongly that the club should have an atmospherededicated for a more discerning audience to enjoy the celebration in a moreupscale setting, with a private street entrance & bathrooms and a sleek,refurbished look and feel.
Nightlife impresario Stuart Black proudly takes the reigns as Hanky Panky’sproducer and creator.
Mixologist Brenden Goetz ceates a menu of high end cocktails that promise to bedeliciously evil.
HANKY PANKY’s stage theatrics will meld the erotic to the avant-garde to thedownright ridiculous, and capture that elusive ”only in New York” experience.
With Webster Hall celebrating its 125th year Anniversary, you can say thatHANKY PANKY is 125 Years in the making…and worth the wait.
HANKY PANKY
Open Thursday – Sunday 10pm-4am
125 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
www.hankypankynyc.com
Press Contact:
Stuart Black
mrblack@hankypankynyc.com
Hoodie Allen Will Perform For a Full House at Webster Hall Next Week
By Steve Lewis
August 11, 2011
When my team was in the middle of refurbishing of that grand old club, Webster Hall, on East 11th Street, a great deal of internal buzz was focused on the creation of the Studio. It was meant to be a hot bed of musical creativity, a place where up and coming talent could grow on their way to the Ballroom upstairs, and beyond. Since its creation in 1886, Webster Hall has seen just about every bold face name in the musical business use its facilities either to record or perform. One reference even called it the city’s “first modern nightclub.”
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During its heyday, Webster Hall was an RCA recording studio and therefore had the acoustic chops to make musicians salivate. The Ballroom has hosted shows with performers such as Tina Turner Eric Clapton, Prince, Metallica, Sting, Aerosmith, U2, Book of Love, Cro-Mags, Kiss, B.B. King, The Ramones and Guns N’ Roses break to big. The stage is considered one of the best in the city.
The Ballinger Brothers have been operating the space since 1992.They have a respectful eye towards the history of the venue and club, with a keen eye on the future and emerging music. The Studio is the creative cauldron at the heart of the place. In a city where a joints’ run is a miracle at 5 years, Webster Hall is over 125 years old. That’s old, but not tired. A few years back, before the world was going goo goo over Gaga, Webster booked her for New Year’s Eve. She was virtually unknown then, but by the time the end of year celebration had arrived she was the sensation we know today. Webster’s booking team had boldly committed to her for the biggest night of the year and they were rewarded for being so right.
Another example of the vibrancy of Webster’s bookings is the story of Hoodie Allen, an unsigned artist who was booked for The Studio, but as the gig got closer it was realized that fan interest needed the Grand Ballroom. This coming Tuesday, Hoodie Allen will move on up from the basement Studio to the Grand Ballroom where legends like Bob Dylan, Tito Puente, Tony Bennet, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra and Elvis have treaded before—yeah, that Frank Sinatra and that Elvis. I caught up with Heath Miller who is the VP of Live Music over there and asked him about this upcoming gig.
Who is Hoodie Allen and why did you try to book him for the studio?
Heath Miller: Hoodie Allen is an unsigned hip-hop artist, who was working at Google and performing on the side. He recently left Google to pursue his music career full time, and has seeing a huge uptick in his fan base since then. We’ve had Hoodie Allen perform here before, opening up for Chris Webby last October. I’ve kept in touch with his management since then, and when the opportunity came up to have him back in the Studio at Webster Hall, we booked him to headline here.
So the show sold out the Studio. When did you realize that it had to be moved to the Ballroom to accommodate the demand for tickets?
We sold a good amount of tickets the first day we went on sale, enough to know that the show would sellout by day of show. We didn’t expect it to sell out over a week in advance, and then all of a sudden get a ton of emails and calls from fans freaking out that they couldn’t get tickets. The manager and I decided to roll the dice and move the show to the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall, and so far it looks like a good move as we’re well on our way to a packed Webster Hall!
What’s going on with the Studio these days and what notable musicians have played the room?
Everything is going very well at the Studio. We’ve been making many improvements and repairs and we recently moved our ticketing to Ticketweb, which has helped increase our advance sales. We just had The Horrors, Foster the People, Never Shout Never, CJ Ramone and The Knux play here, and in the past we’ve had everyone from The National and Odd Future to Spacehog and Fishbone. We try to book a diverse range of acts here to match the diversity of New York City, which is a challenging but very fun way to treat the venue. The constant influx of different music helps keep things exciting.
I asked for Hoodie Allen’s bio and was sent the following. I think this is a very worthwhile show and I plan to attend.
Make every word count. This has long been the mantra of Hoodie Allen, the New York based rapper and songwriter. With a penchant for candid storytelling and witty punchlines, Hoodie has always been an emcee who understood the importance of connecting with the audience through his lyrics. A purveyor of summertime anthems, Hoodie Allen has gained notable buzz on the internet for his unique genre-blending style, unafraid to sample from the unconventional norms of hip hop.
His most recent work samples a diverse array of artists and sounds from UK pop singers (Marina & The Diamonds) to indie rock staples and upstarts (Death Cab for Cutie). The idiosyncrasy of the music is very fitting as Hoodie Allen is not your typical rapper. A self-described “college educated music nerd”, Hoodie Allen embraces his individuality and promotes it as the main message in his hype-machine breakout “You Are Not A Robot” (2010). The future is bright for Hoodie Allen. He plans to continue providing the masses with feel-good music for a long time
http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/hoodie-allen-will-perform-for-a-full-house-at-webster-hall/26745