Bitter End

  

02-16-2014

Never booked this place myself, but went to go see a friend's band play there.
The staff is horrible. There was one nice serving girl there, but every single other one of their staff were stuck up hipsters with crappy attitudes.
I had already drank 2 drinks and decided to sit at a table where the serving lady angrily told me there was a 2 drink minimum to sit there.
As many people as that place could hold, half of it is wasted space because of the tables.
The band itself sounded all right. And I heard they got a pretty penny to play there. But as an audience member it was the worst venue experiences ever.

  

10-02-2012

While I have not booked this venue myself, I have played there with other groups, and have participated in their late Monday night jam session.

In my opinion, the sound is too loud. That being said, it is otherwise great. The guys who run the place know what they're doing.

The Monday night jam session I attended was disappointing. It was more of an open mic. The house band was great, but the evening consisted of people who have never performed in front of people before and have possibly never taken lessons. Someone who sort of knew the first half of the second verse of that U2 song would come up and moan their way through their highly personal rendition in front of the four other people waiting for their turn to do the same. I was disappointed, because I was told that this was the place to be to meet and network. It was clear that the other people participating in the evening had no aspirations of performing professionally.

  

08-05-2010

Pete and the sound tech are great to work with. It's a classic venue that's hosted some legendary performers. It's got an amazing vibe, and there's a reason this place has been around for almost 50 years.

But in the interest of full disclosure? Don't expect walk-in traffic from Bleecker street. The ticket booth at the door tends to deter walk-in traffic that other venues on Bleecker may get. There's also a drink minimum for the audience. And when you're on stage you're pretty much standing on top of them, but that's cool because it adds to the performance.

The sound is excellent. The PA and monitors are very good. As for the house backline? There's a baby grand piano on stage as well as a house bass cabinet. You'll need to bring everything else though, drums included.

  

04-06-2010

I love playing at this venue! The owner(?) Pete Folgel is a really cool guy and always has us back. It is a classic venue with pictures of famous acts that have played over the years there. Sound is great and sound people seem to know whats up. Pay is calculated by the door getting X amount of first tix sold and then band gets the rest, if I remember correctly. Also get discounted drinks at the bar. Time slots are well run and there is little lateness. Word to the wise: get there EARLY and load in. If you get there at 8:30 for a 10pm time slot you will have a bastard of a time loading in, the place gets jam packed most weekend nights and makes for a tough time. Bathrooms are few and can get hard to get too. Awesome place tho, a must for any emerging band!