One Year Later: Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza Shittiest Venue in New York

It was about a year ago that the geniuses over at Live Nation decided to rename some concert venues with the moniker "The Fillmore." Similar to the chain of House of Blues venues in cities in North America, the Fillmore was a ploy to brand venues in New York, Philadelphia, Miami and Detroit. Obviously, the name "Fillmore" comes from the legendary venue in San Francisco.

Has it worked? Financially, I can't say, but I can tell you as a regular concert goer, I haven't actually been to the Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza. This is not out of protest, but for sheer lack of quality acts and performers. Looking at my archives, the last time I was there was to see the two nights of Of Montreal. Back in my day, say mid-90s, Irving Plaza was the only mid-size venue in the city where you can see up-and-coming and under-the-radar acts.

Take a look at the line-up for the next few months and tell me if you have any interest to see these people:

• Fri, 03/21 -- Pitbull & Baby Bash
• Sat, 03/22 -- Auktyon with Special Guest John Medeski & Marc Ribot
• Sun, 03/23 -- Hot Topic Presents the Sub City Take Action Tour
• Mon, 03/24 -- Ingrid Michaelson
• Sat, 03/29 -- Lez Zeppelin
• Wed, 04/02 -- Alan Parsons
• Thu, 04/03 -- The Bodeans
• Fri, 04/04 -- Carbon/Silicon
• Sat, 04/05 -- Lotus
• Tue, 04/08 -- One Night of Queen Performed By Gary Mullen & the Works
• Wed, 04/09 -- Saul Williams
• Thu, 04/10 -- Kathleen Edwards
• Fri, 04/11 -- The 2008 Alternative Press Tour
• Sat, 04/12 -- Rogue Wave
• Wed, 04/16 -- Wu Tang Clan
• Fri, 04/18 -- Tapes N' Tapes, White Denim
• Wed, 04/23 -- Sara Bareilles
• Sat, 04/26 -- Rahsaan Patterson
• Thu, 05/01 -- C U LaTouR: Ministry's Final World Tour
• Fri, 05/02 -- C U LaTouR: Ministry's Final World Tour
• Sat, 05/03 -- A Tribute To the Godfather of Soul
• Sun, 05/04 -- Eric Burdon
• Mon, 05/05 -- Apocalyptica
• Wed, 05/07 -- Tech N9ne
• Fri, 05/09 -- Ozomatli
• Sun, 05/11 -- Arch Enemy
• Tue, 05/13 -- Mike Ness
• Sat, 05/17 -- Beto Cuevas
• Sun, 05/18 -- Tiger Army
• Mon, 05/19 -- Joey Ramone's Birthday Bash
• Sat, 05/24 -- X
• Wed, 05/28 -- She Wants Revenge
• Sat, 05/31 -- Pennywise
• Sat, 06/07 -- Slackers
• Thu, 07/10 -- At the Gates
• Fri, 07/11 -- The Zombies
• Sat, 10/11 -- Killing Joke
• Sun, 10/12 -- Killing Joke

That's just wrong on many levels. It's plays like a concert line-up at a county or state fair. The majority seems to be lackluster reunion tours or bands well past their prime. The other portion are bands you see in the .99 clearance bins in used CD stores (Ozomatli, The Bodeans, Tech N9ne). You also have a handful of "Who?" and "never heard of them." There's the occasional, you couldn't pay me to see them acts (She Wants Revenge, Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson). Also, what's with the tribute acts?

Stuck in there is Tapes n' Tapes and White Denim. If I were them, I would conveniently stick a screwdriver into the tour van tires the night before, "Opps, can't make the show gang."
 

   

Comments

[SPF]

Very little appealing going on there these days. Still a great venue to see an intimate show by a big name act (I've seen Van Morrison, Robert Plant & Sting there in recent years).

[andrew]

Only useful one on there is Carbon/Silicon, Mick Jones and Tony James' project, which is pretty damned good. Then again, I'm an enormous Clash fan, so I'm biased.

[odb]

are you seriously fucking with the wu tang clan?

[RZA]

Bobby Digital gonna get his revenge!

[bumpershine]

Chris,

I'm afraid I must disagree with your statement that Irving Plaza is the "shittiest venue in New York". Sure it's not my favorite venue by a long shot, but would I rather go there than Webster Hall, Roseland, or Terminal 5? The answer is an easy yes. In terms of the whole renaming thing, it has really had no effect at all as far as I can tell, it was a Live Nation venue before, and it still remains one. The setup on the inside has not been altered in any significant way either. What has changed though in the last year is the competition, now that the Bowery Presents has two 500 capacity venues, it can have back to back BB/MHOW shows and thereby effectively "steal" a good show away from Irving Plaza. Also, the slightly smaller Blender Theater has opened up right down the street, (another Live Nation venue), that competes with Irving Plaza for bookings. In my observation, sometimes they end up with more interesting shows than their larger cousin. In fact, many shows at The Blender could probably play at Irving Plaza at a little under capacity, or possibly even sell it out (The Pipettes with Nicole Atkins is one that comes to mind).

Also, looking at that lineup you posted, even though it's not that good, it's not that awful. I'm sure there are lots of people who are excited about the X renunion and/or would like to see Wu-Tang in a venue much smaller than they usually play. Also, though Ingrid Michaelson and Sarah Bareilles may not be your cup of tea, there is no disputing there popularity with the general masses. And don't Rogue Wave, Tapes'n Tapes, Carbon/Silicon, Kathleen Edwards and Mike Ness have enough cred to appear on this blog? Sure there are some clunkers too, but like I said, the landscape is not what it used to be, and a lot of the more popular indie bands have allegiance to the people at Bowery Presents who have nurtured them throughout their careers.

PS I totally disagree with you on Ozomatli, they are a great live band (though even I will admit that their last album was unlistenable).

[Mr. Green]

Almost totally agree with this post. 2 things though, Lotus rules and Terminal 5 is EVEN WORSE.

[Partyin' Peeps]

yea. lotus is the exception to the shitty acts they have lined up.

[Garey]

Roseland, Hammerstein, and Terminal 5 are rough. I can't stand the 3,000 capacity general admission venues. The whole concert consists of people walking through you with their drinks. Instead, I try to see shows at the Bowery, HighLine, Blender, Mercury Lounge or Irving Plaza, although yes, Irving Plaza's lineups have been subpar.