January 21, 2007
So Much for That Refreshing Change
And then R&R Closed
By Stephen Bailey

Last night was supposedly the last night for my newly discovered haven in the meatpacking district. I was so happy to see a decent live music venue like R&R among the hoity-toity upscale joints. Sadly just weeks after finding the place, rumor has it that they’ve closed down. Although their online calendar still seems to be getting updated. I tried to contact the owners, booking agent and even the general contact on their website, but no replies.

If it is true and they have shut their doors, we can speculate all we want about the reasons why. Zoning, noise and/or license violations could cause a quick shut-down. There are of course business reasons such as greedy landlords spiking the rent, low turnout or bars wanting to simply boost sales by going the dance-club, singles-party route.

Whatever the reason, it’s just part of the growing disappearance of live original music epidemic in Manhattan. From the point of view of a musician and music fan, this is a big deal for me. But as a consumer and a devout capitalist, I have to confess to understanding to a certain extent.

Not all of the changes to the NY nightlife are related to the evil greed of invading developers. Sure they are the biggest, but certainly not the sole offenders. Take for example a situation like what happened at long-time punk/hard rock landmark The Continental.

Back in early 2006, when owner Trigger saw the changing climate and landscape in the East Village, he had a decision to make. He could either shut the doors or reinvent the club to better suit the evolving needs of the community. After 15 years as a live venue, the bar re-opened in October 2006 with no more music. Instead there were pool tables where the stage once was.

When we think of losing places that were staples in the live music scene, we tend to think of CBGB or Wetlands or The Bottom Line and such who were forced out by realtors and landlords looking to make a buck. In the case of The Continental, business exploded. The bar is doing better than ever. They’ve always been a fine place to get cheap drinks. The only real change was the loss of the live music.

So who is to blame here? Is it the city for allowing rampant development? Or is it the people moving in who simply don’t like the ‘element’ live music attracts? This is not as easy of a debate as it used to be. Especially if you consider how well live music is doing in Brooklyn but how poorly in Manhattan and Hoboken. It seems to me that this is simply a case of shifting economies.

Without knowing the full story behind R&R’s closing, and considering it was attached to a larger venue (typical for the Meatpacking District), I can only speculate it was strictly for business purposes. As of publishing this, I’ve still gotten no reply from the folks at R&R.

Links:
R&R
Stephen Bailey