Man, not a great week for Brooklyn’s music community. As you may recall, Monster Island Basement was to host one last hurrah tonight before being forced to close, ending a run that included Girls opening a four-band bill with Real Estate, Beach Fossils live debut, and a million more appearances from local bands and those traveling through, thick on the Captured Tracks, Woodsist and Hardly Art types. Word came yesterday that the show — featuring Regal Degal, Royal Baths, Total Slacker, Hume and Quilt — has been moved to 285 Kent, perhaps at the force of Monster Island’s landlord, who didn’t want to risk the show turning into an eviction party free-for-all that would damage the space. (We reached out to a few folks in the Monster Island circle to confirm the reasons behind the switch, but no one seemed to know what was up.) Either way, despite a music-friendly BBQ happening outside the venue to bid it farewell on Saturday, it doesn’t seem fair to the people who spent countless hours making it what it was to be robbed of a final show, especially while still riding out their lease until the end of the month.
On the heels of that news came a press release today from Bruar Falls announcing that after two quick years of existence, the venue will be closing its doors on November 1. Some pull-quotes from a refreshingly genuine e-mail:
It was soon apparent to us, however, that people in Williamsburg have lots of other options to see bands. We love and are inspired by these places, but really, between loft/warehouse parties and DIY spots, where you can bring in your own cheap beer, smoke inside and hit on the same people… We totally understand why it’s hard to spend money at your local legit small club. It is difficult not to be a bit jealous of their freedom, but we have always worked hard to be in for the long haul.
Our closure is not a victim of Whole Foods’ bulldozers, nor did we get our sound equipment stolen by thieving assholes. Actually, we wish it was something that dramatic and awful. No, its due to the classic creative differences issue, plus the fact that we had to maintain a hard-to-honor midnight curfew; and the simple fact that if you can’t bring in enough money to pay your bills (no matter how low your rent is), you cannot stay in business. At this point, it is actually way easier to shut down, save the name for another location, and start anew.
Please support Bruar Falls the entire month of October for our last CMJ Music Marathon and crazy Halloween closing-night parties. We want everyone to take a few last glances at the club, but we really need your help to get out of debt. Both [club owners] Nick and Andy have been working for free to keep Bruar Falls going as long as we could, and we have many bills that need to be paid so that we can walk away… We will be offering drink specials and hoping to secure only the best bands in our final month.
Keep an eye out here for the schedule.
At least a bit of good news was buried in there too: Bruar’s sister venue Cake Shop is still going strong and soon to be booking “Cakeshop/Capeshok Presents” shows at some of the city’s larger clubs, not to mention opening a satellite location late next year in a to-be-announced city. Until then…
ZAZA during Northside 2009, at the freshly opened Bruar Falls: