NYC Venues

I finally saw a show at The Box last night. A great space, beautifully designed and implemented. All around a gorgeous and wonderfully ostentatious event space with a visual point of view.

The sound was clear all over the building as they've installed high quality delay speakers throughout and the whole system is very well time-aligned and balanced. The bar staff was aloof and the drink prices obscene, but at least when my wife asked for a glass for her beer she was offered a GLASS, not a plastic cup.

Which brings me to the recently opened Gramercy Theater, aka Blender Theater At The Gramercy. How is it possible that the most well funded and deeply established promoter in NY (Ron Delsner Presents = Delsner / Slater = SFX = ClearChannel = Live Nation) could open such a fantastically mediocre venue? It's drab and in every choice of paint, decor, carpet etc they've used the cheapest, most generic items I've ever seen.

In fairness, they DID spend money on a line-array PA system but it seems to have design flaws or is improperly installed as it sounds terrible. The lighting system, which seems to be more than adequate is hung in the theatre in such a manner that the center line of the upstage truss doesn't match the center line of up downstage truss!

It appears that no one was paying attention to the details, or whoever WAS didn't have the eye or knowledge or taste to bring any vision to the decor or prevent the budget from running roughshod over every consideration for the patron.

Downstairs is conceived to be a bar / socializing space a la Bowery Ballroom, which is a wonderful idea. Again however the choice of carpets, furniture, soft goods and mirrors could not be more banal.

Thank goodness the staff is polite.