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Entries tagged with 'Downtown'
Posted Apr. 16, 2007,
Tonic Dies, Downtown Lives
By David Hershkovits
There's been much ado about the closing of the club Tonic, a haven for experimental and avant garde music on the now burgeoning Lower East Side. The latest to weigh in is the New York Times which felt the closing significant enough to assign a reporter to spend the night there to witness the club's last show, the dismantling of the equipment and the eventual arrest of Rebecca Moore who refused to leave the premises in protest.
I'm as much as a supporter of Tonic's programming as the next person, which is part of the problem. I supported Tonic in theory, but attended shows only on rare occasions. If the Times had given the performers there as much attention in its closing as it did when it was open, perhaps it would still be around. The Voice's nightlife columnist Tricia Romano also weighs in on the closing, using it as a jumping off point to ask the age-old question: Is Downtown dead? Well, the answer is a resounding yes and no. If by downtown we mean that our memories of what is was like before real estate prices skyrocketed and the neighborhood was a true creative community of indie sensibility, then yes those days are over. On the other hand, downtown has become a destination for all types of people and, therefore, thriving as never before.
Whether we in Manhattan like it or not, the downtown we remember fondly has moved on to Williamsburg. Venues like Tonic, featuring essentially non-commercial music, are always going to have a hard time surviving in the market place. They need outside support from from both public and corporate institutions. Where would jazz be today without Lincoln Center. Experimental and avant-garde music is indigenous to New York and must be viewed as an art form needing official recognition and support. Maybe the powers that be will see this now. MacArthur grant recipient John Zorn, who closed out Tonic with a final show, is probably best positioned to become the spokesman for the cause just as Wynton Marsalis was for jazz. Lets hope he (or someone) picks up the baton.
photo of John Zorn via nytimes