Stories from the Stage: (le) poisson rouge

Iggy Pop at LPR, photo by Ryan Muir 

I’d like to start by acknowledging that with last week’s passing of RBG, the election drawing uncomfortably near, and the pandemic with no end in sight, it’s easy to forget what life was like just nine months ago. We are living through tumultuous times. Still, not even a year ago, life in New York City was bustling with packed subways, bars, restaurants, dance parties and of course, live music.

Our second Stories from the Stage is here, and for this follow-up release, I've picked yet another venue I'm incredibly biased about: (le) poisson rouge. I spent 2016-2018 on the LPR booking team, therefore this venue holds a special, squishy place in my callused, promoter heart :)

Former site of LPR, The Village Gate

When I headed to my old stomping grounds for this interview, I found myself walking down an unrecognizably desolate Bleecker Street. This used to be the block where I’d duck NYU students, tourists, the uber wealthy and the uber broke to get to work. On show nights, I recall walking out of the West 4th Street station and being immediately enveloped by the vibrant energy of the West Village, sparkling and alive in all its glory, casually passing institutions like Blue Note and The Bitter End. In our conversation, Senior Music Director Brett Tabisel astutely points out the history of this neighborhood and the specific history of (le) poisson rouge as The Village Gate during the counterculture glory days of the '60s and '70s. For decades, the West Village has been internationally recognized as a home for significant cultural milestones and for the development of the world’s most well-known artists (through independent venues!). The particular space that LPR inhabits is certainly no exception.  

Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip performs solo, in-the-round

Founded in 2008 by classical musicians David Handler and Justin Kantor, (le) poisson rouge is a 750 standing and 300 seated-capacity venue in the West Village that came onto the NYC music scene with a mission: to challenge the pedantic programming voices of classical venues and create a daring new platform for all genres to co-exist with classical music (and cocktails). LPR is well known for launching the careers of artists like Sleigh Bells, Little Dragon, Lorde, Kamasi Washington and countless others who played their first major NYC shows on their stage. Speaking of the stage, there are actually three of them. Not only do they have a traditional corner stage set-up, but there is also a custom-built modular circle stage that is brought out for unique “in the round” show experiences. Additionally, LPR’s side gallery bar is a performance space which has hosted their infamous drag queen bingo night, Le Bingo with Linda Simpson, for over 10 years. And over the last 12 years, the venue has been the home to the critically acclaimed NYC Winter JazzFest (programmed and produced by former Senior Music Director, Brice Rosenbloom), their notorious '90s and '80s parties, and above all, their renowned, eclectic programming representing a myriad of genres. LPR is a venue that encourages risk taking in their programming, and will try anything once. Understand, without venues like these, and they are mostly the independent ones…live music will be doomed.

That one time Prince showed up and the A/C went out

LPR X: Philip Glass’ “Dracula” Live Score+Film performed by Michael Riesman

Ticketing live performances is literally illegal right now (even outdoor ones, follow #CuomoWeGottaTalk to follow this conversation), but LPR is fighting back with their very own live stream platform, LPR.TV, which was just launched last week. This subscription based platform will host fresh, original live streamed concerts, all performed live on the LPR stage (the corner one) without an audience. $19.99/month gives you the opportunity to watch them all, plus the performances are on demand for 60 days after the live stream, in case you miss it. The current schedule is posted on their website and features artists like Kimbra, Jose James, Son Little, !!! and many more.

In addition to signing up for an LPR.TV subscription, you can support LPR’s staff and venue by donating to their GoFundMe page and Patreon. 

LPR staff celebrate the holiday season