Northsix

Northsix was a DIY music venue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. It opened in the spring of 2001 and was one of the first of a wave of music venues to open in Brooklyn.^[1] Prior to the opening of Northsix, Manhattan was the only borough in New York City that one could find indie-rock, "underground", cutting-edge avant garde rock concerts.

Northsix maintained an eclectic booking schedule and was host to countless notable music/comedy performances- among these were My Morning Jacket, Broken Social Scene, Sonic Youth, Ween, Dismemberment Plan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, They Might Be Giants, Gogol Bordello, Wolf Parade, Of Montreal, Wolfmother, Versus, Spoon, Hot Snakes, Jonathan Richman, Robert Randolph, Queens of the Stone Age, Mars Volta, Deerhoof, Lightning Bolt, Animal Collective, Franz Ferdinand, The Rakes, Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks, Polyphonic Spree, OK Go, The Fall, The Gossip, ESG, Hank Williams III, The Hold Steady (debut performance), Battles (debut performance), Larry Harlow, Lungfish, Sebadoh, MC5, Dillinger Escape Plan, Danielson Famile, Circulatory System, The Bravery, Blue Cheer, Joan Jett, Black Dice, Beirut, Black Sheep, Melvins, Mudhoney, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Todd Barry, Marc Maron, Rich Hall, and the World/ Inferno Friendship Society.

Northsix was named Best New Rock Club in 2002 by The Village Voice,^[2] as well as Best Rock Club and Best Williamsburg Music Venue in 2002 by a New York Press reader's poll.^[3]

Northsix was the location for the opening scene of the 2003 Richard Linklater film School of Rock.^[4]

Northsix hosted a 3 night run of critically acclaimed Elliot Smith shows in June, 2003, which would turn out to be his last New York performance before his death later that year^[5]

Northsix was shut down by the FDNY (New York City Fire Department) on March 15, 2003 over a controversial booking of the band Leftover Crack. The FDNY has cited an expired permit as the reason for the vacate order, but it is widely believed among those in the New York music scene that the action was in retaliation for booking a band that had openly criticized the department. The venue was able to reopen after a month of negotiation with city officials.^[6]

Due to excessive gentrification and a major rent increase, the venue was sold to New York-based concert promotion company Bowery Presents in the beginning of 2007^{[citation needed]}. The venue was remodeled and renamed The Music Hall of Williamburg.

References

1. ^ NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: WILLIAMSBURG; Polishing the Grunge
2. ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2002/award/best-new-rock-club-492372/
3. ^ http://www.nypress.com/article-6458-best-of-manhattan-2002-readers-poll.html
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/locations
5. ^ http://www.songkick.com/artists/299589-elliott-smith/gigography?page=1
6. ^ The Police and the Punk Band Leftover Crack

External links

• Northsix
• Music Hall of Williamsburg