As we know the old Bottom Lounge closed last fall due to an eminent domain case.

At the time I had heard that the new location would be opening in the West Loop this month.

However, I have not heard anything on this since then. Does anyone know if this is still scheduled to open and when?

I dunno whether he has anything to do with the new Bottom Lounge, but Brian from MPShows used to have a hand in the old Bottom Lounge booking .... he and Brian Moss reared the Black Spot Gallery as an all-ages venue to defray the loss of the Bottom Lounge and the Fireside as AA venues, but that has seemed to fall wayside as well, due to, I think, finding a space. ANYWAY, MPShows posts here (or used to, at the old board), so maybe he'll chime in. So, bump.

this came up in conversation last night and one of my friends said he'd heard river north as a possible neighborhood, but he didn't offer any source for that.

Meant to mention this awhile ago, but I drove by the location of the new Bottom Lounge a couple weeks ago.

It's on Lake, just east of Ogden, a short walk from the Ashland Green line stop.
I just barely caught a glimpse of the marquee as I drove past, so I didn't get a real chance to see how big it looked or anything, but had large windows in front (I'd guess bar in front, stage in back?)

Saw the listing on Metromix for the Jon Langford/Sadies show there in May that rekindled my memory.

Anyone know when it actually is slated to open?

At this point they may as well call the place something else. I'm interested in checking it out, but I'm assuming it won't be as great as the old BL until proven otherwise.

i never really liked the Bottom Lounge

hopefully this place will have a better layout

Just had this same conversation a few days ago. Good news for my friends who live in Oak Park, but I doubt I'll be getting over there very often.

this is nowhere near Oak Park, it's right by Union Park. half block from the back entrance area for Intonation/Pitchfork fest.

Its right off the green line, which goes right into Oak Park.

www.myspace.com/bottomloungechicago
stay tuned....

I sure hope this is a step up from the old Bottom Lounge, which was the worst venue in the city.

Excited for that Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Sadies show ...




k

oh kessler, worst venue in the city? brutal...granted, the venue was in the process of closing when we took it over, but I thinked it served a purpose for alot of folks and the majority of the feedback was positive if not glowing, I would love to have a positive debate in this forum about the pros and cons of the old space so we can improve on the new space, I think the fact that the new space will be long term will be a big factor in the quality and success of the venue, also, the fact that Mike Miller who owns Delilahs will be in charge running the bar side of things will hopefully improve on the quality of the drinks, prices and overall vibe.

tag, your it....tear me a new one! or try.

i'll chime in

the layout was just awkward for me. my biggest turnoff of the place were the damned poles in the middle of the floor. i mean, it's hard enough to keep your footing during a wild andrew wk show, but having to watch out for giant poles made it sort of rough. not your fault the venues layout.

just be sure to keep the poles out of the floor and we'll be cool, bottom lounge 2.

Other than the poles, I liked the old Bottom Lounge. Of course part of the reason was because it was in my neighborhood back then. Not so much the case anymore.

I don't know how to explain this, but the old venue really lacked personality. There wasn't anything to it. The music room was just there. I remember some gigs being very overpriced for the artist I was going to see. Maybe that was because of the location? This doesn't help anyone.

looks as though my wish for poles out of the way is for naught :-(

still, i don't see myself going to any wild thrashing shows there any time soon, so it probably is a completely moot point

personally, if there's an artist i want to see there, the venue really doesn't matter. i'll be there no matter what. i'm not a venue loyalist or anything like that.

the poles are not in front of the stage, they are to the side of the stage, unlike the old bottom lounge that had that horrible pole right in the middle almost....also, the new space is much larger than the old space.

true, this does look larger

like i said, as long as there's someone there i like, i'll be there. it's not the aragon and odds are it won't sound cavernous, so yeah. a-ok in my book.

while we're on a slightly related topic to the bottom lounge, mpshows, find a place to book andrew wk, please.

yeah, it was a sinking ship that suffered from some lakeview links baggage, it was an uphill battle at times and honestly there were few people there who cared, those people are gone and the few that did care are still involved, as for ticket prices, they are generally dictated by the agent/band, promoters can fight these prices but usually its not possible, this was also around the time when Abbey was coming into the scene overbidding on everything and jacking the price all across the city up by $2-$3, before Abbey was in the mix as much there were hardly shows over $10.

Don't sweat it, he's full of shit per usual.

yeah, that AWK show at Bottom Lounge was one of my prouder moments for sure....he could have burned the place down and I would have gone to sleep happy.

is it a he?

haha.

nevermind.

'nuff said!

/agreed, that kicks major ass.




For those of us who come in from the burbs, shows are a hassle:

Driving in (Metra 12:xx isn't late enough)
Parking (sometimes costs $-$$)
Paying to get in ($$)
Drinks are expensive and crappy (though not at delilah's/elbo)
Driving home

Reducing the cost of the show would go a long way. I do realize that this isn't under anyone's control per-se, but local band x would get a lot more people out from their hometowns if the shows weren't so damn expensive.

Hope I get to see it full of bobbing heads soon!

old Bottom Lounge had great sound, in my opinion, pretty hot trixie bartenders, and i actually liked that column right up front, it was a great "lean-spot" for shows. i think the Hold Steady show i saw there was my favorite, or maybe The Constantines, or was that the same show?

i'm sure the new venue will be great, especially since it's being built out from scratch. i'm looking forward to seeing Jay Reatard play five nites in a row there someday.

Hey, I'll be there for the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, so we'll see how that goes.

The old place was awful - really bad vibe, the sound was never very good, the beer prices were RIDICULOUS, and it was just plain sterile.

Mike Miller's involvement is a good sign. Is Andrew Zorc going to be involved on the booking side?




k

Just make sure to book plenty of Fance Rock, you'll always have at least one huge supporter in the Greater Chicago area.

Maybe Office can do a free weekly residence from here to eternity.




k

I don;t understand any sound complaints about the old room. From a performer and spectator perspective, I was always pleased with it. Never a great "vibe" there for whatever reason, but the sound was never an issue.

These dudes know.

I don't suppose there will be a pinball machine at the new BL. That was always a perk of the old place. Opening band sucks? No problem, play some ball. Just don't put the Playboy machine in there. Got pretty tired of playing that one between BL and the Bottle.

Good sound from a band's perspective sure is nice, but that's only part of the equation. I can't tell you how many times there's been a disconnect between the band's perception of a room's sound and my perception. It goes both ways - sometimes, a band member will tell me they "sounded like shit," when I thought they sounded great. And vice versa. The sound pumping through the stage monitors is not always going to be representative of the sound pumping through the venue.

Just curious, tweed, when you do your soundchecks, do you have someone listen to the sound in the room itself?




k

Absolutely. I was judging it by both. Even as a spectator, I always liked the sound there. But I think they freelanced most of their sound guys (rather than having one or two resident guys) so that could explain the discrepancy in people's opinions. I know their system was good, but in the wrong hands who knows . . . .



No. It would be a nice luxury but we don't really have anyone that can get to the shows 3-4 hours early for sound check. After a while you learn what you have to do on stage to improve your odds of a good room mix -- through your own volume settings and some basic instruction to the sound guy for how you want to be mixed. I've got a few people whose ears I trust that might signal me if something's way out of whack during a set and I can relay it to the sound guy. But usually, you're at his mercy and just gotta hope he's doing a decent job. And those odds are usually directly proportional to the quality of the club you're playing.

To be fair, when BL first opened, the sound was pretty horrible the first few shows I went to. I remember hearing nothing but a low-end rumble for some shows, and literally almost nothing once when I stood by the soundboard for a sold-out show.
I don't know if it was a case of the board guys getting familiar with the weird layout of the room itself or an upgrade in speakers, but it got markedly better the last couple years it was open.

I hope the new room sounds great though, I do like the looks of the layout. I hate narrow rooms.

New location isn't too far from my apartment. I can hop the pink line for one stop or take the ashland bus. Is it open now?

Andrew Zorc never had much to do with it when we were there, he helped book shows before MP got involved, we booked the room the last 3 years it was open.

i liked the old bottom lounge. i drank so many manhattans there one night that i was practically blind.

i only went there a few times, but the hold steady was definitely the best show i saw there. oranges band and the reputation opened. one other too, but i don't think i was there early enough for them.

I think I only ever saw Matthew and Detholz! there. Multiple times, but still.

What was up with the upstairs? I never got to see it.

actually i don't think kessler is that far off. not to say i have been to every venue in the city, but over-stating the impact that fucking pole had on a concert experience is impossible. for a packed house, that fucking pole asked 20-25 percent of the floor to circumvent or die a death certain to involve slow, oozing blood.
and ftr, the hold steady show was a snoozer. without question, thee show you should have been in attendance for was the PGMG/Mahjongg show.

that was it, Oranges Band and The Reputation.

Yep, first time I saw THS. Were okay, didn't quite click until the NYE show at HOB, but they were pretty good.

Ahh, the days when I actually didn't loathe half the people in the Rep.

www.bottomlounge.com
temp website