Just got hold of the news that Tonic, the great L.E.S. music space, will be closing it’s doors for good on Friday, April 13. This is just the latest example (i.e., CBGB, Collective Unconscious, Luna Lounge, Sin-e (twice), Brownie’s, Continental, etc., etc…) of the infinite wisdom of our city planners, who seem committed to the proliferation of a condo skyline at the expense of all diversity and creativity, at least in lower Manhattan. When a lionness eats her young, we deem it monstrous. When a city allows neighborhoods to be taken over by real estate speculators, we call it "economic development." The irony, of course, is that these developers sell the neighborhood on it’s cultural and entertainment offerings, which soon will amount to nothing more than a mall of overpriced bars and chain stores.
Tonic will live on, at least for now, with occasional nights at the Abrons Arts Center on Grand Street while they try to regroup and find a new space. My guess is that they, like most non-commercial music venues, will end up in Brooklyn – which will be great for locals like me, but what about all those who live in Manhattan? Are they to be expected to make the trek out and back on a weeknight?
Whatever happens, be sure to make your way to 107 Norfolk St. sometime in the next two weeks and raise your glass to adventurous live music in Manhattan. May it not be her funeral.