New York
The National Underground
Address:
159 E. Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
New York, NY 10002
Age:
21+
Phone:
212.475.0611
Website:
Booker Name:
Fran
Booker Phone:
N/A
Booker Email:
booking@thenationalunderground.com
Booking Tips:
Fran books the upstairs room and Dan Melnick of Turnstyle Music Group books the downstairs. You can reach Dan through melnick.dan@gmail.com. Bands are required to draw at least 15 people in order to secure a show.
Description:
Additional Websites: Myspace and Facebook. Genres: Roots Rock, Americana, Folk, Indie, and Country. Capacity: Approximately 75 upstairs and 75 downstairs. Live music 7 nights a week. The venue has two stages for music - one upstairs and one downstairs. They are well known for their hamburgers and the club is owned by Gavin and Joey DeGraw.
- Posted by Anonymous on Apr 25, 2010
I would not recommend booking a show here to anyone. I traveled 8 hours for a show, which to start, was never publicized on their website calendar after having had reminded them of not being on their calendar on more than one occasion. To start, the venue itself is no nicer than the average hole in the wall dive bar. There is an upstairs and a downstairs, upstairs being the better of the two areas to play due to traffic flowing in and out of the bar. Downstairs is more secluded and where most bands that are traveling/touring will be scheduled to play. If you are playing down there don't expect anyone from upstairs to migrate downstairs, or to bring in any additional people aside from the people you draw. The show I had with my band was kinda a disaster. We brought in about 40 people, and were paid $100 for the actual gig. We essentially played for the people we brought in, because no one else was coming in from the upstairs. The "backline" was pure crap. The keyboard stand, flimsy and unsteady and there was no clip for my drummers cymbals which effected his drumming. I had been keeping in steady contact with the booking agent just to secure that everything was running accordingly to plan months, and weeks prior to our visit, and to double check that we had everything that we needed. When we arrived, the booking agent wasn't even present, and the 50 min set times that we were set to play were cut down to 25-30 minute set times due to the fact that they overbooked too many bands. The staff had no idea who was playing and weren't sure how to answer any questions, they were rude, and my bands name was listed on the roster, but was only half correct as they messed up our name. One band who traveled from Nebraska was turned away because they weren't even listed on the roster. We ended up playing a full set only because 3 out of 6 or 7 bands that were booked were either turned away because they were on the roster, or because they didn't end up showing up. Overall, if I could give this venue zero stars I would. Don't waste your time. - Posted by Groupepublicity on Apr 20, 2010
I've only taken bands who played upstairs, but I've been downstairs - so I know what that is like... I found this to be a great club, lots of traffic and they have a barker outside to bring people in. The manager and staff were very friendly and they even took the tip jar around. Gavin DeGraw showed up and was awesome to my guys. For those playing downstairs - here's the deal - if you are playing NYC for the first time you have to understand that you are a non-proven commodity in the number one market in the world. You can't swing a dead cat in NY and not hit a musician so stop expecting them to roll out the red carpet. Just do the work or pay someone to do it for you!!! If you do the right publicity then you can have a good experience. If you don't, you'll drive to NYC for a rehearsal in an empty room for no money. Compared to others of the same vein that first timers can do in the city - N/U is one of the best - it's in a great neighborhood, it's got decent equipment, and the staff is great. - Posted by Jameskeyes on Mar 30, 2010
Not a bad place at all. The staff was friendly and the sound was great. Played downstairs on a friday night. It was decent exposure, not having played in NY before, but you really need to do you own promo, there's no chance of walk-in as the downstairs part of the club cannot be heard from the street. Other than that, I thought it was a great place to play. - Posted by Anonymous on Mar 24, 2010
Bryan, and Kyle are great bookers who are easy to work with and professional! - Posted by Anonymous on Mar 08, 2010
one star is too many... I played a show there, came in on time, loaded my gear downstairs, there was a band playing before my set.... and they went 45min. over their time - the clown who was running it wouldn't do anything about it. I went on and my set was a little shortened; but the crowd of friends I had with me were ambushed by the same lame rock trio who went way over their time. These clowns smothered my friends with their CD's, posters and stickers for $5 - $15 and wouldn't take no for an answer - and the bartenders and the stage manager did nothing to control this unseemly, distasteful behavior. I would avoid this place like the plague and maybe it will go away...
