The 55: The premier NYC jam and hang dive bar, if ever there was one.
Before Donald and Walter went there to hear a certain Keith Carlock play with the Wayne Krantz Trio — and the rest, of course, is history — I went there on my own and heard a certain Keith Carlock play with the Wayne Krantz Trio. Mind Blown, natch.
But well before even that — in the mid ‘80s, to be exact — I was among fellow patrons enjoying the scene and the great music there. Keith may have been but a southern skin-bashing whippersnapper at that point ... but the ground was being well-tilled for his arrival and indeed for decades more of major music history -- not to mention continuous general ribaldry and joy.
There’s really no spot like it in the city, and its storied place in the socio-musical bedrock of NY music is unrivaled -- in my experience anyway. Hell, it’s even next door to the freaking Stonewall, for pete’s sake!
But now as is the case with so many cherished establishments and institutions, The 55 is struggling to survive.
I ask you to consider visiting the 55 Bar website and/or their GoFundMe page and, if you can swing it and are so moved, toss a couple dineros towards preserving this utterly unique spot in the life of the city that never weeps.
Even "a quahta" would help. But may I suggest: a buck three-eighty might be an appropriate amount
Thanks,
D
bump above the bot posts....
PS if anybody's reading -- the livestream sets (Adam Rogers' DICE (Adam, Nate Smith, Fima Ephron) and Rudder (Carlock, Cheek, Hey, Lefebvre) were great fun. Couple of shows still left --- check schedule and tix here and see my earlier set of posts on the 55 if you want the visual overview while you watch.
Failed to mention you can support your ears and soul along with the 55 by purchasing a LiveStream during a remaining show in their Fundraising Series (schedule and tix here). I myself will be enjoying a couple' sets from Adam Roger's DICE and the reunited Rudder from the hammock anon.