New Yorkers Weigh In On Wellmont

New Yorkers will never come out here to see a concert. But lots of people from northern Jersey will, which is why the Wellmont will be able to attract good bands.

It's all cyclical, they said the same thing when the Brendan Byrne area was proposed.

Who's gonna go to Seacucus to see a show except Bruce and Jon...?

And who cares. If no one comes it will close and something else will pop up.

The Community Theater in Morristown does just fine, is even adding a "summer season" this year.

What it all really depends on is for "bands" not to show their greed by demanding absurd fees and for the theater's operators to offer up reasonable (on an act-by-act basis) ticket prices and, truly key to the process, bookings people actually want to see.

So while I might not expect the Wellmont to do so hot come summer, when acts know they can get a lot more than usual from outdoor venues (did anyone else notice that the top price for Rod Stewart's AARP-ish gyrations this summer at the PNC center is something ridiculous like $500?) , the business for small-medium sized touring acts simply isn't otherwise so strong that they can afford to turn down reasonable offers. Indeed, one night in, say, Manhattan, another in Red Bank and still another in Montclair or Westbury, this is a nice way to keep tour costs down.

i would go to the shows at the wellmont for the same reason i go to outpost in the burbs, maxwells in hoboken, or the nj pac in newark: i can see a great show for less than it costs to go to nyc, easier parking, and a shorter drive. if it's well managed they should get good attendance, and i hope they do!

Break a Leg!....to Baristaville's soon to be renovated Wellmont Theater

njpac is a treasure...close, easy to get to, easy to park, beautiful venue.

Agree with s2007--but do have any idea of the high percentage of NNJ residents who haven't yet (or won't) go to NJPAC? And now the Prudential Center is one more place in Newark (with high prices) that people can shy away from.

s2007,

I'm with you re: NJPAC. I just wish they had more rock acts.

I saw Jethro Tull there last November. Incredible show.

The place was spotless, the audience well behaved. The acoustics were great. I saw Tull in 1971 in a giant tent @ "Pirate's World" in South Fla. Ian Anderson's first utterance was "The acoustics in this f'ing place suck." . We didn't care. JT was debuting "Aqualung" and the concert was among the most powerful rock experiences I've ever witnessed.

I bet the Wellmont could get Tull. That would be amazing if they did.

good news. if the wellmont fails, at least it will have 3million in restoration. better than having a run down abandoned theater that it is now

When I lived in The West Village, I rarely went to Maxwells because it was on the wrong end of Hoboken. The Wellmont COULD be a shorter ride from NYC -- with some minor scheduling changes in MidTown Direct & DeCamp.

It's a great thing it is going to happen, but,
All I can say is: go somewhere else for that bedroom-community-small-town-feel from now on...

Maybe it's Newark, ME.

Yay! I can't wait.. and although I am not allowed to report on what my kids say.. there were smiles all around.
Bepositive!

I am going to personally do my best to make sure that this venue succeeds. Bowery Presents can get some terrific talent, and I plan to drag all my NYC friends over here for it.

Fantastic news.

I hope the Wellmont attracts NYC-based entertainment for NJ-based fans. NYC fans have plenty of NYC entertainment options ... why should they want to travel outside of the city?!

Then again, I'm underwhelmed at the Beacon Theater's upcoming roster of entertainment ...

Mellonbrush,

Ah, the 70's..I remember them fondly.........(i think)

NYC fans might not come to Montclair for shows, but with tunnel fares at $8, off-street parking at over $30, and NYC parking tickets at $150, plenty of NJ fans will happily stay on our side of the Hudson rather than patronize Manhattan or Brooklyn venues.

I love how anyone who lives in NYC automatically assumes that nothing in the cultural universe has any relevance whatsoever unless it's vis a vis them.

That's good because I don't want New Yorkers here. So this piece means nothing.

In the past, lots of bands who played at Maxwell's also played in the city around the same time - so NJ was a stop on the tour. It's appealing to bands because they can play another show without driving for hours first.

There are plenty of people in this area to support shows in both NJ and NY - we won't need New Yorkers in order for it to work. Also, a lot of great smaller venues in NY have disappeared, leaving fewer options for smaller acts.

Walleroo, of course it's Newark. But more than that, it's the IDEA of Newark. For NJPAC or Pru Center fans, we know how inundated that part of town is with police and PEOPLE when there's a show on. I just don't understand why people are so dismissive of (again) that part of the city.

a lot of great smaller venues in NY have disappeared, leaving fewer options for smaller acts.

I'm not sure which venues you're thinking of, but the ones that come to *my* mind (CBGBs, Coney Island High, and The Bank to name a few) came nowhere near a 2,000 person capacity and while I'd absolutely love to be able to walk a block and a half to see my favorite local and "not quite main-stream" bands play; I don't think the Wellmont owners will be happy with only ~500 people in their shiny new 2,000 plus venue.

The only way that this place is going to succeed is with big-name acts that are either on their way up to super-stardom or on their way back down, but still have enough of a following to draw a crowd.

Add to that the fact that they are going to be competing with some pretty hefty names in the NJ scene (everyone from NJ small fish Starland Ballroom to the biggies like NJPAC, PNC, and the Prudential Center will probably be doing everything they can to make sure this place fails) and the relatively complicated parking situation (only a handful of metered spaces across from the venue itself, a few hundred spaces in the Crescent Deck and the rest will have to be made up by the owners making sweetheart deals with all the banks in town to use their lots as valet parking during concert hours) and it does seem like quite the uphill battle.

I wish them the best of luck. They?re gonna need it.

I don't think NJPAC or the Prudential Center are going to care about the Wellmont -- NJPAC caters to a completely different audience than what the Bowery Presents folks tend to book, and the Prudential Center is a lot larger than 2000 seats, meaning it's going to be looking for very well-established acts.

The Wellmont, at a 2000 person capacity, is more like the size of someplace like Irving Plaza or Webster Hall (or for those who remember the "old Ritz"), or even the Trocadero in Philly, and (we can hope) will be looking to book a similar "class" of band.

Also, it's good for bands to have the option of playing different-sized venues. Sometimes bands purposefully set up shows in smaller venues along their tour route to test out new material or to play more intimate shows.

The Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom (both Bowery Presents venues) have a history of doing "surprise" or "secret" shows in a smaller setting, as well as industry showcases, so perhaps The Wellmont will serve as a place for that type of thing in Montclair.

The fact is, the success or failure of the place will really depend on the quality of the acts they're able to feature, and beyond that, the overall concert-going experience. If the sound is good, security aren't a bunch of invasive and rude facists, and the space is attractive and comfortable, fans will come provided there are shows by bands they want to see.

Parking and transportation to the venue may not be the most convenient for everyone, but I think that overall, the benefit of being able to see a show in a decent space locally will outweigh the hassle, especially when compared to what is costs to get into and park in Manhattan these days. Also, people could take the bus, for heaven's sake. For many shows, depending on when they let out, people could even take the bus HOME. Imagine that.

"I'm not sure which venues you're thinking of, but the ones that come to *my* mind (CBGBs, Coney Island High, and The Bank to name a few). . ."

Yes, I was thinking of larger places than CB's, the Continental, and Brownie's - to me they were small clubs. Places like The Ritz (the one on 52nd after the Webster Hall location) and The Marquee accomodated the mid-range. Roseland, Webster Hall, and Hammerstein aren't the greatest for shows anymore. Irving Plaza and Bowery Ballroom are decent, but can sell out too quickly.

It also depends on your idea of a 'big-name' act -- big names most likely aren't playing for 2000 people anyway. The little-known bands can play in the city at places like Mercury Lounge or Pianos, which are both good. But there are bands still in the mid-range that could handle 2 nights in the area of 1000 - 2000 people per night.

Pardon me while I wax nostalgic about the Continental and the Coyote Ugly. At which when you put on the wrong music on the jukebox you'd have to do a shot from the bartender's boot. You couldn't go wrong with Johnnie Cash. How many times did people bang their heads on the steam pipe dancing on the bar? Good times. Good times.

Sorry, why do we care what NYers have to say about it? More than half of NYers aren't from there anyway, they're like from Ohio. Who cares?

"More than half of NYers aren't from there anyway, they're like from Ohio."

And the other half have already moved here.

Speaking of NYers, has anyone caught an episode of The Housewives of NY on Bravo? My dad always said not to say anything unless you had somethin' nice to say about people.......................(and your right ackme, none of them of NYC natives)

Irving Plaza, with a capacity of 900, is 1/2 the size of the Wellmont.

A certain # of bands these days will do 1 night in NYC & a second either in Hoboken or Brooklyn. All of those areas would seem to have a greater density of a show-going population than Montclair.

Where I live (Bergen County), NYC has the big advantage that I can get there & back w/o driving (train service). The Wellmont would likely be my second choice in most circumstances.

Having the last train back to NYC around 10:30 will definitely keep many New Yorkers from coming out here, especially if they are going to miss the end of the show. DeCamp going back at almost midnight is a better option, but most city dwellers avoid buses like the plague. It certainly keeps my NY friends from visiting me here.

I suspect the talent roster will be the same as the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury or Webster Hall. Like becky said about Maxwell's, a lot of bands will do Maxwell's one or two days on either side of NYC, so I think bands will play here a day or two before or after they play a Bowery Presents show.

Why don't people like that part of Newark? Because it's a dump. It's not exactly pleasant to visit when you have to park in lots with barbed wire and spiked fences and armed guards, only to walk into the hermetically sealed complex where you can eat, drink, pee and watch entertainment without--thank goodness-- having to go back outside. Gee, why aren't people flocking to it. I wonder.

It's not the fact that the last train returns at 10:30, transplanted, that keeps New Yorkers away. It's the fact that you have to take a weird train into this wildnerness called New Jersey in the first place. Have you ever seriously suggested to a dyed in the wool New Yorker that they come out to New Jersey on mass transit? You get a fear, incredulity and scorn.

The real issue is the apparent 2000 seat capacity of the Wellmont. That automatically disqualifies many of the acts people have mentioned above (and on previous such threads). No one recalls that the Capitol usually had triple bills to cover just this situation?

Perhaps there'll be some way to "break down" the theater into smaller capacity areas?

Walleroo, you're right about Newark. (As usual, I'm forced to add through clenched teeth.) But still, such conditions should be rated an acceptable cost of one's liberalism by liberals (you know, the people who opine that Newark is a nice place to visit but they still wouldn't want to live there) and of one's devotion to the Devils by local hockey fans.

cjbvii,

PRU & NJPAC may be way larger than the Wellmont, but the concert promoters are the same that promote something like an Irving Plaza. For example; the same company that books NJ club Starland Ballroom also books Continental Izod and Giants' Stadium Xanadu. So, they've got a vested interest in shooting down the Wellmont (read: Bowery Presents) and the ammo to do it with by offering mid-card bands more money for a gig because they know they'll make it up the next time BonJovi or the Stones roll through town and pack the larger arena.

Also, if anyone thinks the residents of Baristaville and surrounding areas have such a homogenized taste in music that only people in the know of local bus schedules and/or have friends who will let them crash in the Montclair pads can keep this place afloat, then I've got a bridge on the Hudson I'd like to sell you.

Hey! My strikethroughs for Continental & Giants' Stadium didn't show up! Crap.

The "Meadowbrook" one of the most famous venues of the big band era is still here on Rte. 23. People came from New York as well as all over the world. Montclair's Wellmont could have the same success (and place in history) and I hope that it will!

Leave to you Frank to remind us of the Meadowbrook. My friends and I went there in college. A grand place.

Whenever I drive past the Meadowbrook with my grandmother, she exclaims...."wow the Meadowbrook!...Lets go sometimes!"

My mother use to go to the Meadowbrook when she was in HS..and she is 76 now. The ironic thing is, years later,unbeknownst to them at the time, she and my dad bought the house that one of the owners of the Meadowbrook lived in. Folklore has it that Harry James spent plenty of nights in the room that eventually became my bedroom.

My parents also went to the Meadowbrook in it's heyday, they would be around 90 +/-. I went in it's last incarnation as a music venue (being the youngest and unexpected later sibling). Somehow I think the rents would never have related to Blondie or what we called dancing. Now it's owned by some religious group, wonder how the ghosts work that out?

yeah, 2000 seats will be hard to fill at first. it will help if they can call in big guns for the 1st few shows. parking and lack of weekend trains will collide to work against them.

truthfully I don't expect many NYers to randomly decide to hop a train to montclair for a night out. but there's plenty of chances that folks already here might want to invite a few friends to see a show in their backyard. for that, a more robust train schedule would be nice. I work in the city and routinely (2 or more times a week) go out to catch music in the city after work. I'd love to be able to head home and then step out.

>>>I'd love to be able to head home and then step out.

I think a lot of people feel that way, and will be happy to avoid the hassle of having to go (sometimes BACK) into NYC when they can go out to a show here.