NEWS: Irving Plaza Is Now Irving Plaza

In probably the smartest move Live Nation has ever made, as of June 23rd the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza will go back to it's beloved name, Irving Plaza. Guess that mouth garbler didn't catch on.

It may seem like a small thing, a name change, but to alot of us it was a big thing. Irving Plaza had been Irving Plaza since the early nineties, certainly since I had been going there.

Every show that has ever mattered in my life was at Irving Plaza, both ones I saw and ones I missed. Defining moments for me occurred on the wooden floors of its hall. Every band that has every made it anywhere has come through Irving at some point, it's a watermark.

Some standouts in my times there:

• From the drunken years, the time I helped my friend Mike down the stairs to the bathroom after our older friends got us totally plastered next door at the premiere dive bar 119. I got Mike into the stall and figured I could go for pee so I headed over to the urinal forgetting to unzip my fly before letting go. I had to cover that disaster with a t-shirt from the merch table upstairs.

• More drunken years, the time I blacked completely the fuck out mid conversation on a girl I had a huge crush on and ran into at the show. Saw her a couple times later but she never talked to me again.

• Greg from the Bouncing Souls covering Folsom Prison Blues the night after Johnny Cash left us.

• Mike Ness convincing some kid to come on stage, call his boss, and tell him he wasn't coming in to work the next day because he spent all night with Social D. 

• The Face To Face Farewell show I missed because I was out of the country, every Face To Face show I didn't miss.

Irving has long been my favorite venue in the city. It has the best sound, the best shows, the best vibe. Once Live Nation took over, they started booking different types of music. I didn't go as much. But every once in a while one of my favorite bands come back to Irving Plaza, maybe for the same reasons I used and we'd all relive the old days.

A couple of years ago, my girlfriend took a job in an office across the street from Irving. As I waited for her to get out of work, I'd stare at the kids in line and remember all the times I stood in the same spot. A spot I'll probably be standing in again some time. It's good to have the old place back, even if it's just in name.