A Longish Ramble About Why We Thought Squeezing People into
Our Living Room Would be A Good Idea
The impetus for hosting this house concert series came from three main factors:
First, in February 2004 my good friends Gene and Isabel Frey hosted their first We’re About 9 house concert at their home in Long Island. It was such a blast and an amazing success that they decided to do it again in February 2006 to even more fanfare and fun. I was really blown away by the intimacy of having a band play in a living room literally 5 feet away from you and just how warm, friendly and relaxing of an environment that Gene and Isabel set up in their home. The two concerts along with a house concert hosted by another NYC friend of mine, Gordon, developed in me a desire to someday hold one of my own. However, at those times, I lived in a teeny two bedroom apartment with my parents, so it seemed like a distant dream.
Which leads me to the second factor: the apartment. When Gella, Jill, and I were looking for apartments, we stumbled upon this one. From the outside, it looked a bit shady. It was on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant, and the stairway looked pretty rundown. However, when we entered the apartment, we were greeted immediately by an expansive living room and my first thought was: “We could so hold a house concert here!” We immediately put a deposit on the place, signed the lease a week later, and the wheels started turning again.
Last but not least is We’re About 9. Prior to 2006, the last three times that I saw this amazing band all involved traveling by a motorized gas-powered vehicle to get to hear them play. The last time they were in NYC was in January 2005. While I would still travel great distances to see them perform (I mean I took a bus to DC on a near last minute whim to see them on New Year’s Eve 2005 in Alexandria, VA), I really wanted to see them in New York City again.
Working with Gene and Isabel, we developed a plan to bring We’re About 9 to the NYC area by proposing a mini house concert tour over a weekend in February, the time when the Long Island House Concert was held the previous two years. We presented this plan to Brian and he foolishly took the bait.
So, hence on Sunday, February 19th, 2006, The Third Annual We're About 9 Triumphant Return Live on Long Island Victory Tour House Concert Extravaganza took place and was preceded on February 18th by the Brooklyn debut of We’re About 9 minus Pat Klink plus Abbie Gardner. It was a rousing success and tons of fun!
After a repeat appearance by We're About 9 in 2007 (this time with Pat), we decided to branch out to feature other artists in our home and the rest is history, as they say. Our roster of artists have included Red Molly, Peter Mulvey, Pesky J. Nixon, Tracy Grammer, and Barnaby Bright. It is a labor of love to present these concerts in Brooklyn and to support these fine musicians. We hope you're able to attend a concert here, whether it's your first time or seventh and hope you enjoy the experience of seeing live music close up.
-Chris C. (and Seth and Rob (and former housemates Gella, Jill, Erin, Becca, and Donna) by proxy)
First, in February 2004 my good friends Gene and Isabel Frey hosted their first We’re About 9 house concert at their home in Long Island. It was such a blast and an amazing success that they decided to do it again in February 2006 to even more fanfare and fun. I was really blown away by the intimacy of having a band play in a living room literally 5 feet away from you and just how warm, friendly and relaxing of an environment that Gene and Isabel set up in their home. The two concerts along with a house concert hosted by another NYC friend of mine, Gordon, developed in me a desire to someday hold one of my own. However, at those times, I lived in a teeny two bedroom apartment with my parents, so it seemed like a distant dream.
Which leads me to the second factor: the apartment. When Gella, Jill, and I were looking for apartments, we stumbled upon this one. From the outside, it looked a bit shady. It was on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant, and the stairway looked pretty rundown. However, when we entered the apartment, we were greeted immediately by an expansive living room and my first thought was: “We could so hold a house concert here!” We immediately put a deposit on the place, signed the lease a week later, and the wheels started turning again.
Last but not least is We’re About 9. Prior to 2006, the last three times that I saw this amazing band all involved traveling by a motorized gas-powered vehicle to get to hear them play. The last time they were in NYC was in January 2005. While I would still travel great distances to see them perform (I mean I took a bus to DC on a near last minute whim to see them on New Year’s Eve 2005 in Alexandria, VA), I really wanted to see them in New York City again.
Working with Gene and Isabel, we developed a plan to bring We’re About 9 to the NYC area by proposing a mini house concert tour over a weekend in February, the time when the Long Island House Concert was held the previous two years. We presented this plan to Brian and he foolishly took the bait.
So, hence on Sunday, February 19th, 2006, The Third Annual We're About 9 Triumphant Return Live on Long Island Victory Tour House Concert Extravaganza took place and was preceded on February 18th by the Brooklyn debut of We’re About 9 minus Pat Klink plus Abbie Gardner. It was a rousing success and tons of fun!
After a repeat appearance by We're About 9 in 2007 (this time with Pat), we decided to branch out to feature other artists in our home and the rest is history, as they say. Our roster of artists have included Red Molly, Peter Mulvey, Pesky J. Nixon, Tracy Grammer, and Barnaby Bright. It is a labor of love to present these concerts in Brooklyn and to support these fine musicians. We hope you're able to attend a concert here, whether it's your first time or seventh and hope you enjoy the experience of seeing live music close up.
-Chris C. (and Seth and Rob (and former housemates Gella, Jill, Erin, Becca, and Donna) by proxy)
A few pics from one of our previous house concerts: