Luna Lounge was a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

and music club located at 171

Ludlow Street Ludlow Street runs between Houston and Division Streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Vehicular traffic runs south on this one-way street. Name Ludlow Street was named after Lieutenant Augustus Ludlow, the naval off ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. Opened in 1995 by Dianne Galliano and Robert Sacher, it was a popular venue for local bands and

stand-up comic Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

s (the rock band

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

played there early on and last returned in 2003 to perform a secret show under the name "Cuddleworthy"). Luna Lounge is notable as the place where

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

wrote the songs for his first major label release, '' XO''. The performance room hosted two to four bands six nights a week, with the "Eating It" alternative stand-up comedy show filling the room on Mondays. "Eating It" featured a changing line-up of comedians including

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...

, Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., Jim Norton,

Ted Alexandro Ted Alexandro (born January 26, 1969) is a stand-up comedian from New York City. He has appeared on most late night talk shows and has had his own half-hour specials on Comedy Central. Biography Alexandro is a native of Bellerose, Queens, ...

Todd Barry Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporat ...

, H. Jon Benjamin, Greg Giraldo,

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than fort ...

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non se ...

, Patrice O'Neal,

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a str ...

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom '' The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

Sarah Vowell Sarah Jane Vowell (born December 27, 1969) is an American author, journalist, essayist, social commentator and voice actress. She has written seven nonfiction books on American history and culture. She was a contributing editor for the radio pro ...

Mike Birbiglia Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

and Roseanne Barr; performance artists such as Reverend Jen, Michael Portnoy and Tammy Faye Starlight; and dozens of others. The weekly event was initially devised by Garofalo and Maron, who later helped create the radio network

Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left wing alternative to counter ...

. The $8 admission fee included a drink. Footage of the bar can be seen in the 1997 independent comedy movie '' Who's the Caboose?'', which starred Silverman. A much-loved

foosball Table football, also known as foosball, table soccer, futbolito in Mexico, Taca Taca in Chile and Metegol in Argentina is a table-top game that is loosely based on association football. The aim of the game is to move the ball into the opponen ...

table was located by the entrance; a game cost $1 in quarters. Luna Lounge was forced to close when its landlord sold the small building to a buyer who planned to demolish it and build a larger development site. The bar closed its doors for the last time at its original location on the morning of June 12, 2005 and the building was torn down on July 26 and 27 of that year. Music at Luna Lounge was always free. When the club closed, it was the last spot on the

to feature nightly rock shows with no cover. Some other bands which played the venue early in their careers include

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

Longwave In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

. Ambulance LTD,

Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...

Ratatat Ratatat ( ) is a Brooklyn-based electronic rock duo consisting of Mike Stroud (guitar, melodica, synthesizers, percussion) and producer Evan Mast ( bass, synthesizers, percussion). History Beginnings and first album, ''Ratatat'' (2001–200 ...

, The National and Stellastarr. Sacher, without Galliano, opened a second Luna Lounge on January 22, 2007, in a new

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

space. Among the artists to play the reopened location were The Meat Puppets, Steve Forbert, The Knitters,

The Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert " Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, '' We Are The Pipettes'', and '' Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to suppor ...

, Longwave,

Rob Dickinson Robert Dickinson (born 23 July 1965) is a British musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter previously of the band Catherine Wheel.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 664-5 Dickinson was raised ...

, The Black Angels,

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appe ...

, Bell Hollow and

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...

. Luna Lounge sold its Williamsburg lease in April 2008 to the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

. Luna Lounge co-creator and co-owner Sacher later wrote an autobiography, ''Wake Me When It's Over'', which mainly focused on Luna Lounge and its historic and cultural significance within the music scene in New York. The book was published by Selena Press on March 1, 2012.http://wakeme.net/about-rob-sacher Wakeme.net

References

External links

Luna Lounge
web site {{Lower East Side, state=expanded Music venues in Manhattan Culture of Manhattan Nightclubs in Manhattan Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Buildings and structures demolished in 2005 1995 establishments in New York City 2005 disestablishments in New York (state) Former music venues in New York City