Luna Lounge was a

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

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 nava ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

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. Historically, it w ...

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

bands Bands may refer to: * Bands (song), song by American rapper Comethazine * Bands (neckwear), form of formal neckwear * Bands (Italian Army irregulars) Bands () was an Italian military term for Irregular military, irregular forces, composed of nati ...

and

stand-up comic Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehears ...

s (the rock band

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

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 as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

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 stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its ...

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on Air America Radio's '' The Majority Report''. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Act ...

, 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, Ne ...

Todd Barry Todd Barry (born March 26, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian and actorZinoman, Jason (March 21, 2012)How a Master of Stand-Up Sells the Joke.''New York Times'' best known for his "bone-dry" and extremely sarcastic deadpan delivery. He grew up ...

, H. Jon Benjamin,

Greg Giraldo Gregory Carlos Giraldo (December 10, 1965 – September 29, 2010) was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and lawyer. He is remembered for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on t ...

Marc Maron Marc 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 appeared more than forty times ...

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 23, 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 s ...

Patrice O'Neal Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O'Neal (December 7, 1969 – November 29, 2011) was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his stand-up comedy career and his regular guest appearances on the talk show '' Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' and th ...

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

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American political commentator, stand-up comedian, talk show host, writer, actor and former sportscaster. Miller was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' fro ...

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...

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

Mike Birbiglia Mike Birbiglia (; born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, director, producer and Emmy-nominated writer. He has written and performed a series of award-winning solo shows worldwide. His six solo shows, ''Sleepwalk With Me'', ''My Gi ...

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

and

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

; performance artists such as Reverend Jen,

Michael Portnoy Michael Portnoy (born August 2, 1971) is an American visual artist, filmmaker, choreographer and performance artist. He calls himself a "Director of Behavior". He has been described in ''Art in America'' as "one of the most interesting perform ...

and Tammy Faye Starlite; 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 coun ...

. The $8 admission fee included a drink. Footage of the bar can be seen in the 1997 independent comedy movie ''

Who's the Caboose? ''Who's the Caboose?'' is a 1997 comedy film co-written and directed by Sam Seder and starring himself and Sarah Silverman in their film debut. The supporting cast includes comedians David Cross, Andy Dick, Laura Silverman, Laura Kightlinger, Chu ...

'', which starred Silverman. A much-loved

foosball Table football, known as foosball or table soccer in North America, is a tabletop game loosely based on association football. Its objective is to move the ball into the opponent's goal by manipulating rods which have figures attached resemblin ...

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 music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

Longwave In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, dati ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs 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 compleme ...

, Ambulance LTD,

Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...

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'' (2001–2005 ...

, The National,

Wheatus Wheatus is an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single, "Teenage Dirtbag". They also experienced success with their 2001 cover version of Erasure (duo), Erasure's "A Little ...

and

Stellastarr Stellastarr (styled as stellastarr*) is an American indie rock band based in New York City consisting of Shawn Christensen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass, vocals), Arthur Kremer (drums, percussion, keyboards), and Michael Jurin (lea ...

. 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. It was an independe ...

space. Among the artists to play the reopened location were

The Meat Puppets ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Steve Forbert Samuel Stephen Forbert (born December 13, 1954) is an American pop/folk singer-songwriter. His 1979 song "Romeo's Tune" reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary (chart ...

The Knitters The Knitters are a Los Angeles-based band who play country music, country, rockabilly and folk music. The Knitters' name is a play on the name of the folk group The Weavers. Background The Knitters formed in 1982 as a side project to the band ...

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 support i ...

, 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. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

Bell Hollow Bell Hollow were a post-punk revival band based in Brooklyn, New York, composed of Nick Niles (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Greg Fasolino (guitar), Christopher Bollman (bass) and Todd Karasik (drums). The band's music was often categorized as a blen ...

and

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...

. 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 and is co-owned and co-operated by Knitting Factory Entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United Stat ...

. 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.

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