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Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza Articles

Goodbye Irving, Hello Fillmore

By: Steve Guttbinder

Copyright 2007 Ticker

    One of New York's biggest names in the music industry was changed on April 11. This name change doesn't affect any one artist in particular but rather one of New York City's premier concert venues. The world renowned Irving Plaza had its name removed from the forefront of the marquee and was replaced with a new neon-lit marquee that bears the new name of the concert venue: the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza.

    The Fillmore NY's first headline performance was none other than pop sensation Lily Allen. Invitations to the highly anticipated event were sent to over 300 industry moguls in cylindrical containers while 700 tickets were sold to the public. Each patron of the night received a limited edition Lily Allen lithograph poster commemorating the inaugural night. Customers of the night club were also served apples as per classic Fillmore tradition.

    The name change is a move by the world's largest concert promoter, Live Nation (NYSE: LYV). Live Nation, which owns the Irving Plaza name due to past industry consolidation, wishes to establish a brand of venues that will be set up all across the country with possible future expansions around the world. The brand of a Fillmore concert venue can most easily be related to the House of Blues chain that grew from scratch into the popular concert halls they are today. Live Nation also just so happened to purchase all House of Blues venues this past November and will continue using the House of Blues name in addition to The Fillmore.

    Live Nation is currently planning to rebrand venues across the United States starting with Irving Plaza and then the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia. The original Fillmore for which these venues are being named is located in San Francisco. Live Nation believes that the Fillmore brand will allow the company to open up more small to midsized venues in markets that have no venues at all. The familiar name will give prospective building sites an idea of what Live Nation wants to open in the area.

    The Fillmore name was chosen as the brand of choice mainly for the passionate story behind its promoter, Bill Graham. Graham was born Wolfgang "Bill" Grajonca in Germany in 1931. After fleeing Nazi Germany due to Jewish persecution, Graham made his way to New York City where he was adopted. Following a lead regarding his family's whereabouts, he moved to San Francisco in 1955 where his musical career started. Starting as a business manager for a traveling mime group, Graham put on the first Bill Graham Presents (BGP) show at the Fillmore auditorium with Jefferson Airplane. Over the years, BGP continued to put on shows that helped to make and break bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Police, U2 and the Rolling Stones.

    Graham became passionately involved with the community he lived in and made a name for himself and his company by raising millions of dollars for charities in the area. Graham put on shows that helped local school districts and their art programs, helped an earthquake damaged San Francisco in its time of need and donated money to the fight against AIDS.

    Graham died in a helicopter accident in 1991. His life was mourned by 350,000 people in the bay area; a concert was put on to commemorate his life. Bill Graham was much more than a concert promoter; he was a caring activist who used music to help heal communities around the world. Bill Graham made the Fillmore name what it is today and Live Nation hopes to spread the Bill Graham story all over the world, starting with New York City, the nation's biggest music market.

    The Fillmore New York will start their next chapter at 17 Irving Place. The building, owned by the Polish Veterans Army Association, has played host to many different types of live entertainment. The building was a cabaret hall, boxing ring, swing dance hall, pay-per- view theater and off Broadway theatre in addition to, of course, being a concert venue where it finally made its name. Irving Plaza started hosting concerts in the mid-1980s but went bankrupt soon after. The venue then played host to Songs of Singapore which closed in 1990. Irving Plaza was then reopened by Andrew Rasiej and Bill Brusca who started the incarnation of Irving Plaza Concerts Inc., the 1,000 person concert venue we know today.

    Since 1991, Irving Plaza has put on some of the greatest shows New York has ever seen including performances by Bob Dylan, Radiohead, System of a Down, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the Blues Explosion, U2, Green Day and Pearl Jam. Irving Plaza was taken over by local promoter Ron Delsener Presents, which in turn was taken over by Clear Channel Entertainment and later spun off into what is now the independently corporate entity of Live Nation.

    The building has undergone numerous overdue physical upgrades that have been sped up by the name change. The most noticeable change is seen from the outside of the building - a brand new marquee. Outlined with red neon lights, block lettering spells out "The Fillmore" accompanied by The Fillmore's famous "F" logo. The crown of the marquee reads "Irving Plaza" in silver and has an arched crown much like that of the statue of liberty. The inside of the venue has been completely repainted "Ox Blood Red" to stay consistent with the current Fillmore colors and curtains have been hung up to add a bit of aesthetic appeal.

    High definition LCD screens have replaced old dusty CRT television sets and Fillmore lithographs were put up throughout the venue that highlight artists that have played the Fillmore in San Francisco throughout the years. The women's rest room will be expanded and will have more stalls than at the old Irving Plaza. Enlarged artist photos will be posted along the walls, including ones from Irving Plaza performances. The solid black railing of the balcony will be torn down and replaced with a barred railing to promote visibility while two platforms were added to the VIP section to allow its residents to see more clearly.

    The Irving Plaza staff have many mixed feelings about the renaming. Employees of both Irving Plaza and Live Nation New York put up a fight about the Irving Plaza name. The Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza will be the only Fillmore to retain its old name within the title. For some, working at Irving Plaza was much more than a job but also a lifestyle. Some employees have been working at Irving Plaza since 1991 when the club was first started.

    Jeff Webster, Irving Plaza's first intern, has worked his way up to being Irving Plaza's head production manager. Royce Lee, the current operations manager at Irving, has been working at Irving Plaza for many years and was quoted saying that he has never seen or heard of a lower employee turnover rate. Daniel Petrafesa, production manager at Irving Plaza, noted that when he was overseas, people that he met all over the world recognized the Irving Plaza name and hope to one day play there.

    The change is a difficult reality to accept for many. With 15 Fillmores planned over the next 10 years (and possibly even more planned nationwide and worldwide thereafter), it's hard to be reassured that The Fillmore NY won't become a generic name in the concert industry. On the brighter side of things, knowing the history of Bill Graham and the possibility of what Irving Plaza could have been renamed, there is still optimism and excitement in the air.

    Live Nation may even plan to follow in Bill Graham's footsteps and start giving back to the local community. Some possible options could be starting a Fillmore New York scholarship fund and becoming a sponsor for local school and community activities. The Fillmore NY will retain the same full-hearted staff that works to make every show the best it can be for both the artists and the venue's loyal customers. With that being said there is a great probability that the Fillmore will continue the traditions that lie within the building itself and put on some of the best shows New Yorkers will ever have the chance to experience.