so much has been left out in the above comments. although it is indeed true that those beautiful murals have become quite blackened by the smoking of what can be rolled by hand. the Beacon is, probably the only place in New York, and probably the US, where smoking marijuana is not only legal, but practicaly a requirment.
anyway, the Beacon… or should i say Beacon Theatre, is, and has been, the home of the cream of mid size rock concerts since the close of the Fillmore in the early 1970’s. Beacon, along with the old Academy of Music on 14th Street were run by the same promoter (whose name fails me at the moment). sometime in the late 1970’s John Scher of Metropolitan Entertainment took it over until sometime in the 1980’s when Ron Delsner became the promoter. today Clear Channel have there hand in there although Metopolitan continue to promote shows there.
but what is probabaly most important is that it is without a doubt the finest venue to enjoy a “rock concert”. Beacon audience… best audience anywhere.
the room has been our little club house for the psychedelic experence since the demise of the 60’s. acts such as the Grateful Dead and Hot Tuna being among the highlights. the Beacon continues to present surviving members of such acts. the energy of those bygone days haunt the auditorium to this day.
originally being from NYC myself i attended concerts there from the inception. nights… chaos would rein. i was personally held up at gunpoint by the bouncers at the door. a peace was brokered over time and my friends and i were allowed in without tickets for a good two decades. we saw (without seats) nearly every act to come through the joint. but forget about the scene at the door (if one were a cute young lady she might be permitted entrance without a ticket as well) utter pandemonium would break out as the acts would rock the auditorium to it’s foundations.
aaahh the Beacon!!!
so much has been left out in the above comments. although it is indeed true that those beautiful murals have become quite blackened by the smoking of what can be rolled by hand. the Beacon is, probably the only place in New York, and probably the US, where smoking marijuana is not only legal, but practicaly a requirment.
anyway, the Beacon… or should i say Beacon Theatre, is, and has been, the home of the cream of mid size rock concerts since the close of the Fillmore in the early 1970’s. Beacon, along with the old Academy of Music on 14th Street were run by the same promoter (whose name fails me at the moment). sometime in the late 1970’s John Scher of Metropolitan Entertainment took it over until sometime in the 1980’s when Ron Delsner became the promoter. today Clear Channel have there hand in there although Metopolitan continue to promote shows there.
but what is probabaly most important is that it is without a doubt the finest venue to enjoy a “rock concert”. Beacon audience… best audience anywhere.
the room has been our little club house for the psychedelic experence since the demise of the 60’s. acts such as the Grateful Dead and Hot Tuna being among the highlights. the Beacon continues to present surviving members of such acts. the energy of those bygone days haunt the auditorium to this day.
originally being from NYC myself i attended concerts there from the inception. nights… chaos would rein. i was personally held up at gunpoint by the bouncers at the door. a peace was brokered over time and my friends and i were allowed in without tickets for a good two decades. we saw (without seats) nearly every act to come through the joint. but forget about the scene at the door (if one were a cute young lady she might be permitted entrance without a ticket as well) utter pandemonium would break out as the acts would rock the auditorium to it’s foundations.
Beacon Theatre has a fairly full calender of events scheduled for 2005.