not air conditioned.

urbanrenewal, i could not agree with you more. i really wish the loews was more aggressive about promoting what could be the best (only) indie concert venue in this city but they seem very timid about it for some reason. its an awesome theater and needs to promote these shows and have more of them, but i dont know why that cant happen.

I just realized why they may be doing a show in Jersey City on that date.

The 2008 CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival is scheduled for October 21 through October 25.

I am guessing that a number of other venues in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Hoboken, etc. are already booked solid for CMJ during that time, and some of the fun is simply spilling over into Jersey City.

Ugh, I should have thought of that.

That's probably the case.

Sigh.

My guess would be that most acts have contracts or agreements with the bigger promoters like LiveNation or Ticketmaster. These big promoters have a roster of venues that they feed their acts to. I am sure that independent bands could book shows at Loews but if they aren't big enough draws than it wouldn't be financially feasable to do so. Bright Eyes booked there for that very reason. They wanted to usurp the big promoters and charge lower prices. It definitely sucks but thats the "business" part of show business.

Since I've been living in Jersey City, a handful of artists have performed at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre -- Bright Eyes, The Decemberists, Beck, Yo La Tengo, M. Ward, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and the legendary Patti LaBelle (along with a few other acts).

And I just read at MaxwellsNJ.com that The Magnetic Fields, led by singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, appear there on October 23, 2008.

Here's the band's MySpace page for those who may be curious.

Two Questions:

1. Why aren't more shows booked at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre?

2. Shouldn't the Friends of the Loew's organization have an updated "upcoming concerts" section of their LoewsJersey.org website? Or promote the show from their homepage?

(I understand Friends of the Loew's doesn't produce these rare concert events which tend to sell out anyway, but it would be a nice gesture!)

In my view, the venue could evolve from being a best-kept secret into being quite a destination point for Jersey City. A number of my indie rock-loving acquaintances from Manhattan and Brooklyn (and the 'burbs) get SO EXCITED when they hear about shows there.

While it's rather unusual for New Yorkers to spend an evening in Jersey City (at least the ones that I know), concert-goers heading to Loew's from NYC just take the PATH right into the heart of Journal Square (much like many do with the PATH on their way to Maxwell's of Hoboken).

It's nice to see New Yorkers spend their money here, and hopefully shows like this one will positively impact other nearby businesses in the Journal Square area.

One potential concern:

I hope no part of Jersey City ever turns into the meathead weekend destination that much of Hoboken has become. Maybe I can't have it both ways, but as long as the venue avoids booking fratboy-friendly acts, we're probably all a-okay. At least for now.


Landmark Loew's Grand Lobby - LowesJersey.org