well-known, popular

MikeyTBC wrote:
Quote:

user1111 wrote:
After too many seasons in which nothing has gone right for fans of live music in Hudson County, here?s some welcome relief for you, rocker: the re-jiggered The Dopeness (332 2nd St.) is the real deal. Not just a bar and restaurant where the owners are shoehorning in bands, but an honest-to-God rock spot with a dedicated performance area and a surprisingly decent sound system. Gorgeous it ain?t, and there remain a few procedural kinks for the staff to iron out. But why pick nits on a joyous occasion? The success of Saturday night?s reopening party means one thing and one thing only: at last, we?ve got a winner on our hands.




Yes, I am excited. Aren?t you excited? Does this take away some of the sting of the closure of the Lamp Post? It ought to. I liked the Lamp Post too, but if this works out and becomes what it promises to become, it?s going to be the best option for local shows in Downtown Jersey City since the closure of Uncle Joe?s. And go on and hang me for heresy as I insist that Uncle Joe?s was never any better than this.

On Saturday night The Dopeness was boisterous and crowded, which is nice, if not particularly important in the long run. What matters most is that the music was consistently good. A promised celebratory open bar didn?t materialize ? blame a hold-up with the license that The Dopeness insists it?ll resolve by the spring ? but the room was packed anyway. It was BYOB, and party people certainly did ?B? their own ?B?; should the license continue to be an issue, I bet folks will keep showing up. Lord knows there are more than enough places in town to drink and far too few to rock. Here?s the good omen for local music fans: a place isn?t going to build a foot-high elevated stage in its back room unless it intends to use it often. At worst, The Dopeness ought to provide a nifty complement to the reliable Lucky 7 Tavern ? maybe 100 feet down Second Street ? and preserve a tight little rock and roll neighborhood at the western fringe of Harsimus Cove. At best, we?ve just come up with our own homegrown version of Pianos or Trash Bar. When the space got really jammed (for JC locals Japanda), The Dopeness took on the communal feel of Death By Audio. A less-grungy Death By Audio, mind you.

I dug the carpeting on the floor of the stage and the white cake shop-style Christmas lights strung over the ceiling of the back room. I dug that the sets were kept to a reasonable length ? maybe 30 minutes each, which is more than enough time for a local band to get its point across. I liked the large rectangle cut out of the back wall of the stage, which probably wasn?t designed so that people waiting in line for the bathroom could take pictures of the drummer?s back, but boy is it going to be used like that. I liked the separation between the place to dance and the place to get food and/or drinks ? a distinction that I believe all serious clubs need to draw. I especially liked that the sound system included three monitors. That sounds like a simple thing to provide, but it has never been a given in Hudson County.

More

very cool. Looking forward to this.

user1111 wrote:
After too many seasons in which nothing has gone right for fans of live music in Hudson County, here?s some welcome relief for you, rocker: the re-jiggered The Dopeness (332 2nd St.) is the real deal. Not just a bar and restaurant where the owners are shoehorning in bands, but an honest-to-God rock spot with a dedicated performance area and a surprisingly decent sound system. Gorgeous it ain?t, and there remain a few procedural kinks for the staff to iron out. But why pick nits on a joyous occasion? The success of Saturday night?s reopening party means one thing and one thing only: at last, we?ve got a winner on our hands.




Yes, I am excited. Aren?t you excited? Does this take away some of the sting of the closure of the Lamp Post? It ought to. I liked the Lamp Post too, but if this works out and becomes what it promises to become, it?s going to be the best option for local shows in Downtown Jersey City since the closure of Uncle Joe?s. And go on and hang me for heresy as I insist that Uncle Joe?s was never any better than this.

On Saturday night The Dopeness was boisterous and crowded, which is nice, if not particularly important in the long run. What matters most is that the music was consistently good. A promised celebratory open bar didn?t materialize ? blame a hold-up with the license that The Dopeness insists it?ll resolve by the spring ? but the room was packed anyway. It was BYOB, and party people certainly did ?B? their own ?B?; should the license continue to be an issue, I bet folks will keep showing up. Lord knows there are more than enough places in town to drink and far too few to rock. Here?s the good omen for local music fans: a place isn?t going to build a foot-high elevated stage in its back room unless it intends to use it often. At worst, The Dopeness ought to provide a nifty complement to the reliable Lucky 7 Tavern ? maybe 100 feet down Second Street ? and preserve a tight little rock and roll neighborhood at the western fringe of Harsimus Cove. At best, we?ve just come up with our own homegrown version of Pianos or Trash Bar. When the space got really jammed (for JC locals Japanda), The Dopeness took on the communal feel of Death By Audio. A less-grungy Death By Audio, mind you.

I dug the carpeting on the floor of the stage and the white cake shop-style Christmas lights strung over the ceiling of the back room. I dug that the sets were kept to a reasonable length ? maybe 30 minutes each, which is more than enough time for a local band to get its point across. I liked the large rectangle cut out of the back wall of the stage, which probably wasn?t designed so that people waiting in line for the bathroom could take pictures of the drummer?s back, but boy is it going to be used like that. I liked the separation between the place to dance and the place to get food and/or drinks ? a distinction that I believe all serious clubs need to draw. I especially liked that the sound system included three monitors. That sounds like a simple thing to provide, but it has never been a given in Hudson County.

More

TonyTwoPoops wrote:
The food is horrible here. I also see the owners going back and forth to Key Foods all the time. It seems like all their effort went into decorating the place instead of making sure they actually served food people want to eat. Most people were going there strictly for the BYOB element and not much else. They did have a great open mic going for awhile.

Every time I have been eaten there, it has been a pleasant experience.

bodhipooh wrote:
[quote]
Poncho11 wrote:
It has new owners, and , or new partners !

triscuit12 wrote:
Quote:

user1111 wrote:
Revamped Jersey City bar/restaurant now able to host more music



http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _before.html#incart_river

Wonderful. Guess I will very rarely be able to sleep with my window open now (come nicer weather of course).

user1111 wrote:
Quote:

penumbra wrote:
I really don't understand everyone's attachment to this place. The food isn't good, the service is weak and the decor is terrible. At least the Cicada has beer...

This place is not for everyone, especially JC Listers.. I go for the experience, just like I went to Body and Soul in NYC back in the day which also served no liquor.

Poncho11 wrote:
It has new owners, and , or new partners !

penumbra wrote:
I really don't understand everyone's attachment to this place. The food isn't good, the service is weak and the decor is terrible. At least the Cicada has beer...

user1111 wrote:
Revamped Jersey City bar/restaurant now able to host more music



http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _before.html#incart_river

7thstreeter wrote:
This is definitely more of a late night place.

Old-Skool-JC wrote:
I ate there once and they didn't have guacamole. The place could have been full of Kanyes and it wouldn't have made any difference to my experience.
I wasn't even saying shit about Kanye, but, try and get Danny Brown and some guacamole and I'll come out.