What to expect when you're expecting Amon Tobin at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple?
October 27, 2011 8:53 AM Subscribe
Seeing Amon Tobin at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Greene tonight. Wondering about parking near the venue, food nearby, and the show itself. Bonus points if you were at the show on Tuesday or Wednesday and can answer specific questions, inside.
* I'm planning to drive. Am I going to have trouble finding street parking near the venue? Should I plan instead to find a pay lot near downtown and walk over? Mass transit is a possibility but would keep me up later than I'd like.
* Any recommended eats close by? It's slated to be cold and rainy tonight, so I'd like to keep walking-around time to a minimum.
* I'm a veteran concert-goer, but I've heard this place referenced as one of the loudest venues in New York City. If I'm concerned about my deteriorating 40-something hearing, am I likely to want earplugs?
* Doors at 7, show at 8. Opening act is Emika, whom I'm interested in seeing. Any clue a) how long Amon Tobin's set for this tour is and/or b) when this particular show is likely to let out? I'm generally accustomed to shows in Manhattan that finish right at 11 p.m.
* Anything else I should know about the venue? Are there any sweet spots on the floor that I should try to claim for my viewing pleasure? I understand there is (uncomfortable) seating upstairs, but that some shows restrict balcony-access to VIPs. Is the sold-out show likely to be uncomfortably hot? Disconcertingly crowded?
Thanks for your indulgence, Metafilter.
* I'm planning to drive. Am I going to have trouble finding street parking near the venue? Should I plan instead to find a pay lot near downtown and walk over? Mass transit is a possibility but would keep me up later than I'd like.
* Any recommended eats close by? It's slated to be cold and rainy tonight, so I'd like to keep walking-around time to a minimum.
* I'm a veteran concert-goer, but I've heard this place referenced as one of the loudest venues in New York City. If I'm concerned about my deteriorating 40-something hearing, am I likely to want earplugs?
* Doors at 7, show at 8. Opening act is Emika, whom I'm interested in seeing. Any clue a) how long Amon Tobin's set for this tour is and/or b) when this particular show is likely to let out? I'm generally accustomed to shows in Manhattan that finish right at 11 p.m.
* Anything else I should know about the venue? Are there any sweet spots on the floor that I should try to claim for my viewing pleasure? I understand there is (uncomfortable) seating upstairs, but that some shows restrict balcony-access to VIPs. Is the sold-out show likely to be uncomfortably hot? Disconcertingly crowded?
Thanks for your indulgence, Metafilter.
I went on Tuesday!
Parking: No real idea, but it's Ft. Greene, and parking isn't generally that bad.
Food: We at at Madiba on Dekalb. It was very good, close, and the servers were very attentive to our "Oh crap, we gotta go!"
Earplugs: Yes, for pete's sake. Yes.
End time: IIRC, it ended at about 11, with an encore that went 'til about 11:30.
Anything else: You know? We were more concerned with "seeing" than "hearing," and wandered around a bit to try and optimize our view. But we ended up on house left, and we saw everything wonderfully. Also, smush in when people go get beer after Emika. No, it wasn't too terribly crowded for a show of this size, and it wasn't hot. I kept my trench on the whole time, with no problem.
Another thing: They have that annoying "Am I in the line to get the beer or the line to get the tickets to get the beer" thing. So grab a few beer tickets on your first go, if you're inclined to drink more than one beer, or beer at all.
Also, don't worry about rushing over to get in line. We stood there for a whole of maybe ten minutes and we showed up right at 8. Enjoy your dinner, don't rush.
posted by functionequalsform at 9:13 AM on October 27, 2011
Parking: No real idea, but it's Ft. Greene, and parking isn't generally that bad.
Food: We at at Madiba on Dekalb. It was very good, close, and the servers were very attentive to our "Oh crap, we gotta go!"
Earplugs: Yes, for pete's sake. Yes.
End time: IIRC, it ended at about 11, with an encore that went 'til about 11:30.
Anything else: You know? We were more concerned with "seeing" than "hearing," and wandered around a bit to try and optimize our view. But we ended up on house left, and we saw everything wonderfully. Also, smush in when people go get beer after Emika. No, it wasn't too terribly crowded for a show of this size, and it wasn't hot. I kept my trench on the whole time, with no problem.
Another thing: They have that annoying "Am I in the line to get the beer or the line to get the tickets to get the beer" thing. So grab a few beer tickets on your first go, if you're inclined to drink more than one beer, or beer at all.
Also, don't worry about rushing over to get in line. We stood there for a whole of maybe ten minutes and we showed up right at 8. Enjoy your dinner, don't rush.
posted by functionequalsform at 9:13 AM on October 27, 2011
Interesting about the volume - I saw the show in San Francisco, and the opener (Eskmo at that time) was louder than Amon Tobin, whose sound was perfect. But it seems that this venue is not the same in that aspect.
Seconding finding a good place to view the state. It is visual candy. His set lasted an hour in SF, but his setup may have changed for the venue (he didn't really do an encore, as much as he did the second half of his set).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:26 AM on October 27, 2011
Seconding finding a good place to view the state. It is visual candy. His set lasted an hour in SF, but his setup may have changed for the venue (he didn't really do an encore, as much as he did the second half of his set).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:26 AM on October 27, 2011
I would suggest Olea, two blocks away, for dinner. The Madiba suggestion above is good too. Black Iris on DeKalb is great cheap eats...felafel, etc. Brooklyn Public House on DeKalb is good pub food. Parking is going to be a bitch, I can promise you. Not because of the concert - just in general.
posted by spicynuts at 10:21 AM on October 27, 2011
posted by spicynuts at 10:21 AM on October 27, 2011
Parking in Fort Greene is a little tight - you might have to drive around the block a few times - but you should be OK if you give yourself some breathing room.
For food I highly recommend The Brooklyn Moon Cafe on Fulton between S Elliott and South Portland, but if you want to stay within just a few blocks I'd vote for Chez Oskar over Olea, Madiba or General Greene.
posted by jcrcarter at 10:41 AM on October 27, 2011
For food I highly recommend The Brooklyn Moon Cafe on Fulton between S Elliott and South Portland, but if you want to stay within just a few blocks I'd vote for Chez Oskar over Olea, Madiba or General Greene.
posted by jcrcarter at 10:41 AM on October 27, 2011
I saw it in Chicago and his set was about 50 minutes in total. There were two openers when I saw it, with about 45 minutes in between both of them. It was pretty great!
posted by ChuraChura at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2011
posted by ChuraChura at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the tips, everyone. If anyone's interested ... Because of the rain/traffic it took a lot longer than I expected to drive to Brooklyn and we got to the neighborhood a little after 7 pm. No worries, though, as we immediately found a parking spot on Dekalb right around the corner from the venue. We ate at Madiba, which was busy but able to seat us immediately and also pretty fast. Food was good. We got to the show around 8:30, which was still early enough to catch most of Emika's set (kind of amazed at how the crowd refused to dance, despite her "this is how we do it in Berlin!" overtures, but whatever). It did seem pretty crowded -- we were toward the back of the room, farther than I'd like, but I wasn't going to try wading into the thick of things -- although not annoyingly so. The sound was fine. Emika might have been a bit louder/more piercing than Amon Tobin, but this show was really about the bass. Even with earplugs in, you feel the rumble and the lowest frequencies seem to cut through the foam like it was tissue. Cheers to all of you.
posted by Joey Bagels at 6:19 AM on October 28, 2011
posted by Joey Bagels at 6:19 AM on October 28, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I've been to a sold-out show there and there was still more room inside than at many other venues in the city.
It's a pretty good venue for sight-lines, and even from the back you can see pretty well as long as you aren't behind a tall person (I don't know how tall you are, I am a short girl and I try to stand behind other short girls).
The line for the bar is really long and annoying, so try not to stand near that or it will distract you.
Nearby places to eat closer to Fulton and BAM include Smoke Joint which I've been to a lot as a vegetarian and like (greens and mac and cheese and PIES are great) and meat friends think the pulled pork is awesome.
Stone Home Wine bar is nice but fancy and kinda slow so you might not want to go there before a concert.
You might be better off parking and eating near Dekalb though:
I personally think Olea sucks and the General Greene is way overrated and annoying. Also skip Ici and Amin.
Madiba is excellent African food.
Kif is pretty good Morroccan.
I've heard good things about Graziella's but I haven't been there myself.
posted by rmless at 9:06 AM on October 27, 2011