They said it couldn't happen. They said Shea Stadium was gone for good.
But Shea Stadium has returned. This time it's in Bushwick, Brooklyn. And instead of baseball, it's all about the music, baby.
According to an article in
BushwickBK.com DIY music studio named Shea Stadium opened last spring to help cut young bands a break.
"Named after the former home of New York's major league underdogs, a new
all-ages music venue in East Williamsburg provides a unique service for
Brooklyn's young, start-up bands. Instead of receiving pay, all bands
that play shows at Shea score a professionally mixed live recording of
their set.
With its graffiti-tagged white brick walls, stage constructed of cheap
lumber, semi-busted toilet, and exposed pipes running across its
not-quite low ceilings, Shea Stadium has all the attributes of a
Brooklyn DIY venue. And,
in keeping with the scene's values -- and the
club's namesake -- aesthetics fall a far second to what's actually being
accomplished in the space. In addition to helping young bands dodge the
prohibitive cost of booking studio time, Reich and his partners are
constructing "a public library of recordings" on a terabyte hard drive.
While that library is focused on the bands, it's by all means inclusive
of that element that makes Brooklyn DIY so great: community.
At Shea, the crowd is part of the set, which is ultimately part of the
archive. Microphones dangled from pipes at the back of the venue's main
performance space -- just beyond the plexiglass window of Reich's mixing
booth -- hone in on the crowd's audible interactions with the band. It
might not occur to listeners accustomed to studio albums, but capturing
the energy of the crowd at a boisterous show is nearly as important as
recording the band itself.
After a few exhibition shows to work out the kinks in sound recording,
Shea Stadium hosted its official opening day on Friday, May 22nd. A
four-act, all-ages benefit for the broadsheet concert calendar
Showpaper,
the crowd on opening night -- both on stage and in the audience -- was on
the younger side. The audience was raucous, especially for the
headliners, an accordion-fronted band called Whack, but the vibe was
communal, inclusive, and appreciative."
Of course, it wouldn't be Shea without some controversy. The space was evidently co-founded by a Pat Shea, who apparently was booted by his partners. The namesake writes in the comments to this article:
Doesn't it make more sense to have Pat Shea living and working at Shea
Stadium? Yeah. I know. I like how I'm mentioned absolutely NOWHERE at
all. That place wouldn't have opened it's doors if it wasn't for me and
my good friends building tirelessly for nothing. No one else involved
had the time to put into it like I did.Pat Eponymous also threatens legal action against Shea Stadium and recommends no one go there.
Dysfunctional. Aesthetically challenged. Hard to get to. Yup, that's Shea Stadium all right! Rock on Shea.
