Gowanus ONE
At "The Yard," the site formerly known as the Issue Project Room on Carroll Street and the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.
Back in April I saw Rick Moody and the Wingdale Community Singers perform here. Now, the IPR (as far as I know) has lost its lease, and Meanred Productions, a production/promotion company of dance and world music, has essentially taken over the site's programming for the summer.
This was the first show: a performance by the French ska band Babylon Circus, who were like a gypsy punk band with a Clash-like poltical attitude, and tons of energy. They could not be stopped.
This is the Batcave, a large derelict building on the east side of the Gowanus Canal. It's called the Batcave in part because it has been inhabited by bands of squatters until very recently, when it was acquired by a large Brooklyn property developer who rid it of its inhabitants. (I once saw some people sneaking into the property. They would jump over the 3rd Street Bridge's railing, wind their way through some chest-high weeds, and squish through a hole cut in the fence.) Now, this developer has been promoting a grand vision of a utopian-style waterfront community on the historically malodorous industrial canal. Who knows if it will really happen. For now, it's just a beautiful relic of old Brooklyn; and should the neighborhood get a face-lift, I'd at least hope that the developer would keep this building's facade.
