The Iron Monkey ‘Thinking About’ Hosting Live Music Regularly Again
By Jon Whiten • Dec 19th, 2008 • Category: Arts, Featured, Food
In 2006 and 2007, the Iron Monkey was regularly featuring shows on Friday and Saturday nights, and sometimes had shows on their roof deck as well. That all ended earlier this year, when the restaurant brought over famed chef Ian Kapitan (formerly of Marco & Pepe) and transitioned to more of a fine-dining experience.
However, the folks behind the Monkey may have found a way to have their cake and eat it too. This week they announced a New Year’s Eve show with Hoboken band 7 Mornings at Iron Monkey offshoot I.M. Automato Chino. The idea is to have this potential music venue be separate from the Iron Monkey but still located at 99 Greene St.
“We have had empty space adjoining the main bar for almost four years now,” Iron Monkey owner Stephen McIntyre tells the Independent. “[Kapitan] thought it would be great to open up this area as a separate music venue named I.M. Automato Chino. We are going to test it out on NYE and decide from there.”
But McIntyre says that the public needs to show its support for live music, or they probably won’t keep it up. “We would love to provide this much-needed resource again,” he says. “However, especially in this disastrous economy, we are going to think seriously whether or not the support from the community exists for such a venue.”
He echoes a point made by Maxwell’s owner Todd Abramson about the business of rock shows in Joe Pompeo’s piece on the live music scene in the most recent issue of NEW (disclosure: I assigned and edited that piece). “The costs involved in having a music venue are extremely high,” McIntyre says. “In the past it never generated enough cash flow to sustain itself.”
So, folks, it seems like it is up to us. If we like the idea of a steady music venue in Jersey City, we have to let the Iron Monkey know. The proof in this one’s in the pudding — if we go to the shows, and spend some money, perhaps they will continue in the future.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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