Originally posted by freakoretardo:
Haven't been yet, eager to check it out.
Someone give me a review.
BigYawn.net 8-24-06 Opening Night at the Rock and Roll Hotel
Well, color me excited. Almost on a lark last night BigYawn hit the ??soft? opening of the newest DC venue, the Rock and Roll Hotel. We were both surprised and impressed with the venue and all its amenities. And we were shocked to see quite the scene that came out to support the venue.
While 400 people might be a bit of an over estimate, the main floor of the Hotel, where the stage is located, can easily hold 200 plus. I took some pictures on my cell camera but can??t figure out a way to get them on my computer. Damn technology. Upstairs had one large room and a number of smaller rooms with differet concepts behind them. I was not expecting any of the rooms to be quite as large as they were. The main , and largest room, has a long bar and pool table, and also had an off-shoot room which looked like it may be a dining area of sorts. At the opposite end of the main room lies a number of smaller rooms with tons of seating in them, as well as what we imagined to be the practice rooms and recording studio we??ve heard so much about. With the large jukebox and ample seating, it is the upstairs that really stood out as a very cool place to hang out.
Apparently the Hotel used to be a funeral home. Hope that doesn??t scare anyone away, but it does explain the creepy upstairs bathroom tiled floor. The crowd on this soft opening was the biggest surprise. In the DC music community you can sometimes expect apathy, but not tonight. Members of Middle Distance Runner, the Alphabetical Order, Greenland, the Echoes, and Justin Jones?? backing band were there. As was Laura Burhen, DJ Ca$$idy, DJ Victory Rose and any number of people used to spinning in DC on a regular basis. Black Cat owner Dante Ferrando was also on hand, as were a number of promoters and various other scenesters, including much of the DAM! Fest planning group. It was a veritable cornacopia of who??s who in the DC music scene. Imagine that, an event where everyone comes out to support the local scene?
We have high hopes for the Rock and Roll Hotel, and we feel it can certainly become the third jewel on the cities?? crown of venues along with the Black Cat and the 9:30 Club. And the great upstairs space assures us that there will always be a cool place to hang out on the redeveloping H St. The real question is, if you build a great venue and room to hang out in on H St., will the people actually come? This question was heard being bantered about quite a bit last night. I guess we won??t really know for sure till the shows start coming. What??s on tap so far? Locals Wooly Mammoth, Shortstack and Head Roc will be joined by touring bands like the Whips and the Presets on the initial schedule, and all eyes are on what sort of line-up the DAM! Festival will put together in late October.
