Webster Hall now home to the exclusive Hanky Panky Club

From the EV Grieve inbox ... a news release slightly edited for length ... the place opens tonight...

The Hanky Panky Club, brought to you by nightlife veterans Lon Ballinger, Gary Spencer and Sameer Qureshi, is accessed through a hidden speak easy type entrance on East 11th Street inside the iconic Webster Hall — the same private entrance used by the likes of Madonna, Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton (just to name a few).

Once inside, guests ascend the marble staircase to a stunning, velvet-walled room. The gorgeously-appointed room is a soundproof, discreet lounge experience, that boasts a full back-line stage always ready for performances. This Thursday, we have music by DJ Thomas D and Friday, a live performance by Eddie and The Gun and Nima Yamini — the man behind Avenue A Soundcheck.

What makes The Hanky Panky Club different than any other New York venue is the access to the Webster Hall balcony. This balcony overlooks the main stage of the legendary music venue ... This balcony gives The Hanky Panky Club goers the option to view the music and crowd below, all from the intimacy of a private party.

The Hanky Panky Club will also be known their commitment to impeccable customer service. Jonas, previously of King and Grove, will be at the warmly exclusive door. If the Hanky Panky Club is at capacity, Jonas will take a phone number and texts guests when the club is ready. The wait staff will be dressed in feminine, sexy tutus inspired by famed London Nightclub Owner Peter Stringfellow, modelesque go-go dancers will fluidly dance about the room and atop the bar. These ladies are trained to not only bring the bottle, but the etiquette of a private lounge from a time when service was the ultimate element.

The Hanky Panky Club, located at 125A East 11th Street, will be open every Thursday - Saturday where each night you will know to expect a well known DJ spinning the vibe of the room to perfection. Thursdays think soul, Fridays think electronic and Saturday night - anything goes... Be prepared for energetic beats and spontaneous live performances.

More on the Cro-Mags stabbing at Webster Hall Friday night

Colin Moynihan at The New York Times has more on the assault that took place Friday night at Webster Hall involving Harley Flanagan and current members of the Cro-Mags.

Per the article:

John Joseph, the band’s lead singer, said that Mr. Flanagan had been at odds with other members of the Cro-Mags since he left the band in 2000 and had not been permitted to rejoin.

“This dude has been a negative thorn in the side of this band forever,” Mr. Joseph said. “I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”

Flanagan was reportedly charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

BoweryBoogie was a witness to the assault... read his reports here.

[Updated] Reader reports: Stabbing shuts down Webster Hall

[Via ‏@drunk8gods]

Word is coming in that the NYPD shut down Webster Hall tonight following a fatal stabbing... still working on details. Lots of rumors at the moment. Sick of it All and the Cro-Mags were on the bill as part of the CBGB Festival...

It's still early, but here is what people are putting out on Twitter...

Webster Hall closed down apparently someone got killed in the balcony...

— chuego (@chuego) July 7, 2012

Stabbing at Webster hall cro-mags and sick of it all shut down. #cops

— Mike Marinelli (@mikemarinelli) July 7, 2012

Updated 8:59 p.m.:

Here's more via Horns Up Rocks... who reports that a concertgoer was stabbed in the eye...

Updated 9:01 p.m.:

OK, BoweryBoogie is there... His report:

Harley Flannegan, founding member of the Cro-Mags stumbled into the VIP lounge with a knife. Security mobilized in a hot minute and beat the shit out of him.

Cops quickly appeared and took him away in cuffs. Not before stabbing some dude in the chest (said victim left the scene with a bandage over the wound).

Updated 9:35 p.m.

WABC is reporting that two people were stabbed; wounds not fatal.

Updated 10:41 p.m.

Horns Up Rock reports that Flannegan allegedly stabbed his bassist, Mike “The Gook” Couls ...

Updated 11:40 p.m.

The Post reports that two people were also bitten ... and the paper is referring to it as a "melee."

Supper and Lil' Frankie's turn 10; plus free tix for EVG readers

And from the EV Grieve inbox ...

Supper and Lil' Frankie's are turning 10, and to celebrate, chef/owner Frank Prisinzano is throwing a party called decaXdance.

decaXdance will take place on Sunday, June 10th at Webster Hall. The musical lineup will be presented by East Village Radio (co-founded by Frank), which guests can enjoy along with food, an open bar ...

The event is $10 for those who RSVP in advance and $20 at the door. Food and open bar included with admission. RSVP at the event website here.

And the Supper/East Village Radio folks have passed along two free sets of VIP passes for the event for EVG readers... so if you're interested (it starts at 10 pm) ... say, the first two people who email me with the date of the very first EVG post can have the passes (hint: look in the blog archives below) ... Oh, here's the EV Grieve email We have our winners, who correctly guessed March 4, 1789. For those of you who don't recall ... the first post was about all the trash that the 1st United States Congress left behind after their meeting at Federal Hall.

At the Coney Island USA Spring Gala 2012

On Saturday night, Coney Island USA visited Webster Hall to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Mermaid Parade at the group's annual Spring Gala.

East Village-based photographer Stacie Joy shared some of her photos with us...

Serpentina...

World Famous *BoB* ...

Bunny Love...

Dr. Flux PhD. body paints a lovely model...

Rev. Billy...

Director Darren Aronofsky and Kryssy Kocktail...

Miss Coney Island 2012, BB Heart...

Joe Franklin and Mayor of Coney Island Dick Zigun...

Slipper Room co-owners Camille and James Habacker flanking Jonny Porkpie, burlesque mayor of NYC...

Noted

Guns N' Roses will play at Webster Hall on Feb. 15 during part of a three-NYC-venue tour to coincide with Fashion Week, according to Rolling Stone. Per RS:

"The band last played Webster Hall in 1988 for a historic gig that was taped for MTV. The venue was called the Ritz back then, and to celebrate Guns N' Roses' return, the club will rename itself the Ritz when the band plays on February 15th."

Nevada Smith's at Webster Hall

We've been meaning to note this since we reported that Nevada Smith's closed at 74 Third Ave. on Nov. 27.

So until they move up the street to 100 Third Ave. some day ... Nevada Smith's is has been showing matches at Webster Hall... Thanks to our friend Esquared for the photos...

The schedule is posted on the Nevada Smith's Facebook page.

Claim: Webster Hall's DayGlow paint party oversold by 1,900 tickets

[Via]

On Sunday, we told you that Webster Hall hosted DayGlow, billed as "the largest paint party in the world.... and the party was eventually shut down by the NYPD and FDNY... According to a Webster Hall source, there were 2,100 pre-sold tickets -- and 4,000 in attendance. Regardless, as Eater noted, "It's nice to know that the building's management, event promoters and authorities could help bring the party to a peaceful end with no one getting hurt." Very true...

Cops shutter Webster Hall during "the largest paint party in the world"

So last night, Webster Hall hosted DayGlow, billed as "the largest paint party in the world."


[Via]

Apparently it was quite large... so large, that we hear the NYPD swarmed the club.... giving everyone the boot... and shutting down 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. Per DJ David Berrie, who played at the event, on Twitter: "Wowwww webster hall shut down by cops that's is by farr the most packed I've ever seen webster."

Which, as EV Grieve reader Eric described, "lead to 'Douche On Parade' on Fourth Avenue."

Thanks for the memories

"The cleanup crew at Webster Hall was left with quite a mess on its hands after country crooner Keith Urban's performance last Wednesday. According to sources at the club, someone aboard a Verizon-sponsored Keith Urban tour bus emptied the vehicle's septic tank outside the East 11th Street club at 3 a.m., after the show. "There was about 150 square feet of gunk, a half an inch think, outside the main entrance," says one employee. "It was a literal [expletive] show." (Page Six)

Noted

"MORRISSEY didn't break from his ardent vegetarianism at Webster Hall last night. The singer, whose second album with the Smiths was titled 'Meat Is Murder,' requested no meat products of any kind be in the building before, during, or after his performance. 'There were no deli sandwiches, sushi, pepperoni pizza or anything else that used to have a face,' laughs our source. 'Even the cleaning staff were happy to do their part by bringing in veggie sandwiches for lunch.'" (Page Six)

Should anyone really be eating sushi during a (rock) concert?

The Times looks at Webster Hall's past and present (and future)

The $3 million, yearlong renovation at Webster Hall is done. And the Times takes a look at the 11th Street club's history....

Charles Goldstein, a cigarmaker, built Webster Hall in 1886 for $75,000, with a design by Charles Rentz Jr., an architect and beer vendor, for “balls, receptions, Hebrew weddings and sociables,” according to a December 1886 article in The New York Times.

But it soon came to be known for rowdy parties, many of which featured live music, like the fund-raiser for General Grant’s memorial in September 1887, or the fete for the French Revolution centennial in May 1889.

In the early 1900s, Webster Hall’s guest lists featured artists of all sorts, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Around the same time, Greenwich Village became a center of gay and lesbian life, and the club was frequently a gathering place.

And some of its music history...

It was back in 1953, when RCA Victor set up a studio in the Grand Ballroom of Webster Hall in Manhattan to achieve a level of reverberation that would help the label compete with Columbia Records. Perry Como recorded his “Como Swings” there in 1959, which displayed Como in slacks and a blue shirt on a golf course.

As the world changed, and music with it, so did the acts the venue attracted: in 1967, Jefferson Airplane staged its first concert in New York inside. On Dec. 6, 1980, U2ushered in the post-punk era here — it was called the Ritz at the time — when it pounded out “I Will Follow” in its first gig in the United States. And on Feb. 2, 1988, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, standing on the same stage, before screeching “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” inflated a condom like a balloon.

No mention of K-Fed's show there, though...