Wednesday, April 23, 2008

WETLANDS PRESERVED

Wetlands was a cool NYC club in the '90s. Billed as a "jam band" club - Blues Traveler, The Dave Matthews Band and Phish all played there back in the day - it also hosted hardcore shows, experimental hip-hop, ska and more. I myself saw some incredible early Ben Harper shows there, Everclear before they got huge, and even a Liz Phair spoken word thing (which was actually not great). It was kind of like Bonnaroo - based around jam bands, but not excluding music outside of that world. I respected that.

But despite booking a wide variety of talent, the club seemed to have a perspective - it wasn't just about booking anyone who was available. Activism was always an important part of the club. It felt like a cool place to hang out. I was bummed when it closed down.

Now, there's a doc on the club, Wetlands Preserved. I want to check this out. You can find out more about it here.

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