Easter was the day the music died in Bushwick.
Cops shut down the Market Hotel, the neighborhood’s favorite — but apparently illegal — music hall, late on Saturday night for operating without a license.
The raid came after what witnesses called a totally bitchin’ set by the band Darlings and before the hotly anticipated session by Golden Triangle.
Police had been building a case against the venue located at Myrtle Avenue near Broadway for several months, but finally raided the joint after receiving a tip that alcohol was being served without a liquor license.
Music promoter Todd Patrick, who rents the space from the building’s owner, the New Hope Apostolic Church of Christ, is scrambling to find alternative spaces for bands he had booked. The High Places show, scheduled for April 8, has already relocated to Shea Stadium on Debevoise Avenue in Williamsburg, but Patrick said he can’t move other shows to Death By Audio because it’s already book. For now, he’s looking into relocating his operation to Monster Island, which is off Kent Avenue.
“Places have survived such things before, but every situation is different and we will have to wait and see,” said Patrick on his Web site.
Patrick said that his long-term goal is to make the Market Hotel a “licensed community space,” but raising sufficient funds to renovate the space has been a challenge. He may face another one — a recalcitrant community board, which makes booze license recommendations to the State Liquor Authority.
Community Board 4 District Manager Nadine Whitted suggested that venues that flout the law tend to be frowned upon by board members.
“If they are doing business without a liquor license in the first place, that’s an issue,” said Whitted.
For now, another Brooklyn music venue has closed. Chalk it up to the ephemeral nature of today’s do-it-yourself indie music venues, which sprout up in former warehouses, lofts, and even churches, until they become too big to go unnoticed.
Culture bloggers like BushwickBK’s Anna D’Agrosa believe that the show will go on, even if the venues themselves shut down.
“Todd P will always find a place and a way to do shows,” said D’Agrosa. “There won’t be as much stuff in Bushwick, but there is already so much stuff in Bushwick.”
