Maxwell's
Address1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA 07030
LocationSoutheast corner at Washington and 11th Streets
Coordinates40°44′58″N 74°1′36″W / 40.74944°N 74.02667°W / 40.74944; -74.02667
OwnerSteve Fallon (founder)
TypeMusic venue, restaurant, brewpub and contemporary art gallery
Genre(s)Punk, grunge, and indie rock
Capacity200 (backroom stage)
Construction
OpenedAugust 1978 (1978-08)
RenovatedJuly 26, 1998
ClosedFebruary 2018
Website
http://www.maxwellsnj.com/

Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river.[1] Maxwell's initially closed its doors on July 31, 2013, and reopened as Maxwell's Tavern in 2014, under new ownership.[2] It closed again in February 2018.[3]

History

The club was opened in August 1978 by Steve Fallon.[4] When the Fallon family bought the corner building in uptown Hoboken with its street-level tavern, Steve Fallon's sisters Kathryn Jackson Fallon and Anne Fallon Mazzolla along with brother-in-law Mario Mazzola were interested in turning the factory workers' tavern (General Foods' Maxwell House Coffee factory was a block away on the Hudson River[5]) into more of a restaurant.[6] The Hoboken band "a" (featuring Glenn Morrow, Richard Barone, Frank Giannini and Rob Norris; the latter three later forming the Bongos) asked if they could rehearse in an unused back room and play a few gigs in the front for the restaurant's patrons. The live music quickly caught on and Fallon started booking bands in the back room. Over time, his booking taste, freewheeling personality and respectful treatment towards musicians made Maxwell's and Hoboken a stop to look forward to on many bands' tours.[4][7] By making the blue-collar mile-square city with a rough-and-tumble reputation a cultural gathering place, Maxwell's was instrumental in sparking Hoboken's first wave of early 1980s gentrification — the artists and musicians.[8][9] In that light, it is also believed that the Mazzolas may have offered the first successful Sunday brunch in Hoboken.[10]

The entrance vestibule to Maxwell's on 11th Street

Maxwell's eventually become so successful that it spawned Pier Platters, an independent record store near the PATH train station that Fallon invested in; a whole music and cultural "scene" epitomized by the "Hoboken Sound" (which was featured in an hour-long television special on a local NYC station);[11] and Fallon's own record label, Coyote Records.[12] Fallon hired Todd Abramson to take over the booking of the acts in the mid-1980s. Abramson essentially booked the venue until its 2013 closing (except for a short period in the late 1990s after Fallon sold the club and Maxwell's was converted into a short-lived brewpub).[4]

When Fallon wanted completely out, he and his partners sold Maxwell's in December 1995 to William (Silverback) Sutton,[13] who then turned it into a brewpub.[4] Abramson,[14] Steve Shelley (drummer of Sonic Youth) and Dave Post of the Amazing Incredibles and Swingadelic arranged to bring Maxwell's back, and renovated and reopened it on July 26, 1998.[4] While some longtime patrons missed the more freewheeling Steve Fallon days, Maxwell's again became as vital a part of the independent music community as it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

Parts of the music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" were filmed at Maxwell's on May 28, 1985.[6] The music video was directed by Hoboken resident John Sayles.[15]

The video for the song "Away" by the Feelies, directed by Jonathan Demme, was recorded at Maxwell's in 1988. After a 17-year hiatus, the Feelies reunited to appear at Maxwell's in July 2008,[16] and they made appearances again every July from 2009 through 2013.[17]

While on tour supporting their debut album Bleach, Nirvana appeared at Maxwell's on July 13, 1989. Early in the day, before the show, photographer Ian Tilton took several pictures of the band around Hoboken while John Robb interviewed them for a Sounds front cover feature. The picture of frontman Kurt Cobain has since been used in dozens of magazines, newspapers and websites before and after his death.[18]

In the early 1990s, Maxwell's was voted the "Best Club in New York — Even Though It's in New Jersey" by The New Yorker magazine.[19](subscription required)

In the 2005 Village Voice Best of NY poll, Maxwell's was voted "Best Reason to Leave the State for Dinner and a Show". Also in 2005, The New York Times wrote that Maxwell's was "so New York that it's in New Jersey".[20]

The indie rock band Yo La Tengo usually rented out the club for the eight nights of Hanukkah every year.[21][22]

In April 2013, Maxwell's came in third in Rolling Stone magazine's "Venues that Rock" list of the best clubs in America.[23]

In June 2013 it was announced that Maxwell's would not renew its lease and the club would close in July.[24] The club closed its doors on July 31, 2013, preceded by an afternoon block party on 11th Street between Washington Street and Hudson Place, beginning that afternoon, to commemorate its final night.[25]

Maxwell's reopened temporarily in August 2013, solely as a bar and restaurant, while the owners sought to sell the venue;[26] Justin Timberlake was allowed to film a commercial there.[27]

In early 2014, it reopened under new ownership (a group of investors headed by Pete Carr and Rick Sorkin), with the name changed to Maxwell's Tavern.[28]

The new group decided to refocus the tavern from music to food, converting the "venue's fabled backroom—which in the '80s and '90s had proved a launching pad for up-and-coming bands like R.E.M., Hüsker Dü, the Replacements and Nirvana"—into a dining room.[29] The front room was fitted with large flatscreen televisions. However, when Maxwell's Tavern opened as a family-friendly pizzeria in April 2014, the owners realized it was a mistake,[30] and for the next sixth months, retooled the premises to again present music. It reopened in October 2014, but was only able to book cover bands.[30] By 2015, the owners gave up the pizzeria idea and engaged local promoter Dave Entwistle, who redesigned the sound stage and booked local talent.[31]

The tavern continued to struggle, however. One cause was Carr's "disastrous interview" with the Hoboken Reporter, in which he slammed the previous ownership's maintenance of the building. The interview alienated many locals, who withheld their patronage.[31] The owners were never able to book the up-and-coming bands that the older venue was known for, and eventually focused on trivia nights and country music. In early February 2018, the tavern announced on Facebook that it would close, and the final performances took place on February 10.[31]

Bands

The first band to play at Maxwell's was "a", which included the three original members of the Bongos (Barone, Norris and Giannini; the latter was Maxwell's cook and devised their first menu), fronted by Glenn Morrow (later of the Individuals and founder of Bar/None Records). The Bongos rehearsed in the club by day, were the first from the new crop of bands to be signed to a major label (RCA Records) after a series of British singles and tours, and were seen at the time as ambassadors of the new Hoboken pop scene. The Cyclones, the Individuals, Urban Allies, WKGB, Gut Bank, the Fleshtones, the Raybeats and the dB's were also mainstays in the beginning,[32] with the Feelies playing frequently towards the later half of the 1980s.[33]

In 1980, the Athens, Georgia band Pylon played there three times.[34] In the mid-1980s, fellow Athens band R.E.M. played there on a frequent basis.[35]

The club was important to emerging 1980s and 1990s trends as diverse as punk, grunge and indie rock. Notable bands that played the venue during those years include:

The club continued its tradition of booking new bands into the 2000s and 2010s, including the Othermen, the Dirtbombs,[44] Lemuria,[45] Crooked Fingers,[46] the Wrens,[47] My Chemical Romance,[48] Screaming Females, Titus Andronicus, and Máxima Alerta.[49][50]

Live albums

Several bands recorded live albums at the venue, including Guided by Voices (For All Good Kids), the Reigning Sound (Live at Maxwells),[51] the Meat Puppets (Live at Maxwell's 2.08.01),[52] My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade Is Dead!),[53] the Wedding Present (Live Tape No. 7 - Hoboken, 10th June 1990), Imperial Teen (Live at Maxwell's) and the Replacements (For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986).

Criticism

As a music venue, Maxwell's was not very large. In fact, it only held about 200 people[4] and was considered dark.[1] The live music at a club in a residential area led some neighbors to complain about the noise as well as dancing in the streets during the early days of the club, before the expansion into the back room for appearances by musical acts.[4] A Hoboken restaurant survey website gave Maxwell's a rating of 3.33 out of a possible 5 in October 2008.[54]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Maxwell's in Hoboken — Let there be (minimal) light — Photo 1/6 — Metromix Jersey Shore". Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  2. ↑ Testa, Jim (January 27, 2014b). "Maxwell's Hoboken rock club sold, will reopen with same name". The Journey Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  3. ↑ Yim, Karen (February 4, 2018). "This Hoboken rock music mecca is closing - again". NJ.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sisario, Ben (August 30, 1998). "ON THE MAP; In Hoboken, Out Goes the Microbrewery, Back Comes the Music". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  5. ↑ Fraser, Caroline (November 20, 1989). "Anniversary: Good to the Last Drop". The New Yorker. p. 44. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  6. 1 2 Schoemer, Karen (May 3, 1991). "Pop/Jazz; A Crisis for a Hoboken Institution". The New York Times: C 15. Retrieved 2009-06-30. Maxwell's has nevertheless become one of the most famous spots on the small-club circuit in this country since it opened in 1978
  7. ↑ Scott, Bruce (September 14, 2008). "Silver Jews: Show Review (Maxwell's, Hoboken)". Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  8. ↑ See the description of Melissa Holbrook Pierson's book The Place You Love is Gone: Progress Hits Home as reviewed in: Sharpe, Katherine (March 7, 2006). "Books". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  9. ↑ DeMarco, Jerry (March 8, 1982). "On the waterfront. . . sounds of music". The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey). p. B-1. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Brunch was also served at the reopened Maxwell's. See: "Maxwell's: Our Menu". Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  11. ↑ The special appeared on channel 5 according to Pareles, Jon (October 18, 1985). "Movie Review - - 'Hoboken Sound,' A Rock Documentary". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Reilly, Patrick (April 3, 1985). "Go West, young rocker!". New York Daily News. p. 37. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Pristin, Terry (September 10, 1996). "A Nightclub's Return". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Todd Abramson is identified as an "owner of Maxwell's in Hoboken" in an article about the breakup of a Hoboken based band in: Woliver, Robbie (April 1, 2001). "A Hoboken Musical Force Is Breaking Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  15. ↑ "Glory Days Video". VH1 Classic. Archived from the original on 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  16. ↑ Pareles, Jon (July 3, 2008). "A Low-Profile Band Reaches Its Next Stage After a Break of 17 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-30. Endless possibility/Time is right for us to be," Glenn Mercer sang when the Feelies performed at Maxwell's on Tuesday night, at this New Jersey band's first public show in 17 years. "Time — right — now — tonight.
  17. ↑ "The Feelies at Maxwell's (Hoboken) on 3 Jul 2009 – Last.fm". Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  18. ↑ "07/13/89". Live Nirvana!. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  19. ↑ "The New Yorker Digital Reader". The New Yorker. January 21, 1991. Retrieved June 4, 2013. (subscription required)
  20. ↑ Doughten, Kevin (October 9, 2005). "MUSIC; Shed a Tear for CBGB, But Maxwell's Is Still Rocking Hard". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-30. But when the fanfare fades and the lights finally dim at CBGB, at 315 Bowery on the Lower East Side, the region's lovers of underground music will still have Maxwell's, a club so New York that it's in New Jersey.
  21. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (December 23, 2008). "Music Review: Hanukkah With Love and Noise". The New York Times. p. C5. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  22. ↑ Thompson, Elizabeth (December 13, 2008). "Calendar: HANUKKAH IN HOBOKEN Light the Menorah with Yo La Tengo". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  23. ↑ "The Best Clubs in America". Rolling Stone. March 28, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  24. ↑ McCall, Tris (June 3, 2013). "Maxwell's, a Hoboken rock institution, to close at the end of July". NJ.com.
  25. ↑ "Maxwell's Live Music Venue In Hoboken, N.J. Closing After 35 Years". CBS New York. July 31, 2013.
  26. ↑ McCall, Tris (September 3, 2013). "Maxwell's to temporarily reopen as a restaurant only". Inside Jersey. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  27. ↑ Carlson, Jen (September 3, 2013). "Maxwell's Staying Open as a Restaurant... For Now". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  28. ↑ Testa, Jim (October 21, 2014a). "Maxwell's Tavern bringing live music back to the venue, working with Hoboken scene insiders". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  29. ↑ Testa, Jim (February 4, 2018). "Looking back at Maxwell's roller coaster as club announces closing, two final send-off shows". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  30. 1 2 Testa 2014a.
  31. 1 2 3 Testa 2018.
  32. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: The Mekons:The Tindersticks: CG: The Individuals". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  33. ↑ "The Feelies: Biography". allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Pylon: Biography". Perfect Sound Forever. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  35. ↑ Shows on January 30, 1982; October 28, 1982; and November 27, 1982."R.E.M. - Maxwell's, Hoboken, New Jersey". Retrieved 2009-06-28.,"R.E.M. at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Setlist on October 28, 1982". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-01., and "R.E.M. at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Setlist on November 27, 1982". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  36. ↑ Firehose appeared on April 19, 1991. See: "Internet Archive: Free Download: fIREHOSE Live at Maxwell's ? on 1991-04-19". 19 April 1991. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  37. ↑ Fugazi appeared on October 8, 1989. See: "Internet Archive: Free Download: Fugazi Live at Maxwell's on 1989-10-08". 8 October 1989. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  38. ↑ Blue Öyster Cult appeared November 16, 2008. See: "BOC Fans Only Show at Maxwell's — Hobokeni.com - Hoboken, NJ". Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  39. ↑ Nirvana appeared at Maxwell's on at least July 13, 1989 and April 28, 1990. See:"Nirvana at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Setlist on July 13, 1989". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-01. and "Nirvana at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Setlist on April 28, 1990". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  40. ↑ The Smashing Pumpkins appeared on February 8, 1991. See: "Internet Archive: Free Download: Smashing Pumpkins Live at Maxwell's Pub on 1991-02-08". 8 February 1991. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  41. ↑ The Minutemen (band) appeared on October 27, 1985. See: "Internet Archive: Free Download: Minutemen Live at Maxwell's on 1985-10-27". 27 October 1985. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  42. ↑ Robyn Hitchcock appeared on at least October 27, 1990; December 30, 1990; January 9, 2004; November 14, 2004; March 26, 2005; November 18, 2006; and November 19, 2006. See: "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 1990-10-27". 27 October 1990. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 1990-12-30". 30 December 1990. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 2004-01-09". 9 January 2004. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 2004-11-14". 14 November 2004. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 2005-03-26". 26 March 2005. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 2006-11-18". 18 November 2006. Retrieved 2009-07-01.; and "Internet Archive: Free Download: Robyn Hitchcock Live at Maxwell's on 2006-11-19". 19 November 2006. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  43. ↑ The Strokes appeared on May 28, 2001. See "The Strokes". Retrieved 2009-07-02. and "The Strokes at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ Setlist on May 28, 2001". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  44. ↑ "Tour: North America/ Australia 2008". The Dirtbombs. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  45. ↑ Lemuria (band) appeared June 7, 2009 and on May 9, 2006 with Kind of Like Spitting. See "hearts and crap: past shows: 2009". Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  46. ↑ Crooked Fingers appeared on October 19, 2004. See "Crooked Fingers Live at Maxwell's 10/19/2004 mp3s". Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  47. ↑ "The Wrens celebrate 20th anniversary at Maxwell's in Hoboken". 9 December 2009. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  48. ↑ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  49. ↑ Sullivan, Al (October 16, 2016). "Trash truck worker competes for a Latin Grammy: Local Cuban exile fulfills dream as musician" Archived 2018-03-22 at the Wayback Machine. The Hudson Reporter.
  50. ↑ "Everyone's invited to a special concert by Maxima Alerta" Archived 2018-03-22 at the Wayback Machine. The Hudson Reporter. August 5, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Reigning Sound". Grunnen Rocks. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  52. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Live at Maxwell's 2.08.01". allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  53. ↑ "My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade is Dead!". Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  54. ↑ "Maxwell's Bar & Restaurant". Hoboken 411. October 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-30.

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