If you’re going to start a new club in the East Village, you might as well open with a bang, which is exactly what Abby Ehmann did this past weekend with B Scene, located at 50 Avenue B.
After some minor renovations — Ehmann herself was one of the painters covering up the old decor — the former home of Lovecraft, Joey Bats Cafe, and China 1 (to name a few) became a combination cocktail lounge and live music venue that feels like home to the East Village crowd that packed it on Saturday night.
It’s got two floors and three rooms, with upstairs being the home of “The Starlight Lounge,” and downstairs having one room with a stage for music or whatever (they have promised a lot of that), and another room (not quite ready yet) just to hang out. Each space only holds about 80 people, so we think it’s fair to use the word “intimate” to describe them.
Ehmann, who owns the bar Lucky just up the street, was also the proprietor of Hekate, a sober bar which recently shut down. Although it was a popular spot, “We just weren’t making any money,” Ehmann admits.
Luckily, she had been on the lookout for another opportunity for a while when this space became available.
“I’ve looked at other places and I always have all kinds of crazy ideas,” Ehmann says. “I was gonna do the Drunk Inn at the Dunkin’ Donuts place and turn it into an experiential art project situation. I always have ideas. Every storefront I walk by, I’m like, hmm, that’d be super cool for blah, blah, blah. I just look at an empty storefront and I get ideas.”
Morgan Liebman, the club’s manager and longtime producer of the F*Bomb concert series, “spent the summer living in the basement” while getting it ready for action.
“I don’t see B Scene as just a bar or music venue,” he muses. “It was conceived and intended to be a cultural hub for creative people to get together and share artistic experiences.”
Continuing, he notes that “B Scene is financed, built, and staffed by long-time denizens of the East Village community who hope to bring a new voice to the neighborhood as it comes back to life after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out many of the independent music venues in the area.”
‘B Scene’ showcases ‘Sweet Soul Saturday’
The club was full of life on Sept. 12, as Stephanie Marie and the Double Knit Players mounted their “Sweet Soul Saturday” show for a full house. After DJ Crystal Clear expertly set the mood, the band, led by Stephanie Marie Hall and consisting of Shu Nakamura and Mike Fornatale on guitars, Jeff Gordon on bass, Jason Isaac on drums, Charly Roth on keyboards and the Hot Buttered Horns — Scott Bourgeois and Shanelle D. Jenkins — kicked into high gear with two sets of covers and originals that never flagged in energy or musicianship.
Guest singers Dave Foster, Sarah Kinsey and the somewhat unpredictable and very genuine soul man Carlton J. Smith (and Jenkins as well) rotated in and out with a variety of tunes that drew on the catalogs of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Swamp Dogg and Maggie Bell. They also found the funk in a Steely Dan tune and some early Chicago, as well as some Hall originals and a pile of familiar and obscure tunes that you don’t often get a chance to hear live.
“What felt so great about being at B Scene on Saturday night was the sense that we were all involved in something really special,” said Hall. “I am really thankful that Abby wants it to be a space for everyone. I am so happy that B Scene is here and I really look forward to seeing what kind of art and music and people it will attract. This is such a great thing for the neighborhood, and it was an honor to be a small part of the opening weekend.”
Credit for the joint’s name goes to Scott Orr, whose “B Scene Zine” was a popular chronicle of this side of town. He graciously passed it on to Ehmann.
Jewelry designer Susanne Klevorick, who spent some quality time in the heyday of NYC clubs, enjoyed the fact that it felt like a place that you would go to just to check out what was happening.
“Quite often when we went to CBGBs, or Max’s Kansas City,” she said, “both of which were bigger venues, but still, they were places that you knew you could just go to, and we didn’t know who the band was, but it didn’t matter. You just went to listen to music. This seems like that kind of place.”
The libations upstairs run from $9 bottled beers to $17 “Signature Craft Cocktails” created by bar manager Juan Castillo, who has worked extensively in Soho and Brooklyn.
“Abby said that she wanted drinks that were seasonal and elevated, and I went all in,” explains Castillo.
The results are a menu that includes (for the time being) drinks such as Venus’ Pomegranate Thyme Sour (London Dry Gin, pomegranate, lemon, thyme, egg white) and the Orchard Sunset (Calvados, aged rum, spiced apple cider, rosemary-infused honey, Angostura bitters). Downstairs is a little more budget-conscious, with well drinks priced at $9 and top shelf at $13, while you can get a Guinness draft for $10.
Ehmann is definitely looking for variety in the new spot. “
I’ve got a book event. We’re moving the goth party that used to be at Lucky down here. We’re doing an autumnal equinox ritual. We’ve got jazz fusion, a Drag King event, the Anti-Hoot, and the free live music Sunday series is moving from Lucky to the B Scene also.”
They are also set up to show movies and are looking forward to a variety of other events. When the second downstairs room opens downstairs in October, it will be possible to have a private party there even while bands are booked in the other section.
Liebman was pleased and optimistic after the club’s auspicious beginning days. “Our opening weekend was a smashing success filled with friends, music, and celebration”, he said.” A trend we intend to continue into the future.”
Check out upcoming events at the B Scene website bscenenyc.com and their Instagram at @bscenenyc.
