Where We Live: Terminal 5 - New York, NY
From the outside, Terminal 5 is decidedly unimpressive. All that can be seen is a garage door sitting below a blank building sign. The queue line to get into the venue winds through an underpass with construction lining both sides. However, the inside of Terminal 5 offers the complete opposite: a lively club that’s one of the most well-known in the city.
What’s first noticeable inside Terminal 5 is how animated it appears to be, despite a relatively conservative look. There are no fancy paint jobs or other gimmicks meant to spruce the place up. All the focus here is dedicated to the music itself. The concert hall is divided up into three floors, all right above each other. The bottom floor is where the action can be found. During sold-out shows, the environment turns almost claustrophobic, as most of the 3,000 attendees compete for space on the floor. Fortunately, it’s a good type of claustrophobia. Instead of feeling trapped and cramped, you feel like you could drown in the music and general atmosphere of the show.
For concert-goers who don’t want that level of intensity, the second and third floor balconies are the places to be. The spots against the balcony railing offer a perfect view of the stage without the crush of the first floor crowd. However, if you’re not against the rail, it gets tougher to see. There’s also a VIP area on one side of the balcony for those who can afford it. The design of the hall can best be described as an industrial warehouse crossed with an abandoned house. The furniture looks world-weary, probably due to its previous use as a part of Club Exit, which closed in 2003.
The best part of Terminal 5 is its consistent track record for booking of great acts. The venue has had a number of music’s most talked-about stars walk across its stage. This includes everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Lady Gaga, Santigold to The Cult. With such megawatt acts gracing its doors, it’s no wonder that people keep trekking over to 11th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen to get into the venue.
It’s true that Terminal 5 may be lacking in décor. But it more than makes up for it with the music. By booking a ton of heavy weight performers and making a three-story room that offers great views from nearly every angle, Terminal 5 has pushed itself to the forefront of smaller concert venues, and it’s not planning on going anywhere.
Terminal 5
610 W 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 665-3832
Upcoming Events:
10/16 - The Gaslight Anthem
10/17 - The Avett Brothers
10/23 - STS9
10/24 - The Zac Brown Band
10/31 -Thievery Corporation
11/08 - Wolfmother
11/13 - David Crowder Band
11/14 - Peaches
Claustrophobia, by definition, is a bad thing and Terminal Five is certainly a claustrophobic experience. Trying to get out of the club reminds me of high school and I have never been so crushed in an audience. Literally unable to move is not fun. Also, while the bands are good, everything everyone said about sight lines and sound is true. More than half of the venue has horrible sound, so you have to get there early and that sucks. I have seen a lot of good shows at Terminal Five, but it has been an ordeal every single time. I seriously think twice before seeing shows here.
Oh Terminal 5, how I love and hate you. I agree with the article about the bands that come to T5. Terminal 5 gets credit for allowing moderate sized bands to play a venue that fits their size. A band like The Raconteurs, Phoenix, Modest Mouse can play a couple of nights and the fans can enjoy the band in a much more intimate setting that Town Hall or United Palace. The place is also a step up from Roseland.
That being said, it’s not a good venue. As Scott mentioned, sightlines are not good at all.You could get lost on the floor in a hurry. The bars are easily accesible and plenty of bathrooms so that is another plus. The new outdoor space is nice but takes you away from the action. I think if they had actual working televisions w/ more dynamic shots of the band playing all those people might not hover so closely.
T5 isn’t the worst place nor is it the best, it tends to get too much flack. It’s not as annoying as Webster Hall where the sightlines are terrible, the sound can get lost, the floor moves and makes you feel like you are on a trampoline and sometimes you can hear some heavy bass from other club shows during the quieter moments.
Wow, I expected a scathing review of this horribly thought out venue. The sightlines on the two balconies are non-existent unless you are on the rail and if you get there early enough to stake out a spot on the rail you’ll get other concert-goers squeezing into you, trying to take any extra space they can find.
The floor becomes packed and if you ever have to go to the bathroom your chances of getting your spot back are nill.
Worst venue in NYC
I completely disagree. The place has a maximum occupancy based on the total floor space. Go to any show and check out all of the balcony levels…The only space used is the space along the railing…. so where does everyone else go? To the floor of course. and you aren’t drowning in music…First of all, if you aren’t standing in the middle of the floor (without a balcony floor above your head)then it sound terrible and you are drowning in a mixture of hot breath and sweat while you struggle to keep on your tiptoes to breathe fresh air.
The last 2 times i went there were for the dead weather and nine inch nails. both times i was about 15 feet out of the open part of the floor under the balcony. i made the decision to just keep politely squeezing through the crowd and found myself no more than 15 feet from the from of the stage where the crowd was actually moving.
They need to get rid of the first balcony level. This will improve the experience there for so many people. It will sound a lot better on the floor and people won’t mind standing in the back.
If you are going to show there… just remember, there is always room on the floor…. don’t be afraid to say excuse me to the people standing still in front of you.
Looking forward to Ghostland Observatory in December!