PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEIRON O’CONNOR

For intrepid New York

indie-rock fans looking for

a show, there’s no place

like the middle of nowhere.

Okay, makeshift venues in

outer-borough hoods such

as Ridgewood in Queens,

Bushwick in Brooklyn, or

the industrial wastelands

of Williamsburg aren’t

exactly a world away

from Manhattan’s circuit

of Lower East Side clubs

(more like 20 minutes by

subway), but for all the

right reasons, they might as

well be. Thanks to a network

of adventurous promoters,

bands, and audiences, DIY

performance spaces have

sprung up to serve those

tired of thick bouncers,

blah bookings, and the

stultifying sense of propriety

plaguing more established

music spots. “It’s boring to

see bands play surrounded

by beer advertisements and

crowds more interested in

posing than listening,” says

Todd P., 33, who’s been

organizing cheap all-ages

concerts of, at times, hazy

legality since moving to New

York from Portland, Oregon,

in 2001. “But it turns out

that putting on your own

gig is the easiest shit there

is.” Just don’t tell anyone.

DAVID MARCHESE