Josh G.
Yelp
On my recent venture into the hipsterish land of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I hit up a few spots that deserved a Yelp review (Josh G. style). This means multiple pics and paragraphs (What can I say, I like to talk). I was going back through my photos, deleting a few of the ones already posted, and I realized I totally forgot to review Brooklyn Steel (luckily, this was less than a month ago).
Now don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike Brooklyn Steel. On the contrary, this place is anything but BS (get it?). Brooklyn Steel actually has my mind making correlations to The Paramount in Huntington. It's got that rusted, vintage, almost unfinished feel to the place, which makes sense when the building probably used to be used for exactly what the venue is called (ya know, making steel).
When you actually first stroll in, there are a couple of food stands set up to assist in appetite-curbing. My buddies and I were mildly hungry due to eating a few hours earlier and so we partook in a few dumplings (deliciousness). From there, we walked through another set of doors to be faced with what seemed like a spacious lobby area, complete with bar. I say "seemed" because this turned out to be one of the negatives (later on).
Positives were definitely contained within the actual concert venue (another set of doors got you in there). Plenty of space once inside with a bar at the back and room to move around. The space played well for the indie rock/alternative band we were seeing (ever hear or Matt & Kim?) and made for a great concert experience.
Once over, things got dicey. Like any music venue, everybody made a break for the doors causing a nice flood of humans. Some concert spaces have an abundance of exits to help combat this, but from what I could tell, this wasn't the case at Brooklyn Steel. Unfortunately, that lobby area which housed a bar also held bathroom entrances (which I ran to right at the closing of the show), the merch booth, the stairway to the balcony seats, and the coat check. Everyone went from concert-goers to frustrated sardines in a matter of moments. It made for an aggravating way to end the night. But hey, I'd come back.
Overall, Brooklyn Steel is a location worthy of a return trip. Yeah things got a little nuts when leaving, but beyond that, the place is nicely themed and can hold its own for when Brooklynites and their neighbors might want to come out and jam. And with that, (after six strong paragraphs), you're done reading. *phew*