Terminal 5 is located on 610 West 56th Street, Manhattan, between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenue.  It is part of the ‘Bowery Presents’ circle of venues, along with Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, and Music Hall in Williamsburg; from noon to seven PM, Monday-Saturday, Mercury Lounge serves as the box office for all four places (Music Hall also does on Saturdays, eleven AM to six PM).  It is a pretty recent venue, having only opened on October 11th, 2007 with The National and St. Vincent.  It lies in far west Midtown, less than a block from the Hudson River.

A converted warehouse, Terminal 5 is by far the largest undertaking by Bowery Presents, over twice the capacity of often-used Webster Hall, and almost six times that of the next-largest venue owned by Bowery Presents, Bowery Ballroom.  At three levels, it is also one whole level more than either of those two.  The entrance leads into a long corridor that opens on house-right side of the stage floor.  The stage floor itself is enormous, longer than it is wide, with a similarly large stage area, and a photo pit between the two.  The house-left wing of the first balcony is a reserved area, like in Webster Hall.  Like Webster Hall, a bar is located at the back of the stage floor.  Bars are also located on the two balcony levels, to the house-right.  There are also fresh empanadas on sale on the first balcony, something that is truly unique.

Terminal 5 is roughly ‘Webster Hall on steroids’: huge enough to hold the biggest of indie-rock acts this side of the Madison Square Garden circle of venues (MSG, WaMu Theater at MSG, Radio City Music Hall, and Beacon Theatre), with an amazing sound system, light show, and offering of alcohol (even has tap beers, unlike Webster Hall).  However, it also features an absolute crush of people throughout the venue: whether on the stage floor, at the main bar, or along the railings of the two balconies, there are people standing in front of you, blocking your way or your vision.  It can seem like any time you want to get somewhere, there are twelve people going the opposite direction, and the only route is a thin, one-person wide (if that) space between people standing.  The view is great if you’re all the way at the front, but there’s no slick way to get there.  The best seats on the first balcony are often reserved for VIP’s (akin to the entire balcony at Webster Hall), but one can get a surprisingly great view from the second balcony, if you’re close enough, looking down directly on the entire band.  Terminal 5 might get the highest quality acts of any venue in New York City – but that comes with a serious price…

Capacity: 3,000

Address:

610 West 56th Street (Between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenue)

By Subway:

QRO Coverage:

-Rilo Kiley, with Thao Nguyen & The Get Down Stay Down and Benji Hughes - Rilo Kiley photos, Thao Nguyen & The Get Down Stay Down photos, Benji Hughes photos  

-Spoon, with Handsome Furs, April 9th, 2008 – Spoon photos, Handsome Furs photos

Rilo Kiley - "Silver Lining", New York, NY, 6/3/08
Rilo Kiley - "It’s a Hit", New York, NY, 6/3/08
Spoon - "The Underdog", New York, NY, 4/9/08

Click here for the venue's website