Daniel Street

This place has closed.

I heard the news today that Daniel Street will be closing in January - reportedly being turned into a pizza place - so I had to write a review while reminiscing over the good times I've had here. Daniel Street's not my absolute favorite venue - there are ways it could have improved - but there will always be a special place in my heart for it. (As I write this, I'm wavering on describing Daniel Street in the past or present tense since it's closing soon, but I think I'll stick with the present since we still have a month left - it changes owners in January, and there are still shows going on this month.)

Over the past year, maybe two, I can think of a lot of great bands I've seen here, including We Are Scientists, The Octopus Project, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Surfer Blood, and Kurt Vile, just to name a few. The last time I was here was for Man Man in October. The place was just full of energy, and it was an incredible, incredible time. I recently missed the Mister Heavenly show at the end of November because I was away that weekend, but now that I know the venue is closing, I wish even more that I could have gone.

The venue's located in an adorable part of Milford, right next to the train station, so you can park in the train station parking lot, or on the street. When you walk inside, there's a lot of space with a bar to the left, a few small tables and stools and chairs along the edges, and a slightly raised stage in the back corner facing a big open floor. It hosts both all-ages and 21+ shows. Now that I've been over 21 for a while, I clearly prefer the 21+ shows, though Man Man was all-ages and maybe one of the best times I've ever had here. The bar inside Daniel Street is only open during 21+ shows, which is one way to guarantee not serving underage patrons, but it's also a pain for the rest of us. For the all-ages shows, the 21+ crowd can go across the street to the Stonebridge, which is owned by the same person, for drinks before the show and between sets, which isn't a terrible option, but something I was only willing to do once or twice.

Looking back, I can say that I've never had a bad time here. A lot of the credit definitely goes to Manic Productions, who've hosted a lot of shows here (and still have a few left at this venue and lots more to come at other venues in the area), but Daniel Street, in general, is a good venue, and it will be missed.

Great place to watch live music.  It has a small stage which can barely fit the bands on it, so there will be no dancing up there.  Smaller venue compared to the other bars with stages (Black Bear and Toad's Place).  This is nice for new bands or if you enjoy getting close to some of the bigger acts that come through.