I'm gonna be that guy who gives a 5 star place 4 stars!!! I will mention the missing one star at the end of this overly positive review.
Now, before I start, you might want to go to the website and RSVP for the next free show. Whether or not you like the band. OR, look at the list of remaining free shows for the summer, note the RSVP date, and get into a free show for a band you like.
Last week my friend and I went to the 7 PM Toro Y Moi, Shlohmo, and Jonwayne show.
We got there from NJ at around 5 something and the line had to have been about 100 people deep already. You wanna get there early. They give out 2,000 tickets and have a capacity of about 900 (I heard a guard say) and it's first come first serve.
It might have been more than 100 people already come to think of it...we were like two blocks away and it was not a single file kinda line.
My friend drove and there is tons of parking in this part of Brooklyn FYI.
I didn't print my ticket out or use data on my phone to show my ticket to the doorman. I downloaded it to my Passbook app and they scanned the QR code.
You don't even need an app, just the QR code.
Simple.
We got in no problem and walked into a world of free beer, cheap Mexican food and ramen. There was also free Vitamin Water. Like...TONS of free Vitamin Water.
We chilled around in the outdoor area until the main act played. That's when we went into the warehouse. It was sorta warm, but at this point it was 9 PM and there is a GIANT fan the size of a windmill spinning overhead.
This ain't some wimpy fan. It's the kinda fan that if it fell, all 900 people in attendance would die.
Even the people not inside the warehouse.
Just sayin'.
Anyway, the missing one star stems from the first time we came here 2 weeks prior and couldn't get in. That's when I heard about the capacity thing...why give out 2,000 tickets if you can only fit 900 hipsters?
But other than that, RSVP to a show...you won't be disappointed. If you don't like the music, drink and eat and then go do something else. It's Brooklyn, I'm sure you can find some way to entertain yourself.
I saw Toro y Moi/Shlohmo/Jonwayne here last night for FREE. Yeah, all shows that happen at House of Vans are FREE. I think all the shows are on Thursday nights, which is a bit shitty since I work Fridays. Worth it though!
Although you can't buy a pair of Vans here (not that they aren't cheap as hell already), in addition to free performances, you can get free vitamin water and lemonade. I think the beer costs though? Don't buy anything from the noodle bar, my friend hated it.
It was a pretty hot day out yesterday, but the giant ceiling fan kept everyone nice and cool even when the crowd got really huge. It's also surprisingly clean inside (surprising because the outside is ugly). The inside is modeled a bit like a skate park, which you can actually watch the performances from. Hard to describe unless you're actually there. Â
For parking -- drive around the side streets nearby for long enough, and as long as you know how to parallel park, you will find something. Again for FREE
Also, print your damn tickets. Don't be that guy.
Speaking of tickets, the line to get in will be long, but you'll probably get in. If you get there early enough though, sometimes they give free posters to the first 70 people they admit.
I kept thinking how have I never been to House of Vans yet, but the place over the summer was usually just too crowded every time I attempted to go. Â I was trying to see Lemonade over the summer and the shit was at capacity by the time I got there and I heard some other people were not let in until 10pm. Â Standing outside for 2 hours, nah its ok.
-House of Vans, I was thinking the same thing, how come you don't sell the shoes here. Â
The space is really nice, I have to say. Â I was just here for Action Bronson show a few days ago. Â Greenpoint area of Brooklyn is somewhere I used to go in the past but not so much lately. Â They do alot of free shows here, check it out next summer. Â It is a cool skatepark to look at. Â The area in the back had plenty of booze. Â The sponsors hooked it up, but they only had Coors light by the time I got there. Â Sixpoint and Heineken had run dry. Â Still had a great time the whole night, great show. Also, guys this is a great location.
-You can take the G train to Greenpoint and then walk to Franklin and then across to the location.
What bad can you say about a place that puts on AWESOME & FREE shows. Oh they also have awesome sponsors that give you free beverages...including alcohol.
Be sure to actually print your rsvp like the email tells you to. They make 2 separate lines and if you're the schmuck with it on your phone that ain't good enough and all paper carriers go past you.
I had paper.....I win.
Why why why why why can't they sell their shoes here? *huge pout*
The reason I remembered to review House of Vans, as I recently saw a show here, is because I am looking for a freakin' pair of Vans that I can't seem to find anywhere. *shakes fist in the air* HOUSE OF VANS!!
However, I did have a really great time seeing Fucked Up and the Cro-mags FOR FREE here a couple weeks ago. Seriously, what an amazing experience. I haven't seen the Cro-mags since I was a kid, and I'd never seen Fucked Up before - and both bands definitely brought it. Add to that the fact that there was FREE beer, water, and coconut water (note: I love awesome gratis)... well, this was basically the time of my life. (As a side note, I had to laugh when John Joseph started telling everyone at House of Vans how hard-core they were for not selling out... you know, Vans also sponsors the Warped Tour... obviously a different crowd, but still lolz).
This warehouse space is huge and has both an indoor and an outdoor skate area and a huge stage. I love the fact that someone graffitied "WINO" (like the metal musican) on one of the walls. Everything about this place reminds me of my childhood going to shows, and makes me duly happy to have returned finally to the East Coast. I absolutely recommend coming here if there is a free show you wanna see (be sure to RSVP) or if there is a show you want to see at all - with a capacity near 1,000, it didn't even seem crowded - there was plenty of room for everyone. And there was even a taco truck in the outdoor area for the show. Are you kidding me!? m/
Yay. I'm first!
The House of Vans is a new ginormous event space and skate park that opened up in October of 2010 in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn. It's allegedly 24,000 square feet, and after being there to see a show I'm thinking that may be an understatement. I've never been there to skate but like I said, I went just recently to see a live show (Chairlift and Smith Westerns and Spectrum, respectively) and it's a great place for that.
There's lots of space, and since they only have private events it's never over packed, even though it would require a whole LOT of people for that place to be overpacked. The sound there is great and they usually have great live performers on deck, and they definitely will this summer. I'll say check the place out, you won't regret it. Trust me!
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