[1]Luna Lounge was a bar at 171 Ludlow Street, on the west side of Ludlow Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. It opened in 1995, and was a popular venue for local bands and stand-up comics (the rock band Interpol played there early on and last returned in 2003 to perform a secret show under the name "Cuddleworthy"). A much-loved foosball table was located by the entrance; a game cost $1.00 in quarters.
Luna Lounge is notable as the place where Elliott Smith wrote the songs for his first major label release, XO.[2]
The back showroom hosted two to four bands six nights a week, with the "Eating It" alternative stand-up comedy show filling the room on Mondays. Eating It, which moved to a larger venue in February, 2005 and survives as late as August 2006 as a summer-only monthly event, featured a changing line-up of comedians including Marc Maron, Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Jim Norton, Ted Alexandro, Todd Barry, H. Jon Benjamin, Greg Giraldo, Patrice Oneal, Dennis Weaver, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Vowell, Louis C.K., Mike Birbiglia, Dave Chappelle, Roseanne Barr, and dozens of others. The eight-dollar comedy cover charge included a free drink. The weekly event was initially devised by Maron and Garofalo, who later helped create the radio network Air America Radio.
Luna Lounge was forced to close when its landlord sold the small building to a buyer who planned to demolish it and build a larger development site.[3] The bar closed its doors for the last time at its original location on the morning of June 12, 2005 and the building was torn down on July 26 and 27 of that year.
Music at Luna Lounge was always free. When the club closed, it was the last spot on the Lower East Side to feature nightly rock shows with no cover. Other bands which played the venue early in their careers include The Strokes, Longwave, Ambulance LTD, Nada Surf, Ratatat, The National, and stellastarr*.
Luna Lounge reopened on January 22, 2007, in a new Williamsburg, Brooklyn space.[4] Among the bands to play the reopened location were The Meat Puppets, Steve Forbert, The Knitters, The Pipettes, Cash Registers, Longwave, Rob Dickinson, The Black Angels, Cruel Black Dove and Quiet loudly. Luna Lounge sold their Williamsburg lease in April, 2008, to the Knitting Factory.[5] In March 2010, Luna Lounge creator and co-owner Rob Sacher, reported that he was writing an autobiography, which is in large part about Luna Lounge and its historic and cultural significance within the music scene in New York. The book, entitled, Wake Me When It's Over, will be released in January, 2012.