Just recently the Idle Hands Bar celebrated their second anniversary and I wanted to use this blog to congratulate them on getting there because let’s face it, in this big city it’s often a tough go to keep the pace and this is especially so when it comes to bars or restaurants. Congratulations on completing your second year and the move into the third and beyond. The photos that you see in this posting were shot by me back in May of 2011 when I stopped in for a quick pint of ale while on my way to a show at Arlene’s Grocery.




The Idle Hands Bar was opened in 2010 by Marc Schapiro, Dave “The Rev” Ciancio and Rob Morton and each of these dudes are music industry veterans with a keen eye for the scene around them and knowing what might work well against that which will be a fools errand. Since every establishment has an origin story, I asked Marc what the bars mission statement was and he said that “Idle Hands is bringing “Bourbon. Beer. Rock.” to the East Village in NYC. Whether you are on the search for a rare bourbon or that new craft beer, you’ll be able to enjoy it in a comfortable bar with a rock ‘n roll twist. Idle Hands is your new destination for post-concert parties and bourbon & beer tastings.” Sounds good to me, lets have a look around the place.



Once you reach 25 Avenue B you are going to need to go downstairs to get to the bar. It’s located in the basement of the building and made me feel as though I was accessing something that only a choice few knew about, or heading down to a rehearsal space to jam out with friends. I am sorry that I did not take a photo of the downward corridor. Please forgive me. Once downstairs you see a nice space with both tables and chairs and a small stage area. I shot these only minutes after they opened up on the day of my visit so no patrons yet. Soon of course.



Taking a glance around the space you can see all sorts of cool music related posters in frames. A nice touch for sure. Now you should know that while there are tables there is currently no food served at Idle Hands Bar but patrons are permitted to order from the upstairs restaurant Billy Hurricane’s and enjoy whatever they get down at the bar. That is pretty cool. Billy Hurricane’s appears to be a Cajun themed restaurant and I totally want to check that out now that my beloved Acme is not coming back to its original form ever again. Oh yes, and while there is a small stage kind of level in Idle Hands this is not a live music space per se. There have been a couple of occasions where bands like Cynic presented some music in the acoustic sense but that is it. Sadly I missed that particular event and am still bummed about it.



Now that you have enjoyed some of the atmospheric viewpoints let’s take a look at the fully stocked bar. As Marc stressed in the mission statement, this is both a bourbon and a beer bar but the beers are of a better type and are often seasonal blends. While they have cans of Coors light you will not find Budweiser or even the Hipster fashionable PBR on the menu but let’s be honest, who wants those kind of beers when there are such a variety of amazing flavors to indulge in here. When you finish this narrative you can click their official link at the bottom and see what kinds of beers they have and what tasting events that they are hosting. Kind of makes you thirsty doesn’t it? Thanks to Marc for the photo of the actual booze because when I went there I was unable to get the shot without disturbing the people getting set up for the busy afternoon.



They also have a very Rock and Roll, Metal sticker emblazoned bathroom. Kind of reminds me of the one in C.B.G.B.’s only cleaner 🙂



The next photo I snared from their website because it featured a lot of the bands who had special events at the bar and offered those fans of legal drinking age the means to mix and mingle with their favorite performers. This is some list for sure and you should know that it is not uncommon for many bands to have special after parties here that are open to those who hear about them. This is clearly a music industry bar so keep that in mind if you are a musician, or even a music scene blogger/photographer. You just might meet your next connection and owe it to Idle Hands Bar. As a fan of networking this is a very good thing.



So that is all I have for you dear readers. I guess I better get my best bourbon mode on because I want to make that list by the time year three rolls around. I know that are trusty colleague Skeleton Pete sure wants to do some of the tasting sessions that they offer. See you at The Idle Hands Bar sometime soon I hope. Congratulations again on your second year. Cheers, Kippis, Salute, Prost, Skol, Cambei and Nostroya….to good health.

Official Website: http://www.idlehandsbar.com/