My next suggestion in my spaces to have a decent hang with one’s friends pre-concert would find me remaining down here on the Lower East Side, or the LES for all you folks that Twitter your brains out and offering up for your chill time – Nice Guy Eddie’s. Their located on the corner of Avenue A and Houston Street and are the perfect spot to kick back a few with your friends if you are heading to the Mercury Lounge or even the couple of blocks away Arlene’s Grocery, Piano’s and The Living Room. I realize that there are a score more venues in that region but I could be here all day lining them out so you get the overall picture.

I didn’t shoot any pics on the inside of the place since it was kind of crowded and I didn’t want to appear too “touristy” myself. I was actually hitting a show with Skeleton Pete and we braved it together to see how different it was from the bar we had hit in the past that was just across the street. They didn’t have any food and tonight we were hungry so to Eddie’s we ventured. The bar has a cool Happy Hour which amounts to two for one beers and unlike some places that end this special at 7pm, Eddie’s goes until 8pm. That helps if the bands you are seeing are hitting the stage a little late. The food we’ve tried at Eddie’s was pretty much the burgers and I had no complaint about them. They dished out a fine one and one of my friends had said that their wings were also commendable.

Eddie’s is a full on Rock and Roll bar when it comes to the sounds blasting out of their jukebox. During my times there I have heard not only Ramones and Joan Jett, but also The Clash, Stones and my favorite of them all – KISS. That makes Eddies a cool and somewhat rocking place for a decent Happy Hour without question. Good food, great music, close to where you need to be and wait there is more; they are also very known for the mural that is on the Houston Street side of the place. It depicts KISS in their “Destroyer” regalia and its a superb photo opportunity. Check it out.

That’s all I have for you in this little concert themed Zagat guide of mine. I hope you drop into the place when hitting these venues because it keeps the value on the reasonable side and we all need to save money nowadays. Stay tuned for more, I have some other suggestions for you up my sleeve and I think you will like them.

UPDATE: 6/18/2012 – The other day I learned about the closing of Nice Guy Eddie’s after being in business for eighteen years. It’s going to become some sort of upscale Hipster lounge or so I am told by some of the staff. I went there one final time the day before they closed and scream about this horrible news on my personal blog. You can check that out and do some screaming yourself if you enjoyed this place by clicking HERE.