The Stone Opens

Though a number of East Side music venues are teetering on the edge of viability, John Zorn is actually opening a new one on April 1. Were it any other man, you might call him a fool, but with Zorn's name-and by extension his record label, colleagues, friends, and fans-attached to the Stone, the small venue on 2nd Street and Avenue C could be just the attention-grabber the scene needs.

Now, I don't mind a cocktail with my musical entertainment, but additional percussive ice-shaking is not generally welcome when the night requires serious listening, and few artists are as effective as Diamanda Galás at asking the crowd to please shut the fuck up. So if you like your cutting-edge experimental music delivered in Fight Club style, you're going to love the Stone. Announcements for opening night note: "The mandate is that 100% of all admissions collected go directly to the musicians performing! There will be no merchandising, and no refreshments sold-this is all about the music and the attentive audience it requires." The actual venue will pay its bills through donations and the sale of limited-edition CDs.

Each month a different musician/composer will curate the schedule, and first up is Ned Rothenberg. In order to show off the intimate space (about 100 seats), April is packed to capacity with two sets every Tuesday through Sunday. In the future, the plan is to let the curators indulge their personal tastes, but for this initial outing Rothenberg and Zorn decided to feature a huge range of artists (though many do lean toward the improv side of the musical equation). I'd list them out-Anthony Coleman, Tim Berne, Elliott Sharp, Mark Feldman, Sylvie Courvoisier, Ikue Mori, Anthony Burr, Erik Friedlander, Earl Howard, Ursel Schlicht, Satoko Fujii, Marina Rosenfeld, Milford Graves, Bill Ware III, Roy Campbell, Matt Wilson, Rob Burger, William Parker, Perry Robinson, Marty Ehrlich-but I'm getting dizzy, and I'm not even halfway through the April lineup.

Rothenberg anticipates the atmosphere will recall the loft shows of the 60s and 70s. "I think one of the reasons John started this is that there were some real fears about the viability of some other clubs which now seem to be hanging in there, like Tonic, so that's great. The interest is to grow the scene, not shrink it. The idea with this is to have a club that's just dependent on the musicians and their own desire to keep it going."

The Stone, E. 2nd St. (Ave. C), thestonenyc.com; 8 & 10, $10, $5 st.