Annunciata per il prossimo 13 aprile la chiusura del celebre Tonic, uno dei centri pulsanti delle musiche indipendenti ed eterodosse dal vivo a New York, e uno dei pochissimi rimasti finora aperto, soprattutto a causa della vertiginosa e dissennata corsa all'aumento dei costi di affitto di spazi e locali nel quartiere Lower East Side; corsa guidata da investitori e imprenditori con pochi scrupoli e nessun interesse per attività culturali giudicate di basso o nessun profitto. Tra gli ultimi appuntamenti in calendario, concerti di Gary Lucas, ICP Orchestra, Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman, Peter Brotzmann, Erik Friedlander & Ikue Mori, Okkyung Lee, Blind Idiot God e l'immancabile 'Improv Night Party' curato qui per l'ultima volta da John Zorn.
Così scrive l'affiatato team che per anni ha amorevolmente curato la direzione artistica del locale:
Dear Musicians, Fans and Friends:
After more than 9 years as a home for avant-garde, creative, and experimental music, Tonic will reluctantly close its doors on Friday, April 13th, 2007. We simply can no longer afford the rent and all of the other costs associated with doing business on the Lower East Side.
The neighborhood around us has been increasingly consumed by "luxury condominiums", boutique hotels and glass towers, all making the value of our salvaged space worth more then our business could ever realistically support. We have also been repeatedly harassed by the city's Quality of Life Task Force which resulted in the debilitating closing of the ))sub((tonic lounge in January. Coincidentally, this campaign began as our immediate neighbor, the Blue Condominium building - a symbol of the new Lower East Side - prepared to open its doors.
As a business, we take responsibility for mistakes made along the way. If profit had been our chief motivation we could have changed our programming to something more mainstream and financially lucrative. Instead we were more committed to a certain type of music and loyal to the community that supported us. As a result, we've always just survived but never really prospered. It is, however, unfortunate that it is so difficult for small businesses to operate in this city and that a chain store that can afford a high rent is more desirable than a place like Tonic that has a different kind of value.
While this is certainly the end of Tonic at 107 Norfolk Street, we remain committed to what Tonic represents and plan to try again in some form as soon as possible. In the interim, Tonic will make efforts to present new music in existing venues such as the Abron's Arts Center located just a few blocks away.
We invite you to join us as often as you can over our remaining days to help us celebrate Tonic and more importantly the amazing artists, our unwavering staff, and the nurturing community that made Tonic possible. It’s because of you that we’ve stayed open as long as we have. Thank you!
Sincerely, Melissa and John
