Don Hill’s

Sadly its CLOSED but Don Hill’s used to host some of the most rocking parties in NYC. Just a bunch of acts trying to make it and it was normally a good time. Live music and with the hunger of bands or emcee’s trying to make it plus a lively crowd every week, whats not to love.

Really cute band played here about two weeks before this place closed. Quite sad. Dance floor was packed on one side while the other side with the bar was pretty empty, even though there was a half naked woman dancing on the bar top.
Extremely smoky inside. Thought it was from some smoke machine but turned out it was the groups of chimney in the back.

I can’t even express my sadness.
Here, a frequent guest at Don Hill’s — Michael Musto of the Village Voice — discusses the official, permanent closing of Don’s club:
CLOSED

$ 7 Budweisers. If you keep reading about this place, then I’d be surprised.
This is the kind of bar is used to go to when I would VISIT the city. It’s not the kind of bar that local NYers would ever go to. This place is mediocre at best. As a bar, it’s got a nice space, but as a venue it’s awful. The excessive amounts of seating make it impossible to actually dance. The staff is rude in that «Can’t you see I’m trying to text right now?» way. The only thing that would make me go back to Don Hill’s is my own funeral… and even that’d be a stretch.

The place is ok but the bartender, while cute enough, was cleary surfing the crimson wave. When ordered 16 soco and limes (how much fun dies that sound btw!!!) and this black haired green eyed beauty queen bitch totally looked at us like we had just killed her puppy. DELTA FOR LIFE!!! PEACE!

for a bit I was here pretty consistently. music is awesome. scene is a pretty random mix of skinny’s (hipsters/​models). drinks are meh & they seem to have a promoter set up going on, but all in all a good place to dance. i hope you like graffiti.

I was at the SPIN magazine’s Year In Music concert with Florence + the Machine and Surfer Blood, and a DJ set by Yeasayer. Show was awesome. Crowd was not too bad for being mostly employees and friends of SPIN.
Positive: Alcohol was free ($ 1 if you ordered at a table, which was pretty easy to sit at if you got there early)
–Performances by Florence was awesome. Sadly the opener, Surfer Blood, played more songs than her.
Cons: way too crowded, at least when you got to the bar it was super fast to get drinks
–Chick in VIP who looked like Samantha Roson, nobody was trying to sneak into the VIP section, it was just the line for the bathroom. Nobody from either band was sitting back there, so no reason for anyone to even want to go back there. Thanks though for trying to look special, but failing.
–I found a reason to spend money there. Patron shots. Damn you Tequila.
I would try it out again on a normal night just to see what it is like.

Mehhh… came here right after they reopened, as i’d read about it being a great venue now that it had been redone… must say, if you love hipsters or 80s music, this is the spot for you.
As I don’t like hipsters, and we were wearing cocktail dresses and heels, this was not a spot for me. Everyone sporting shorts, hats, and other casual hipster ensembles, and the crowd ranging from hard core hipsters to random balding overweight elderly men confused me with regards to what all the fuss was about…
Also the womens bathroom is itty bitty, as in barely one person who ISNT in one of the two stalls can fit in there, so essentially a line forms outside the bathroom on the dance floor.
We requested some non 80s music… that was not well received. They also won’t let you leave out the front, you go out a back exit, as clearly there are needs to be pretentious and hipsterly secret and discrete in this fairly desolate area at 2 am.
oh, and side note, my friend had her purse stolen recently, so had forgotten her passport (no idea how she managed that), and the bouncer wouldnt let her in despite the rest of us being in our mid/​upper 20s… she had to go back to the upper east side for her passport, and by the time she returned we were ready to leave. Not that that’s a legitimate minus star as he’s «doing his job,» but ive rarely had friends denied who have forgotten their IDs when theyre quite clearly well beyond the legal drinking age.

Nice little music venue, despite the strange layout. The bar is separated from the actual stage, with a wall (with a couple arches) through to the back. But it’s just a partial divider, making it like an L shape to see the stage.
I felt a bit weird scooting in close, because a lot of people were seated in that general area. So I hung back near the merch table. Me standing up in front would block their view… but once the headliner went on, most people stood up, so it worked out. Sound was average.
$ 3 for a water… isn’t it horrible that I’ve become accustomed to spending $ 3 – 4 for bottled water at music venues and bars in Manhattan?

From my understanding, Don Hills recently reopened this weekend under the ownership of Nur Khan & Paul Sevigny (Chloe’s brother) for Fashion Week. Upon entrance, it’s a stark difference from the glitterati of lounges like Goldbar, SL, Juliet, etc. It’s dark, dingy, grungy… the walls are filled with graffiti, there a green light ambience to the place. Rather than sippin on exotic cosmos, the tequila and bar seems to be the choice here. With that said, I freaking LOVE it!
The crowd was a mostly models, fashionistas, entertainers of the like. If Don Hills is any indication on the direction night life will be going, it definitely will be taking on a more raw/​grunge edge. Long gone are the days of pretentious clubs and we get back to good old fashion PARTYING! From what I’ve seen over the weekend, this is definitely looking like the new «IT».
The bartenders were attentive and cool, never missing a beat. Crowd ranged from the Becka Diamond type to Alexa Chung. (both who were here). A vibe reminiscent of early 80s partying/​Debbie Harry.

Saw Jack White’s band The Dead Weather here the other week. Felt like going back in time… a PROPER NYC club like years ago. CBGBs without the smell of piss and puke. I heard it’s getting taking over by the Beatrice Inn and Rose bar guys and will be a real rock/​dance club. If so, I may have to revive my rave-​like behaviour of yesteryear and make it happen…
Would be good though, because all that bottle service club cheese has got to go.

Do not go unless you know precisely what event is going on and that you are reasonably likely you enjoy it.
Do not go for the décor, drinks, seating, or staff – if you’re looking for «just somewhere to hang out for drinks, music, etc» you can do much better elsewhere.

Great location w/​area parking and courteous door staff. Small space, but good enough for 200 of your closest friends. Salvation nights (any goth nights) are well-​attended with quality performance acts. Pole dancers on the bar and average-​priced drinks.
Where is the «vote» button for larger bathrooms, tho?

Went to Don Hill’s for the first time last night. I wasn’t expecting it to be a great venue based on the reviews I read online. When I stepped into their place, they were playing some 80s music from the DJ that was spinning. I looked around and much to my surprise, everyone was attractive! Not your typical downtown bar. I have been to plenty of bars on the LES and I have not seen so many good looking people on a weekend in one spot. The night was good because it was a friend’s concert. A good mix of indie, punk rockers, and industrial/​goth types. Definitely my scene and if the night is like this every weekend with the same type of crowd, I will defintely go back again and again!
Pros — Plenty of room to dance, good music, good quality for live shows, attractive crowd, drinks are average price
Cons — Couldn’t really find any :)

THIS VENUE IS NOW CLOSED. TOO BAD!
Once again, Don Hill’s has definitely reinvented itself – the mark of a truly great nightclub! Fantastic new makeover complete with a top notch sound and light systems. Unfortunately, no more Reggaeholics dance parties once a month on Fridays – my music of choice and a big draw if you are interested in great music and multicultural supported events. Still if you fit into the Yuppie/​celebrity scene although it’s a bit more pricey, it’s time to check out their lineup of new events!

I miss the glory days of Don Hills when I was a member of the Fake ID Club and the Misshapes parties were in full swing. The DJs played a lot of indie dance rock, people actually danced, and there were plenty of good-​looking hipsters.
Bowie Ball 2007 was also hosted here, which was such a blast! I’ve also been to the RED Distribution CMJ showcase and had the chance to see some bands on various Sony labels perform. I really liked the live show here because it was a smaller, intimate setting and the sound quality was good.
Downside: I remember when Don Hills had to step up the security though, because everyone else who was in the Fake ID Club was trying to get in. As a result, the line to get in could take 15 minutes at times, which was not fun, especially in the freezing cold.

I’ve only been to Don Hill’s once, to see Seabound and De/​vision. Everything was pretty great except the expensive drinks (to be expected in NYC) and the staff not wanting to let people go out to smoke without having to pay to get back in. The DJ before the bands was pretty good too.
I would definitely go see another show there.

AWESOME PLACE
great to drink, good to play a show at, great to take pictures at
every night is different
sometimes they have 2 different events happening in the same nights
one is an early show that is all ages
and another one is 21 up later at night
Big bar, few stripping polls.
and if your too sick of drinking, there’s a grocery store 1 block away

Not overly impressed by this venue. Been here twice this week for two different parties, with similar promoters. Can’t say I had a blast either time, but I was blasted.
Glamdammit is one of the parties my friend and I hit up here; unbeknowst to me until looking up the directions it was the same place I’d been briefy on NYE. $ 7 with rsvp and stellar fun pink wristbands with purple dalmation/​cow spots. I notice these things. Also managed to notice my standard $ 7 vodka cranberry had plenty o vodka. Dear bartender, thank you.
It’s long but not very wide (that’s what she said) inside, with a wall of arches separating the bar from the stage/​dance area. Seating runs along the edges of its inner sanctum. The stage is pretty small, and the Bowie cover band was nothing memorable.
I appreciate the drinks and the momento wristband but won’t be making much effort to go back. Don’t let those party pictures on the internet fool you.

Back in the late 90’s I discovered the Squeezebox parties, DJ Miss Guy, and the Toilet Boys.
It was an awesome spectacle to see a band that had pyro and shot sparks from their guitars during a time period of Limp Bizkit and Lincoln Park… and hear a dj spin Bowie, Ac/​dc, Sly Stone and the Clash all in one mix. Truely inventive for it’s time.
For these past groundbreaking experiences, Don Hills gets 5 stars.

A pal of mine used to come here in high school because they didn’t ID. We’re well above the drinking age now — good thing because they do check IDs — but since the Ear Inn was impossibly packed last night (maybe because of nearby Gossip Girl filming?) we ended up at Don Hill’s listening to two of the world’s worst bands.
I know what you’re thinking: «World’s worst? C’mon, isn’t that a little harsh?»
Sadly, it isn’t.
So awful were these bands that the two of us were the only people in the place (save for the bartender and Don Hill himself) not IN the bands or WITH the bands. Which is really to say this place was empty.
Highlight of the night? A «metal» band (who shall remain nameless) takes the stage complete with a frontman sporting paint (note, I did not mean ink — he actually appeared to have painted «tattoos» on his arms) and proceeds to sing a Poison cover:
Blind faith takes me to the mountains
Blind faith lead me to the sea
Blind faith takes me to a higher ground
Come on, come on, come on, and
help me find my way
Thankfully, we were not charged a cover for this «entertainment».