Heading into last night's sold out Joe Matarese show at Vinnie Brand's Stress Factory in New Brunswick, NJ we had all the same questions anyone who had not been to a show in a while had - 'What is the outdoor venue going to look like in winter?'
Answer: It looks incredible. And, nope, you don't need a winter coat. The torches and the infrared heaters actually keep it to where we removed sweatshirts to boot.
Sitting around the perimeter with stage center you can look out and see snow, look down and see snow melting into the venue, look up and see your comic (BTW, unorthodox Jewish comedian Olga Namer can headline if she's got another 40 minutes of material as good as she gave us last night.)
Here's a sweep left to right of the outdoor club. You enter at what would have been the end of the driveway at Church Street -- the stage is right in front of what is the camouflaged Lower Church Street Deck Parking Garage -- and the end of the tent is right at the door for the physical club...where you still go to pee. (That's right - no coats and no Porta Potti.)
Here's Matarese on stage. Yes, right behind the stage is the parking deck. (The only issue with table #27 area is obviously some necessary poles are gonna block some view - however the 'must wear mask' reminder amplifies that visual block.)
Overall very well done Brand clan.
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