Knitting Factory

The Knitting Factory isn’t one for inaction: The music venue, opened as an experimental-noise haven in 1987 on Houston Street, relocated to Tribeca in 1994 and slowly mutated into a more accessible concert hall, until rising rent forced it to make moves once again in the summer of 2009. Its latest home is in Williamsburg, in the space of the old Luna Lounge (another music venue that went through a few homes before its demise). Luna regulars will barely recognize the interior, as the expansive room has been smartly split in two. First up is an airy bar area, with glass-front walls, big, cushy booths, and a large window into the intimate and charming back, where the shows actually go down (snippets of the live music can be heard when the iPod playlist switches songs). The bills are a combination of small-stakes indie rock, comedy, underground hip-hop, and oddball one-off events (Hanukkah Gone Metal, the Miss Lez Pageant).