Beloved rock club moves to Central Avenue, establishes new destination for music fans

Howard Glassman didn't know how attached the music community was to Valentine's--until they almost lost it.

When Albany Medical Center's Park South plans threatened to push the popular music hall out of its location on New Scotland Avenue last year, people were upset, and local blogs were filled with speculations about where the music impresario would end up. When Glassman announced his purchase of 335 Central Avenue in October, musicians and fans turned out in full force to help him take apart the old bar and bring it to its new home.

"This is basically the music community's new place," Glassman says proudly.

The new location, formerly known as Cagney's, had been empty for years and needed serious elbow grease to get it back into fighting shape. "The first time we had the clean up day here, that first Saturday, I think we had close to thirty people show up," he says. Ever since then, people have been calling him when they have a day off, and showing up to lend a hand. "There hasn't been anyone who hasn't grabbed a mop, a sponge, a hammer and gone to work. It's not below anybody," he says.

This speaks volumes about the community that Glassman has been part of, and indeed helped shape, during his 16 years at the helm of the Valentine's.

Glassman and these volunteers washed grunge and gunk from walls and floors, hauled out trash from the basement, and put the kitchen in working order.

Finally, after countless hours of work, the present bar began to emerge: a cool, funky joint whose rustic wooden beams and fixtures are reminiscent of a German bier haus, or perhaps a medieval feasting hall, minus the stag heads.

"It's roughly the size of Valentine's, downstairs." says Glassman, leading a tour of the new bar, which he has dubbed The Low Beat, after a favorite indie rock album. (Glassman says he got a lot of pushback on the new name initially, but then people came around. "My wife wanted me to use something else. 'How about the High Hat? How about the High Beat? How about the Back Beat? And I'm like, 'No, let's go with this. Because now I have a theme song,'" he says.)

"This floor was all black. We went through. We washed it, took about ten buckets of water, black water, out, and then I hand-sanded it," he says. Today the floors gleam. "These stairs were all black as well, too. I sanded them down." The stairs lead to the basement, where the office and band room will be, and the delivery entrance is located.

The new bar also boasts a kitchen, which Glassman plans to take advantage of. (He's gotten offers of help from several musicians, including a professionally trained, in-demand "punk rock chef.") Plus, the new location promises some synergy with two other adjacent music venues, Pauly's Hotel and The Linda. "We're already going to do a festival in June," he says.

Most importantly perhaps, the new bar is all his. Glassman closed on the new building late last year, and evinces a certain pride and security that business owners only get from site control. "This is my building now. This is my own," he says. "Now there's a place for everybody to come and we're not going to get kicked out."

Glassman is also excited by the other development he sees going on nearby. He notes two new retail spaces going in next door, one of which is a record store, and adds that there are several more spaces adjacent to the Low Beat that have the potential to be made over into successful bars or restaurants.

"I would like to see one or two more places open," he says. "I know a lot of energy and time and money is being put into Broadway...which is great, but that's an area you got to drive down to and it's dark. Central Avenue, you just got to park the car."

Now that the new bar is nearly finished, Glassman and the music community are looking forward to the grand opening celebration--and they have a lot to celebrate. "Everyone knows that this will always be here and there will always be a place to play," he says.

The Low Beat is located at 335 Central Avenue, near the intersection of Quail Street in Albany. The bar will be open daily and feature live music Wednesday through Saturday, and poetry and other entertainment the rest of the week.