Nelligan Hall

I can’t support a venue with no working restrooms. I didn’t mind being the only old person there, but being told in 30 degree weather that I needed to walk a block away to Dairy Queen to use the restroom after just paying the cover is not going to cut it.

Portland’s historic Nelligan Hall opened as a vaudeville theater in 1880. So, top that. The place drips with Louisville history, a direct link to the Hibernian working spirit of the boom times in 19^th century Louisville. Later, it became Democratic Campaign HQ and must’ve hosted its share of smoke-​filled meetings. It has also gone as the North End Social Club (a name the current owners seem to be adopting in some way that’s not yet clear to me but which likely has to do with alcohol-​licensing, and yes, Portland Ave is slightly north and west of downtown).
Whatever its past, future promise, and current limits – Nelligan Hall is now forever also to be known as «The Place Jim Saw the Legendary Slint with 159 of his closest friends.» The Slint show was in celebration of the re-​mastered box set of «Spiderland» (on Touch and Go Records). The show itself was the culmination of several days activity, including a Slint documentary premier at Headliners on the 14^th, and the live performance was also live-​streamed by ArtXFM radio.
I was only mildly surprised when my attempt to checkin proved to be impossible without first creating this entry. It wasn’t even on the map. I know how the directional geography goes in this town and 2010 Portland Ave isn’t a place one wanders into without a plan, or a history within the neighborhood.
Nonetheless, times change, and Nelligan’s has made its mark tonight (though there have been many shows here by this point). And Nelligan Hall has some advantages of location to weigh in the balance – not only is it visible from I-​64, it is also easily accessed from the 22^nd Street exit.
The space itself offers promise as the room is largely wooden and Slint dynamics sounded GREAT in this hall (the event was documented in every possible way and am sure it will be remembered for this event for some time to come). But, they have a long way to go in terms of renovation (although the restrooms are clean and there is plenty of open space to roam, much of the building renovation is TBD).
I’m unsure whether they intend to take this to the next level with a full restoration, or, maybe it’ll stay a rough-​and-​ready outlet for certain types of shows. I’ll look forward to seeing how they follow up on the coup d’etat achieved tonight (that sort of thing can do wonders for a venue’s reputation with other performers). For now, Nelligan Hall has a lot of potential on the avant end of things, as much potential and far less baggage than some other venues I might mention, and I will be eager to attend another show here given that chance.
Note: The neighborhood has seen hard times and it deserves your respect and full attention whenever you come here. I gave the same advice about going to Groucho’s at night. It’s the city and it’ll be a better one if we’re both brave and wise.