New Movie About Maxwell's Rock Club In Hoboken Moves Forward

HOBOKEN, NJ — Maxwell's legendary rock club in Hoboken drew bands on the rise, from Nirvana to the Pixies. The establishment closed for good in 2018, and last year, a documentary was announced.

Now, the film is moving forward.

"Making a movie. Coming," the filmmakers announced on Thursday night, providing a sneak peek of some scenes on social media.

"It was smaller and more welcoming than the usual gritty rock bar [and] industry types rarely made the trek so the audience was mostly genuine fans," noted Variety in an announcement last year.

The storied club at Eleventh and Washington streets was a walk of about 12 blocks from the Hoboken Train Terminal, and also a few blocks from the Maxwell's coffee plant on the Hudson River, for which it was named.

Before the Maxwell's plant closed in 1992, its workers used to head to the tavern for food or drink. But it developed into a prominent club.

Even into the 2000s, bands like Yo La Tengo and Big Star were still playing to standing-room-only crowds in the back.

But in 2018, band booker Todd Abramson, one of the architects of the club's success, told Patch, "A lot of the bars downtown are fighting with each other for who has the most giant TVs. That's what Hoboken nightlife has become." He moved on to bring talent to White Eagle Hall and WFMU in Jersey City.

The venue was replaced by a seafood restaurant, owned by the woman who opened an Italian restaurant across the street. READ MORE: Seafood Bar That Replaced Maxwells To Open

The producers told Variety on Tuesday that the doc, "No Backstage at Maxwell’s,” will include interviews with owners Steve Fallon and Abramson, with Jack Antonoff (who played there with his band Steel Train), members of Yo La Tengo, and more.

Read more on Hoboken Patch about Maxwell's through the years: Hoboken Rock Club Maxwell's Begins Transforming Into Restaurant

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