Music On Long Island - Historical Venues: M

Undated exterior photo of the venue:

A popular hang out in Stony Brook in the 1980's, The Mad Hatter appears to have been in business from 1972 to 1984. Located at 2192 Nesconset Highway (Route 347) in Stony Brook, New York in the Rickels Shopping Center, the same space appears to have also been known as Spanky's, Shadow's, and Bijou.

Among the notable artists who performed at this venue were Twisted Sister, Zebra, Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen. The Stanton Anderson Band, Bonnie Parker, Rat Race Choir, and Pretty Poison.

1982 ad from The Aquarian for this venue:

Undated photo of Twisted Sister performing live at this venue:

Replica of the exterior exhibited by the Long Island Music Hall of Fame:

Tickets from this venue, as posted to Facebook:

Sources:

https://www.setlist.fm/venue/mad-hatter-stony-brook-ny-usa-53d54bd1.html

https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/the-mad-hatter--871516

https://www.limusichalloffame.org/museum-new

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1766386470343139

https://www.facebook.com/groups/326969347397

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/12/nyregion/2-bars-in-disputes.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235490442603

Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on April 30, 2025. Updated on June 23, 2025.

While still operational as a restaurant which occasionally has live music at 1500 Lido Boulevard in Lido Beach, New York, Malibu -- sometimes known as the Malibu Shore Club -- was a leading music venue for prominent comedians and singers starting in the 1960s. Regularly in collaboration with WLIR/WDRE -- a Long Island-based radio station which many see as New York's first alternative rock station, as documented within the film Dare To Be Different -- the venue provided the debut New York area performance for many future legends, beyond hosting countless superstars. (The last hour of radio broadcast from WLIR, which occurred in 2004, can be heard here.)

Among the notable artists who have performed at Malibu include U2, The Who (reportedly the first gig where Keith Moon unveiled his "Pictures of Lily" drum kit, specially made for him by Premier Drums, and not to be confused with The Who's performance at Westbury Music Fair in the same era), Van Halen's David Lee Roth, Motley Crue's Vince Neil, The Ramones, Dream Theater (which includes Long Beach native Mike Portnoy), The Deftones, Anthrax, Dokken, Fight (featuring Judas Priest's Rob Halford and future Steel Panther guitarist Russ Parish), Faith No More, Extreme, Marilyn Manson, Dio, Blondie's Deborah Harry, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ministry, Gang Of Four, They Might Be Giants, Concrete Blonde, The Pixies, Lou Reed (Freeport native), Boy George & Culture Club, Billy Idol (who reportedly spent some of his childhood in Rockville Centre and Patchogue), The Psychedelic Furs, The Stray Cats (natives of Massapequa), The Knack, The Cramps, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Ventures, OMD, Johnny Thunders, Utopia (featuring Todd Rundgren), Blue Angel (featuring Cyndi Lauper), Joan Jett (known resident of Rockville Centre and Long Beach), Iggy Pop, Hall & Oates, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Spacehog, Tony Bennett, Jackie Mason (who actually performed at my father's bar mitzvah), Alan King, and The Go-Go's.

A September 2025 presentation featuring content from this LibGuide entry was presented at the Long Beach Public Library in Long Beach, NY, which you can read more about here and watch here.

Audio of The Pixies playing at Malibu in 1989 is available here. Audio of U2 playing at Malibu in 1981 is available here, while a performance by Johnny Thunders that same year at Malibu is here and a 1981 show by Todd Rundgren and Utopia can be heard here. A 1983 concert by Boy George and Culture Club at Malibu can be heard here. Video of Extreme playing at Malibu in 1995 (a few years before singer Gary Cherone joined Van Halen) can be seen here. Speaking of Van Halen, video of an opening act for Van Halen's David Lee Roth playing at Malibu in 1994 can be seen here. Audio of China Crisis performing at Malibu in 1985 can be heard here.

Flyer for a then-upcoming performance by U2:

Promotion of a Culture Club radio broadcast from Malibu from 1983:

Photo of Culture Club soundchecking in 1983 at Malibu:

Photo of The Pixies performing at Malibu in 1989:

Ticket stubs from Malibu:

Then-upcoming concert advertisement:

Flyer for 1986 performance by Ministry at Malibu:

1967 Billboard article referencing The Cowsills, The Parliaments (believed to include George Clinton) and The Isley Brothers at Malibu:

Sources:

https://www.setlist.fm/venue/malibu-night-club-lido-beach-ny-usa-1bd63d74.html

https://maliblueny.com/live-music/#events

https://www.facebook.com/groups/43345356756

https://www.facebook.com/groups/18590983146

https://www.radio.net/s/wlirfm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzJX39rdgXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4oRnkSMjA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG48vWXDbQA

https://www.reddit.com/r/longisland/comments/bw185h/rare_photo_of_culture_club_doing_a_sound_check_at

Research by Darren Paltrowitz on April 13, 2025. Updated on June 4, 2025, June 21, 2025, June 23, 2025, September 13, 2025, September 30, 2025, October 2, 2025, October 8, 2025, October 11, 2025 and November 25, 2025.

Former site of Micals Catering Hall (a.k.a. The Zoo) grabbed from Google Images:

Micals Catering Hall -- sometimes written as Mical's or Micals -- was a venue often booked by Christian McKnight for DIY-style shows featuring punk, emo, hardcore and ska artists. Located 67 Brook Avenue in Deer Park, New York, the space was also known to eventgoers as The Long Island Zoo and The Zoo.

Among the notable artists who performed within the space were New Found Glory, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, The Ataris, The Movielife, Silent Majority, Brand New, Bigwig, CKY, Snapcase, From Autumn To Ashes, Hot Rod Circuit, and The Reunion Show.

Flyers for a then-upcoming event at this venue (directions included):

Sources:

https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/micals-catering-hall

https://www.concertarchives.org/locations?search=deer+park%2C+ny

https://www.setlist.fm/venue/micals-catering-hall-deer-park-ny-usa-2bd64ca2.html

https://www.setlist.fm/venue/the-zoo-deer-park-ny-usa-2bd32cbe.html

Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on April 19, 2025. Updated on June 4, 2025 and August 19, 2025.

My Father's Place was originally a venue located at 19 Bryant Avenue in Roslyn, New York. It first opened in 1971, remaining open in its original form until 1987, presenting reportedly more than 6,000 shows from over 3,000 diverse artists; the venue later reopened in 2018 in a different configuration and address in Roslyn, New York, as located within the Roslyn Hotel (formerly the Roslyn Claremont Hotel).

Among the artists who performed at the original My Father's Place location were Black Flag, Billy Joel (a native of Hicksville), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Madonna, Meat Loaf, Aerosmith (believed to have been recorded by WLIR), The Police, Rush, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Billy Crystal (a native of Long Beach), Lou Reed (Freeport native), Bob Marley, James Brown, Eddie Murphy (a native of Roosevelt), Andy Kaufman (a native of Great Neck), Fishbone, The Rolling Stones' Mick Taylor, The Ramones, Bo Diddley, The Allman Brothers Band's Dickey Betts, Cream's Jack Bruce, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jaco Pastorius, The New York Dolls (here's a print advertisement for a WBAB-presented Dolls gig at this venue), "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Crosby, Iggy Pop, Steve Vai (Carle Place native), Joan Jett (a long-time resident of Long Beach), Billy Idol (previous resident of Rockville Centre and Patchogue), The Doors' Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, Minor Threat, Anthrax, The Byrds' Roger McGuinn, Bad Brains, Jan & Dean, The Go-Go's, Carl Perkins, Chubby Checker, B.B. King, XTC, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Buzzcocks, Muddy Waters, Linda Ronstadt, Huey Lewis & The News, Hall & Oates, Squeeze, The Cramps, John Mellencamp, Captain Beefheart, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Toots & The Maytalls, Jonathan Richman, Talking Heads, Television, Warren Zevon, Levon Helm, Eddie Money (Island Trees High School graduate), Buddy Guy, Blood Sweat & Tears, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, The Runaways (as featuring the aforementioned Long Beach resident Joan Jett), Herbie Hancock, Harry Chapin (a known resident of Huntington), 10cc, Todd Rundgren, George Carlin, and Tom Waits.

Audio of Blondie performing at My Father's Place can be heard here. Video of Squeeze playing at My Father's Place can be seen here. A 1982 performance by Black Flag at My Father's Place can be seen here. Audio of The Talking Heads performing at My Father's Place is available here. A 1974 set by Aerosmith at My Father's Place can be checked out here. A YouTube playlist featuring other My Father's Place recorded sets (e.g. The Police) can be found here.

Emmylou Harris, Billy Joel, and Blondie's Debbie Harry live at My Father's Place (photos by Steve Rosenfield, as published by the Long Island Press):

Psychedelic Furs bootleg album believed to have been recorded at this venue:

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/27/nyregion/working-in-the-spirit-of-my-father-s-place.html

https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/my-fathers-place-roslyn-reopening-1.14963599

https://web.archive.org/web/20161030125956/http://www.johnnypierre.com/blog/blog/rock-roll-geography-my-father-s-place-roslyn-ny

https://www.longislandpress.com/2017/12/20/30-years-later-my-fathers-place-returns-in-posh-style/

https://www.salon.com/2017/04/29/wlir-revolutionary-radio-tribute-documentary-dare-to-be-different-is-a-gen-x-time-capsule

http://www.noplacelikelongisland.com/podcast/2016/9/29/michael-eppy-epstein-on-my-fathers-place-wlir-and-whats-ahead-for-him

https://www.setlist.fm/venue/my-fathers-place-roslyn-ny-usa-63d50efb.html

Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on April 8, 2025. Updated on June 4, 2025, June 23, 2025 and July 30, 2025.

Photo showing some of the venue's history:

Danny Mazur’s club started as a venue called The Cat & Fiddle, and when Mazur reportedly lost his liquor license around 1966, he renamed it “My House” and opened it for teen audiences. It was located in a converted Vic Tanny’s gym on South Oyster Bay Road in Plainview. At its peak, the venue was believed to hold about 900 people, described vividly as “sweaty bodies” packed into the space. The most reliable description geographically places “My House” at a converted Vic Tanny’s gym at 359 South Oyster Bay Road in Plainview, NY.

The venue was central to the early performance career of Billy Joel. He played there with his band The Hassles -- Danny Mazur managed The Hassles -- and later this is believed to be the place where Billy Joel first met his long-time drummer Liberty DeVitto. The venue also hosted The Rascals and Vanilla Fudge, among others, highlighting its significance in the early rock scene of Long Island.

In the recently released Billy Joel documentary on HBO -- which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival -- a shirt bearing the “My House” logo (or name) was spotted, serving as a subtle but poignant nod to this important grassroots venue in his musical journey.

Assorted advertisements related to My House:

Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on August 19, 2025.