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The Middle East is a live music and dining complex consisting of four adjacent venues in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its two dedicated concert spaces, Upstairs and Downstairs, sit alongside ZuZu and The Corner, two restaurant–bars which also host live music. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment, with its separate concert venues, "is the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring bands", according to Boston Phoenix newspaper.
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History
The Middle East opened as a Lebanese restaurant in 1970. In 1975 after brothers Joseph and Nabil Sater Habib purchased the establishment they expanded into a store front at 472 Massachusetts Avenue The brothers maintained the ethnic food and keeping in the theme of the restaurant they had Arab-language bands, music and belly dancers. The area is now known as The Middle East Upstairs. In the 1980s they booked blues and jazz music. It was not until 1987 that the first rock show was played by a solo Roger Miller of Mission of Burma fame.
Later that year a birthday party was thrown by local music promoter Billy Ruane at T.T. the Bear's Place, a small rock club next door. Having overbooked T.T.'s, Ruane worked with the Sater brothers to have some of his party spill over to The Middle East and allow bands to play at their establishment. Ruane was quoted in 2007 by the Boston Phoenix saying to a 20th anniversary reunion crowd: "You remember what happened — I threw a fuckin' party that got too fuckin’ big".
In 1988, there were several other expansions of The Middle East. First the Sater brothers converted a bakery Vouros' at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Brookline Street into a bar/restaurant. This section known as The Corner or the Bakery, has a small stage against the window to Mass. Avenue, where local small bands and DJs play. In 1993, in order to create a space for more popular musical acts to perform, the basement of the building, that was formerly a bowling alley, was converted into a music venue. This is now known as The Middle East Downstairs. The Corner acts as an entrance, waiting area and ticket section to the Downstairs.
In 2001 the Sater brothers took over the lease of the last remaining portion of the current Middle East complex positioned between the Front and the Corner which was an Indian Resataurant at the time. It became ZuZu, named after the childhood nickname of one of the Sater brothers, and is a separate restaurant serving upscale cuisine. In 2002 this venue was further updated by Lilli Dennison to have a night club type style. ZuZu features live music and DJs several times a week.
Reputation
According to the Weekly Dig, The Middle East "reigns supreme as Boston's best rock and/or roll joint". The Boston Globe has called it the city's "hippest night spot." Rolling Stone described the club as "the exalted Middle East. The importance of The Middle East to the music scene in Greater Boston spans many genres. The Boston Phoenix described the site:
Steve Albini of Shellac and former member of Big Black commented in the Boston Phoenix:
The Middle East is also a venue for artists in other genres including "jazz, blues, funk, reggae, ska, pop, punk, and various combinations thereof". In the early 1990s, The Middle East quickly became an instrumental part of the music culture in the Boston area. "It's where new talent was quickly discovered and given voice. It was where established bands tried out new things on their audience. It was slowly reshaping the scene." The Middle East receives continuous awards from local newspapers for their food and music venues.
Venue
Begun in 1974 as a Lebanese restaurant owned and operated by the Sater family, The Middle East has since expanded into adjacent storefronts and is now a complex of four different areas each with its own entrance. They are (from left to right):
Recordings
There have been several live recordings at The Middle East Downstairs, including The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Live from The Middle East, Dinosaur Jr's Live at the Middle East DVD, The Minibosses' Live at the Middle East, and Mr. Lif's Live at the Middle East.
Collaborations
From 1995 until 2006, The Middle East was host to the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble, a well-publicized "battle of the bands" more than three decades old. The Middle East is also a prominent participant at the Cambridge River Festival, an annual musical and cultural event along the banks of the Charles River between Central and Harvard Square.