Ever felt moved to dance at a concert in Rough Trade? Turns out you were breaking the law.
The concert venue at the back of record store Rough Trade, 64 North Ninth St., has been operating with a liquor license but not a cabaret license — a document necessary for patrons to legally dance inside.
So, the year-and-a-half old venue recently applied for the license to dance.
General manager Hal Gould said at about 5 percent of the concerts, people wanted to move to the beat, but Rough Trade legally wasn't supposed to let them do it.
"People want to dance," Gould said. "We don’t want to tell them they can’t."
Community Board 1's State Liquor Authority commitee — which gives an advisory vote to city officials — was dubious at a Monday night meeting that the venue's patrons weren't already rocking out.
Members recalled the venue's earlier bid for a liquor license, where Rough Trade apparently implied that people wouldn't need to dance at concerts.
"This is the one where they said they’re just going to stand still and drink their glass," quipped committee member Rob Solano.
Gould said that everything about the venue would stay the same, from the hours and types of bands to the security plan.
The only thing they want is the right to dance.
"There’s really no difference to the operations at all," Gould said. "It just allows to let people dance if they want to. People come see bands, they like to dance."
Ultimately, the committee gave a nod to Rough Trade, whose application will go to the full board next week before going to the Department of Consumer Affairs.
"We know they've been dancing," Solano said. "Get out of here. Get the approval to dance."
