Go Westcott, Young Men

Trading spaces: Dan Mastronardi (left) and Sam Levey will operate a new, concert-oriented version of the Westcott Theater.

Those keys have since been turned over to a pair of two
local entrepreneurs intent on turning the defunct movie theater, now
dubbed the Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., into a multipurpose, live-music haven. The dynamic duo includes local music booking agent Dan Mastronardi, who has been slating gigs in the Little Italy, Hanover Square and other downtown areas since 2002 through his Hollerback Productions, and Sam Levey, a bar manager who has been at the helm of Baldwinsville’s Lake Effect among other watering holes.

Mastronardi explains that as soon as he’d heard the news
about the cinema’s closing last year, he and Levey met to discuss plans
to reinvent the property. “Ever since I was 18 and I came here I always
thought this would be a great live-music venue,” Mastronardi, 26, says.
“It just wasn’t set up for live music: It was set up to be a movie
theater. So, as time passed it started to get more and more serious
that it was going to become a reality to take over the theater.”

Soon after Tobin closed the theater (he’s still running the Manlius Art Cinema,
however), Mastronardi and Levey, 32, began renovations. They yanked out
the cinema’s 600-odd seats, constructed a stage in front of what was
once the theater’s silver screen, built a small bar at the back of the
room, installed new flooring and made other modifications in order to
position the theater as a go-to destination for the Westcott area’s
college crowd.

Mastronardi says he will maintain some of the theater’s
history by screening select, independent films, although customers will
have to perch on rented folding chairs and watch images displayed from
a rented digital projector. Yet he will also champion the kind of
eclectic, niche bands that have been his bread and butter during his
previous endeavors with Hollerback. “When I first started I dealt with
a lot of out-of-town bands and different kinds of music,” Mastronardi
says, “not your typical bar-band kind of stuff that you’re going to see
in Syracuse. I was always against the norm of what people said, and
that’s kind of what this place is, too.”  

Mastronardi also cites his successful organizing of the
outdoor Hanover Original Party Series (H.O.P.S.) concerts during the
summer of 2007, as well as the gigs he booked at North Salina Street’s Mezzanotte Café.
“People say you can’t charge a cover {for concerts} in Syracuse, and I
was like, ‘Yes, people will pay.’ It just depends on the entertainment
and the talent. I build my business around the fact that people say,
‘You can’t do this,’ and I said, ‘Yes, you can.’ Five years later
people are like, ‘It’s not going to work,’ and it’s like, ‘I’m open!’”

The new incarnation of the Westcott Theater will likely
appeal to Syracuse University students who hunger for a new hangout,
although Mastronardi plans to broaden the venue’s appeal by scheduling
bands that all age groups will enjoy. He’ll even shut down the venue’s
taps for some shows in order to get high schoolers in on the fun. “The
focus of our establishment is not our bar, like in serving alcohol.
It’s about doing quality live entertainment,” Mastronardi says.

Although the Westcott has been holding
events since September, Mastronardi will host an official grand opening
on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 9 p.m., when The Original Wailers make a stop at the theater. Tickets will cost $20, and may be purchased by either calling 299-8886 or by visiting www.thewestcotttheater.com. 

Upcoming Westcott shows include: Jackson’s Kid Summer, Saturday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.; Tea Leaf Green, Sunday, Nov. 23, 9 p.m.; Jonah Smith, Friday, Nov. 28, 10 p.m.; Forever the Sickest Kids, Monday, Dec. 1, 5 p.m.; Zach Deputy, Monday, Dec. 1, 10:15 p.m.; Soulive, Thursday, Dec. 4, 9 p.m.; Hot Tuna, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 9 p.m.; The New Deal, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 9 p.m.; The Ryan Montbleau Band, Thursday, Dec. 11, 9 p.m.; The Action and Rocko Dorsey, Friday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m.; All Time Low, Friday, Dec. 19, 5 p.m.; and Joey Driscoll, Saturday, Dec. 27, 9 p.m. Check the Syracuse New Times for future concert listings.

—Matt Mumau