You don’t have to play the Atlantis to see its new photo exhibit. But it’ll sure make it easier.
“44x44x44,” a new exhibition of photographs from the nightclub’s splashy run of opening concerts in 2023, opened Friday. The images, mostly by Jim Saah, portray artists like Pixies, Foo Fighters, and Bartees Strange who typically play much larger venues but agreed to an “underplay” to celebrate the opening of the near-replica of the old 9:30 Club. The exhibit, which goes in chronological order, lines a staircase that leads to artist dressing rooms in the back of the venue. Accordingly, it won’t be on view to the public most evenings, but I.M.P, the local promoter that owns the Atlantis, announced that it’ll open the stairs to gawkers on June 27 and July 13 (and that members of its loyalty program can see it on June 26).
Saah shot all but three of those shows; Ben Eisendrath filled in when Saah’s wife, as he said at a press conference Friday, “wanted us to have a life and go on vacation.”
The exhibit is part of a celebration of the 9:30’s 45th anniversary that dates back to its original location’s opening on F Street, Northwest, in 1980. I.M.P. honcho Seth Hurwitz began to book the venue that year and bought the building in 1986. (The Atlantis celebrated 9:30’s 44th anniversary two years ago, but it’s better if you don’t think too hard about the math and just roll with it.) Among the facets of celebration:
• A reissue of the 2015 coffee-table book A Time and Place. The new edition includes Saah and Eisendrath’s photos, a chronological listing of 9:30 shows, and a tribute to Shawn “Gus” Vitale, the club’s longtime sound engineer who died in 2023.
• A new Instagram account, It’s My Photography, that will showcase more than 4,000 photo albums I.M.P. has accumulated from all its venues, including the Anthem, the Lincoln Theatre, and Merriweather Post Pavilion.
• New clothing that marks the 45th anniversary, with some sporting vintage artwork.
The exhibit does toast the 450-person-capacity Atlantis’ opening, Hurwitz said, but it’s also a reminder that “there’s people playing right now, this week, that are gonna be that big someday.”
Disclosure: One of my sons works part-time for I.M.P. as a stagehand.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
