Last night Brooklyn-by-way-of-Cincinnati indie-rockers The National headlined the first night of music at Manhattan’s newest music venue, Terminal 5 . Located on the outskirts of midtown Manhattan, in a district once home to the dance-clubs which defined New York’s party scene throughout the 1990s, the 3,000-person Terminal 5 is the first new music venue to open in the area in more than a decade. It will be in direct competition with similarly sized rooms like the nearby Roseland and Hammerstein Ballrooms.

Located at the site of the vacant Club Exit, the new venue boasts three general admission floors, with balconies lining Terminal 5’s upper two floors. The venue is the latest addition to New York promoters Bowery Presents’ growing portfolio . The grassroots concert promoters initially began promoting shows in downtown New York at intimate clubs The Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom. Last month Bowery Presents opened the Music Hall of Williamsburg on the site of another former club, North Six, and has started to promote events arena-size rooms like Madison Square Garden and Keyspan Park. Bowery Presents’ rapid expansion is part of a plan to “promote bands from the club level up.”

Last night’s festivities featured a short opening set from St. Vincent, who also performed with the National during “Green Gloves.” National frontman Matt Berninger christened the venue by joking, “It's nice to play the first show here, because you're judging this place more than us.” The group played to a capacity crowd, inviting out a horn section and closing its set with the shout-a-long “Mr. November.” The National will perform at the Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and tomorrow.

The club’s promoters have confirmed a number of additional shows by an eclectic mix of bands this fall, including indie-pop stars The Shins, rockers Ween, dance band Justice and hip-hop artist M.I.A.

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