(poster by Alexander Heir)
It’s finally almost here, New York’s Alright 2015! Get excited for this year’s all things punk fest where tons of related official and unofficial happenings are being held in and around Bushwick, Greenpoint, East Williamsburg, and the Lower East Side. And you can stop screaming now, this isn’t a festival in any traditional / horrendous sense of the word, meaning you can put all your eggs in a basket marked “no” as in no you aren’t going to find anyone looking “Coachella as fuck” at this event. Or maybe you will. I haven’t turned on any TVs in a while so there’s a distinct possibility I’ve just been asleep at the wheel and Coachella hats are the new normcore. Well, normcore be damned — it’s time to break out your spikes, boys and girls (but only if you like saxophones).
Opening Night
The fest kicks off on Thursday night at the Acheron with a sick lineup plus a special surprise guest. Expect to hear old-fashioned nihilistic piss punk from S.H.I.T. (Toronto), D-Beat hardcore Vaaska (Austin), joined by Midwest nasties Party Plates (Cleveland), and hometown hardcore heroes Ajax. Don’t miss it, or you’ll miss the super secret surprise and, like, who knows who that could be. Plus, this will be the night when everyone will be looking (and smelling) their best, which means you can totally leave your garlic clove lei at home.
Bands to See
There are day shows and night shows and shows with BBQ from Thursday through Sunday pretty much non-stop and the lineups are straight-up packed. You can’t make every show, let’s be real (and a good deal of them are sold out anyway, suckers) — so choose wisely.
I saw these Cleveland nasty boys when they last played Acheron. Not sure why I was surprised they looked exactly like the ne’er do well stoner squad I hung out with in high school (meaning they are punks on the inside to be sure but as if they would never spend money on punking up their outsides, nay— that’s solely reserved for big city punks). I dunno how much more authentically vile or how fewer fucks any one band can give than these guys.
Oh, and their music is raucous and filthy and packed with wanton temper tantrums. Everything from Soup to Dessert is the band’s first proper album, label and all, and is highly recommended by me. And you better believe they sound this great in the goose flesh!
Saturday April 18th, 11 pm at the Acheron: $20 (with S.H.I.T., Vaaska, Party Plates, Ajax, Raid, and a special surprise guest)
NYC feral, spittle-driven punks. These guys pummel out some seriously frustrated rage and are definitely one of the city’s best hardcore bands doin their thing right now.
Saturday April 18th, 6 pm at Le Poisson Rouge: $25 (with Warhead, La Misma, Blood Pressure, Contingent, 2×4)
Local dude straps his nether-regions to chains, duct tapes bones to self, and hurls himself around stage like masochistic beast creature. Dawn of Humans shows are a sight to behold for sure, and that’s even without their relentless, head-bashing, teeth-crushing demonic hardcore. You can almost feel the spit spraying you in the face when you put on one of these records. The key word is almost. Check them out live to experience the real thing. Also if pain and self-torture make you hungry, there will be barbecue at this show. No word on whether vegan dogs will be available.
Sunday April 19th, 4 pm at the Wick: $25 (with Glue, Raw Distractions, Impalers, Urbanoia, Gaucho)
I mean the whole point of this fest thing is to see a bunch of sick bands together, but two really rad punk bands can be caught at one late night show at Saint Vitus. Anasazi, aka death cult goth punks from NYC (you better believe they’re on Sacred Bones) will play alongside their post-punk label-mates coming in from Austin, Institute (definitely check out their Salt EP and demos).
Saturday April 18th, 11:45 pm at Saint Vitus: $20 (with Pleasure Leftists) – SOLD OUT, but we’re sure you can finagle your way in if you slept on this one
Art Stuff
Flyer by Sara AbruñaaCollective Delusion/ Mass Hysteria
Be sure to swing by this female-centric art show tomorrow at The Living Gallery. Fifteen female artists steeped in punk, hardcore, noise, and underground music and art scenes will be showing their work. Opening night is April 15 and the group will celebrate the release of their zine that coincides with the show.
Opening night Wednesday April 15th 8:30-11 pm, on view Thursday noon-7pm, Friday 1-5 pm at the Living Gallery, 1094 Broadway, Bushwick.
(@Str33tFever Instagram)
Merch
Acknowledge that despite the proliferation of punk culture, we still live in a capitalist society which means you must feed the merch machine. Also support these bands by buying their music. Don’t just download it like a jerk. There’s nothing quite like having a stack of raunchy tapes and enough vinyl to sprawl out on your floor and pass out on. And what better place to buy said stuff than NOT behemoth record stores. Go straight to the source– the Alley at 467 Broadway where you can find Dripper World (tons of Nuke York scene stuff, zines, screen-printed shirts, records, tapes, other weird tchotchkes), Street Fever (junk store and more punk stuff), and Rebel Rouser (awesome selection of Maximum Rock n Roll back issues, records, and other punk ephemera) among others.
The Alley is located at 867 Broadway, Bushwick. Hours are whatever, just swing by at a reasonable time.