We’re a lucky, lucky bunch to live in a city where we’re at the wellspring of new film and the source of cinematic reconsideration, where grind-house becomes art-house and a dum-dum boy can be made into a bandana-wearing teddy bear genius. See all that and more this week and beyond.
“All the drones were dead and gone by the end,” my friend laughed, filling me in on the last hour of opening night at First Person View, the Knockdown Center’s drone-centric art exhibition. The show lifted off last weekend after months of planning; unfortunately/fortunately, my friend’s account of all the mayhem I’d missed by leaving early wasn’t 100 percent accurate. “The show will go on!” Vanessa Thill, who co-curated the show, assured us. “Crashing is all part of the fun.”
Our only utterance of advice for this week: pack em in, kids. If you’re as unsettled about the end of summer as we are, consider taking some of that aggression out at any number of these shows (there’s enough punk to go around for all of yous) or, better yet, gaze at some of these truly gnarly noise-makers in awe of frustrations much deeper than your own. Best, best, best of all, though: see what happens after a legendary rapper denounces her medium but returns to the stage anyway for something altogether new. Cheers to spiteful finales.
The State Liquor Authority Committee at Community Board 3 convened yesterday evening (Photo: Nicole Disser)
Members of Community Board 3 tried to block The Cock from moving to the former Lit Lounge space at a meeting last night. But Allan Mannarelli, owner of the gay dive, is going forward with his plans despite outcry from neighbors.
“If they think I’m going to stand and get abused they have another thing coming,” Mannarelli had texted us before going before CB 3’s SLA committee.
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Carlos D, former bassist of Interpol is now Carlos Dengler, actor – here in his one-man show, “Homo Sapiens Interruptus” (Photo: Craig Johnston)
Carlos D, former bass player of Interpol, was an integral part of the band — and was once described as its “most infamous” member. As a founder of the heavily bass-driven post-punk outfit that dominated the indie rock scene of the early aughts, his seemingly sudden departure in 2010 after issuing four solid albums, and realizing fame and success beyond what he could have ever imagined, was shocking for many fans. Not only did Carlos D quit the band, he disappeared from the downtown scene he inhabited altogether.
Sit back and enjoy some mind-rattling films screening this weekend and beyond. A new documentary brings us deep into the complex, overlapping layers of South Sudan’s contemporary social and political developments under the influence of Neo-colonialists, and get a sneak preview of an Austrian thriller rife with horror movie. And of course there’s more. Read on.
Molly Soda outside Stream Gallery in Bushwick (Photo: Nicole Disser)
I was in Detroit for New Year’s Eve sometime in the recent past, and ended up partying at a place called North End Studios. I was taking lots of stupid party photos and snapped a photo of a friend who had nestled up to another girl I didn’t know. This mystery woman was clutching a tallboy of Coors, not unusual, but she also wore purple-painted eyebrows, a high-collared ivory fur coat, and a black beanie with skulls on it. I posted it on Instagram and instantly accumulated a hefty number of likes.
Cookie Gates at Lit Lounge (Photo by Erik Foss)
When Lit Lounge’s co-owner Erik Foss announced a month ago that the East Village institution would close after 13 years, we thought the place would have at least a few more wild nights in store if not the goodbye party of the decade. But after a particularly unseemly incident (even for Lit) a couple of weeks ago, the bar unceremoniously shuttered without so much as a nod and a “later, guys.”
“Rooftops of Cypress Hills” (Photo by Jason Andrew)
“Bushwick is on its own, she doesn’t need our help anymore,” laughed Jason Andrew, co-founder of Norte Maar. “She really doesn’t need our help anymore.” Though neither he nor his partner, Julia K. Gleich, have quit the neighborhood entirely, they’ve taken what to many was a quintessentially Bushwick arts organization (see: Beat Nite, the biannual art party at galleries and studios throughout the neighborhood the organization has begotten) and moved its headquarters to East New York. “Our plight is the same as everybody else’s in New York, we just want to try and find a way to stay here,” Jason said.
(Photo via Pharmakon Facebook)
Where has the sun gone? It’s cool, we needed a break anyway. Thankfully mood-appropriate bands are scooting into town reminding us of our impending doom. This week, scoop up sounds by the dominatrixes of noise, the best of just-above-underground electronic music, and gothy post-punk devotees.
