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.”
Last week, organizers behind the hotly anticipated NYC Porn Film Festival finally released a schedule. And with just a couple of weeks to go until things are in full swing at Secret Project Robot, you’re probably wondering what on earth to expect.
We spoke with the festival’s founder Simon Leahy, who’s also one of the people behind Bushwig, the annual (and amazing) drag fest held at Secret Project Robot approaching its fourth year. He dropped hints about some of the surprises in store. No matter what your feelings are about mainstream porn, you’re definitely not going to want to miss this one, we can tell you that much.
If there was any doubt Max Fish’s return to the LES would be epic, it was put to rest Saturday when the art bar’s reopening brought lines to its new door at 120 Orchard Street. Among those who packed into the sweltering room were downtown “it” girl Vashtie Kola, filmmaker Bill Strobeck, photographer Atiba Jefferson, artists Aliya Naumoff and Shelter Serra, and pro skater Braydon Szafranski.
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L to R: Shepard Fairey and Erik Foss at Lit earlier this week. (Courtesy Erik Foss)
On Wednesday, Fuse Gallery held its last regular opening after 11 years as a hub of downtown cool and creativity. Guests like Lower East Side graphic designer Kenzo Minami and Lobster Joint owner Tommy Chabrowski gathered in the little room behind Lit Lounge to play with Aliya Naumoff’s photos of musicians who, in some cases, have shown at Fuse Gallery themselves (e.g. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha).
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