Last week, we gave you the heads up about Exponential Festival, a cavalcade of local productions that are “all experimental and strange in nature, but in a way that’s experimenting with the idea of experimental theater,” according to founder Theresa Buchheister. With the fest continuing through Sunday, we checked in to see how it’s going. Watch our video for a taste of the shows at The Brick, Cloud City, The Silent Barn and The Bushwick Starr.
B Boys and who? (Photo via Baby’s All Right/ Photoshop trix by Nicole Disser)
Secret Show
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 10 pm at Baby’s All Right: $15 at the door
We’re not really all that into surprises. The chances of looking your birthday best after busting open your apartment door to find a surprise party are pretty low, especially considering it’s the one day each year that you leave your pants unbuttoned all the way from the dollar slice place back home. And let’s be real, those grab-bag things are usually filled with plastic dinosaurs, expired condoms, and airplane bottles, anyway– things only a child could love. But when Baby’s All Right threw another one of these secret shows back in December, they gifted us Blood Orange. And even though it would be kind of a not-surprise surprise, we’d be totally cool with another Blood Orange show.
(Flyer via Aviv/ Facebook)
Guido, Ritual Humor, Lover’s Touch, Rubber, Decorum
Monday January 18, 8 pm at Aviv: $8
Late notice, but we know you’re looking for something to do on what’s sure to be a cold-as-hell Monday night anyway. We’re talking something that doesn’t involve drinking a bottle of wine to the face in front of How to Make a Murderer and passing out, mid-text message while you’re attempting to convince your friend that Steven Avery did do it. Rest assured this one’s not going to be outside, but last we checked it’s a good idea to wear a lil cardi and a beanie to Aviv– industrial spaces can be tres drafty, y’all. But even if you’ve got the chills, count on em being long banished by the time the second opener, Rubber, takes the stage.
(Flyer via The Exponential Festival)
January is theatre-fest time: there’s the always exciting COIL fest, Under the Radar at the Public Theater, and the opera-centric summit Prototype. But Theresa Buchheister– a founding member of Title:Point, the DIY production company that runs Vital Joint at the Silent Barn– thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce her own operation into the mix, The Exponential Festival, as a counterpoint to the usual. “Most of the festivals are very Manhattan-centric and exclusively feature artists who are well established–they’re already getting huge foundational support–some of them it’s their actual job to be an artist, which is that golden goose we’re all chasing,” she explained.
(Photo via Silent Barn / Facebook)
And we’re back… well, sort of. We’re at least moseying our way toward the holiday finish line. Not quite ready to let go of it just yet, but so, so over it at the same time. And since you’ve just got to be exhausted from all of it, we’ve done the heavy lifting in answering the most important question of the year: What are we doing for New Year’s Eve?
The first email I received about the new video for The Adventures of the Silver Spaceman (TAOTSS) from frontman Zachary James Ellis said something about a “yurt” with no cell service. When I caught up with Ellis via phone, he told me he was on a retreat, writing songs in Paonia, in western Colorado. With the Rockefeller tree about to be lit, tourist crowds reaching saturation levels, the L train acting like a jilted lover, and a drizzle erasing what few hours of daylight exist at this longitude, we could all be a little jealous.
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Still from “They Read By Night” (Courtesy of Joe Wakeman)
Wolf Eyes (Photo via Ad Hoc)
It’s the first week to get back out there and prove you’re an actual human being, not a ghost or a witch or even Sexy Donald Trump. Take off your mask and get back into the swing of things with two record release shows, a band of metal dads, and enough Trip Metal to make you quit Instagram forever. Find your trip outta here below.
This week, the benefits continue for the Silent Barn– and c’mon, you wanna see those bands play anyway, right? Also on the docket: a still-warbling legend from the actual ’80s and A Place to Bury Strangers is back from the road.
The Silent Barn in Bushwick after a fire destroyed an apartment upstairs (Photo: Nicole Disser)
Last Friday was a typical one at the Silent Barn— Bushwick’s beloved multi-faceted DIY music venue, art gallery, studio space, and artist residency is teeming with activity almost every day and night of the week– Freak Out Fest raged downstairs while a band practiced upstairs. And one resident was in their room when a fire broke out, one that the artist collective believes was caused by an “electrical malfunction.” Thankfully, spokesperson and longtime Silent Barn member Stephanie Griffin told us that no one was hurt. Of the 60 or so people at the show, “everyone got out within two minutes,” she said. But the damage is significant and threatens to upend Silent Barn’s delicate financial situation.