Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Last Friday night (Sept. 12), Jezenia Romero (below), artist, musician, and founder of Bunny Jr. Tapes, hosted Bunny's Dub Club, a late-night dance party with a uniquely old-school feel.
The idea is inspired by the classic 1980s downtown tradition: post-club crowds heading into Odessa on Avenue A for late-night eats. The concept here — what if that same Odessa crowd could throw a party inside the restaurant itself?
The answer on Friday was dub, reggae, post-punk, no wave, synth wave, mutant disco, and rock 'n' roll. Bunny Jr. opened, followed by TM8 (below, the Pyramid Club legend who DJ'd there for nearly four decades), with Tony Price closing the night.
Romero launched Bunny Jr. Tapes in 2015, a label that has released more than 86 cassette tapes, worked with over 54 musicians and visual artists, and curated screenings, performances, exhibitions, and festivals.
Bunny's Dub Club feels like a natural extension of that restless, collaborative energy.
Press notes described it as "a dance party inspired by the classic 1980s downtown post-club, late-night Odessa meals."
For the night, Romero even rented the back space at Superiority Burger, the business to take over after Odessa (the newer of the two spaces) in the spring of 2023.
And for a few hours, there was a throwback vibe in the air, with even smartphones put away.
It came close to Romero's vision for such a night: "As I looked around, I saw visions of Lou Reed, ESG, DNA, Public Image Ltd., and an excellently dressed crowd dancing across the entire restaurant — crammed into booths, stomping on the dance floor."
