Taking a look at the all-new Baker Falls, now in soft-open mode on the Lower East Side

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Baker Falls (pop. 192) is now in soft-open mode in its new home at 192 Allen St. between Houston and Stanton (the former Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2). 

The performance venue debuted on Jan. 13 with its weekly Anti-Hoot open mic night (carrying on a tradition from the late Sidewalk Cafe). 

We stopped by this past Thursday for what owner and East Village resident Nick Bodor (below) called the first proper rock show of Baker Falls 2.0.

Like the previous BF iteration, which had a year-long run anchoring the Knitting Factory at 101 Avenue A, Bodor recreated his "decrepit manor in the woods fever-dream alt-rock concept" with the assistance of Deb Parker, a thrift aficionado who is/was behind creating EV spaces like Beauty Bar, Barmacy, and No-Tell Motel.

There are several nooks and crannies where you can sit and enjoy a beverage like you're at The Great Northern Hotel. Several chandeliers help illuminate the stage area.

On this night, the music was improvised, with bands eschewing their usual set lists for, well, whatever they felt like playing. 

We arrived just after the first act, OpenExit, and walked into the post-post-punk universe of Prints...

Headlining were EVG faves Genre Is Death ...

The set included Ty giving up his guitar and playing drums, which he did with equal velocity (the band is usually accompanied by a drum machine). Clementine Iris of Prints joined later Genre Is Death on lead vocals...

Bodor has promised to showcase "old-school EV/LES performance art" and be "an indie space, a social club for weirdos." 

So far, aside from the Anti-Hoot open mic night, there's a weekly "Avant Clown Variety Show"...

Visit the Baker Falls website for a list of upcoming shows and entertainment. Follow BF on Instagram for updates on other expected developments. 

The full liquor license is on its way, so the menu includes beer, wine, and coffee for now. 

At the 1st annual Fuck Fest

Photos by Stacie Joy

Last Wednesday night, we headed out to TY Eye in Ridgewood (Queens!) for a show featuring several of our favorite local bands.

Organizers billed the evening as the first annual Fuck Fest, ostensibly an LP release show for TDA's latest, and titled Fuck.

We've seen TDA (aka, Tits Dick Ass), led by Julia Pierce (below), play multiple times in Tompkins Square Park and local venues like Berlin and Baker Falls.

The East Village duo The Acute opened the show. Look for their new record coming soon. (Revisit our Q&A with Viveca Butler and Stephen Cacouris in the EVG archives here.)

Next up: Genre Is Death, who hurtled through another frenzied set of pulsing post-punk grooves. (Read our Q&A with Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee in the EVG archives here.)

Unfortunately, another fave, Adult Human Females, was a late scratch. (Listen to their Live at Tompkins Square Park release here.)

We saw for the first time (and enjoyed) Namesake...

And then came the headliners, TDA, shown here with its current lineup...

The band brought its usual whirlwind energy to the set, with a moshpit quickly forming.

Sometime after midnight, the sweaty crowd didn't seem to mind the 4-degree windchill outside the venue.

Bands we like: Genre is Death

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy 

It turns out Death becomes them. 

In recent months, we've seen Genre is Death three times, including twice in Tompkins Square Park, and the duo has quickly become one of our local favorites. 

The band, Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee, brings an experimental, no-wave aesthetic to their music. (As concert promoter Show Brain posted about the band: "Using loopers, synths, and distortion, you can expect a loud, angry, and at times melodic sound that continues the no wave tradition.")

Ahead of the release tomorrow of their first LP, Talk, we asked the two a few questions...

What is the band's origin story? 

Tayler: We had been trying to come up with funny sayings to print onto t-shirts. We were spitballing variations of our current name — "Death to Genre," "Genre Death," "Death is Genre," and then Ty said, "Genre is Death," and we just looked at each other and were like, Fuck a t-shirt, that's our new band name!

Ty and I were playing music in Atlanta in a dead-end sludge band. We played music in that project for four years and played maybe two or three shows? It was awful — a true creative death. 

When we moved to New York, we started making whatever came to us. Things started feeling right after that.

How would you describe your sound? 

Ty: I would describe our sound as loose but also tight… Noisy? Hmmm… I'm trying to think of words to describe it. 

You frequently perform in the East Village and Lower East Side. What draws you here? How have audiences responded to your shows?

Ty: Honestly, we don't have much history in the Lower East Side or the East Village, or in New York for that matter. We've only been living here for one year and playing here for even less than that. It really is our friends (Show Brain and Boycott Sleep crews) who have brought us out to the LES, and for that, we are grateful.

Tayler: The reception to our performances has been largely positive. We like to maintain a mindset that goes in without expectation but are happy that people are enjoying the music we are making.  

What can people expect at your LP release party at Boycott Sleep tomorrow night? 

Ty: People can expect a night of great music, DJs, and people. Boycott Sleep’s Julia Pierce knows how to curate a night. From us, they can expect to hear Talk played front to back with a couple of new songs on the setlist. 

What's next for the band? 

Tayler: We are looking forward to playing at the New Colossus Festival in March 2025, likely with a live drummer.

Genre is Death plays the next Boycott Sleep loft party at 99 Canal St. near Eldridge Street (fourth floor) tomorrow (Friday) evening.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @boycottsleep