Summer road trips: Genre Is Death and Lydia Lunch at TV Eye

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

On Aug. 3, the EVG team went to TV Eye in Ridgewood to see one of our favorite newer bands, Genre Is Death, along with the No Wave legend Lydia Lunch. 

A highly recommended space if you've never been, complete with an outdoor patio...

... where we ran into some familiar faces, including Skeleton Boy ...

...Carmen, the bass player for EVG fave Pop Music Fever Dream...

... and Tom Person, a drummer with several local bands who also fronts Dr. Now ...

Over the past year or more, we've experienced Genre Is Death eight to 10 times, and Taylor and Ty always deliver a powerful wall of sound. (Read our Q&A with them here.)

The two are currently recording a new record with Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans), with an East Coast/Midwest tour kicking off right from TV Eye on Nov. 2.

As always, the two — fresh off a West Coast date opening for Gogol Bordello—  once again left it all on stage. 

This backstage shot was taken after their longest set yet.

Backstage, we also talked with the legend, Lydia Lunch, who was playing with Big Sexy Noise alongside Tim Dahl, Kevin Shea and Timo Ellis. 

Lunch was at the forefront of the No Wave movement in the Lower East Side of the early 1980s, unleashing the jagged noise of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. (Read our 2013 Q&A with her here.)

This show proved she hasn't strayed too far from that lacerating assault.

We watched her go over the set list, then went out and simply enjoyed the vibrant, in-your-face performance...

Check out TV Eye's schedule here. Highly recommended if you want to get out of the neighborhood for some live music. (And Genre Is Death is here again on Aug. 20.)

Genre is Death live at Berlin

Photos by Stacie Joy

We 🖤 Genre is Death. 

We also have a stash of photos from the noise duo's last EV show, which took place on April 3 at Berlin, 25 Avenue A and Second Street, as part of a record release show for Star's Revenge.

Here is Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee in action...

Follow them on Instagram for upcoming shows. On May 18, they are collaborating on A Black Tie Nite of Noizz & Words at Madame X on West Broadway.

And a bonus photo from last week as Ty celebrated a birthday at 96 Tears on Avenue A...

Another local duo, The Acute, out with a new full-length release, will play Berlin this Saturday evening. (It's a great place to catch some bands up close for not much $$$.) 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Meet The Acute 

• Bands we like: Genre is Death

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.