'Fun' was the plan

 

The debut record from Brooklyn’s queer femme punk band SHAGGO has a June 6 release date. (The record-release show is June 12 at Trans-Pecos in Ridgewood.) 

Tbe above video is for the band's single "I Wanted Fun."

Bands we like: Pop Music Fever Dream (PMFD)

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We’ve seen Pop Music Fever Dream (PMFD) several times, including last August as part of a Show Brain bill in Tompkins Square Park. 

And each time, we weren't sure what we might be in for. This held true again on April 25 at Night Club 101 on Avenue A, where PMFD opened the night as part of the record release show for Um, Jennifer? 

PMFD — vocalist-guitarist Tim Seeberger, guitarist Nicole Harwayne, bassist Carmen Castillo and drummer Violette Grim — took the stage in full clownface, a tribute to horrorcore rap duo Insane Clown Posse and Juggalo culture. The night was intended as an homage, complete with the spirit — if not the presence — of Faygo, the soda closely associated with ICP performances. 

When asked about the missing Faygo, the band explained they couldn't find any but assured that "the Faygo was there in spirit."

The sold-out crowd was then swept into PMFD's unrelenting punk fury and no-wave dissonance.

PMFD's last show until July is Saturday night at The Broadway as part of a 10-year-anniversary show for Radio Free Brooklyn. Find ticket info here. 

We'll leave you with the band's most recent video, "Elegy for a Memory."

 

'Star' power

 

On Tuesday, The Slackers released a new single, "My Last Star," a collaboration with and tribute to Greg Lee. The co-lead singer of stalwart L.A. ska group Hepcat died in March 2024 after a brain aneurysm. He was 53. 

As you'll see in the above clip, the NYC-based band filmed parts of the video in the East Village, including the stage at Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th Street.

H/T Jill!

Crossing 'Delancey'

 

Um, Jennifer?, your new favorite "trans slut rock" duo (Eli Scarpati and Fig Regan), releases its debut record, Um Comma Jennifer Question Mark, today. 

The video here for the insanely catchy "Delancey" includes cameos from Tompkins Square Park.

Tonight's record release show at Night Club 101 on Avenue A is sold out. Um, Jennifer? will also play the Mercury Lounge on May 25. 

Be 'Afraid'

 

Torture and the Desert Spiders, "a left-field garage project based around the songwriting" of the Brooklyn-based Anna Kunz, has several shows coming up in the neighborhood, including Wednesday at Mercury Lounge and a residency at Baker Falls (April 22 and 29). Check them out.

The video here is for the track "Sinéad, I'm Afraid."

Star's Revenge (and friends)

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy 

From left on 2nd Street: Olive Faber and Emily Green 

This past Thursday night, Star's Revenge — Olive Faber and Emily Green — held a record release party at Berlin on Avenue A for the duo's latest single, "Me and My Friends." Joining them on the bill were Talli Sow and EVG faves Genre Is Death. 

"The Berlin show was the best Star's show yet — bringing a bunch of friends under one roof is what it's all about," Faber, who has played drums for Sunflower Bean, told us. "Our next show is April 16 at Mercury Lounge, and we're planning something really special for summer."

You can check out the band's music — spare, off-kilter indie pop that sticks with you — on all the usual streaming platforms. You can follow them on Instagram here.

Star's Revenge with friends...

In 'Memory' Of

 

NYC's Pop Music Fever Dream — veterans of Show Brain's summer shows in Tompkins Square Park —just released this new video for their song "Elegy for Memory" (from the Songs for Emotion EP). 

PMFD will be playing the New Colossus Festival around the neighborhood in early March. Check them out if you can.

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.

'Sunset' now

 

Local band Rebounder is working on a new album... and heading out on a short tour with JW Francis.

Rebound plays at Public Records out in Gowanus (tickets here) this coming Thursday (Jan. 16). They'll be on around 9 p.m.

The above video is for the band's most recent single, "Sunset Vision."

'Whisper' to a scream

 

Voyeur was one of the local bands on the bill this past New Year's Eve at Night Club 101, the new venue opening in the former Pyramid Club and Baker Falls. (More background here.) 

On NYE, Amiture opened, followed by Voyeur, then a surprise set by MJ Lenderman before headliner Water From Your Eyes.

Voyeur will be back at the Avenue A space for shows on Jan. 18, Feb. 15 and March 21. 

The video above is for "Whisper," from the NYC band's recently released EP, Something Becomes You.

95 Bulls session

 

This mini set via 95 Bulls was released on Nov. 22... filmed live at Mrs. Morgan's Flower Shop in Bronxville... and presented by Show Brain, which brought lots of live music to Tompkins Square Park (and elsewhere) this past year (bands that included 95 Bulls).

The 'Ghosts' in you

 

Seattle's KEXP recently released this video of an in-studio performance by EVG faves Cults. 

The band with local roots recently released their fifth LP, To the Ghosts, this past summer.

Enjoy the extended live set and interview...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Cults classic: East Village-based duo on the release of their fourth record

Halloween night with Pretty Sick at Bowery Ballroom

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Sabrina Fuentes brought a Pretty Sick show to Bowery Ballroom on Halloween night. 

This was a one-off show for Pretty Sick, which Fuentes founded in 2013 at age 13. The band, which includes Ava Kaufman (drums) and Ben Arauz (guitar), released a new EP, the more electronic Streetwise, this past summer. 

We caught up with Fuentes, her bandmates and friends backstage...

Then we went out to watch a frenzied crowd enjoy Pretty Sick in a sold-out Bowery Ballroom...

Keep tabs on the band via Instagram.

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.

 

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At the debut of Boycott Sleep, an artist-led collective aspiring to redefine live music spaces

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

The night of Sept. 27 saw the debut of Boycott Sleep, an artist-led collective creating spaces for live music outside the existing venues. 

The event took place at the Pretty Garden Club, 99 Canal St. near Eldridge Street, on the fourth floor, which they share with the Banner of Christ Church.

Julia Pierce, lead singer of Tits Dick Ass, produced the show with help from Ozzie at Show Brain...

Pierce wants to showcase more avant-garde sound and art in venue spaces like this loft at Pretty Garden Club. 

This show featured three emerging bands — Genre Is Death, Avishag Cohen Rodrigues (who also plays in cumgirl8) and Popular (featuring Pierce) — and one established band, 1980s noise legends Live Skull. Kat Imperial also played a DJ set. (Admission is $11.)

"Artists working together who are like-minded and support each other," Pierce says. 

We arrived early to take in the jagged and atmospheric noise pop of Genre Is Death, whose first EP drops on Oct. 13...

We also caught the genre-bending sounds of Avishag Cohen Rodrigues...

... seen here with cumgirl8 bandmate Veronika Vilim...

... and Kat Imperial...

We couldn't stick around for Live Skull's late set, but we did spot vocalist-guitarist Mark C.

... and some faces in the crowd...

The next Boycott Sleep is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 99 Canal St.