Bob Bert celebrates Beach Bongo Bloodbath at the Bowery Palace

Photos by Stacie Joy

On Monday night, the Bowery Palace hosted a sold-out release party for Bob Bert's debut solo album, Beach Bongo Bloodbath.  

But the evening felt less like a record release and more like a tribute to Bert's four-plus decades in music. Friends, collaborators, and bandmates from across his career — including stops in Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Bewitched, and the Wolfmanhattan Project — filled the room for what amounted to a live-action retrospective. (He also celebrated a birthday last week, so there was also a cake.)

Despite his longstanding presence on the downtown music scene, Beach Bongo Bloodbath marks Bert's first release under his own name.

Released by Bar/None Records, the album trades guitars for bongos, percussion, keyboards, and theremin, resulting in a strange, playful, and unorthodox collection of originals and reimagined covers. 

Bert took the stage multiple times throughout the evening, which unfolded like a downtown This Is Your Life — with old friends, former bandmates and fellow musicians paying tribute through stories and songs. 

The bill at the venue on the Bowery (formerly the Bowery Electric) included reunions featuring Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Bewitched and the Wolfmanhattan Project.

Genre is Death (below) and the Skull Practitioners played short sets devoted to Pussy Galore and early Sonic Youth material, with Bert joining in on several songs.

Genre Is Death's Ty and Taylor — longtime admirers of Pussy Galore and early Sonic Youth — performed a brief set of songs associated with Bert's past, including "White Noise," "Halloween" and "Pussy Stomp."

And one last shot of Bert, where many fans first came to know him: behind the drum kit.

Thursday's parting shot

Here's a look at the new The Bowery Palace sign at 327 Bowery near Second Street. (Workers hadn't finished installing the sign when we walked by late yesterday afternoon.)

The new venue debuted last night with a six-week Off-Broadway run of "Silver Manhattan," Jesse Malin's theatrical show, following a sold-out workshop residency at the Gramercy Theatre this past fall.

"Silver Manhattan" will play five nights a week starting tonight through March 29. Performances are scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. The 90-minute show will feature special guest appearances, including Lenny Kaye, Cynthia Sley, and Butch Walker this week, throughout the run, along with nightly pre-show gatherings.

     

Bowery Electric closed at No. 327 on Jan. 30, ending a 17-year run of live bands and performances.  

The Bowery Palace set to debut tonight

The Bowery Palace era gets underway this evening at 327 Bowery near Second Street.  

As previously reported, the inaugural production will be a six-week Off-Broadway run of "Silver Manhattan," Jesse Malin's theatrical show, following a sold-out workshop residency at the Gramercy Theatre this past fall.

"Silver Manhattan" will play five nights a week starting tonight through March 29. Performances are scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. The 90-minute show will feature special guest appearances, including Lenny Kaye, Cynthia Sley, and Butch Walker this week, throughout the run, along with nightly pre-show gatherings.

"'Silver Manhattan' is the most personal thing I've ever done on stage," Malin said in a statement announcing the Bowery Palace. "I wanted to run it in a smaller theater and look into the eyes of everyone in the room. I have so much history on the Bowery — I played CBGB as a kid and grew up in the neighborhood. My grandfather sold liquor to the bars up and down the Bowery. It's nice to go back to the scene of the crime."

Tickets are on sale now at SilverManhattan.com.

Other upcoming shows at the Bowery Palace include a tribute to late Blondie drummer Clem Burke (both nights now sold out).

In May 2023, Malin suffered a rare spinal stroke that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Malin, a partner in several local establishments, including Niagara, 96 Tears, and the Bowery Palace, launched his music career at age 12 while fronting the hardcore band Heart Attack. He later served as the lead vocalist of D Generation in the 1990s. 

He has become a prolific singer-songwriter, with nine studio albums and collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and Billie Joe Armstrong. 

Bowery Electric closed at No. 327 on Jan. 30, ending a 17-year run of live bands and performances.  

Bowery Electric space to reopen as the Bowery Palace; Jesse Malin up first in new theater

ICYMI: Bowery Electric will close on Jan. 30, ending a 17-year run of live bands and performances. 

The space, however, will remain in the family. 

Beginning on Feb. 18, the venue at 327 Bowery near Second Street will reopen as the Bowery Palace, a 100-seat theater. 

The inaugural production will be a six-week Off-Broadway run of “Silver Manhattan,” Jesse Malin’s theatrical show, following a sold-out workshop residency at the Gramercy Theatre starting this past September. 

"Silver Manhattan" will play five nights a week from Feb. 18 through March 29. Performances are scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. The 90-minute show will feature special guest appearances throughout the run, along with nightly pre-show gatherings.

"'Silver Manhattan' is the most personal thing I've ever done on stage," Malin said in a statement announcing the Bowery Palace. "I wanted to run it in a smaller theater and look into the eyes of everyone in the room. I have so much history on the Bowery — I played CBGB as a kid and grew up in the neighborhood. My grandfather sold liquor to the bars up and down the Bowery. It's nice to go back to the scene of the crime."

Tickets are on sale now at SilverManhattan.com.

In May 2023, Malin suffered a rare spinal stroke that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Malin, a partner in several local establishments, including Niagara, 96 Tears, and the Bowery Electric, returned to the stage for the first time since early 2023 in December 2024 at the Beacon Theater, billed as "the largest hometown show of his career." 

Malin, a Queens native, launched his music career at age 12 while fronting the hardcore band Heart Attack. He later served as the lead vocalist of D Generation in the 1990s. 

He has become a prolific singer-songwriter with nine studio albums and a variety of collaborations, including Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and Billie Joe Armstrong. 

Photo below of Malin (left) and photographer Bob Gruen from last May on the Bowery by Stacie Joy