EVG regular Daniel Efram attended a dress rehearsal Wednesday evening for "Extreme Classics," the latest production from East Village resident Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks at La Mama.
It's a moving and mind-altering production, equal parts political commentary, dance, theater, musical, and art abstraction.
Yoshiko Chuma (conceptual artist, choreographer/artistic director of The School of Hard Knocks) has been a firebrand in the post-modern dance scene of New York City since the 1980s, has been consistently producing thought-provoking work that is neither dance nor theater nor film nor any other predetermined category. She is an artist on her own journey. A path that has taken her to over 45 "out of the way" countries and collected over 2,000 artists, thinkers and collaborators of every genre since establishing her company The School of Hard Knocks in New York City in 1980.
You can see "Extreme Classics" tonight at 8:30 and tomorrow at 5. The production, a shared evening with Taryn Griggs and Chris Yon, is at The Club at La Mama, 74 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Details are here.
If you're looking for some free arts and entertainment this weekend, Theater for the New City is the place to be.
TNC has scheduled more than 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers, and filmmakers for its 29th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will continue through tomorrow.
Indoor performances will occur daily from 6 p.m. to midnight, using two of TNC's four theaters. Meanwhile, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (today!), vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will set up on the closed-off block of 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue during another series of performances.
You can find the complete list of activities (and times) at this link.
Admission is free, though TNC will gladly accept donations.
The show, "Art Speaks More Than Words," will feature his large canvas banners, including the free matinees by NYHC Chronicles at Niagara and Bowery Electric.
The opening is today from 3 to 9 p.m. Okano will paint live at 6 (accompanied by saxophonist Johnny Butler) following the hardcore show scheduled in Tompkins Square Park. (See flyer below.)
Viewing hours: today, 3-9 p.m.; tomorrow, 1-5 p.m. June 1/8: 1-5 p.m.; June 2/9, 1-9 p.m.
MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.
Update 5/25: Michela will be recreating the mural here on Sunday during the Loisaida Festival.
Earlier this week, Brooklyn-based artist Michela Muserra (seen in the top photo taken several days ago) finished a new mural on the SW corner of 12th Street and Avenue C — aka the 12C Outdoor Gallery.
This morning, residents awoke to find that someone had hastily (and inexplicably) whited out the mural. We're told the white paint was still wet.
A block source told us that a few parents and students from the Children's Workshop School "were standing in front of it, openly sad and almost weeping that something so beautiful got destroyed."
We hear that residents filed a police report ... and were told that "the perps" were captured on multiple surveillance cameras and could charged with criminal mischief.
Muserra titled the work "Despues de la lluvia" ("After the rain"), a sister mural to one that she created in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
This morning, she reacted to the vandalism in an Instagram post: "Oh well, not mad to be honest. I can redo that in a matter of hours, not even worried about the paint. That is not the problem. The problem is their miserable life where apparently the most exciting thing is to go over other people's work. A work done for the community."
The work was completed ahead of the annual Loisaida Festival this Sunday.
Updated 5/31: Streecha reopens today under new management. In this post, Rev. Father Johan Lubiv, the administrator of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church for the past four years, discusses what has transpired here recently.
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Yesterday, the closure of Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, a favorite no-frills spot for many residents over the years, was met with shock and sadness.
According to the operators, the unnamed landlord of the building at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square "decided to go in a different direction."
The news hit several days after the annual Saint George Ukrainian Festival on the block, where the subterranean space remained busy during the weekend.
The news of their departure was a complete surprise to Dima Kovalenko, the chef overseeing the kitchen for the past 10 years.
"The owner wants to do some renovations ... and then use it for their needs," he said.
Despite the sudden closure, there is a ray of hope. After our post yesterday afternoon, Kovalenko said several community members stepped up with potential storefronts in the neighborhood so that Streecha could continue serving their traditional Ukrainian cuisine.
However, this remains in the exploratory phase.
While he's heartened by the response from regulars and the potential new space, he said that it will not be the same.
Streecha has been helping generate income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on the block since the 1970s. Many church members also serve as volunteers, and they gather here on Fridays to help make the vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings).
Public records list Order of St. Basil the Great, Inc. as the property owner.
Cello's Pizzeria debuted in soft-open mode on Wednesday afternoon at 36 St. Mark's Place, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
I spotted the chef and pizzamaker, James Jaworski, behind the counter...
He was also with the previous pizzeria here, Funzi's (more on them in a sec).
We understand the new partners include some members of the Rosa's Pizza family, the operator of Whitman's on Ninth Street, and the owner of Dough Doughnuts, which may explain the presence of these for sale...
There are no menus or prices for the pizza (we were told approximately $4 for a slice) just yet, only what's listed on the wall and/or prepped behind the counter.
Hours for now are noon to 8-9 p.m. during the week, with a 10 p.m.-ish close on weekends. A beer-wine license is on the way.
A little pizzeria history here... Funzi's opened late last June and aspired to be an East Village throwback with a 1970s-80s decor modeled after owner Kevin Cox's grandmother's house.
Cox left the business in November, taking Funzi's name with him for a new version of the pizzeria in another EV location. (Funzi was named after the youngest of Cox's three sons.) We never heard anything more about a new spot for Cox.
After Cox departed, the business pivoted to St. Marks Pizzeria, with a message on its website noting, "Same Pizza. Same Chef's. Same Location. New Name." This post-Funzi concept went dark in December, and paper covere the front windows until this recent unveiling.
On Wednesday evening, Abby Ehmann invited patrons of her bar Lucky on Avenue B to help dismantle the no longer-compliant curbside gazebo between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Ehmann, who paid for the demoliton and its removal herself, also let people take home pieces and parts of the formerly adorable gazebo from the pandemic era. (Update: In the comments, Abby noted that Billy took the remains of the infrastructure home for use in his garden in New Jersey.)
Arming bar patrons with crowbars and sawzalls... what could go wrong?
Actually, nothing (and there were a few actual carpenter types on hand)...
and later...
Ehmann was also celebrating a birthday on this demolition day...
Updated 5/31: Streecha reopens today under new management. In this post, Rev. Father Johan Lubiv, the administrator of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church for the past four years, discusses what has transpired here recently.
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The operators of the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on Seventh Street announced this afternoon that the basement cafe is now permanently closed.
The no-frills space between Second Avenue and Cooper Square has been generating income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church since the 1970s. It offered inexpensive lunch specials and various Ukrainian potato dumplings (varenyky).
Volunteers, primarily parishioners from St. George's, usually helped prep Streecha's offerings on Friday.
Here's part of the closing announcement:
We are incredibly grateful for your unwavering love and support over the years.
It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that we've left our current location permanently.
The property owner decided to go in a different direction.
Our team is searching for a new partner and location to keep a traditional Ukrainian restaurant alive.
We welcome input from our Streecha community.
Thank you for the wonderful memories. We hope to see you all again one day.
This has always been one of our favorite places in the neighborhood to visit. Hopefully, they can secure a new home soon.
Public records list Order of St Basil the Great, Inc. as the property owner.
The Damned of the 1980s (from left): Captain Sensible, David Vanian, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray
On Friday, May 31, the Hammerstein Ballroom hosts The Damned's Black Strawberry Ball, which reunites the UK band's iconic 1980s lineup for the first time since 1989.
With the return of drummer Rat Scabies, the band — David Vanian, Captain Sensible, Scabies, Paul Gray (and joined by 1999-era recruit Monty Oxymoron on keyboards) — will perform together after 35 years.
The Damned lay to claim being the first UK punk band to officially release a single, "New Rose," in 1976. Today, the band has 12 studio albums, evolving from the London punk scene to a more expansive and influential goth-rock sound.
Band co-founder Captain Sensible fielded some questions from EVG ahead of next week's NYC show.
The headline ahead of this tour is that with Rat Scabies back in the fold. How did the early rehearsals go for this tour? Did it feel like picking up where you left off, or was there an adjustment period?
We were all grinning like Cheshire Cats after the first few rehearsed songs... it was like winding the clock back to the 80s; that beautiful garage vibe was back, and of course, we have to credit Rat for that 'cause his drumming doesn’t hold back. He's as much a frontman as we are.
It's nice to stop arguing and do what we do best.
What does this lineup mean for setlists — will you be playing a lot from [1979-1982 releases] The Black Album, Strawberries and Machine Gun Etiquette? Will there also be songs from throughout the Damned's catalog?
There are several bands in the Damned — punk, goth, psych, and we rock out, too, given half a chance.
So writing setlists isn't easy 'cause there's a lot of material to choose from.
We play a goth fest, and that's basically what's in the setlist... but this time out, we are going to grab a fair few from The Black Album and Strawberries 'cause apart from Monty, this lineup was responsible. God, how I wish [Monty had] been there though. Because with no computer shenanigans in the studio, Dave and myself shared the keyboard duties, and neither of us is what you'd call virtuosos. Can you imagine: it was take 47... take 53, etc, etc. Nowadays, you press a button, and a machine does it, which is why modern pop sounds so appalling.
But, back to the setlist: Yes, we are topping it up with a bunch of faves from across the career.
On May 31, you'll be in NYC at the Hammerstein Ballroom. On May 19, 2001, at the Hammerstein, you played Joey Ramone's 50th birthday bash a month after he tragically passed away. What did Joey and the Ramones mean to you?
When the Ramones got their album out it proved that, despite being diametrically opposite to the popular music of the day, the stadium rock of the likes of Genesis ... more raunchy music like ours could fight its way through.
So when they played their first London show [July 1976], the majority of the audience was comprised of people in their own noisy bands playing small clubs and pubs around London with no real hopes of success. Joey and company showed it could be done.
I always grab a selfie at Joey's street sign on the Bowery [at Second Street] and then nip round the corner for a knish at that place on Houston Street that he was known to frequent.
The backstage atmosphere at Joey's 50th birthday party was upbeat and fun — a celebration of his life. That's the way that I'd prefer to go too — none of that depressing stuff; remember the good times.
In April 1977, the Damned played four nights at CBGB — the first UK punk band to do so. One CBGB superfan remembered your April 8 set this way: "They were aggressive, and the singer wore big black eye makeup, Captain Sensible wore a nurse's outfit. They were polished pandemonium. They didn't hang out afterward as most of the NY bands did."
What do you recall about those shows? Any trepidation at the time about playing in a club that was quickly gaining a punk reputation?
We couldn’t hang around 'cause after our performance, the club chucked everybody out, including us, and started sound-checking for a second show on the same day. We'd never experienced that in the UK, but New York is full of bars, so we just found the nearest and carried on there.
The Damned at the time were like a gang — we had no respect for anyone. The drinking and chaos would get out of hand quite often. I can remember getting thrown out of four Paris hotels in one night.
I believe we threw quite a few insults at the sedate CBGB audience and got some abuse back, but any reaction was better than NO reaction, so that was all good.
Seeing what has become of CBGB is tragic, though... how short-sighted of city bigwigs not to keep the place running as a venue — it'd be a shrine to punk rock for fans the world over who would flock to NY to see where it all began.
You'll be touring the U.S. in May and June. What else is next for The Damned?
We really pushed ourselves with [2023 album] Darkadelic, which sold a few to diehard fans and the odd discerning music lover, but how would anyone else have heard about its release. We're now in the old fart category and don't get played on the radio.
I get it — the music scene is for young trendies, but you know, we bust a gut on Darkadelic and are very happy with its sense of adventure musically and lyrically. We've come a long way since "Smash It Up"!
Having said all that — with the return of Rat Scabies, it'd be a criminal waste not to make one last cracker of an album featuring his vibey drumming. So, I'm gonna make it my priority to kick start that idea.
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A select videography...
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The Damned's Black Strawberry Ball will also feature special guests Lenny Kaye & Friends celebrating Nuggets and The Dictators.
The Onion Tree Pizza Co. opened earlier this spring on the SE corner of First Avenue and 13th Street.
Chef Jay Jadeja and his wife Raquel have owned and operated several NYC restaurants in the past 20-plus years. They currently run The Onion Tree in Sea Cliff on Long Island's North Shore as well as its East Village sibling.
The interior includes an ode to The 27 Club — musicians who died at age 27, including Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison... (Chef Jay is a classic rock fan.)
While there's an extensive menu, the pizza, an Indian-Italian fusion focused on Napoletana and Romana styles, gets the most attention...
The Onion Tree Pizza Co., 214 First Ave., is open Wednesday through Thursday from 2 to 10 p.m., Friday from 2 to midnight, Saturday from noon to midnight, and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
