Eddie and Blair of Girl Dick. Photo credit: Girl Dick’s Instagram.
Hi girlies,
This is The Deviant Dispatch. I’m Mo, your guide to the underground. I write about NYC-based events, gay shit, and cool kid gossip. There will be snark, typos, and lots of Charli XCX updates. If you like what you see, become a paying subscriber, share this with someone, or hit the heart button at the top of the post.
Last Wednesday at 9:13 pm I found myself at a rock show listening to a straight men scream a lyric about “my heart” and “broken glass.” Camp in the Sontagian sense: failed seriousness. As another winding aimless solo began, I cast my eyes around the room. Then I spotted a young woman to the front left side of the stage. She was alive, bopping to the music in a way that telegraphed how much she could bring to the stage if she decided to get up there. Omg she’s with the stylish gay couple I saw earlier? Now she’s riding on one of their backs?
We finally had an it girl. In terms of rock revival in BK, the girls are the only sparkly things about the scene. The BK music scene is in such a state of aimlessness that a 70s rock / heavy metal band can play right before a political post punk act, two scenes that existed in opposition to each other when they happened. The men involved seem to grasp for straws of cool. A leather jacket, a bell bottom. Hey blonde guitarist, can you keep it up for as long as you can solo?
In 2021 all is not what it seems. The punk recording your single about Lorena Bobbit lives in a 4 bedroom paid for by his engineering job. A house show is held in a condo so minimalist that only the people darting into bedrooms convinced me that people actually lived there. With empty promises everywhere, the women and queers are the sings of light in the darkness. The kids packed in the white tiled basement singing Rihanna (former it girl, now icon) were there for Girl Dick, a band whose lead singer Blair has walked for Hood By Air and casted a recent fashion show from CumGirl8 (it girl behavior). I had to leave before they played, but fortunately for you and me they’ve already announced their next show.
The show on Wednesday improved drastically once the bands with women took the stage. Longtime faves of this column TVOD were anointed when 2 girls from the band Thick joined the lineup. On Wednesday they sounded crystal clear and razor sharp even with members slotted in the replace Thick (who are on tour). A band leading the crowd in a chant “BUY! SELL! DIE” is the kind of political commentary that could make guitar music interesting again. Razor Braids, the headliners and queens of the evening, made me believe that a worthwhile 70s revival could be possible. They have powerful vocals with harmonies, a front person with real charisma, the ability to make the crowd go still with a ballad and erupt into a mosh pit 30 seconds later.
The it girl of the evening stayed in the front the entire show, mugging for photographers. Make no mistake, she was there for the music: I kept seeing flashes of her black sequined top and matching berettas in the mosh pit. Her name is Alex Blair. She has a band of her own called The Silk War and a profile in Vouge. After the show I spot her palling around with TV Eye owner Jonathan Tubin. Rumor has it she has a trust fund or at least a lot of money, a huge apartment, and lots of drugs all the time. She was spotted the following Sunday at another show, this time at Our Wicked Lady. Again, it girl behavior. Will she be the next Dani Miller, a punk who went on to star in Gucci campaigns? Keep reading to find out.
Some National Music Updates:
The new Illuminati Hotties album is making me believe in indie rock again. I cried, I smiled, I wondered why such a great band couldn’t be based on Brooklyn.
There’s a new Mitski song!!!! Unfortunately it’s boring.
The new Arca song (featuring SIA of all people) is actually where the magic is.
Sega Bodega just put out his best song yet “Only See God When I Come” but that might just be the seasonal depression talking.
Fans are currently freaking out over the possibly of Charli XCX actually releasing the song “Sweat.” Widely seen an an embarrassing track, a snippet of the song currently plays in the Pandora jewelry ad. Charli is a brand ambassador for the campaign, which aside from posing in photos/videos meant performing a full set at the collections launch in New York. Videos of the night show Charli doing her best with a song that I would deem to cringe to even give to a D'amelio sibling. For content you can be proud of, watch her perform her new single “Good Ones” on Jimmy Fallon.
Before I break down this weekend’s events, here’s a piece of advice. If you’re thinking of seeing a band and the lineup is all men, think twice before going. But don’t worry, if you read about them here of course they have my seal of approval.
XOXO
Mo
Subculture
When: Friday, 9pm to 4am
Where: H0L0
What: the west coast party for hyperpop fans and tik tok teens is here in Brooklyn! Notable names include Graveyard Guy, 1/2 the mastermind behind the very Halloween appropriate song “Final Girl” with Slayyyter. We also have local faves like pots and pans producer Umru and rapper LustSickPuppy.
How much: $23
Str8 to DVD
When: Saturday 8-10
Where: Cmon Everybody
What: The time has finally come for one of Brooklyn’s longest running drag shows to return to a proper stage. Before the pandemic drove them to perform in Prospect Park, Sherry Poppins, Qhrist Almighty, and DJ Ten Yards held court in a boorish rock bar called Gold Sounds. The offbeat venue choice established Str8 to DVD as an alternative choice, but the queens chaffed at having to wait for metal bands with multiple drum kits to pack up before they could take the stage.
Now they’re returning with two New York Times features under their belts to Brooklyn’s newest go-to bar for elevated drag Cmon Everybody. They’re joined by longtime ghoul Linda Felcher who (gasp!!) is preparing a new number at long last. Drag king chevy lace (one of the best dressed person at Bushwig not onstage) will also be performing.
How much: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
Villian Edit
When: Sunday, 8:30 pm
Where: Club Cumming
What: The cabaret venue owned by Alan Cumming doesn’t make it in the pages of this newsletter often, but this night is special. This lineup of ghouls is ripped from the pages of this newsletter. Chevy Lace, Ester, God Complex, Juniper Juicy, C’Etait BonTemps, and the newly crowned Cake Boy Klondyke will all be gracing the stage to pay tribute to all the queer-coded villains of fiction.
How much: $10
Cheekface live
When: Monday, 7pm
Where: Elsewhere, Zone 1
What: What better way to cope with a world fully overrun by madness than to laugh? The dryly witty songs of LA indie rock trio Cheekface are my go-to balm for the burns of the modern world. With lines like “the climate changed and I left it on read” spoken Fred Schnieder style over catching guitar riffs, Cheekface live promises to be a cathartic good time. Local mainstays Maneka and Oceantor being on this bill is just the cherry on top.
How much: $15
That’s it for this dispatch. If you liked it please consider hitting the heart button on this post or forwarding this email to a pal! If you’re the pal please subscribe. I write once a week about upcoming worthy events underground, news & gossip, and gay shit. You can send me tips about those things by emailing thedeviantdispatch@gmail.com. If you care about drag queens, illegal parties, independent music/art/film/fashion, Charli XCX, and rebellion, you need to support The Deviant Dispatch.