Heyo you filthy fucks,
Welcome to The Deviant Dispatch, your guide to underground culture and events. The kind of events that might make your mom gasp. The kind of culture that remains fringe even in the age where anyone could (in theory) go viral. Weird shit! Fun shit!
I bet you need a pallet cleanser from all of the shit going on in the world. Here’s a country-ish indie song from Brooklyn’s Dig Nitty.
Their debut album "Reverse of Mastery" is due out September 18th via Exploding In Sound Records. If you liked the song above, check out their song “Lomita” as well.
Speaking of country vibes, this week the Washington Post published an article alleging that the Instagram account Queer Appalachia has been practicing fraud. The article exposes how the account’s founder has weaponized people’s desires to help rural queers and trans people of color in order to ask for donations that conveniently…. don’t seem to make it to the communities the account is fundraising for. Big yikes!!! Don’t trust people claiming they’re donating to a cause if they’re not posting receipts!!
You can always trust that the girls of Bushwig to put on a show. Last Wednesday Jette Grey and Magenta went above and beyond when they dragged a stripper pole into the middle of Washington Square park for their party Harlots. The event was a resounding success, so hopefully we’ll see it return.
In the meantime, everyone is mad at a rave that happened under the Kosciuszko Bridge. Unlike Harlots, where everyone wore a mask and the crowd was 50 people at the most, this rave had hundreds of people crowded together without masks. Noted DJ and Kim Petras stylist Mazurbate and producer/vocalist Pictureplane played the shindig, which in any other circumstance would have been applauded. The phrase “illegal rave under the Kosciuszko Bridge” is the exactly why most people moved to New York.
Still, even though New York is in Phase 4 and outdoor dining/bar culture has people crowding around masks like we’ve all been vaccinated, people are mad. Part of the outrage stems from the idea that the thing was marketed as a “protest” but was far less noble in it’s intentions. The bigger reason this got so much play in the media is that Pictureplane came out and said it was probably a bad idea. The biggest reason is that it’s easier for people to get mad at each other than get mad at the government.
The whole thing speaks to a schism that’s happening in Brooklyn: bars and promoters are starting to have parties outside because that’s allowed. Some people believe that going out is necessary to blow off steam and support our local venues/performers who have been hit hard financially by quarantine. Some people believe that the only thing we can do to help slow the spread (and the DEATHS) is stay the fuck home. Both people are right! If the party is too successful AKA gets too crowded people flip out and the two sides go at it.
Really we should be flipping out at our Government for failing to provide financial aide, forcing nightlife workers to try and jerry rig solutions despite fickle public opinion. BUT!!! WE!!! HAVEN’T!! SO!!! The cannibalistic discourse rages on. Try not to let it devour you this week. Here are some parties for you.
xoxox Mo
All Night Skate Opening!
When: 3-11pm everyday but starting today!!!
Where: 54 Rockaway ave, off the Chauncy J
What: This week is the soft opening of a nostalgic bar in the heart of Bushwick, full of kitsch and pastels. While you’ll only be able to sit outside (painted a pale pink) you can take a peek inside at the arcade games and Saved By The Bell-esque decor and imagine all the fun you’ll have when you’re allowed in. If you need an example of the sort of whimsy this bar is serving, they’re offering a discounted drinks if you show up in roller skates! They’re also selling candy cigarettes. One third of the owners was the original partner of beloved coffee shop Lil Skips, so this spot has the potential to become another staple of the neighborhood.
How Much: 1-100 dollars depending on what you buy.
Straight Acting Presents: Rify’s Bday
When: Thursday, 7pm EST
Where: 260 Meserole St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
What: 3 Dollar Bill has recently been the subject of grumbling rumors online due to lax social distancing. This is even as the bar says they have the following measures in place: Temperatures and contact tracing information will be taken at the door. All tables will be distanced. Capacity is restricted. Attendees must wear a mask at all times when they are not at their tables. Still, the rave Pictureplane got in trouble for was also supposed to be socially distant. 3 Dollar Bill is known to be shady with money and poorly run. It’s possible these guidelines won’t be present throughout the party, but as someone who DJ’d a party there every Wednesday it seemed like the bar meant what they said.
I know some of my readers want to go to IRL events even if it’s risky and irresponsible to do so. They are deviants after all. This party also proves to be a good one. Ickarus and Horrorchatta are good DJs for a sunny backyard affair, and we know from Harlots last week that Magenta and Jette Grey bring the stunts. I believe this is Baby Love’s first IRL performance post-covid (ooo special). Plus the party is raising funds for the Okra project, an org that literally feeds trans women.
How Much: $15, and you should probs buy tickets in advance.
PC MUSIC Presents: 7 by 7
When: Thursday, 5pm EST
Where: Zoom code TBA
What: AG Cook is determined to resurrect PC Music as a label. This zoom party gives each performer a different instrument to use. The founder himself is doing a synth set from the founder himself, alt-pop darling Caroline Polachek will be doing “extreme vocals”, and the rubbery-bright producer Thy Slaughter will be playing guitar. The whole event sounds partly like a joke, but also a unique concept that performers out of their comfort zone.
How much: free
Creem: America’s Only Rock N Roll Magazine FILM PREMIERE
When: Friday, August 7th
Where: https://watch.eventive.org/creem/play/5f1b36f80e0997003e1e2660
What: The magazine that launched the career of rock critic Lester Bangs, Creem is iconic in rock history. There’s now a doc premiering about the mag, although I wonder if it will get to the sleaziness and misogyny that so often accompanied rock at the time. We’ll have to tune in to find out!
How Much: $9.99
Lemon Chiffon Presents: Down Under
When: Friday, 9pm EST time
Where: Zoom Code 4071057591 with the password Aussie
What: Lemon Chiffon is a buxom blonde originally from Australia but born from the Brooklyn cesspool known as the drag party Str8 to DVD. She’s a great performer, with a key eye for fashion and a sense of drama that lends itself to digital drag. She’s throwing a birthday party so all here birthday pals can see her while she’s back in Australia. It’s a stellar lineup of BK’s current crop of drag children that spans weird, spooky, and glamourous. There might even be a surprise DJ set from yours truly. ;)
How Much: $10 suggested donation, venmo @Lemon_chiffon
Rilo Kiley-Themed Emo Night
When: Friday, 7pm-1am EST
Where: check the party’s Twitter day of for the link
What: For indie girls of a certain age, Rilo Kiley is essential text. The front-woman and primary songwriter Jenny Lewis touched my life as a member of The Postal Service, and also has quite the resume as an actress, but a certain sect of the population will always remember her from heart-wrenching songs like “With Arms Outstretched”. While not strictly emo per-say, Rilo Kiley was a guitar-driven band operating at the same time as the genre’s hayday in pop radio. Since women-led bands were few and far in between during this era (shoutout to Paramore) we had to take what we could get. Genres are human-made and mutable anyways. The Rilo Kiley song “Portion of Foxes” would sound fully emo if Lewis had a more whiney vocal tone. Now our fave virtual emo night is paying service to the queen. As always the DJs are non-men who work in the music industry.
How Much: freeee but this party is raising money for a charity that aims to “level the playing field by improving access to music industry opportunities and resources for young women and non-binary people, no matter what career in music they want to pursue.” Venmo
That’s it for this dispatch. If you found this valuable consider forwarding this email to a pal! If you’re the pal please subscribe. I write twice a week: once about upcoming worthy events (for free subscribers) and once about worthy subjects of my choosing (for paying members). If you care about drag queens, illgegal parties, the spirit of the underground, experimental pop, and social revolution, you need to read The Deviant Dispatch.