Rina Sawayama in her new braces, via her Twitter
Hi there 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.
There’s literally SO MUCH gossip in the air right now. People aren’t paying the scrappy New York designers for looks they’re wearing on TV. Pop stars are ditching their cyberpunk streetwear fits to look like 60s pinup models. Giant community festivals are planning their long-awaited return this fall. Friendly bartenders are hosting late night drinking sessions even though restaurants are still supposed to close at 11pm. I’m not allowed to go into the specifics of ANY of it. What follows is the tea I’m allowed to spill, so let’s get pouring.
This tweet by podcast host Chris Black basically summarizes the echo chamber that is the NYC snow globe. The “niche free newspapers” comment is obviously about The Drunken Canal, whose April issue is out today! But who is this Beverly you might be asking? The answer is a little complicated. Chris Black was talking about the homewares store owned by Beverly Nguyen that’s been featured in The New York Times Style Magazine and Vouge. Think expensive, aRtIsInAL stuff. Along side posh restaurants like Mr. Clark’s and Balthazar, it’s for a scene of Manhattanites that’s a far cry for where me and my friends go.
But the Beverly name isn’t only being put to use selling pots. There’s rumblings from a white hipster bar of the same name. That Beverly’s was a longtime LES bar the size of a hallway that somehow grabbed the attention of the white “creative class” crowd. Maybe it was the pink neon lights? Anyway the bar had quite a run from it’s start in 2013 until the pandemic forced its 23 Essex street location out of buisness. Now they’re reopening in May in Chinatown as more of a “exhibitions and events space.” Sure Jan.
You can currently check out installation by artist Kat Chamberlin at the unfinished storefront, but if you don’t make an appointment you’ll have to peer through the peephole. Calling it the THE UNDER CONSTRUCTION SESSIONS, Beverly’s first session was the artists Sam Branden. Kat Chamerlin is the second session. Sessions three and four will be artists Julian Louis, and Amanda Mehl. This (to me) seems like empty gestures to generate hype for the new bar, but I love it when artists prove me wrong.
Also not mentioned in the Chris Black tweet was the closing of the Pyramid Club. This is due to the fact that scenesters have long since abandoned the bar. The bar was the home base for the gay and drag scenes of NYC 80s. It spawned the dragged festival Wigstock and the careers of Rupaul, and Lady Bunny. It also had a punk edge, hosting shows by no-wave icon Lydia Lunch and scuzzy bands like The Butthole Surfers. It hasn’t been a hotspot since the early 90s, but it was an iconic part of New York. It gave the weirdo freaks of lower manhattan a place to try out their material, whether it was bad or amazing. Now, like all other New York cultural institutions, it’s time is over.
There’s still plenty of good post-punk noise out there. One band that’s been a new favorite of mine is Dry Cleaning. The London 4 piece showed up on my Spotify radio after I plugged in Patio. The bands share a same laconic vocal delivery, but Dry Cleaning’s’ backing instrumentals have more spice. The group just got a Pitchfork profile, so check that out it you want more.
Goth Jafar continues her journey from Twitter Personality to It-Girl DJ, describing a studio party with cohort of fellow trans musicians. That Thursday night saw her DJ with established underground DJ Jasmine Infiniti and Ant Puke. The former put out her first album BXTCH SLÄP last year, but has been making music that combines techno, hip-hop, and ballroom since 2015. Ant Puke is newer to my attention. I first heard of her via a Linux-hosted basement party a months ago. She’s got plenty going on, including a monthly radio show and membership in the Discakes collective.
Also in attendance was Quay Dash, the toughest rapper you’ve never heard of. She popped off around 2017 with her EP Transphobic and her standalone song with SOPHIE “Queen of This Shit” the same year. Aside from a stellar verse on Dorian Electra’s “F The World” last year, she’s been quiet since then. The fact that her name is on anyone’s lips is a testament to her street-tough attitude, forward-thinking sound, and fashion game. Look at her rocking a Telfar in 2017! Here’s hoping she was in the studio at work on new music.
Speaking of new music, Rina Sawayama and Bloodpop are planning a Chromatica remix Album. Bloodpop, the executive producer of Chromatica, tweeted “In theory - which artists would y’all want to see on a Chromatica remix album (and on what song)” before @ing Rina in the replies. Whether she’s singing on the whole album, multiple songs, or is just serving as a curator is unclear. But she’s definitely involved. Oh, and she has braces now.
Grimes responded to Bloodpop with a bunch of options that won’t happen. Other possibilities include Dorian Electra who tweeted "random thought : I happen to love the song replay by lady Gaga its rly sick.” Bloodpop retweeted that, which I’m taking to mean that Dorian is involved with the updated “Replay”. The only person confirmed in the replies is out very own Charli XCX. Someone tweeted “give us the charli xcx 911 remix” and Bloodpop responded “working on it.” If that wasn’t enough confirmation, Charli posted a text message from her saying “I defo want to do the remix and record parts for it.” In other Charli XCX news, she’s writing with Tove Lo in palm springs and really embracing her steez as a hot girl on Tik Tok.
Finally, I have the events for you. Again, if you know a bartender you can probably get away with throwing an after hours rager at the end of their shift. But if you wanna keep on the up and up, here are some things to do.
Until next week,
Mo
Galactic Federation of Musicians and Allied Workers
When: Friday at 10:30 EST
Where: Mindcraft and Youtube. You can watch the stream on NETHERRAP.COM
What: There’s tons of acts from across the alternative rock spectrum performing at this virtual festival, so here are a few standouts: Anti-folk star of the Juno Soundtrack Kimya Dawson, 90s 1 hit wonder and twitter star Eve 6, experimental pop act Jackie Mendoza, indie rock act Maneka, and Brooklyn DIY cult heroes Palberta are just some of the people performing.
How much: Free, but donations encouraged
P.O.P. - Prophet’s Over Profit
When: Sunday 6pm EST
Where: Online, RSVP at www.popdonate.com for a email invite
What: The 4th annual festival from House of Yes founder Dani Slocki fundraising for 50 Brooklyn-based activists, artists, and allies with a 3 hour live stream show. Acts include a DJ set by workout playlist fave Sofi Tukker, a live set by funk revivalists Lion Babe, and House of Yes regulars like Madame Vivian V. The event will be hosted virtually in vSpace, an accessible 3D video conferencing platform for events built by PixiDust.io (no headgear required).
How much: Free but it’s a fundraiser
Trish
When: Tuesdays 7pm
Where: 3 Dollar Bill
What: I’ve been debating putting this drag show in the newsletter since it’s inception, but three things held me back. 1) It’s on a tuesday, not a great night for going out. 2) since it’s a Tuesday, that means the lineup isn’t announced when I go to publish this newsletter. 3) the lineup can’t be that good each week can it?
Well the final one is where I went wrong. Trish has been routinely serving the most stacked bills imaginable, thanks to the production talents of Rify Royalty and Charlene. Past lineups have included the musician’s Macy Rodman returning to her drag roots, as well as the singer/producer Blew Velvet. The vibe, despite audiences having to stay at their tables and the queens staying far away on stage, is rowdy. At the urging of Charlene, Macy Rodman let the audience have a full view of her vaginoplasty. Since Blew Velvet had only one new song to perform, for the second round of shows he pulled a bag of jewelry out of his butthole to “Precious Little Diamond” by Fox The Fox. And those are just the guest stars.
This week Rify Royalty and Charlene are joined by Islaya, Magenta, and Lagoona Bloo. Plus your ticket comes with a free vegan or standard appetizer! Get those tickets via 3 Dollar Bill’s website.
How much: $17-25 depending on how early you get your tickets
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 read The Deviant Dispatch.