What's A Scene Without a Home

Is a scene still a scene if it has no home? In the last week or two I've attended the Monday Night in Exodus at A Gathering of Tribes as well as shows at Brooklyn Tea Party, Project Parlor and Goodbye Blue Monday, all of which featured performers and audience members drawn from our world at Sidewalk.

It's interesting although a little abstract to think about what a "scene" actually is if it has no central nucleus. While it is comforting to see familiar faces at the various places where things are happening currently, Sidewalk has until now been the feeder system for the broader network, continually bringing in new creative energy that eventually flows out through other tributaries. I wonder whether the basic tribe would stay connected without Sidewalk there to kind of link us all together. Hard to say.

I may have given up on the Monday night in Exodus at Tribes merely because of the smokiness of the place. While I like the whole open vibe of that space, I really was not happy to be reminded of the days when smoking was common in bars and clubs and you would get home with all your clothes infused with that smell.

Joe Crow's day long extravaganza celebrating his new vinyl release started in the afternoon at Project Parlor a laid back bar in Bushwick with a nice backyard, which is where the performances were held. It would have been nicer if the weather had cooperated better--I think it was in the 30s or low 40s about the whole time. Joe Crow brought in a few groups who he knew from hanging out at Project Parlor and elsewhere, and regulars like Thomas Patrick Maguire, Justin Remer, Feral Foster, and Myron the Magnificent also performed. It was a fun afternoon.

Things then shifted over to Goodbye Blue Monday where Purple Organ was playing as many of us arrived. Lach, Jordan Levinson, Telethons, Dan and Rachel played, but unfortunately I couldn't stay for most of the sets....I really like GBM's new setup though, which I saw for the first time. It seems a lot more comfortable and the food I ordered was not bad at all. That steel tower in the back is quite a work of engineering. Impressive.