1.26 A wknd w/ Partygirl
Pagona of the band on strategic gallery-hopping, speakeasy karaoke and their Sunday-night show at Arlene's
NEVER FEAR, you didn’t hit snooze then oversleep by 24 hours. It is not, in fact, Friday morning.
NOR is this an attempt of ours to compensate for previous tardiness by showing up in you inbox a whole day early.
RATHER, the only person we have to credit for this ~official~ invitation to begin the weekend early is the star of this week’s SETLIST, Pagona Kytzidis of partygirl — the “imaginative, maximalist indie rock band based in Brooklyn” — who opted for extra credit while living up to the group’s name and delivering an itinerary packin’ approx 33.3333333333 percent more party and extra (+ excellent) weekend bang for your buck.
🥳🥳🥳 TGIT, AMIRIGHT? 🥳🥳🥳
So before we dive into the next 96 hours of weekend (the actual scientifically/socially appropriate amount, for the record), a brief introduction to our featured band.
We first encountered partygirl by way of premiering their third single “desirable”, a track the band described as being “about Kytzidis’s experience in a debilitating romantic relationship and the psychological terror which resulted” and, in spirit, “about the internal strife that Survivors must deal with when they’re viewed as pathological and frightening ‘things’ (‘irrational’) rather than as complex people.”
Rather than a one-off, this track was a prime example of the band’s M.O.—creating music that “seeks to build new worlds based on feminist praxis, radical Survivor identity, and a rejection of our present-day dystopia”—which is further explored and expressed on their self-titled album, which dropped back in October.
So, once you’ve done your due diligence and enjoyed an aural deep-dive into the album, we’ve reached the pivotal point in this newsletter (you knew it was coming) when we inform you that you can catch the songs live THIS SUNDAY NIGHT when the now-six-piece that is partygirl hits the stage at Arlene’s Grocery with Demeter, Talon and Sally Hatchet!
Tix available here.
As for the rest of this apparently-four-day weekend, READ ON, because Pagona has prepped an extra-long, extra-sweet set of plans to guide you.
Consider this your signed/sealed/delivered permission slip to party. Enjoy~
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
In the name of journalistic integrity, I want it in print that the weekend actually starts on–
THURSDAY
Like mornings or rehearsals, it’s best to have a routine. Every Thursday, I meet some friends to go gallery hopping after work. They’ve got this app called See Saw that shows you all the openings (read: free drinks) happening on any given day. There are two in general downtownland I’m trying to hit this week: Ben Werther’s Everyone is a Genius at Amanita (rubbings created from notes strangers leave on other strangers’ cars that reference moments in pop culture), and Jean-François Bouchard’s Exile from Babylon at Arsenal Contemporary Art (photographs from Babylon, a squatter’s camp on a decommissioned military base in the Californian desert).
Once we’ve seen and drank enough, and stopped for dumplings or a slice somewhere along the way, we head to DJ-slash-NYC-It-Boy The Dare’s residency at Home Sweet Home. I used to hate this part of the night – I am not one for sweaty, enclosed spaces – but I have to admit, it’s a good party. The dancing goes for hours, and when it gets too hot there’s always conversation to be had with the smokers outside. Usually one of the first to leave, I make it home by two to rinse off the glitter and other peoples’ sweat and spilled drinks. I pop an Advil. I have work in the morning.
FRIDAY
I wake up by seven so there’s time to run until I’ve shed my hangover. Around 9am I start my job as a strategist for a coalition of labor unions. It’s the coolest job with the coolest people. As the saying goes, these are the people who brought us the weekend – and I’m prepared to honor that victory by making the most of it.
After work, I throw on my weekend uniform: some combination of heeled boots, wide legged pants, tiny top, and dark eyeliner. My friends and I get in our obligatory pre-drinking pasta meal at San Marzano. Despite recently raising the price of the pasta from $11 to $12, it’s still the best deal around. Then it’s time for a round or two of pool (and a round or two of beer and shot combos) at Blue & Gold, a visit to the jukebox at Sophie’s, and the two-for-one-on-anything special and film screenings at The Library.
The best part of the night is William Barnacle Tavern, aka Theater 80, aka a very special place. It’s always got an appropriate number of people in it – a fucking miracle in the East Village on a Friday night. Most importantly, there’s a massive legit theater set up for karaoke through the door behind the bar. Stumbling upon it triggers that unmistakable feeling that the universe, or at least New York City, is conspiring for you. This is clearly a storied speakeasy that’s been frequented by legends (Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, to name a few), so I always feel a tinge of guilt for getting drunk and acting rowdy. But never too much.
We sing until Fran, partygirl’s guitarist, tells me that I have to stop singing (“we have a show in two days Pag!!”). I grab a dollar fifty slice on the walk home and go to sleep happy.
SATURDAY
Let’s kick it off with espresso and an egg and cheese. I need to get my shit together for rehearsal in Downtown Brooklyn. We have a long tradition of hungover rehearsals as partygirl and today is no exception. But despite the physical toll of late nights, everything sounds fucking amazing!! We’re very excited to debut new songs and the new lineup of the band.
Rehearsal ends around three and we decide to hit up the nearby Damascus Bakery, an amazing Syrian spot, for baked goods and pita and dips and all those Mediterranean specialties (almond baklava, labneh, kalamata olives) that warm my beating Greek heart. We snack on the walk to my favorite fancy cocktail bar, Long Island Bar & Restaurant. I’ll say it – the best (rye) Manhattan in New York is found in Brooklyn.
We’ve got a show tomorrow and I need to be responsible, so Fran, Jonathan (partygirl’s drummer), and I head to see Brooklyn thrash-jazz band CGI Jesus play (some of Jonathan’s pals) and enjoy only a ~few beers, instead of going out out.
SUNDAY
Show day, baby! I sleep in and remind my roommates I’m not really talking (vocal rest) but I go to brunch at Cafe Mogador with my cousins, who are here from my hometown of Philadelphia. I drop off laundry, pick up my ginger, lemon and cayenne vocal shot, work out, and cook some bland vegan food to appease my show-day stomach.
My pre-show ritual starts three hours before sound check and involves indulging the most diva-like facets of my disposition, a taste of what legendary music journalist Lisa Robinson described as the pre-performance “Glam” process. I’m talking showering, shaving, plucking, bleaching, combing, dabbing on, stepping into, lacing up, and more.
Somehow, it’s already time to haul ass - keyboard, two tiered stand, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedalboard, outfit, makeup, backpack - to soundcheck. More pre-show, on-site, green-room Glamming involves bold makeup, rhinestones, specialty outfits, platformed boots, me cosplaying as a one woman team to get all seven members of partygirl ready to take the stage at 10PM at Arlene’s Grocery, where we’ll finally play some rock n’ roll, scream, and maybe even cry.
Itinerary above written + submitted by partygirl. Follow the band at @partygirl.band, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the band): Caroline Friedman
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Shoutout to TVOD, whose live session with this fun lil outfit known as ROLLING STONE just dropped. Watch it here.
SATURDAY! BdBK BFFs Marinara (and others!) are throwing down at the 5TH ANNUAL PHI DELT PIG ROAST, a music and comedy affair in memory of their friend Mike Turzilli, with proceeds benefitting Odyssey House, which helps those in need “overcome drug and alcohol abuse, improve their physical and mental health, and defeat homelessness.” We hope to see you there <3
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“Two Point Oh” // Cameron Castan
“Nightingale” // Blue Yonder
“Too Much” // Deep Wimp
Lorraine // Televisionaries
SOPAT / Dolphin Shoals // HYPEMOM
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
2.3 BdBK 4th BIRTHDAY BASH w/ Shred Flintstone, Two-Man Giant Squid, Talon, Go Home, Screenager @ The Broadway - tix here
2.21 STRONG LITTLE SONGS - A living-room fundraising show for Razom for Ukraine w/ Stephen Berthomieux of The Big Easy, Junebug, Ofer Shouval of O.Wake, Arlo Indigo @ BdBK HQ (donation-based, BYOB, DM 4 address)
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.