This friday night at the knitting factory, there will be a special, one time only reuninon of Lydia Lunch’s late 70’s band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. Lunch was a seminal spoken word perfromer, punk, poet, and actress of the underground NYC downtown scene in the 80’s amd 90’s, and her work has always been smart, sarcastic, violent and confrontational. One of my very favorite records that I played incessantly in college in the early 80’s was "Queen of Siam" which is a genius recording, probably the first literary punk person to do a lounge record! Lunch continues to do spoken word today, and she also has a new book out called "The Gun is Loaded." If you’re not familar with her, google her an I promise you wil fall into a delightful K-Hole of Lydia quotes and factoids.
But the reunuion show is actually happening in tandem with the release of Thurston Moore and Byron Coleys new art book No Wave: Post Punk. Underground. New York 1976-1980 (Abrams) which includes lots of rad pictures of Lunch, James Chance, Glenn Branca, Brian Eno, Richard Hell, Iggy Pop, Theoretical Girls and nerdy looking hipsters from that scene. Threre will be an exhibition opening from 6-8 at KS Art, 73 Leonard Street 6-8pm, and the show happens across the street at Knitting Factory, 8pm and 11pm. Dig it.
