preview: Collective Scream and Our Wicked Lady bring punk benefit concert to the gutter
Ultra Deluxe @alexmediabuy
After relaunching and raising over $5k for local organizations last year, benefit concert booking org Collective Scream teams up with Our Wicked Lady Presents for a dance-punk/pop-punk/dreamgaze/cyberskramz/nu-chip benefit show for the ages!
Ultra Deluxe, Bad Humors, Goof Goblin and The Shining Hours are donating their time and talent to raise funds for The Ali Forney Center, who provide services and resources to over 20,000 at-risk or homeless LGBTQ+ youth each year; 100% of ticket proceeds will be donated to the organization.
In addition to funds being raised for Ali Forney Center, attendees are encouraged to donate to an in-kind drive benefitting the food pantry initiative at Make The Road New York, who serve over 42,000 immigrant and working-class community members annually via food pantries in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Westchester. Requested items for their Brooklyn location include: rice, pasta/pasta sauce, dried beans, dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, tuna, canned vegetables, powdered milk, cooking oils, granola, crackers, flour, salt, sugar and coffee.
“Supporting the Ali Forney Center is important to us because members of our band have experienced serious poverty and instability firsthand. We know how fragile survival can be when you don’t have consistent housing, safety, or support. AFC does the kind of work that actually changes outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth—providing not just shelter, but stability, dignity, and a path forward. That kind of support saves lives, and it’s something we believe deeply in.”
Goof Goblin are a trans emo and punk trio in Brooklyn that pairs sad lyrics about being queer, mental illness, and politics with energetic, bouncy instrumentals. The shout-along, thrash punk in the boss-level of a video game is perfectly displayed in standout track, “Rolling Pumpkins.”
@jennamurray.jpg
The trio sets out on the Enter The Pizzaverse Tour from February 26-March 8, making stops in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts. They’re excited to take the live show on the road, play new rooms, and connect with communities that have supported them along the way.
@reillysbadphotos
Ultra Deluxe, self-described as MARXIST CYBERSKRAMZ is led by Max Narotzky who has been releasing music under the moniker with a rotating cast of musicians since 2017 EP Bummer. Fast forward to March 2025, Ultra Deluxe put out their fourth album, The Floria Wars, “built around a sci-fi narrative set in the 2700s, the album blends screamo, post-hardcore, pop, cybergrind, orchestral arrangements, and electronic elements into a dense, politically charged and super adventurous soundscape,” as mentioned in IDIOTEQ.
“Punk rock is and always has been about thinking for yourself and rejecting the expectations of mainstream society, making punk culture and the LGBTQ+ community inextricably linked. Our bassist, Kelly, is proudly queer along with many of our friends and fans, so it’s really special to have the opportunity to give back to a community who always shows up for us—especially during a time when the trans community in particular is under attack by the current administration.”
Bad Humors is a pop-punk-rock band from Brooklyn that goes hard. Their instrumentals, themes, all the way down to their cover artwork remind you that the new punk-heyday is now. The quartet put out their first EP, Who’s Hungry, a four-track, nine-minute ripper, this past September, featuring “All My Friends Are Enemies,” “about feeling lost but hopeful in a world that has grown more and more divided.”
When asked about how music is important in turbulent times, Bad Humors said:
“Music brings people together. As a band, we know that all too well—Bad Humors was formed in the dark days of the pandemic, during a time when everyone was isolated and forced to avoid one another. There were no shows to go to, but we were still drawn together. Our shared interest in punk rock is what made it stick. Plus, living in quarantine gave us a lot of time to write, and a lot to write about.
Music also offers a platform to amplify your voice and express yourself. Our genre kind of comes with a built-in responsibility to use that platform to advocate for positive change, and to speak and act with sincerity. In a place like NYC, that’s bound to resonate with people. Every now and then someone will approach us after a show to let us know our performance spoke to them, and it’s the greatest feeling in the world. Connecting and uniting through music is so powerful, and affects people deeply. It moves us to act, fight, love, dance—you name it. And you never know, it just might inspire someone to pick up an instrument and make their own voice heard!”
The Shining Hours are a 4-piece alternative/indie dreamgaze band. Formed in 2021, the band blends elements of shoegaze and dream-pop like vibey “Stuck Like This” off their 2024 EP Moment.
The band told us they will be transitioning into a new lineup later this spring, as some band members are starting their own projects. They’re looking forward to what’s next and hoping to put out an EP out later this year.
Come rage at The Gutter in Brooklyn on Feb 21 and witness Ultra Deluxe, Bad Humors, Goof Goblin and The Shining Hours
tear it down to build us up!
Flyer @hegebryn
