A Female Hasidic Rock Band Is Having a Women-Only Show in New York
An all-female, all-Hasid rock band from Crown Heights is living the dream most women can only yearn for: they've managed to banish all the dicks from the dance-floor for their upcoming gig at Arlene's Grocery on the Lower East Side.
As Hasidic women, Bulletproof Stockings have some intense, not-to-be-fucked-with modesty rules they live by: no visible elbows or knees, no uncovered hair after marriage, and no mixed-gender socializing. Men also specifically aren't supposed to hear women sing, which pretty much nixes the idea of them having a large following in the Hasidic world. (You'll notice that in many of their promotional videos, like this one, you'll hear them talk, but not sing. Talking is allowed. Generally.)
The band is on the verge of getting some attention out here in secular-land, but they still can't play for a mixed-junk crowd. So Arlene's has agreed to ask all the men-folk to stay outside during their set tomorrow night. Two of the band members, Dalia Shusterman and Perl Wolfe, actually canvassed the streets to find women who said they'd pack out the venue. (And before you ask, no, they haven't made any specific request as to what transgendered audience members are supposed to do.)
"Turning away half the audience isn't something that's ever been done," Shusterman, 40, told the New York Post. "They had to really think about it." The set's also being filmed for a new reality show on the Oxygen Network called Living Different.
Granted, piano-backed alt-rock isn't everybody's idea of a rousing Thursday night out, but if you've ever been subject to a wayward boner in the back during a crowded show, it's kind of a no-brainer.
Here's a video where you can actually hear the band: