Bruno Wizard is the eccentric frontman of legendary punk band The Homosexuals (also formerly Rejects) Another great band way before my time; their hey-day was around 1978-1984. Bruno recollects anecdotes of Dee-Dee Ramone and Johnny Thunders among many other old-school heroes, on his many journeys from London to New York, like some sort of punk bard. It's quite easy to get comfortable and just listen to his stories.

On Saturday night, I ran into him by chance at the Knitting Factory (where Apache Beat were playing with Enon) and he says "Ere's me card luv, ring me tomorrow!" Just like that, in a very British way. So out of curiosity, and also to confirm a rumored show, I called him. What a delight! He said he was actually going to perform a few Homosexuals songs, and some new songs at Niagra in the village. His latest project is called Astral Glamour-presumably after the Homosexuals' three disc anthology of the same name.

The crowd – what there was of it on a cold Sunday night – was treated to one half solo performance, one half punk history lesson, with discussions on what it means to truly be punk. And he should know! Bruno was joined on stage by two falsetto singers for the first song: Neon and Verushka, who are actually old friends of mine from another time in my life, so that was yet another strange, pleasant surprise.
Here are some photos of the intimate gathering.

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xx, Jackie