Just like Communism, the Residents looked better on paper. Historically, they knew their shit; their 1976 album Third Reich ’n’ Roll featured Dick Clark in Nazi regalia dangling a carrot in front of Hitler’s face.

Imagine a civilization centuries in the future, where society as we know it has descended into nihilistic chaos. In disgust and desperation, a small group of humans flee Earth and seek refuge on the distant planet Kobaïa, where years of conflict from the dog days of Earth are recalled through song in the planet’s native tongue, Kobaïan.

Through a Welsh burr punctuated by a burnt-out stutter, former Velvet Underground member and punk pioneer John Cale devoted most of his recent MoMA lecture to a discussion of his video installation Dyddiau Du/Dark Days.

The Boiler at Pierogi Gallery has no heat. One hundred seasoned volunteers had agreed to come here to freeze their asses off for the love of music and the promise of beer.