![phoenix gay bar east village phoenix gay bar east village](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0hxLtHM_YBThN-NDFOuPu_oihZI=/42x0:1158x628/1600x900/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51766599/14712833_10154304278608301_120265904361402377_o.0.jpg)
Narcisco expanded on the circumstances of the closure with EV Grieve. Bands including Fear, GWAR, Lydia Lunch, and he Butthole Surfers all performed there both the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana reportedly played some of their first NYC gigs there. It first gained popularity as a punk and drag club that was known as "a safe haven for freaks, geeks, weirdos, queers, and dreamers to come together and create," according to this excellent oral history of the venue from 2014. The Pyramid Club opened on Avenue A in 1979. Our hearts go to YOU, our community, who’ve kept us going over these past 41 years, as well as other nightclubs, live music venues, and theaters, businesses that, like us, have suffered the most from this 'Pause' and are facing our very same predicament." "We’ve patiently waited for over a year, and we never thought that we’d permanently close. We are another sad consequence of COVID-19," they wrote. "It is with the most sad and heavy heart that we must announce to our local and worldwide community and family that The Pyramid Club NYC will not reopen. They wrote that the shuttering of the 41-year-old club, which had been closed since March 7th, 2020, was due to the pandemic. Managers Maria Narciso and Quirino Perez made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday morning. East Village mainstay Pyramid Club, which has served as a neighborhood institution and longtime drag, punk and dance venue since the 1980s, has permanently closed.