The Rewd Onez at Sidewalk

Historically, the Lower East Side of Manhattan has been a magnet for the most avant garde among the arts community, and Rew Starr, born in the Bronx and raised in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, is among the current wave. For seven years, Starr hosted a quirky weekly internet television show called Rew & Who? When that ended two years ago, Starr began acting; she has acted in dramatic plays, including a 10-week run of What They'll Remember, and in minor roles in as many as 28 independent low budget films, including recent entries like Setesh (2017), Get My Gun (2017) and Fish Bones (2018). She released a six-song EP, 2015's A Proper Release, and several singles. She teaches voice and guitar to children ages three months (!) to 17 years. Perhaps most visibly, she sings her original songs in Lower East Side music clubs under her own name, Flack Blamingo and the Rewd Onez.

As the Rewd Onez took the stage at Sidewalk tonight, Starr's high platform boots, big sunglasses and choppy hair already identified her as a colorful character -- even if the color was mostly solid black. Like her other bands, the Rewd Onez usually consists of Starr, bassist Donald Dixon, and a rotating cast of local musicians; this night it included guitarist JOff WilsOn (the Bowery Boys, SoulCake) and drummer Tami Johnson (Dolly Trolly). The songs were raw, left-of-center pop with sparse arrangements and odd and intriguingly curious lyrics. Forget about poetic nuances; a tongue-in-cheek song like "U Suck" slayed its message forthright. The Rewd Onez is neither music you likely will hear on a Top 40 radio station nor a band that will headline large venues, but for all its slightly weird and eccentric flavors, the jovial band and its unconventional music were thoroughly enjoyable.