Live Review: bar Italia in the rain at The Ruins (NYC)

The rain picked up again midway through bar italia’s set. Dancing turned into moshing, barricades fell, Jack Doyle Smith of Beach Fossils even lost his shoes after lifting someone up to crowd surf. I lost the friends I came there with and found a great side-stage spot, where I could watch both the band and the crowd at the same time, the two becoming equally entertaining visually. I felt glued to that spot until the show was over, watching everyone surrender to the weather and the music. There was something fitting about seeing bar italia play in this wet, messy, cinematic, increasingly expansive, but still connected to the rawness in a way that made people fall in love with them in the first place. So far from ‘polished’.

Operelly followed with her airy vocals and delicate instrumentation. Her high-pitched, ethereal voice could have easily been overwhelmed in a space like the Ruins, but she has enough strength behind it to remain captivating. Then, the skies opened up. Few of the audience members were prepared enough to bring an umbrella. There were not many options for seeking cover at the Ruins, but no one seemed particularly interested in shelter either. Operelly played on, and a highlight was a cover of “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog, played when the rain started lightening up. After all the rain, I couldn’t see a rainbow in the sky, but the music had this quality of the same joy, hope, and wonder, which felt like a rainbow in its own way.

Then bar italia—Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, and Sam Fenton—stepped from the shadows into the spotlight. Joined by Mathilde Bataille on bass and Liam Toon on drums, the band played a mix of songs spanning all of their albums while giving space for their most recent record Some Like It Hot (2025) to have its own moment. Some Like It Hot has received some criticism for being more ‘polished’ than their previous work. Seeing this live performance, I realized the band has grown into being aesthetically more cinematic than a garage band. But I don't think this is a problem with the band; I think there is a larger problem with youth culture that treats nonchalance as cool. And that is a position that I am increasingly tired of. No, bar italia is not everyone's best-kept secret anymore, but they are far from selling out or losing their roots either. Their decision to close with an extended OG fan favorite “skylinny” off of their first album, Quarrel, was a testament to that.

I made my way into The Ruins at Knockdown Center in the mostly industrial area of Maspeth, Queens, for bar italia's sold out show.

Opening the night was Threshold, a project led by Isaac Eiger, bassist of Voyeur and former guitarist/vocalist of Strange Ranger. As a fan of Strange Ranger’s songwriting, it was a pleasure to see that Eiger is still writing and performing in this way while also focusing on musicianship in other projects. His soft-spoken songwriting was given another beautiful layer when Bella Litsa joined him for a few duets, helping bring the lyrics to life.

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