“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,” Allen Ginsberg began his Beat epic poem Howl. Madness, however, can be the fuel of art. Look at the work that has come from Jackson Pollock, Jean Michel Basquiat, Picasso, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Bjork, and it goes on to an endless list of names, some faceless – maybe even you. The key is not being destroyed by it. The Lower East Side, known affectionately in print as the L.E.S. was once destroyed by madness, but it also has been reborn over the years by defiance—much like many parts of New York City.

In honor of the great poet and visionary Allen Ginsberg, one-time L.E.S. resident, the 1^st Annual Howl! Festival was born celebrating art in every form. From August 20^th to the 26^th from Avenue C to the Bowery, the L.E.S. featured cutting-edge films, beatnik to break beat culture, and some of the best live music around at various venues.

Art Around The Park encouraged painters to decorate Tompkins Square Park. There was an eclectic mix of messages on the canvases from support for mothers on welfare in Loisaida to presumably self-portraits depicting pain and lust. Outdoors, in the park on the Bandshell Stage, there was the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Festival. There were photography exhibits depicting the East Village in the 80s at Participant Inc. Gallery on Rivington Street. Reverend Billy led a benediction at St. Mark’s Church on 2^nd Ave. and there was a walking East Village Synagogue tour. Richard Linklater, known for Dazed and Confused, gave a viewing of his short film Live from Shiva’s Dance Floor at the Pioneer Theater on E. 3^rd. On the same block, but an avenue and a half away, the Nuyorican Poet’s Café hosted a modern day performance of Romeo And Juliet called Icarus & Aria. A revival of Wigstock came to town, adding even more color to the L.E.S. palette. Lady Bunny in her size 12 stilettos lead the drag queens down their Avenue A runway. The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival showed appreciation to the artist through a lineup of some of the biggest names in jazz today: Lonnie Plaxico, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Arthur Blythe, and Charles McPherson. And at the Bowery Ballroom, Jesse Malin headlined a rock-n-roll party with The Witnesses, Madison Strays, and NYCSmoke. DJ Michael T. of NYC’s raucous Motherf**ker parties kept the music spinning into the night.

A blend between punk and folk, Malin’s debut album, The Fine Art Of Self Destruction, conjures thoughts of North Carolina-turned-L.E.S. resident Ryan Adams’s music—with good meaning. Ryan produced Jesse’s debut and it has the same soulful and intimate feel as Ryan’s work solo and with Whiskeytown. And Ryan was also on hand to join Jesse onstage for a few loud, balls-out guitar leads. Ryan’s girlfriend, Parker Posey, stood beside the stage with a bottle of champagne cradled in her arm, smiling and enjoying the show. Jesse told stories about growing up in Queens; he played his song “Brooklyn” and his New Yawk accent slipped out often. His set was high-energy, even during the slower songs and he ended with a thank you and proceeded to smash the mic and its stand to the stage.

Madness? Yes. Destructive? Yes, but with the finest sense of art.