Walking into The Bitter End, New York’s oldest rock and roll club, the first things I heard were strains of the violin and some soulful “ay nay nays.” Halloween decorations, including a giant fake spider and skeleton, hung on all the walls, setting the stage nicely for the seeming paradox that is Bulletproof Stockings. Formed in 2011 by lead singer and pianist Perl Wolfe and drummer Dalia Shusterman, Bulletproof Stockings is a female rock band, uniquely comprised of four Orthodox Jewish women. They’ve been playing in public, non-Jewish venues since the summer, and the women of New York City are loving it. The totally diverse crowd of women slowly grew to around forty through the hour-and-a-half long show, most just chilling, enjoying the music. Despite the crashing drums and powerful vocals, the vibe in The Bitter End was very low-key and relaxed.
After getting drinks from the bartenders who seemed to be absolutely loving women-only night, my friend and I tucked ourselves into a corner of the dimly lit bar, and were instantly swept up in the music. The women of Bulletproof Stockings sit on stage, tznius from head to toe, eyes closed, deeply involved in their music. They call their music “alternative rock,” and it certainly is alternative. The cello and violin give the music that Jewish feel that sounds a little like Klezmer, like something your grandparents might enjoy, but much, much cooler. Wolfe and Shusterman borrow medleys from Chassidish niggunim in writing their music, while citing Radiohead and The White Stripes as their musical inspirations. It’s easy to get lost in the expertly played music, but when you focus and really listen to the lyrics, you’re transported to their spiritual and emotional journey through Judaism, prayer, and their love for Eretz Yisrael.
Their titles make allusions to Judaism and Torah concepts; “Homeland” and “Focal Spark,” for example, were two songs they played that night about their feelings toward Israel and Shabbos respectively. Some of their songs are in Hebrew or Yiddish. My personal favorite of the night was a song called “Shade of Your Palm,” a song about trust in God, following Him and believing in His protection. One line stood out to me, probably because of the immense emotion it was sung with. “I know you have the whole world spinning in your right hand, and I know that each seed has a plan.”
After the show, Wolfe and Shusterman told me, “All our songs are about Torah and Chassidus. Torah is our way of life, so it comes through our music in a very natural way.”
The crowd’s reaction once the show concluded was overwhelmingly positive. Women flocked to the stage to speak to the band and take pictures with them. Self-proclaimed “super fan” Chriss Williams couldn’t have been more excited to talk about Bulletproof Stockings. “This is my fourth show,” she told me. “I heard them on the Tablet Magazine podcast and fell in love. I saw them perform at Arlene’s Grocery – a bodega turned bar in the Lower East Side – and it was so awesome. Absolutely packed, and they got into the Wall Street Journal!” Williams would’ve continued, but she had to excuse herself to go take a selfie with the band. Sara Rosenberg, an NYU law student, was also in attendance. “They were really cool,” she said, “I usually listen to hard rock and heavy metal, but I actually really liked them!”
The waitress I spoke to was a little confused about the concept of the show. When I asked her what she thought of it, and the women-only aspect of the show, she said “I’ve been trying to figure out if this was a feminist thing or not, but I liked their music! It’s interesting and very different.”
The story of Bulletproof Stockings is enough to inspire belief in divine inspiration itself. Lead singer and pianist Perl Wolfe had moved from New York back to her hometown of Chicago after a divorce, and there she began writing music. When she decided she wanted to perform for women only, she moved back to New York, the only place where it could happen. “I didn’t know how I was going to do that,” she told me, “But I was just like, ‘Let’s do this, G-d!’” Drummer and backup vocalist Dalia Shusterman had been in rock bands before she met and married a Lubavitch man in 2001. A mutual friend who knew of their love for music and performing introduced the two. They immediately hit it off. “We knew right away that we had to do this. We knew it was going to be good and far-reaching.” They had their first show just a month after they met, in December 2011. “Baruch Hashem, the music has been keeping us going,” said Shusterman.
When asked about the band’s name, Shusterman said “When I became a chassid, I knew I had to make some sort of play on that. I always thought “Bulletproof Stockings” would be a good band name but I didn’t have a band. I mean, what else would you call a Chassidish rock band?”
Bulletproof Stockings hopes to release a new album in early 2015. They also hope to be invited to play in Stern College in the near future.