As luxury condos and cocktail lounges with $12 drinks continue to sprout up in the Lower East Side, the things that made the neighborhood such a unique nexus of creative energy in recent decades continue to disappear. As the New York Times reported yesterday, "Tonic, a hub and hangout for avant-garde musicians" hosted its last show this past Friday after being forced to close because of skyrocketing rent.

Musicians Rebecca Moore and Marc Ribot staged a protest on Saturday and ended up getting arrested. They've organized a press conference for NOON on Tuesday at City Hall as a "call to action to say that new experimental music does not have to disappear from New York City, let alone the Lower East Side, where so much legendary avant garde jazz/Indy/New Music was born."

You can read more about their plans by visiting their website, www.takeittothebridge.com