Flippin’ Gothic Fabp continues to impress with his latest freestyle release “Live @ Under St Marks Open Mic (NYC),” a performance that unfolds like a live wire thrown into a small room. In a venue and format built around brief appearances and immediate impressions, Fabp’s set succeeds by understanding the oldest rule of the open mic: if you have only a few minutes, presence is structure.
That presence is the performance’s central asset, as Fabp comes across as an artist uninterested in easing an audience into his world. He opens with intensity, leaning on a rough-edged delivery, tightly packed bars, and the kind of forward pressure that can make a short set feel bigger than its runtime.
Flippin’ Gothic Fabp Live @ the Under St Marks Open mic NYC (2026)
In typical Fabp style, this performance comes with a twist, as just as it seems like the set is about to end, the beat switches up as he dives into a new section. There is a scrappy conviction to the whole thing. Rather than polishing away the grain of his style, he seems to treat raw spontaneity as the point.
Fabp’s performance clearly indicates that he’s an artist shaped by underground rooms, where hesitation reads instantly and momentum is everything. His energy is the engine of the set as he holds attention through sheer insistence. You can feel the logic of the performance in the way it attacks the room: no wasted motion, no ornamental softness, no attempt to dilute the mood for accessibility.
Still, the same quality that gives the set its charge also defines its limits. As a short-form live appearance, one notices how little of its impact comes from contrast. There are fewer visible shifts in mood, cadence, or dramatic contour than one might hope for from a truly great live statement.
But this isn’t a criticism of his artistry, as St Marks’ open mic environment rewards immediacy over architecture, and Fabp clearly understands the assignment. In a mixed bill, where attention must be won rather than assumed, his style has obvious advantages. He does not give the audience time to decide whether to engage. He makes the decision for them.
What lingers after the set is not a single intricately constructed moment, but the impression of an artist with a strong grasp of his own voltage. Fabp knows how to turn a room toward him, and that is no small thing.