Bowery Electric, the new rock bar from the owner of HiFi, has quietly opened in the former Remote Lounge space (the official opening is next Wednesday). It’s a simple affair à la Midway, R Bar, and others, dimly lit by Edison bulbs: Horsehair-type stools at a long bar in the front room (eight beers on tap) and some tables in the boxy back room, where of course Remote Louge’s surveillance stations used to be. The basement is apparently still being renovated, and the bouncer told us there will also be a second floor. We hope by Wednesday that disconcerting “new bar smell” will have faded into an odor more apt for Rolling Stones, Van Halen, and AC/DC.

Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery, nr. 2nd St.; 212-228-0228