This is the print version in the Aquarian

Doktor John & The Countess Zaleska, Marzena will be at

The Gothsicles (official) @ Dracula’s Ball – Philadelphia, PA

City of Dark Angels

Mad Max Into the Thunderdome Edition

April 24, 2015
Left Field
87 Ludlow NYC

By Doktor John

Every 4th Friday, for about the past five years, promoter and prominent scene personality Archangel Santana puts on a dance-club event that is tied to what he calls “occult” movie themes, by which he means sci-fi, fantasy or horror. Last month it was “The Crow”. This night it was “Mad Max into the Thunderdome,” a recurring theme, but now partly in anticipation of the upcoming release of the remake of that famous cinema classic.
This night there was a Who’s Who of dark event personalities, starting with hosts Sir William Welles, of New Goth City website, and Gina Divine, the promoter’s wife. Statuesque beauty Miz Margo, a bi-coastal DJ, who is also famous for her position with NYC’s oddities boutique, Obscura Antiques, was present and had a special role to play. She announced and toasted her friend, one of the guest DJs, Hi-Fi Hillary for her birthday, and she distributed cake to those with an appetite for celebration.

Regular DJs Aengel and V Christ were joined by guest DJs Paradox and birthday girl, Hi-Fi Hillary to keep the upstairs lounge interesting and the downstairs dance floor moving with everything from 80s to Scandinavian EBM. Upstairs saw a live performance by full-throated vocalist Militia Vox, formerly of all-female tribute band Judas Priestess, who could have passed for Tina Turner not only by her outfit, but by the intensity of her performance. Attendees, but not all, in deference to the theme, donned dark, post-apocalyptic costumes and make-up, although there was no enforced dress-code. Downstairs saw both elaborately attired dancers and those in basic black rock the dance floor into the wee hours and imbibing from a well stocked and courteously manned bar.
A team called Post Apocalyptic Warlords was responsible for the staff’s thematic wardrobes. Colorful, sometimes full-face make-up, complicated headdresses and extensions of metal, rubber and leather were worn by the crew and by visitors. Archangel moved about with an extra head towering on an extension above the one that he was born with. Archangel’s policy is to maintain an open, friendly welcome, in order to serve as an attractive entry event for newcomers as well as those deeply committed to the New York nightlife and Goth music scene. At that, I would say, he definitely succeeds.

iVardensphere
Fables

Metropolis Records

By Doktor John

This tribal/industrial Canadian group, has been around since 2009. Having, regrettably, no prior exposure to their oeuvre, I was stunned by the varied richness and the grim appeal of this 14-track masterwork that respects no boundaries or genres as it free-forms each song and crosses through every electronic musical category.

The album opens with “Million Year Echo,” featuring a persistent EBM groove that is interrupted by odd, sci-fi imbued samples that seem to emerge from a desolate, post-apocalyptic soundscape. It is followed by “Stygian,” a 7-minute, plodding, whip-cracking zombie march overlaid with harsh, hoarse male vocals. Several tracks take the listener on a techno-industrial visit to the Middle East, complete with synthetic versions of Arabic instrumental accompaniment, sacred-sounding male vocals as well as sensuous, almost erotic female vocals. Synthetic versions of everything from the Australian aboriginal didgeridoo to bongo drums are present.

“A Tale of Two Wolves” is a techno-industrial track that renders it easy to imagine a pair of canine predators loping through the forest in single-minded pursuit. “Black Lodge,” the track that follows, is a slow-paced trudge through a nightmarish dystopia, narrated by a desperate and hostile speaker, while merciless mechanical noises pound out a cadence and are joined by a mournful male chorus. I particularly enjoyed “Papa Legbo” with its ominous “the natives are restless” beat and intermittent chants.

In addition, there are frenzied hand-drum ensembles; eerie female a capella singing; languid but delicious, acoustic guitar riffs; ominous vocal narratives; and echoes of various genres including Scandinavian darkwave, aggrotech and even a piece, “Terra Sapian” featuring ultra-fast-paced, “swing ” beats. The poignant “Girl With No Hands” is a pessimistic and frankly psychotic poem with groaning choral and emotionally delicious strings plus prominent percussion. In the eighth track, “It Is As Blackness Is” an eloquent lecturer recommends philosophical acceptance of “a new dark age,” as a relentless EBM groove suggests the relentless march of Time.

The album ends on an aquatic theme, “Poseidon,” featuring the seductive sirens’ call on vocals and electro-symphonic instrumental accompaniment The majority of tracks, if not all are eminently danceable. In fact, I dare any listener to sit still while hearing these infectious and hypnotic rhythms as I tried to do when writing this. Aptly named, “Fables” transports the listener into a fantasy realm of myths, seductive melodies and mesmerizing rhythms.

Rating; A
In a word: Bountiful

Jekyll & Hyde Times Square

Feb 15, 2015

New York, N Y

As far as Goth happenings go, there isn’t any topping the various events hosted by legendary impresario, Fr. Sebastiaan. From Berlin and Amsterdam to Miami, New Orleans and Paris, the notorious fang-maker (he prefers “fangmaster”) puts together the most memorable and entertaining balls and gatherings to be produced since the rise of this subculture so many years ago. This night’s Anti-Valentine’s Ball marked 20 years of progressively more proficient and increasingly entertaining “Endless Night” events he has produced for this community which includes Goths, counterculture devotees, self-identified vampyres (special meaning when spelled with a “y”), dark music aficionados, Steampunk, cosplay and history re-enactment enthusiasts.

What better venue in the greater New York area than the elaborately decorated and wildly fanciful restaurant/nightclub, Jekyll & Hyde in Manhattan’s theater district? The night prior to this major event saw the holding of a “pre-party” at the Lovecraft Bar NYC in lower Manhattan’s Alphabet City, with live entertainment by top DJs and the likes of operatic sorceress Ariel de Ment. Crooner Baron Misuraca also boosted his retro-lounge distinction with a live performance. I confess to have missed the opportunity to attend.

Most attendees came early for dinner at Jekyll & Hyde, to socialize with friends and make new acquaintances. The slick and creepy animated gimmicks, costumed staff and live actors of the restaurant provided a perfect run up to the ball itself, a ticketed event held in a dungeon-like chamber with eerie props abounding, a neat dance floor, raised DJ booth, a couple of side chambers and a bar.

The guests were dressed in dark and vampirish attire or adorned with fantastical costumes and make-up out of gothic and historic literature or cinema. One witnessed a reasonable facsimile of Vlad the Impaler, of Egyptian deities, and of New Romantic, Edwardian or Victorian villains gyrating on the dance floor to the darkwave sounds of DJ Eric Aengel or imbibing on the sidelines.

Fr. Sebastiaan himself addressed the crowd warmly, introduced his hard-working staff and thanked both them and the attendees for the historic success of the “Endless Night” series of events. He introduced talented and highly accomplished soprano Ariel De Ment, now a regular entertainer at his events, who sang an emotionally moving aria from the opera “Carmen” as she always does, with a mouthful of costume fangs. The contrast of bitter cold outside and festive camaraderie within suggested something like a theme from the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, and will have throngs of enthusiasts looking forward to the next such happening.

This is the newsprint version of the report on Halloween in New Orleans 2014

by Doktor John

There are tons of Halloween related events here in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia area, but this year something possessed me into traveling with my crew south, to the Big Easy — to the capital of VooDoo in America — New Orleans, Louisiana. Staying at a hotel right on Canal Street provided easy access to the fabulous attractions of French Quarter, where everything that anybody ever yearns for is available in abundance…including Halloween celebrations.

The Ghost and Vampire Tour

First up for us was the notorious Ghost and Vampire Tour hosted by Lord Chaz (www.lordchaz.com) that begins after dark and leads you around the scariest haunts on the periphery of the French Quarter.

Lord Chaz narrates the Ghost and Vampire Tour

Astonishingly informative, highly educated and surprisingly courteous, Lord Chaz is a huge (in every sense), hideously eccentric NOLA icon, top-hatted and shod in 6″ platform shoes that deliver his 6′ barrel-shaped body to a towering and intimidating 6’6” height. His tour has been a NOLA fixture for more than 26 years, and commences at a dive bar, Johnny White’s “Hole in the Wall” on Bourbon St., where tour goers are encouraged to grab a tall drink to carry on the tour.

Lord Chaz leaves a lasting impression

Anywhere up to 40 tourists are led on an hour-and-a-half trek through mostly dimly lit sections of the French Quarter while Chaz regales them with well-rehearsed stories of mass murders and hauntings from the history of the Quarter. Unsolved killings, second hand reports of apparitions and reference to a convent, where the remains of buried infants were found, comprise the meat of Lord Chaz’s dissertation.

He spices things up with ambiguous, autobiographical, semi-confession of his own other-worldliness, gesturing with inch-and-a-half, pointed fingernails. He starts the event by a very convincing display of uncanny ability to stop his own heart, which numerous physicians & nurses in the group confirm by directly checking his pulse. It stops and dramatically restarts on his command!

He makes much of his assertion that his cold, clammy skin and lack of need to blink are indications that he may actually be a vampire. And indeed, he feels as cold as a cadaver to touch, despite wearing robes and a hat in addition to his Goth attire over his 2 foot-long tresses. About halfway through the tour, Lord Chaz brings the group to another bar for more drinks and a restroom stop. You bet that these bars appreciate Chaz’s patronage.

At the end of the tour he mounts an incredible display of piercing his own forearm with one of those menacing fingernails and drinking the unmistakable trickle of blood that flows from the wound. But not to worry! Before dismissing his spectators, he reveals an intact forearm, claiming that it had healed itself in the few minutes following the stunt. Hokey or real, Lord Chaz’s reportage, his claims and his performance are unanimously deemed powerful entertainment and super-fascinating by all who attend.

The Lestat Coronation Ball at Undead Con 2014

Halloween night started at the Lestat Coronation Ball, in a music venue called Republic New Orleans. It is apparently the main social and entertainment event in the middle of the Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Fan Club gathering at Undead Con, a convention held annually. We were somewhat out of place here, where the main population consists of devoted and die-hard Anne Rice readership.

Once a crowd had filled the venue, the entertainment began. A female drum ensemble, Skins and Bones started the evening, charging up the crowd with a tribal, chanting, percussion-driven set.

The percussion ensemble “Skins & Bones”

Then the supremely talented Mary Fahl, former lead vocalist of the sorely missed band October Project, came on stage. Her act only consisted of three songs, but she sang superbly under the less-than-ideal acoustic circumstances.

Mary Fahl on stage at the Lestat Coronation Ball

One of the songs, “Exiles” is specifically written for the audiobook version of Anne Rice’s book, The Wolves of Midwinter, and was delivered in Fahl’s moving and inimitable vocal style. After her set, we visited with her at a booth alongside of the stage, grabbing a hug, a compilation CD and an autograph.

Shmoozing with Mary Fahl

Anne Rice addressed the crowd from a loft overlooking the main floor, not unlike a pope — even a goddess to these fans —acknowledging the crowd and complimenting them on their grotesque, vampire-themed costumes. The mere sight of the author and the thrill of hearing her address literally brought tears to the eyes of many of her devotees.

Anne Rice addressing her people from on high

But the crowd was so dense and the dance floor so jammed, that we bailed out soon afterwards, choosing instead to wander the VooDoo shops and crowded streets of the French Quarter in order to observe the Halloween celebrants before calling it a night.

The Cemetery Tour

The following day we once again tapped the venerable Lord Chaz who took us on his famous tour of the St. Louis Cemetery No.1, New Orleans’ oldest graveyard yet still in current use. En route to the walking tour Chaz discussed various social, architectural and economic issues of the neighborhoods through which we passed.

High points in Lord Chaz’s Cemetery Tour

Once we arrived, he explained the necessity for above ground burial in this below-sea-level town. Instead of a grave, each deceased is interred in a brick and stone, reusable mausoleum. Grotesquely, each mausoleum becomes a sealed solar oven in the hot Louisiana/Gulf of Mexico sun, reducing the remains to an insignificant pile of dust that is subsequently swept onto the floor of the tomb a year later, making room for the next eligible family deceased. He pointed out that our visit on All Saints Day was the ideal time to tour, being the day when visitors come to honor their dead according to Roman Catholic tradition.

Indeed, upon entering the cemetery we were witness to a disciple kneeling devoutly at the tomb of VooDoo queen, Marie Laveau (1801? – 1881?) and carrying out a ritual with candles, icons, tobacco smoke and an alcoholic beverage.

Anonymous VooDoo devotee conducting a ritual honoring Creole VooDoo Queen Marie Laveau on All Saints Day

There was more to the tour, but nothing else could top that auspicious and serendipitous experience.

Endless Night Vampire Ball

The Endless Night Vampire Ball, a recurring and world-wide event since 1998, and brainchild of producer and fang-maker Fr. Sebastiaan — this year themed “Victoriental” — took place at New Orleans’ House of Blues on All Saints Day, the day after Halloween. It turned out to be one of the most over the top entertaining and social events ever to come out of this eccentric and eclectic subculture. Goths, vampires, full time dwellers of the demimonde as well as poseur wannabes were treated to a true spectacular of music and performance art by impresario Fr. Sebastiaan and his talented crew of functionaries, artists, performers, DJs and technicians.

Famous producer, impresario and Fang-Master, Fr. Sebastiaan

The NOLA House of Blues, one of a chain of eponymous venues, is uniquely themed for the event by virtue of its being in the Big Easy, America’s home to Voodoo, which religion provides a perfect backdrop for all things dark and preternatural.

The crowd was gorgeously attired and costumed in Victorian, Edwardian, and glamorous as well as horrific presentation.
NY DJs and two attendees

Young and not-so-young mingled affably in am atmosphere of supreme camaraderie, seemingly overjoyed to participate in the festivities. Famous NYC DJs filled the air and filled the dance floor with heavy EBM, and Gothrock, both classic and modern re-mixes.

Costumed attendees at the Endless Night Vampire Ball

Wandering the House of Blues we found an upstairs lounge where a bar and a side stage were located and where performances and rituals were taking place. Back downstairs on the main floor, just when it seemed that the night would only consist of fabulous DJ-ing by the likes of DJ Angel, Matt V. Christ and Xris Smack, a French-accented, flamboyantly and Baroque-attired moderator came on stage and announced, in a hysterically dramatic manner, the first live entertainment of the night, the gifted and multi-talented soprano Ariel De Ment. Fanged and highly made up, known in the New York area for her mind-blowing renditions of cinematic and operatic singing, Ariel stunned the audience with coloratura versions of, first, an opera aria, then the heart-rending “Point of No Return” from Phantom.

Following this thrilling act was a belly dancer accompanied by a kilt-clad violinist who led her with Middle Eastern and Celtic melodies. DJs filled the intervals between them, a burlesque dancer and then a staged, metaphysical vampire ritual involving sword play, bull-whip cracking, a priestess and several gorgeous, scantily-clad acolytes.
The headline band, Metropolis Records artists Bella Morte, performed an hour-long, well-received set of their melodious-metal Gothrock with touches of Linkin Park-style funk.

Metropolis Records band, Bella Morte

Best dressed contest

Eventually Fr. Sebastiaan came on stage to oversee selection of the most beautifully costumed female and male attendees, chosen by popular acclaim. He praised the crowd, and graciously thanked his staff, one by one, and by name.

Best dressed attendees

The theme for next year’s Endless Night, “Penny Dreadful,” was announced with much flourish and ritual.
The Endless Night 2014 continued joyfully and with more celebrating on the dance floor well into the wee hours of the next morning, while thoughts of next year were already on the minds of many.

The Sedona Effect

The Knitting Factory
Aug 23, 2014
By Doktor john
Brooklyn, NY

Inspired by the gritty extremes of her new digs in New York, singer/actress Kai Irina Hahn brought her EBM band to the Knitting Factory for its debut performance.

First up band Thorazine Unicorn, a very attractive and talented group consists of a vocalist, guitar, bass and drums, but sounds like a lot more, with an industrial Sci-Fi sound, that comes across better on its studio-produced CD than the Knitting Factory’s speaker system. But they looked so good, I think I prefer the live performance.

Opening for Sedona was a very respectable classic-rock-meets-Goth group calling itself The Flies Are Out for Blood, that re-animated the spirit of the Doors with dark, poetic vocals, accompanied by crunching riffs and acid-laced melodies. I would compare them with Gene Loves Jezebel, but without implying anything imitative or lacking in originality.
Around 1:00 am, matching the rhythm of the new hit single, “Cross the Line,” (the video release of which was reviewed in the April 16 2014 issue of The Aq) Kai strutted on stage in the embrace of her full-grown male boa constrictor, Loki. A positively hypnotic, complex, EBM groove made the entire room of spectators sway rhythmically while Kai’s imperative to “Cross this line” was delivered in a distorted, sinister hiss. This was followed by their new single “Evolve Devolve,” featuring a spacey, soundtrack and epic drums. For this, second song, Kai dropped all distortion effects and sang in full, melodious voice. Unfortunately, this track hasn’t made it to the recording studio yet. On the next number, Kai began in full voice, but returned to distorted, breathy vocals, totally apt for the lyrics of the rapidly paced “I Burn.”

After another, this time, bass-driven song, Kai broke for a modest costume change. Wait. Did I say “modest?” Dressed in a red bikini top, corset, tutu and knee-high, multi-buckle, patent leather, giant platform, high-heel, boots, Kai’s costume change consisted of replacing Loki the snake, snuggled like a shawl around Kai’s neck and shoulders, for a tall, fan-like (or perhaps batwing-like) collar rising up behind her neck.

She now manned the keyboard —set on strings — and sang another new song, full-throated, “Between Now and Tomorrow” ending violently, high-pitched and seemingly out of control. The set ended with the notorious Billie Holiday standard “Gloomy Sunday,” performed in anything but standard style. Slowed to a crawl, and with ultra deep droning and deranged-piano arpeggios, Kai growled out the suicidal lyrics in the dramatic style reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich. The crowd screamed for more and forced an encore to be repeated from the preceding set and off their EP, “Cross the Line,” before lining up to buy a copy.

Recently transplanted from London where she honed her vocal skills on German art songs, classically trained lyric soprano Kai has pulled together a small group of musicians to found an Electro Dark Wave band with a very appealing, hybrid sound. The Sedona Effect —every bit a performance art project as it is an EBM band —made a spectacular debut, which should contribute to their rapidly growing fame in the metropolitan area, and allow multitalented, front Kai to establish herself as a kind of Nina Hagen meets Billie Holiday.