Cybertron

Blackthorn 51
Elmhurst, Queens NYC
June 24, 2017

Vampire Freaks, the large entertainment and specialty clothing organization regularly sponsors music events with a dark, futuristic theme, labeling such events Cybertron, connected—as it portrays itself—to the concept of the sci-fi oriented Transformers theme. Release of the motion picture “Transformers—The Last Knight,” served as an inspiration for the latest Cybertron, a night of dance music and live performances by three techno-industrial bands.

Doors opened at 9 p.m. at Blackthorn 51, a bar and performance venue that usually features heavy metal, situated deep in the heart of the borough of Queens. Our crew from New Dark Age was the first to enter, and we took note of the selections being aired by the assigned deejay—mainly electronic, goth and industrial, featuring Aesthetic Perfection, NIN, Manson and IAMX.

As the guests showed up, they presented an array of dark, sexy and elaborately attired fashionistas, predominantly black-clad, sporting leather, vinyl, metal spikes, two-toned stripes and high makeup. This was particularly true of the several dancers who had been engaged to entertain between band acts. Much focus was directed at one tall, statuesque beauty in a red wig who beguiled the crowd from her lofty place on stage. The room stood in awe when the gorgeous Ashley Bad made her grand entrance accompanied by famous impresario, DJ Xris Smack, who was eager to promote upcoming Stimulate events.

Several other celebrity deejays were present to spin dance tracks including Vampire Freaks’ own Jet VF himself, Matt V Christ, Annabelle Evil, and Shadownightz.

First up at 10 p.m. was the nasty, punk/industrial trio, DeathMaschine, that put on a powerful performance, with a ruggedly handsome vocalist, hovering over the crowd, naked from the waist up but for wrap-around shades and a leather, suspenders-like harness. He was accompanied by digital rhythm tracks, keyboards and by guitarists, one of whom served to also shower the stage with sparks off a metal grinder. The pounding beats and menacing, defiantly screamed lyrics were not for the faint-of-heart.

Next up at 11 p.m. came NJ-based, but internationally acclaimed harsh industrial duo, Xentrifuge, a rivethead-styled couple whose high-tech appearance is in accord with their robust aggro-tech sound. We were familiar with them because they had been selected as Fan Favorite at the recent Darkside of the Con this past spring. Severe and intensely colored lighting glared through an intermittently thick cloud to reveal the stunningly attractive pair. Black leather-clad and sporting shaved sides, Chris Xentrifuge took center stage to issue hissing, nihilistic vocals backed by his gorgeous better half Lisa Helen, who stood behind playing a keyboard and regulating the complex synthetic accompaniment consisting of catchy, mantra-like, repetitive melodies woven into hypnotic, mechanistic rhythms. Their set consisted of seven songs with titles like “Cerebral Ruins” and “Machine Winter,” which go a long way toward characterizing the motif of their style. They are perfectly suited for their next gig which will be to open for Stabbing Westward at the Gramercy this August.

Finally, at midnight, headliners, Colorado-based techno-industrial trio, Velvet Acid Christ, came on stage. They performed for at least an hour and a half, touching on most of their popular repertoire of EBM, darkwave and techno while projecting videos on a backdrop screen showing everything from kaleidoscopic, geometric animations to cartoon images with sociopolitical messages. They dedicated one song to Fox News, although it was difficult to parse the lyrics. One can assume it was critical of the Right that Fox represents, since this is the take on politics that has become almost a cliché in the alternative music scene these days. The beautiful female vocalist who remains nameless on the website and VAC’s Facebook page, sang a song in German about “being a loser.”

Although one could detect a certain sameness to much of their signature sound, VAC’s total repertoire is quite large, standing at 10 or so albums under the Metropolis label, and includes a fair enough variety with captivating melodies and cadences to make for a great body of work suited for goth/industrial dance.

Rammstein

Northwell Health At Jones Beach Theater
Wantagh, NY
June 25, 2017

It is indeed a challenge and all-day commitment to trek out to Jones Beach given the unavoidable disaster that is traffic encountered when crossing from NJ to the outer reaches of Queens, NY. The stature of this industrial metal giant, however, compelled us to make the pilgrimage, knowing the band’s reputation for spectacular visuals to accompany their thrilling and spectacular musical performance.

The show commenced when giant numbers were projected onto a dark screen that shrouded the stage. The audience participated in a countdown beginning from “8” and ending with “1” and the Rammstein logo. With that, the recognizable, syncopated beat of “Ramm 4” burst from the suddenly illuminated stage, and at the same moment there was the explosion of multiple Roman candles into the sky over the heads of even those in the loftiest stadium seats at this open-air theater.

Next came the slow paced, guitar-driven “Reise Reise,” “Halleluja” in which the band accompanies with a falsetto chorus, then the rapidly paced “Zerstören (Destroy).” “Keine Lust (No Desire),” another heavily syncopated song, followed. Next was “Feuer Frei,” a galloping piece with lyrics that play on the two meanings of the word “Feuer” (fire) to denote both the heat of fire—of which there was plenty on and around the stage—and the verb “fire” meaning to shoot a gun. Eight more songs followed, including the hugely popular “Du Riechst So Gut (You Smell So Good),” “Links 2-3-4,” “Du Hast” and the uniquely stylized cover of the Depeche Mode classic, “Stripped.”

It was impossible to keep track of the many and mind-blowing visuals which included flames and smoke belching from the stage ceiling and floor, explosions issuing from two tall towers that straddled the ground level audience seating, clouds of sparkles and confetti, instrumentalists lifted aloft by stage devices, guitars and personnel that distributed smoke, flames and mighty explosions, and rockets that flew across the crowd to ignite blazes on the two aforementioned towers.

A brief intermission was held after “Stripped,” and then they returned with “Sonne (The Sun),” then the rather tedious, yet well recognized “Amerika,” and the harsh and cynical “Engel (Angel).” For the second time, the band members took their bows and the sad strains of “Ohne Dich (Without You)” closed the show.

Seated up high in the outer and upper tier of this gargantuan, 15,000-seat theater gave us a great vantage point from which to view the overall spectacle, but deprived us of being able to appreciate the fine details of the various costumes and theatrical personae of the performers on the distant stage. Two large “Jumbotron”-type screens that should have shown video projections of the stage performers sat dark and unused. This failure to accommodate the ten or so thousand spectators in faraway seats of this gargantuan theater was, in my opinion, inexcusable. At all recent outdoor concerts I have attended recently, excellent use of the jumbo screens allowed the entire audience to enjoy the visual details of the stage performance, which was in Rammstein’s case extremely essential to appreciation of the special effects and costumes.

One more pet peeve: Why, in a vast audience of attentive and devoted fans—who have paid good money and suffered through the inconveniences of travel—do a handful of inconsiderate and hyperactive morons find it necessary to remain standing throughout the performance, essentially ruining the experience for those seated directly in back of them?!

The Red Party

Mercury Lounge
Manhattan, NY
July 8, 2017

Saturday, July 8, saw a spectacular recurrence of the iconic dance, social and entertainment event Sean templar’s Red Party. Once again it was held at the Mercury Lounge on East Houston St., itself a kind of monument to the punk music scene in the greater NY/NJ region.

Speaking of punk, the live performance this night was provided by Argyle Goolsby and the Roving Midnight, an energetic and energizing punk group just back from an overwhelmingly successful stint at the worldwide Wave Gotik Treffen festival in Leipzig, Germany. Coming on shortly after midnight, Argyle Goolsby proved their credentials not only in the old school punk category, but suffused the music with an element of horror. Front man Steve Matthews, in white contacts that emphasized the deep, dark circles surrounding his ghastly eyes and sporting a variety of shocking masks, cavorted on stage with a variety of props and an amazing facility for levitating himself to upstage heights.

Besides terrifying the delighted crowd with such pogo-punk pieces as “The Brides,” “Spiders and Flies” and “The Uninvited,” this guitar-driven sextet showed themselves capable of changing the pace and performing a pleasant, but dark-themed ballad or two.

Queen bee of the social scene, M Banshie, greeted guests as they arrived. At the merch stand was Rusted Autumn hawking one-of-a-kind jewelry and, of course, Argyle Goolsby’s latest CD, shirts, posters and the like. Host and impresario Sean Templar was present in force, spreading hospitality and warm welcome to old friends and newcomers alike. Ana Vice, famous for her role bringing the notorious Memento Mori night to the city for the past year and a half, was first up at the deejay board, providing a mix of irresistible death rock, goth rock and esoteric post-punk that kept the dance floor active. Sean and Jarek later took turns at the turntable.

Eye-candy was provided by a crowd of extravagantly gorgeous creatures of the night as documented in the nearby photos, and included such models of festive gloomy style as DJ Alex (Bela Lugosi) Zamora, Valefar Malefic and Luna Pallida. Special guest Myke Hideous, famous for his ’90s goth-metal project The Empire Hideous, was present accompanied by his beautiful fiancée, Kyly, and both enjoyed renewing acquaintances whom they rarely get to see, having relocated outside the metropolitan area.

Mummies
The Museum Of Natural History

The most fascinating exhibition at New York’s Museum of Natural History is on mummies. Although mummification has been practiced in many and diverse parts of the world, and although mummification sometimes takes place naturally because of climate conditions, the focus here is on the highly developed methods of mummification involved in burial rites by two distinct civilizations: the Egyptian and the Peruvian.

It goes without saying that man has struggled mightily and pretty much in vain in his effort to deny the finality of death. In the case of these two cultures, whole technologies developed to create the illusion that the human form could be pretty much preserved and supplied with provisions after death. The Egypt and Peruvian practices of mummification were somewhat different, but both date back many thousands of years. Peruvian mummies dating back 7,000 years have been discovered, and the Egyptian practice began over 5,000 years ago.

Using today’s technology, particularly CAT scanning, scientists have been able to uncover much of the condition of the deceased, without disturbing the fragile and delicate condition of the bodies within adhesive, resin-caked linen wrappings. In many cases, the state of health, diet, lifestyle and family social structure has been pieced together by visually stripping away layer by layer with CAT scans, from the artistically painted wooden coffins, down through the layers of wrapping, then the skin, the bones and the remaining internal organs.

We learned that the brain and visceral organs were removed as part of the mummification process; the latter being preserved in sculpted ceramic jars. The brain was discarded as insignificant in the afterlife. Arthritis, tuberculosis, childbirth and childhood mortality were common. Bone and dental health were often poor. The teeth of Egyptians appeared to have been worn away by the sandy grit left over from grindstones that were used to mill flour into their bread.

Despite these sobering observations, what most stands out is their knowledge of anatomy, their refined dissection and chemical preservation methods, their masterful artistry in the handling and decoration of the bodies and coffins as well as the magnificent stone sarcophaguses in which the coffins were encased.

The Chinchorro of Peru and Chile started mummification thousands of years before the Egyptians. They painted their mummies and encased the head in clay, fashioning clay masks representing the dead person in an acceptable appearance. Few of these fragile masks are intact, but reproductions are on display at the museum. Some people kept mummies of deceased family members in their homes and brought them to festivals.

The Cult Of Victorian Mourning

Green-Wood Cemetery
Brooklyn, NY
June 10, 2017

The much acclaimed and sorely missed, now-defunct Morbid Anatomy Museum, lives on in spirit if not in its real life, brick-and-mortar existence. Leading figures from the former museum, including curator-author Joanna Ebenstein, antiquarian scholar and museum co-founder Evan Michelson, art historian and former museum librarian Laetitia Barbier and lecturer-teachers Stanley Burns M.D. and Karen Bachmann joined with others of like interests to present a program on the topic of rituals surrounding mourning in the Victorian era under the auspices of Green-Wood Cemetery’s events program. The program echoed the very first exhibition, “The Art of Mourning,” held in 2014 at the opening of at the Morbid Anatomy Museum.

Dating back to 1838 and designated a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood is a treasure trove of magnificent monuments, mausoleums, markers and graves of the famous in a rural setting of surpassing beauty of landscape and architecture. It welcomes visitors and offers self-guided walking tours.

The symposium was held in the Chapel, a magnificent example of flamboyant Gothic style. Opening remarks were by art historian and author Laetitia Barbier, Harry Weil, Manager of Programs at Green-Wood and creative director of the museum, Joanna Ebenstein who welcomed the sold-out audience and set the tone for what was to follow. Evan Michelson and Karen Bachman, Professor in Jewelry Design at Fashion Institute, exhibited and spoke on the peculiar practice of weaving commemorative jewelry from samples of hair of the deceased.

Jessica Glassock of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art presented the historic and highly specific attire worn during a widow’s period of mourning in the era from 1815-1915 in a slide show.

There was a casual interview with author and archivist Stanley Burns M.D., who talked about his lifetime of collecting historic photographs, including post-mortem photos and other topics from his 46 books and 1,100 articles written on related medical, military and cultural topics.

The most moving part was the aloud reading of letters of condolence from the Victorian era, and included poignant and eloquent examples from Abe Lincoln, Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens and others.

Readers with interests in gothic and morbid preoccupations are advised to visit Green-Wood Cemetery and to follow the Morbid Anatomy blogspot for future events.

Steampunk World’s Fair 2017

Jeff Mach has been hosting the SPWF since 2010, but the concept of Steampunk, that mix of space-age science and steam-age technology,goes way back to April 1987, when writer K.W. Jeter came up with the name to describe the category of that Victorian fantasy literature. Held annually the SPWF has grown so large that it now takes over two hotels, The Embassy Suites and the Radisson in Piscataway NJ – as well as the large courtyard between the two hotels, where a performance stage and vendors of antiques, crafted items and curiosities line a fairway where bizarrely costumed attendees can promenade.

QXT’s – Human Music Warm Up Party
Strict Machine

The Red Party

The Red Party held its 10th anniversary celebration on April 8, 2017 at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge, its current home hosted by Mother Goth, M Banshee Templar. Starting out as a dedicated Goth club at 200 Orchard St in NYC’s Lower East Side, bucking the then-trend of synth-pop and EBM, the Red Party made its way to Le Poisson Rouge for a while, then took up residence at Mercury. In the meanwhile, Communion, the Limelight, the Bank, the Batcave, Absolution, CBGB’s and CB’s Gallery left the scene.

The original Red Party deejays, Sean Templar, Jarek Zelazny were joined by Peter Holikaris Holik from SWitzerland for the anniversary event. The setlist consisted of a strictly curated mix of Goth, Post-punk and Deathrock in keeping with the histoprical theme. A live performance by The Long Losts , represented by the couple, Anka and Patrick created the highpoint of the celebration, bringing their year-round Halloween style to the party. Look for them at the upcoming Steampunk World’s Fair.

The Strange Exchange at Wellmont in Montclair

Strange Exchange April 15

The Aquarian and Weird NJ held their several-times-a-year odd-ball flea market at the Wellmont in Montclair on April 15, as they have been doing for a couple of years now, featuring vendors of offbeat crafts and collectibles, music and clowns . Stationed outside are a variety of food trucks and an entourage of eccentrically clad patrons, promoters and curiosity-seekers.

Grainy footage and trailers from classic horror movies and cult films shown on the stage big screen overlooking the market as one wends one’s way through the various levels and aisles where books, custom-printed pillows, scented soaps, homemade sweets, second-hand garments, hand-made accessories and punk-art pieces are sold. Alcoholic and soft beverages were dispensed by bartender Ike. A towering Easter bunny and a jovial, horn-honking, costumed gorilla mingled and posed for photos with guests.

Museums

Ripley’s Odditorium Times Square
Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Robert Ripley started this venerable franchise, which highlights the bizarre and incredible, as a syndicated newspaper feature back in 1918. As a kid, I remember cherishing the appearance of the weekly cartoon panel in whatever papers carried it. That childish fascination with grotesque humanity has informed the aesthetic sensibilities of many within the gothic, punk and industrial communities. It was an important cornerstone in the all-too-brief existence of the now-defunct Morbid Anatomy Museum, whose exhibitions were featured frequently in the reports of this column.

Ignoring the risks that I would be poisoning the minds of our two 4 and 6 year-old little girls, we took them on an outing to the commercialized but still fascinating “odditorium” on Times Square where there were some surprises along with the usual displays related giants, midgets and tattooed individuals.
I was pleased that Ripley’s thought enough of old-school punk couture to clothe a couple of manikins with the outfits and tattoos our tiny tots might aspire to wear when they grew to adolescence.
Other “teaching moments” occurred when taking the kiddies to tour the medieval torture chamber, the electric chair, Ripley’s collection of shrunken heads and Napoleon’s semi-authentic death mask. They also benefitted from a display case featuring the contents of the recommended kit for hunting and killing vampires.

Asbury Park Music and Film Festival

April 20 – 23
Various venues
Asbury Park, NJ
We decided to break out of the gothic-punk-industrial dungeon we normally occupy in order to examine one of the cornerstones of mainstream rock music where it resides and is on full display at the annual music and film festival in Asbury Park NJ. Starting on Thursday night of what unfolded as a four-day weekend oh live performances and film presentations covering everything for which the music scene at the Jersey Shore is famous, adolescent prodigies to Asbury’s own classic rock’n’rollers to a late-blossoming octogenarian blues man.

Along the way, and with the aid of some carefully produced and directed documentaries, we were able to piece together a portrait of the unique culture and roots of what makes this town of 16,000 such a legendary location and the breeding ground for its own brand of world-renowned music and culture.
With more than 10 venues and numerous acts and countless peronalities, it would be impossible to report on more than a small fraction of what went on at the APMFF.
The first event we attended was at the Langosta Lounge where the movie “Late Blossom Blues” traced the recent discovery of a then-81 year-old (now 84) blues man, Leo “Bud” Welch, one of the few living masters of down home, delta blues. Welch is unique in having not been discovered until he was in his 80s. After the screening, Welch moved to Langosta’s performance space and put on a live show that would be near impossible to experience anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line.

The next day, Friday, the documentary “Just Before Dawn” was shown at the cavernous Paramount Theater, situated at the northern end of the boardwalk. Employing creative cinematography and archival footage, it told the story of the Upstairs Club where musicians reconvened, afterhours, to jam and hone their skills after they had finished performing at the many music venues that prevailed in the golden age of Asbury. It was at the Upstairs that famous talents such as Springsteen developed their style and skills.

Later we stood cheek-by-jowl with a tightly packed audience at the Stone Pony to see famous pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and the Family Band perform some vigorous R & B. Over at the Wonder Bar, a 5-piece brass band, Lucky Chops performed unbelievably energetic jazz in a manner suggestive of a high school marching band gone wonderfully berserk.

On Saturday we sat for a series of film shorts at the Cookman Avenue gallery, Art 629. Entries included an affectionate documentary on the popular cover band, The Nerds, then an eco-minded appeal in “The Pines,” and a positively delightful animation, “Where Do the Seasons Get Their Names” which wound up being named winner of best short film at the festival. One disappointment was the film “Boujeloud; Father of Skins,” which should have told the tale of an Sufi community in Morocco who still honor – musically – the ancient Mediterranean god Pan, but turned into tedious, boring footage of male dancers and musicians playing traditional instruments against a backdrop of women preparing meals by hand.

The film “Local Legends” picks up the story of Asbury’s renaissance after the 1970 riots left it in shambles. Dilapidated and boarded up buildings are seen to prevail for the decades of the 80s and the 90s, yet the majestic and monumental, but equally abandoned Conventional Hall, the towering Old Heating Plant and the massive Carousel always hinted at a return to grandeur. In fact, the decrepit environment and cheap real estate fostered an influx of artists, the LGBT and – inevitably – musicians. Veterans, hot-rodders, bikers and photographers collaborated with furniture and antique dealers, investors, clergy, police, and other community leaders. All were connected by music and the town’s musical heritage rendering support to ownership and rehabilitation of music venues, clubs, bars and restaurants.

The Asbury Park signature musical sound, cultivated by all night, unpaid jam sessions at the Upstairs, emerged as a hybrid of classic rock, blues and metal that developed from playing covers of top 70s radio hits. This was brought to life at the APMFF when Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul took the stage at the Paramount, featuring a stadium-sized sound made up of Van Zandt’s vocals accompanied by guitars, bass, drums, native percussion, piano, synthesizer, a 5-piece brass band and 3 soul sister back-up singers. Bruce Springsteen himself, the sainted idol of this community, with whom Van Zandt had long ago collaborated, made an unscheduled appearance and by joining in, endorsed and sanctified the band, the Asbury sound and the festival.
Meanwhile, at the Stone Pony, Me First & the Gimme Gimmes performed spoofy, over-the-top covers of saccharine favorites to a packed house, while at the Wonder Bar, Waynard Scheller’s band reprised the jam style and music of the Grateful Dead.

Sunday morning gave us an opportunity to check out Danny Clinch’s large format celebrity photographs at Transparent, his studio which also houses Tina Kerekes’ vintage furniture gallery attached to the hotel.
The afternoon highlight was the incredibly polished performance by a highly accomplished band of pubescent hard rockers, The Junior Pros, shredding and drumming out covers of familiar hits by Heart and Guns’n Roses at the Wonder Bar. This crew of highly trained and talented kids were among the entries from the Lakehouse Music Fest, a showcase of a dedicated music school that could have served as a model for the film “School of Rock.”
Back on Cookman Avenue, at the House of Independents another such group of gifted youngsters calling themselves Morricone Youth performed a live, original soundtrack to accompany an unfortunately glitchy screening of one of the Mad Max movies.

On Sunday, the final day at the APMFF, we returned to the Paramount where singer-songwriter, vocalist and harpist Mikaela Davis and her group warmed the sellout crowd with melancholy folk and psychedelic rock chamber music prior to the performance of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This venerable New Orleans-based touring group of virtuoso musicians is dedicated to preserving the heritage of original New Orleans jazz. So joyous, so earnest, so captivating was the band that about half the audience rose up and crowded the foot of the stage in overjoyed adulation and rhythmic swaying right through to the end of the show.

Final thoughts: A celebration of the history, culture and heritage of Asbury Park and the integration of film into the festival is the right thing to do if this community is to be restored as the gem of the Jersey shore, especially in light of the decline of Atlantic City. And while the emphasis has to continue to be on the unique place that Asbury and its progeny have in the cultural life of New Jersey, there must be – in future festivals – a further broadening into the musical styles and genres that have emerged from the rest of the world, lest the APMFF become fossilized into stale nostalgia. This is imperative because comparisons are being made in reference to the famous South by Southwest festival. Happily, the attention APMFF gives to young performers and their new interpretations foretells a potentially spectacular future for the festival and the city itself.

Brighton Asylum

On Saturday night, March 11th, I joined Mr. Haunt and his team, “The Haunt Hunters,” to visit the tri-state area’s only year-round Haunted Attraction, “Brighton Asylum,” on the border of Clifton and Passaic, NJ. Besides being open for most of September and October, this particular haunt opens its doors approximately one weekend a month to showcase different themes, including “Santa’s Slay,” “Dark Valentine,” and this Saturday’s “Night of the Creeps,” which paid homage to some of our favorite modern horror movies.

The entire indoor, walk-through lasted about a half-hour on this frigid winter night. We saw characters working the line, referencing “The Purge” and once inside we met up with a very talkative Sheriff Hoyt from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The next hallway was lined with broken mirrors featuring “Candyman” scrawled in blood. Soon after, we were chased by a convincing Jack Torrance from “The Shining.” Further down we met Mother from “Psycho,” Jason Voorhees, and eventually Leatherface himself.
Deeper still was a creepy room with a television set and Samara from “The Ring.” One of the better elements was Freddy Krueger realistically forming out of a wall in a cloud of steam. And more clowns and zombies than you count! The crowd was enthusiastic and a great time was had by all! Brighton Asylum is located at 2 Brighton Ave, Passaic, NJ, on the Clifton border.

Darkside of the Con

March 17, 18 & 19
Impresario Jeff Mach, in cooperation with Vampire Freaks, the online Goth-culture community and clothing store, took over the Radisson Hotel in Piscataway NJ for the three-day St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The majority of attendees including a vast array of vendors took overnight rooms on Friday and Saturday to enjoy late night parties and imbibing events. Single-day visitors however were present in force, especially Saturday.

Musical events galore were ongoing, and included such stars of the scene as Aurelio Voltaire, whose Anti-Folk style and stand-up monologue are notorious for spoofing the Goth scene; recognized veterans of the NYC music community, Night Gallery; and NJ-based industrial rockers Xentrifuge; plus many more acts. DJs manned the turntables at various venues within the hotel grounds, such as The Villains Ball, and kept things lively until 4 a.m. for the willing and able.
Lecture halls featured slide shows touching on various topics such as the history, literature and psychology relevant to the dark-interests community.
There were dedicated vendor areas where large inventories of steampunk and vampire-style clothes and accessories were on sale, as well as individual hotel rooms for smaller scale vendors hawking jewelry, accessories, crafted items, fetish accoutrements and artwork.
Attendees chose to appear in thematic attire, ranging from basic black to outlandish costumes. A giant “Green Man” on stilts and faux leafy attire roamed the halls, affectionately embracing passersby. Friendly monsters, sexy vamps, top-hatted gents, and winged creatures abounded. It wasn’t just the eye-candy, but the sense of camaraderie that drew the most appreciation, such that next year’s 2018 Darkside of the Con is already in the works and reservations at the Radisson are going fast.

The Red Party

Sisters of Mercy Theme Night
With live performance by The Bootblacks
Saturday March 18 saw another monthly iteration of the well-attended Red Party hosted by M Banshie and DJ Sean Templar, now consistently held at the Mercury Lounge which is technically on the leading edge of Manhattan’s Soho (SOuthside of HOuston) district.
The theme for the night was the Sisters of Mercy, paying homage to the seminal British rock band that, founded in 1980 and defunct since 1986, laid a cornerstone in the edifice called Gothic rock, with all that it implies musically and otherwise. Little known fact: Frontman for the Sisters, Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor) took as his stage name “Eldritch,” which the dictionary defines as an adjective meaning “eerie; weird; spooky.”
Besides regular deejays Sean and Jarek, the guest deejay was Glen Maryansky, who plays synthesizer and percussion as well as doing the digital programming for Tiers, a delightfully morose, minor-key ensemble that played the Red Party last July.
In keeping with the theme, we heard – and the crowd danced enthusiastically to – “Black Planet,” “Gimme Shelter”,” “Dominion,” “This Corrosion,” “Lucretia (My Reflection),” and “Marian,” plus many more. This was a particular pleasure, because nowadays – in their efforts to introduce new and rare tracks – deejays sometimes neglect the Sisters of Mercy as mere classics and “old hat.” Maryansky served the cause with the Sisters’ “Vision Thing,” “Detonation Boulevard” and the obscure “Long Train,” He also broadcast Australian alternative band Midnight Oil’s “The Dead Heart,” a 1986 single that later appeared on their album “Diesel and Dust.”

Notables in the crowd included DJ Joe Hart and scene patrician Jeffo Bang who were spotted in the audience, enjoying the spectacular and mind-jarring performance by frantic, frenetic, electro-industrial quartet Bootblacks, whose deliciously jittery and explosive music managed to somehow include mesmerizing and appetizing hooks as well as a soundtrack by which to have a nervous breakdown.
For combining artful, dance-friendly deejay sets with entertaining live acts, the Red Party seems to have mastered the game.

At the Drive In

Terminal 5
March 22, 2017
On this night I fulfilled a 20-plus year desire to see what is widely recognized as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, the “One Armed Scissor,” performed live by the extraordinary band, At the Drive In off the 2000 album, “Relationship of Command.” This punk-emo quintet formed in Texas back in 1993 and broke up in 2001, splitting into the progressive-rock Mars Volta and the more accessible emo band, Sparta. Both those bands have since gone by the wayside, but At the Drive In has reunited twice since then, once in 2009 and again in 2016. Last year’s reunion had them booked for Terminal 5, but was cancelled at the very last minute due to a sudden illness of lead vocalist Cedric Bixler, so this 2017 appearance at the same venue was doubly anticipated.
An eager crowd of alternative music fans stood in the brutally cold wind-tunnel that is 56th Street’s extreme West Side, to be funneled at an agonizingly slow pace into the cavernous venue where there are several levels of balconies overlooking a large floor space and numerous bars where chips and booze are sold to those wearing identifying wrist bands.
The opening band, Le Bucherettes, came on at 8 p.m., fronted by a demonic, guitar-armed female vocalist and free-form dancer/contortionist in high heels who performed a deranged stage ballet while accompanied by a hard and heavy bass player and relentless bass drum assault. She and the bass guitarist alternatively manned keyboards producing harsh electronic effects. As unpleasant as it sounds, it had a certain appeal, and certainly set the mood for the headliners.

At the Drive In exploded on stage shortly after 9 p.m. with “Arcarsenal,” off the 2000 album, “Relationship of Command.” Bixler’s screams and the wild chaos of the instruments started then and there, and continued unabated through their eleven song set constituting an orgy of delightful excess. At times, the volume diminished and the pace slowed down, allowing the audience to enjoy some luscious, melodious hooks and enigmatic lyrics. What makes At the Drive In so great and so special is the unique fusion of raw punk with masterful, crowded arrangements featuring long and virtuoso instrumental segments.
Bixler’s acrobatics on stage and ferocious lead vocals (the instrumentalists also sing accompaniment) have not been in any measure subdued over the 25 years that he has been at it. Whether screaming at the top of his lungs or high-speed rapping, he leads the band in what has to be the most energetic, pressurized execution of a rock music show that is physically possible. An unrestrained mosh pit developed, into which Bixler himself leaped and crowd-surfed briefly. This is ironic, because in 2001 he interrupted a show and left the stage when he couldn’t persuade the crowd to stop slam-dancing.
After the eleventh song, “Catacombs” they took a brief break, then returned with “Governed By Contagions,” off the soon to be released 2017 album “in-ter a-li-a.,” due out on May 5. Then, of course, to the delight and ultimate satisfaction of the audience, the show concluded with the final encore, the masterpiece, the magnum opus, “One Armed Scissor.” There were no calls for more, because this is nothing more that the world of rock music has to offer beyond this jewel, this classic, this masterstroke of musical perfection.

Up-and-Coming

Xenogoth

Impresario and promoter, Sir William Welles, famous for his widely used New Goth City website which provides multi-angle focus on the nationwide Goth scene, including an invaluable calendar of local and national events, has announced that on May 4 he will unveil a much-anticipated project termed “Xenogoth.” This promises “to propel Goth culture future-forward by inspiring fashion designers, artists, musicians, D.J.s, event promoters, and Goth individuals alike who crave something new, ultra-modern, and energizing to their precious scene.”
We have since learned that everything implied by the term Xenogoth will be introduced at the next Redrum Ball and will include elements of classic Goth music and fashion, combined with science fiction lore, cosplay and comic book aesthetics. The Redrum Ball is scheduled top take place on May 28 at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC’s Soho neighborhood.

April Tool’s Day

TOOL
Wappingers Falls NY

Is there any dispute that Tool is the greatest heavy band in the history of rock? With their uncanny knack for fusing thunderous rhythms to novel melodies, and layered complexity to Maynard James Keenan’s frank, challenging lyrics as well as disturbingly creative videos, they have truly brought this genre of music to another level, which no other band has attained. Perhaps they’re not for everyone, but I don’t know who is left out of their fandom. Anyhow, they have the endorsement of Alex and Allyson Grey – who are a sort of conduit to the Universal Mind – the New Age artists who own and operate the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM) – a non- denominational spiritual retreat, museum and vatican of the Cosmic Consciousness – on the Hudson River in upstate N.Y.

Every April 1st, the acolytes of CoSM join with devotees of the band Tool to stage a semi-religious and somewhat incongruous celebration of the band’s body of work in an environment of mystical and hallucinogenic art for which the Greys are world-famous. This year, for the first time since 2012, CoSM was privileged to host the supremely accomplished Tool tribute band Schism, whose mastery of the original band’s sound is nothing short of astonishing. So polished is N.Y.-based Schism’s proficient reproduction of the repertoire that they are endorsed and recommended on Tool’s website.
Alex Grey’s art, termed “visionary,” is influenced by experience with hallucinogens, and represents themes of universality and transcendence through the integration of concrete religious, anatomical and philosophical imagery into kaleidoscopic visual metaphors. To some extent it resembles Hindu and Buddhist art, but emphasizes the inter-connectedness of all religions, philosophies and sciences – Western as well as Eastern – for contributing to the Cosmic Mind. As such, there is a definite tie-in with themes specified in the lyrics of Tool’s songs, touching as they do upon metaphysics, cultural anthropology and the theories of psychologist Karl Jung.

A further and deeper connection between the visual artist and the musical group developed when Alex Grey was recruited to contribute album cover art and to collaborate on dream-like music videos. Thus, on the April 1st occasion, in the intimate environment of CoSM’s parlor, both Alex and his wife Allyson held a frank and insightful talk on their history, their inspiration and their involvement in producing artwork for Tool. Both Alex and Allyson showed themselves to be amazingly warm, generous and profound as well as utterly sincere in their interacting with inquisitive and adoring guests.
Sixty-five miles north of NYC, CoSM is a forty acre sanctuary where there is a main building that provides dormitory-like accommodations for overnight visitors and houses a vast collection of artworks; a retail shop where artifacts, clothing and accessories designed in their signature style are sold; a dining hall which doubles as a concert space; and the Mushroom Café where a charming staff of enlightened hipsters serve healthy but tasty sandwiches, soft drinks and deserts. Wristbands were applied to designate who had access to the dormitories upstairs and those who were attending the concert.
We wandered the halls and the grounds, taking in the wondrous art to be found everywhere then took a nature hike and visited totem poles, quiet spaces, shrines, and an intricately designed, domed gazebo in the woods, conducive to solitude, meditation and silence.
The climax of April Tool’s Day finally came at 9 p.m. when Schism took the stage in the great dining hall. Opening with “Intolerance,” Schism sent the room into a state of heightened awareness and perpetual motion as they embarked on three hour-long sets, covering essentially the entire body of work, with two short intermissions. Familiar as well as obscure videos shown in the background including the groundbreaking “Sober” video and other Adam Jones animations as well as those with Alex Grey images set to motion. A bonfire roared behind the building, casting an orange glow through the windows of the hall. The indoor audience was able to enjoy the spectacle from within the warm concert hall, and those outside were able enjoy the music as they danced by the fire.
Unparalleled stamina was called forth from Schism to pull off the 10-plus minute-long “Right in Two,” from the “10,000 Days” album and “Reflection,” from the “Lateralus” album. The title track off the latter album, “Lateralus,” itself around 10 minutes in length, served as the fully satisfying conclusion to the show, after which worshipful fans crowded the performers to extend congratulations and express gratitude for an exemplary performance. Schism mastermind and guitarist, Keith Williams, gifted bassist Sean Patrick Murray, incredible drummer Don Pusateri and rapturous vocalist Angelo Rivera received the adulation with appreciation and friendly good cheer.

February 2017 New Dark Age

Friday the 13th of January saw two noteworthy scene events in NYC. Christian Dryden’s recently reorganized band, the Ritualists performed a set of nine or ten original pieces plus a George Michael cover, “Father Figure,” at the Delancey under the Williamsburg Bridge. They opened with pop-sounding “Say Yes” off their EP, then moved into a piece with a Led Zeppelin-meets-Echo & the Bunnymen feel, and a third song which featured Dryden’s spectacular, soaring vocals over a tribal beat.

The set featured a variety of styles to please a variety of musical tastes including psychedelic, Brit-pop and Post-Punk with New Wave and pop hooks thrown in. They introduced a new piece to their repetoire, “She’s the Sun,” a 60s-sounding combination of psychedelic with New Wave , followed by the George Michael tribute, and ending with Dryden’s flagship anthem, “I’m With the Painted people,” a geographically well-situated ode to the Lower East Side’s glam and punk scene.

BodyLab

DJ Eisdriver and DJ Arsenal held the second edition of BodyLab, an industrial/EBM purist’s dance night in the dim backroom of the Parkside Lounge on East Houston where black-clad and boot-shod enthusiasts punished the dancefloor to the sounds of Skinny Puppy, Front 242 and Ministry as well as less-identifiable harsh electronics . Fascinating, yet disturbing music videos from the Cleopatra Records collection flicked silently of a large screen as backdrop visuals to the heavy-duty soundtrack curated by these two rivet-head deejays and late-arriving guest DJ Wendy Blackwidow, late of Philadelphia’s famous Assimilate night. Free giveaways included packaged CDs of techno-electronic music.

Inclement weather and hazardous driving conditions prevented us from attending birthday parties at QXTs for Damien Plague and Krys P. With apologies, New Dark Age extends very belated Happy Birthday greetings to both.

Stimulate

The recurring alternative music party hosted by impresario Xris Smack was held on the eve of MLK Day, Sunday night, Jan. 15 jointly with a NYC-based alternative-lifestyle organization calling itself Fetish Tribe at Manhattan’s Lower East Side club, The Delancey. A Who’s Who of famous deejays from the metropolitan area including Sean Templar, Paradox, Eric Aengel, Michael T, and QXT’s birthday boy Damien Plague enlivened all three floors of this venerable nightclub, where dance spaces were available in the basement and main bar area on the ground floor levels.
For an extra $10, one had access to the third floor indoor garden where Fetish Tribe put on X-rated displays of “suspension” and more on gorgeous and lingerie-clad volunteers, the details of which I will leave to your imagination.
Denizens of NYC’s dark demimonde came in all kinds of transgressive attire and costumes, from old-school punk to bizarre outfits befitting the theme denoted in the event’s subtitle, “Wicked Winter Wasteland.” Notables of the scene, including William Welles, Ashley Bad (in a crème-colored latex body-suit), Athan Maroulis (Spahn Ranch and Noir) and Kai Irina Hahn (The Sedona Effect and Noir) were on hand.
Acclaimed tribute band Disorder packed the basement performance space at around 1 a.m. for a flawless set of Joy Division’s history-making, Post-Punk repertoire. Enthusiasm shown by the mixed audience of goths, punks and plain music-lovers has to be termed “over-the-top,” as lead singer Mike Strollo succeeded in capturing the earnest and anguished vocal style of the tragic Ian Curtis with masterful instrumental accompaniment.

Memento Mori

This last Thursday night of the month event continues to flourish under the auspices of deejays Ana Vice, Valefar Malefic, Mike Stalagmike (Defcon) and Bela Lugosi Alex. The creepily gorgeous décor of Bedlam, the bar at which it is held provides a unique and just right environment decorated with antique anatomical models and medical charts and a massive, mounted moose head. Artificial cobwebs are strewn about and hung from the numerous lamp-shaded wall sconces that provide conducive, dim lighting to the venue. Countless and various colored tea-lights everywhere – on the bar, on tables, lined up along baseboards – add a sense of dark glamour. Tatters of shrouds dangle from the ceiling in the he small, but sufficient, strobe-lit dance floor.
The musical selections vary with each of the deejays and can range from such obscurities as Cold Cave to such standards as Sisters of Mercy. Whether it’s Death in June or Ex-VoTo, attendees at Memento Mori are sure to have their taste in dark music not only broadened, but darkened!
This night we found Ana Vice, one of the original founders, opening the night from her statioin at the deejay booth. Charming and gorgeously attired/groomed Bela Lugosi Alex acted as a sort of host, entertaining guests with friendly conversation while both snapping and posing for photos alongside his better half, meta-beautiful Catgirl Morales. The Catgirl was just back from having been to North Dakota where she had visited to support the indigenous people movement, a cause with which she strongly identifies. To everyone’s delight, Catgirl had brought along her bewitching cousin, Sacramento Samantha, fresh from the West Coast, wide-eyed and enthusiastically touring New York and the East for the first time. Fabulously attired, statuesque Valefar Malefic floated about – preened as always like an androgynous vampire, the very epitome of Goth.
Besides bar seating, Bedlam also provides comfortable, upholstered booths where attendees can give their dance feet a rest and engage in intimate conversation. One on such booth we found DJ Mike Stalagmike entertaining some attentive members of the opposite sex early in the evening. Goth celebrity Aurelio Voltaire was observed huddling and snapping selfies with friends in another booth somewhat later in the evening.

Ward 6

Father Jeff Ward and DJ Patrick Cusack hosted the latest edition of this, the longest running Goth dance night in NYC on the last Saturday of January. Doors opened at 11 p.m. and attendees got the warm welcome by M Banshie. Entry to what has become one of the all-time favorite venues for such events, Windfall, was $10 at the door, or $8 with flyer. The night takes its name from the Chekhov short story about an insane asylum, with a play on the main host’s surname.
By all accounts this was the most heavily attended event in this category at Windfall, drawing such scene luminaries as deejays Arsenal and Ash, William Welles, “Bent Nail Studio” artist CharleSilas Garlette and his significant other, Sirma as well as scene regular “Tragic Doll” Shirley Alvarez accompanied by a beautiful entourage of female family members.
Jackie Rivera had a stand set up where she hawked her crafted, morbid jewelry and accessories under the label “Jackie Hates You.” Pencil artist Bill sat in his usual station making candid sketches of those in attendance who danced before him or stood still long enough to be captured on drawing paper. Mixologists Gerard and Julia kept imbibers satisfied despite the seemingly overwhelming demand. The dance floor was crowded like never seen before owing to the draw of the extraordinarily appealing mix issued forth from the booth. Windfall manager Chris Savo took a moment out from his house duties to pose with Father Jeff for a photo.

New Recording
Peter Murphy
Bare Boned and Sacred

Metropolis Records

This latest Peter Murphy release is a compilation of the somewhat variable setlist presented during the recent “Stripped” tour, complete with audience reactions. The feeling of “live” is amplified and rendered unique by the fact that the “Stripped” tour was predominantly in the acoustic mode. Thus the versions heard on this CD come across as loud, clear and up front, similar to the way it was experienced by front-seat attendees at the concert performances themselves.

The first track is the acclaimed “Cascade,” the consistent opening track during this long “Stripped” tour, which begins with an electronic instrumental riff reminiscent of the dots and dashes of Morse code, onto which Murphy speaks in low mystical tones about “twilight.” Then it takes off into off into an irresistible, rhythmic set of arpeggios and a powerful, melodious song.

The second track, “Secret” was less frequently presented during the tour, heard also on “The Secret Bees of Ninth,” a 6 song EP, and is played with Murphy’s self-accompaniment, strumming on an acoustic guitar plus thje backing of a solo piano. “All Night Long” is performed in a style that all fans will find delightfully familiar, but “Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem” gets a novel and innovative treatment as far as the accompaniment, while the vocals are faithful to the original.

Just as he did on the tour, Murphy pays emotion-laden tribute to David Bowie with “Bewlay Brothers” on the next track. Then the acoustic guitar proves especially apt as accompaniment to “A Strange Kind of Love,” because of the measured pauses between widely spaced lyrical lines.

“The Rose” off the “Lion” album gets a fuller instrumental backing on the following track in keeping with Murphy’s fuller, soaring vocals. The high point for Bauhaus fans on this album, as during the live shows, is the “Bauhaus Medley” of minor key masterpieces that begins with “King Volcano,” runs through “Kingdom’s Coming” and ends up with “Silent Hedges.”

“Never Fall Out” was frequently performed during the tour, but we who attended the late night performance in NYC didn’t get to hear it, so the CD provides an opportunity to enjoy this piece off “Ninth” in stripped-down style with mere guitar strumming accompaniment and some subtle male vocal back-ups.

“Gaslit” off of “Ninth” was performed at virtually every stop on the “Stripped” tour and serves well as the setlist draws toward a beautiful climax, just before “Lion” – also missing from both NY City Winery sets – leads to the final entry on this album that was not part of in the “Stripped” tour setlist,, the languid, mystical, Near Eastern hymn, “Your Face” from the 2002 album, “Dust.”

This album is a must for Peter Murphy/Bauhaus fans. Although many of the titles will already be in their collections, they will hear them sung with his voice now thoroughly mature as never before in – as we say – “close up and personal” versions Close listening will reproduce the experience of witnessing it in intimate proximity to the artist, with just enough instrumentals to highlight his rich vocal style.

Museums

The Whitney Museum of American Art

The first week of February was the last chance to see the mind-bending and dazzling video/light-show exhibit called Dreamlands at the Whitney in NYC’s Meat Packing district. Large format screens showed everything from actual 1950s Pacific nuclear bomb tests to slo-mo images of glittering, costumed characters, to human puppets and psychedelic patterns. Here there were imaginative flashing neon signs and there, rooms full of competing screens with films, slides and colorful images to hypnotize viewers. A sampling of images are shown in the Aquarian edition.

The Metropolitan Museum

Max Beckmann

This venerable mother ship of art had two exhibits of interest to the Goth crowd. Upstairs was a retrospective on Max Beckmann, 20th century artist from Leipzig, whose success in his Weimar Germany was short-circuited by the rise of Nazism, forcing him to emigrate to Amsterdam and then later, New York, where he continued his career as an acclaimed Expressionist painter, a label he thoroughly rejected.

When he wasn’t painting introspective self-portraits, he often produced grotesque, sometimes distorted images of his wife Quappi and some seductive women as well as puzzling tableaux of people engaged in casual violence.

Masterworks – Unpacking Fashion

Downstairs in the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the Met put on a display of sixty, chronologically arrayed fashion masterworks, from the 18th Century through the present, with an emphasis of design and materials. What we found fascinating from our particular point of view, was the presence of numerous works with a transgressive, in-you-face attitude. I’d like to see some of these outfits, shown nearby, at the next Goth gala, Endless Night or Dracula’s Ball. Some of the frankly absurd shoe designs reminded me of footwear that might have been featured in fetish mags.

Ghost

Swedish Shock-rockers Ghost performed a 15 song set at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn on Saturday night Nov 12, which served as unofficial “pre-party” to The Red Party in Manhattan, inasmuch as a large contingent on NYC Goths were in attendance at the former concert before heading over to the latter dance club (More about this below).

This horror metal group is characterized by two features. First, they affect a Satanic routine, dressed in devil masks or monks’ hooded robes, except the frontman who is attired as a kind of anti-Pope, wearing a bishop’s headdress and vestments, topped with skull-face make-up. The band members maintain personal anonymity, but the frontman calls himself Papa Emeritus III, and the tour, of which this was the final stop, is termed “Popestar.” The other outstanding feature of this band is the exceptionally melodious quality of the music, a break with the metal tradition of minimizing melody among the progeny of Black Sabbath.

They started their set with some mournful chants creating a creepy, church-like atmosphere. They moved then to a rapidly-paced traditional rock piece called “Square Hammer” featuring a driving beat. The group has been around since 2008, but tonight’s selections were mainly off their 2015 album “Meliora.” Many of their songs have Latin names in dubious imitation of Roman Catholic liturgy. Much of their set is as melodious and beautiful as something by Boston or Foreigner in the 70s, but with decidedly minor key, power chord accents. They stepped out of the rock formula many times with eerie, ghostly pieces, or during bridges within heavy metal hymns. At the end of highly varied, wide-ranging musical set, they encored an “audience join in” choral anthem called “Monstrrance Clocks.” Those with transportation and freedom to do so, headed over to The Mercury lounge in Manhattan’s Lower East Side for the monthly Red Party.

The Red Party

The monthly event was lifted to new heights on Saturday Nov. 12 by the appearance of The Sedona Effect, electro-industrial project of exotic diva Kai Irina Hahn. Deejays Sean Templar, host, and Joe Hart, guest, warmed the audience from 11 pm to midnight with a connoisseurs’s mix of goth and darkwave, which included, besides the usual Sisters of Mercy standards, but a respectful inclusion of several tracks by Leonard Cohen, closing the night with his “Chelsea Hotel #2.”

Even watching Kai arrange the stage for her quintet was riveting as the statuesque diva flitted from one musician’s station to another in her feathered headdress and gorgeous outfit like a force of nature or a regal presence establishing her realm. The set began with a “Evolve Devolve” a slow, ponderous ode, heavy on percussion and bass. It was then we noticed that Kai was performing while entwined by her faithful and sometime restless, live boa, Loki who twisted frequently to gaze lovingly at his mistress.The pace changed to rapid with the second number, rousing anthem, “Cross the Line,” off her introductory CD.

“Delicate Silence” followed, featuring hissing, whispered vocals paired with those of keyboardist Nicole Eres. In the middle of her set, Kai gave us the theatrical “Gloomy Sunday,” in which inverted arpeggios on synthesizer and a plodding,, relentless cadence created a feeling of madness and anguish. With the 6th selection, “Ghost,” Kai took to the keyboard herself and showcased her wide-ranging and melodious vocal command, as she paired in duet, this time with guitarist Phyzal Alhammdani.

Twice during the performance, Kai graciously called attention to her accompanists, introducing each by name. Eventually she passes off the boa, Loki whose weight must surely have been somewhat of a strain, even for Kai’s distinctly stacked, feminine physique.

The last two songs, “I Burn” and “I Lose Control” were both heavy-duty, industrial rock numbers as well as recognized standards in The Sedona Effect repertoire, concluding a notably theatrical and musically impressive set that had some in the crowd calling for more.

The party went on well into the morning and was crowded with celebrants and with celebrities of the Goth Scene including fangmaster Fr. Sebastiaan; DJ Raven; Xris Smack of Stimulate and dazzling beauty Ashley Bad; DJ Patrick of Salvation; Chris Savo, friendly host and manager of Windfall; and noted music patrician, George Grant. The bar was congested, but never too crowded to get service. Those in the back were able to place orders that were relayed to the bar without having to leave the dance hall. The Mercury Lounge once again proved to be an ideal spot for gatherings of this type. Announcements were handed out promoting a New Year’s after-party at the Mercury lounge courtesy of The Red Party, scheduled to commence at 1 am on January 1st,, where party-goers could spend the morning after having celebrated The Eve elsewhere. See you there!

Disorder
A Tribute to the Sounds of Joy Division

Joy Division tribute band Disorder continues to be highly in demand in this the greater NYC metropolitan area. Dingbatz is famous for its exceptional sound system and for hosting well-known as well as up-and-coming bands ranging from punk to metal to Goth.

A crowd of about 30 filled the small SRO space and included some of the most fanatical and enthusiastic Joy Division buffs I have ever noted at these events. Two young ladies, known only as Gabby and Eva appeared to know the lyrics of every song and to respond with squeals of joy and recognition as the band struck up the first notes of each piece. Notables in the audience included multi-instrumentalist Christian Dryden, front man of The Ritualists and participant in numerous other music projects; Deejay Lily-Stephanie Horreur; and ubiquitous scene veteran, Torrin Krrell.

NJ-based Disorder reprised their renditions of some of Joy Division’s most beloved repertoire, coming on about 11:30 pm, after the Dingbatz staff attended to every last detail of audio perfection. Disorder’s set list that night, like much else about Joy Division, really merits close scrutiny.

The show opened with snippets of crackly, historical radio commentary and early recognition of Joy Division as an exceptional and potentially scene-changing band. Twelve songs followed, starting with the eponymous “Disorder,” the first track off of the debut album, “Unknown Pleasures.” Next came “Digital.” originally recorded on a 7” LP called “A Factory Sample,” and later included in the compilation “Still.”

The next song “Warsaw” is a mystery to most listeners. It was intended for an album of the same name, which never got released until 1994, although it appeared on the compilation, “Substance,” and tells the peculiar story of Hitler confidante, Rudolf Hess, who defected to the U.K but was taken as a prisoner of war by the British. The numbers one hears recited refer to Hess’ assigned P.O.W. number.

“Atmosphere,” was originally a single released in 1980 with “Dead Souls,” (the song that followed in the set) as the flip side, then later included in the “Substance” compilation. Next up, “Twenty-Four Hours” and “Means to an End” both came off the second album, “Closer.” “Dead Souls” is perhaps Joy Division’s most mesmerizing song. It is an outstandingly eerie and haunting piece with nightmarish lyrics and a polyrhythmic tribal beat that has captivated generations. It was covered just as dutifully by Nine Inch Nails for the soundtrack to “The Crow.”

“She’s Lost Control” comes from “Unknown Pleasures,” and seems connected with a scene in the movie “Control,” in which Ian Curtis witnesses a seizure by a client while he was interviewing her in his capacity as an employment clerk. Curtis, himself – it is well known – was subject to seizures.

“Shadowplay” off the debut album followed and then Joy Division’s more recognizable hit, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” a hit single from 1979, which is considered significant of Ian Curtis’ deteriorating marital situation that may have led to his suicide in 1980. It made its way onto the “Substance” compilation.

When the crowd demanded an encore, Disorder complied with the tragic “Ceremony,” a song Joy Division only recorded live, but never as a studio track. It was subsequently recorded by the surviving members as the sequel band, New Order.

Contemplating Ian Curtis’ esoteric poetry and listening to the scrupulously faithful covers by Disorder, one has the revelation that Joy Division was much more than just another post-punk band, but a significant entry into the post-modern movement that continues to permeate our culture today. Which explains why this group of musicians draws such intense inspiration and sense of commitment to their tribute project. It also explains their phenomenal popularity within the greater metropolitan music scene.

The Black Lodge at Arkham

Arkham is a Brooklyn Gothic Party that takes place in the dark bowels of Brooklyn on the last Saturday of every month since 2012 at Don Pedro on Manhattan Avenue since 2012. The theme on Nov 26 was “The Black Lodge a Tribute to David Lynch.”
Besides the customary darkwave/deathrock served up by hosts and resident deejays Cyclonus and Jose Frances there were live performances by openers Canter, a moody trio from Chicago and headliner, Metropolis Records artists, Noir performing their first area show in over a year.

This was the fourth David Lynch tribute edition of Arkham, and everything from his Mulholland Drive to episodes of Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet was shown on a giant flat screen over the bar or on the projector screen in the dance hall. DJ sets following the live performances included the Smiths, Wumpscut, Ministry and Lords of Acid as well as many more standards as well as rarities.

Ward 6

Nov 26 2016
Famous deejay and impresario Jeff Ward hosted guest deejays Negrarose, Jaycee (Shadow Nightz) Cannon and D.J. Arsenal for the late November installation of recurring Ward 6, an event of “dark dance, Industrial, New Wave, Synth and Goth” music at midtown’s Windfall. Ward 6 takes its name, not only from the host Jeff Ward, but from a short story about a lunatic asylum in Russia by Chekhov. The atmosphere at the event, while not quite lunatic, runs to the extreme of enthusiasm, owing to the over-the-top feeling of closeness among long-time, faithful attendees and the gala atmosphere produced by the dark and rhythmic musical dance selections. Careful attention to hospitality issues by Windfall manager Chris Savo, plays no small part in making Ward 6 a must-attend event.

Necropolis

The Fr. Jeff Ward’s three resident deejays, Patrick, Sean and Angel were in rare form, Dec 3, putting dancers through non-stop sets of New Wave, dark wave, Goth and industrial that kept the floor crowded and animated the entire night. Annabel Fagan maintained a stand selling delectable cupcakes until they were sold out, just behind gate-keeper M Banshee’s post. Windfall manager Chris Savo floated both behind and in front of the bar to assure a comfortable and conducive atmosphere as seems to prevail at all Necropolis events. Scene regulars Carmel Carmel, Sir William Welles and Diana Cannone were, of course in attendance, but Shirley Alvarez and her entourage were notably absent and missed this time.

Record Reviews

Three artists/albums deserving special mention came to our attention this month.

Trees of Eternity
Hour of the Nightingale

Svart Records

Scandinavian doom-metal quintet Trees of Eternity, organized 2009, has just this November released their first full album called “Hour of the Nightingale” on Svart Records and totally available for listening on Youtube and for purchase on Amazon. It features ten tracks with titles like “My Requiem” and “A Million Tears.” These are songs of sorrow and loss. The lilting, echoing female vocals, the baleful tolling bells and the dark, symphonic guitar accompaniment place Trees of Eternity into the company of such successful bands as Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and Nightwish, but with sufficient distinction to stand alone.

The songs are notably slower, more melodious, more mournful and to some extent, more reliant of instrumental accompaniment than others mentioned above. On the last cut, “Gallows Bird,” an ominous baritone male voice takes over for a slow-paced and menacing dirge. With that sound fresh in mind, I would say Trees would be perfect to tour with another Scandinavian band – Ghost. Another match would be Antimatter.

She Past Away

Volume I – II
On Bandcamp

Also just out this year comes an interesting darkwave release out of Istanbul, Turkey. Yes, they sing in Turkish, which doesn’t seem the least inconvenient because of the rapid rhythm anthems, sung in deep baritonal vocals. The mesmerizing cadences and the dark vocals keep the listener fascinated and every so often forgetful of the language barrier, half-grasping to understand the mysterious Turkish lyrics. The peculiarities of Turkish language diction actually suit this type of gothic synthpop very well, especially sounded through an echo-chamber setting.

There doesn’t seem to be a way to buy the CD at this time, but it’s available as download and can also be enjoyed on Youtube. She Past Away provides a deliciously gloomy musical experience. It is easy to compare them with those masters of the Dutch DarkWave, Clan of Xymox, whose sound She Past Away closely resembles – or even to The Cure at their most somber.

Untitled Art

The End
Line2 Records

Among the most irresistible music I’ve run into in years comes from an indie/goth project called Untitled Art which appears to be a resurrected 90s indie/alt rock band gone electro-industrial. Brainchild of singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Dave Sempier and engineer James Linton on their label, known for the moment, as Line2 Records.

I was first taken in by the wild, psychedelic video art accompanying an equally mind-blowing trip-hop piece called “Philly To Long Branch.” Equally infectious was “A Fighter’s Heart,” the vocals of which have a belligerent edge, and rhythm of which was already captivating in the original version, but even more so in the EDM remix. “Shutdown” was more melodious and more symphonic, once again featuring Sempier’s signature aggressive vocals. “Darker Days” with its a growling, minor-key instrumental accompaniment fit his accusatory lyrics and strident, gratifying alt rock tenor style which remains a constant through the wide ranging forms that his music takes. “Perfect” has a retro-90s quality that warmed my heart with nostalgia – the good kind – for the era that opened the gates to the musical age that some consider the fulfillment of New Wave.

These and more are presently coming together in an EP titled “The End” but most are already quite accessible for listening, and two of the tracks are able to be downloaded on SoundCloud where Untitled Art has a site with seven tracks. “Philly To Long Branch” will be on iTunes as of Dec 12 and official electronic downloads become available in January. Do not fail to check the video out on Youtube! The CD will be available for sale around the same time through cdbaby or possibly a major label depending on pending negotiations.

22 ARTS WEEKLY NOVEMBER 16, 2016 www.theaquarian.com
PHOTOS BY DOKTOR JOHN

Endless Night Vampire Ball Metropolitan Edition

Sabretooth’s Impresario and fang-maker Fr. Sebastiaan hosted the annual Endless Night Vampire Ball at Slake (formerly The Batcave) on Manhattan’s 30th St on Saturday October 15, 2016. The event was held in the two upstairs lounges of Slake, leaving dark and empty the large, high-ceiling hall where it was previously centered. The downstairs bar was left to straight, non-vampire-ball-attendees.

The long and narrow top-floor so-called Red Room served mainly as an entertainment space, and the smaller side room was entirely used as a dance floor. Both spaces had well-stocked bars and energetic bartenders.

Chief Operations Officer Victor Magnus greeted attendees upon entry to the venue and stamped Sabretooth’s emblematic ankh on the ticket-holder’s wrist after everybody’s favorite and most glamorous gatekeeper, M Banshee checked each in. From thence we were directed upstairs to the Red Room where we hit the bar and were shortly accosted by a tall, handsome and ultra-suave gent who offered to give couples a lesson in dancing the waltz. We gratefully took that lesson to recorded music played on the house PA system, perhaps to the chagrin of attendees who were unsettled to hear the waltz’s ¾ time instead of the customary 4/4 rock beat that usually accompanies gothic, punk and industrial songs.

A few couples took a few lessons, and soon enough the welcome strains of the Sisters of Mercy filled the air, setting the dance floor alive with participation of the crowd at large. Fr. Sebastiaan appeared on a stage situated at the far end of the room and made his warm, welcoming greetings. He announced a moment of silence for those who have passed from the scene as he always does and he led the crowd in the traditional wolf-howl before introducing the entertainment. As at all Fr. Sebastiaan events, the entertainment was thematic, mildly raunchy and fully captivating.

First up were a pair scantily white-clad baroque-wigged performers who enacted a stylized and R-rated, but tastefully-not-explicit ballet decrying the practice of onanism, “The Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution” inspired by a 1724 pamphlet denouncing the “frightful consequences in both sexes.”
There was a breath-taking performance by vocalist Ariel De Menthe who sang the song “Diva,” in the wide-ranging operatic style termed “coloratura” while wearing a witch’s headdress. A fashion show took place featuring more than a dozen beautiful models who passed on stage and posed in original outfits that evoked harem ladies, belly dancers, or barbarian princesses and warriors.

A stunning ecdysiast performed a strip-tease act starting off wearing a black nun’s habit performing pantomime with props of booze, money and symbolic drug-use while undressing and ending up wearing a lot less – a real lot less – though still in black.

The high point always comes with the Halloween costume contest. Because of the particular predilections of this crowd, the outfits are always fabulous, often horrific, and marked by a high level of accomplishment. Gory clowns and gorgeous ladies competed with Gothic warriors and characters from classic horror cinema. The winner (shown here) was a masterful portrayal of the silent movie-era Nosferatu, and he was followed closely by a faithful version of Lon Chaney Sr.’s vampire from the lost film “London After Midnight” (also shown).

Dancing to classic darkwave went on into the wee hours, and was yet going strong in both rooms when we left around 2 a.m. Fr. Sebastiaan had once again provided a night of incomparable entertainment and musical pleasure at one of the iconic venues in the New York goth scene. The only thing that can possibly top it is to attend his similarly-themed but even more spectacular Endless Night Vampire Ball in New Orleans.

Corrado’s Hayride, Haunted House

Mr. Haunt

On Sunday night Oct 16 I was recruited by a group calling itself Haunt Hunters to join them on a visit to Corrado’s Hayride of Horrors and Haunted House in Hackettstown NJ. Owner Joe Corrado transforms his hundred acre farm every Halloween season into one of the state’s great spooky amusements. The hayride, haunted house and haunted corn maze walk are open Oct.1 and then every Friday, Sat and Sunday through the month, ending the weekend of Halloween.The hayride costs $14, the House $14 and a walk through the Haunted Corn Maze $8. Refreshments are for sale at a concession stand.

Haunt Hunters is headed by Mr. Chuck Mound and his partner Mr. Haunt, both dedicated investigators. Mr. Haunt, a prodigious consumer of all things macabre, but especially Halloween-themed amusements, is an imposing figure whose six and a half foot height is further amplified by his goggle-adorned top-hat. Together, he and Mound travel the Northeast and beyond in search of horror-themed attractions to experience and evaluate. Their mission is to seek out haunted theme parks, houses and yard decorations, and to evaluate all their aspects: granting awards for best actors, best costumes, best sets & scenery, best scream queens and – the crowning award – The Annabelle Trophy for best haunted attraction.

Riding on the back of a tractor-drawn hay-strewn trailer alongside a twenty or so passengers, mostly, but not all teenagers, we got to view eerily illuminated displays of grisly scenes, guillotines, graveyards, creepy shacks and vehicle wrecks situated along the roadside.

Costumed and masked or made-up actors jumped out of the dark to menace us with threats, fake weapons and loud noisemakers, startling us each time they popped out of the gloom.

Marching in a line through the dimly lit maze of paths through a field of eight-foot tall corn, we were assailed by similar horrific characters. This walk goes rather quickly because the terrified kids in back of the line keep pushing and urging those at the front of the line to move faster to escape the villains.

A flatbed truck shuttles patrons to a horribly decorated haunted house, the interior of which is furnished with grisly displays and manned by shrieking, wall-climbing and frighteningly-costumed monster-actors, male and female. The tour ends when one of the tormentor-actors chases the visitors, with a loudly buzzing chainsaw, out of the building and into the front walk where a full moon shone comforting light on to the scene and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We served ourselves consolation in the form of hotdogs, cider and doughnuts before making the long car ride back to civilization.

Halloween fell on a Monday this year, so celebrations and events started early, creating a four-day Halloweekend.

New York City

Night Gallery at Lovecraft bar

NY-based gothic rock mega-ensemble Night Gallery stormed the stage at Lovecraft Bar at 11:30 on the Friday before Halloween, where a sleepy crowd of beatnik seniors had gathered to hear soothing hippy jazz-fusion bands from the 60s. Accompanied by no less than five gifted musicians, including recently added keyboardist Jennifer Bobbe, vocalists Mark Demon and singer-songwriter Kitty Hawk quickly turned the mood around with their brooding, yet bombastic repertoire. Although most of the Grateful Dead-leaning crowd made a quick exit, the few who stayed seemed genuinely impressed by the change of pace that Night Gallery provided. The management, however, wasn’t thrilled, and they cut NG’s set to four songs and whisked them off stage, replacing them with a sleep-inducing Jimmy Buffet-style duo, which was our cue to leave.

Memento Mori Halloween Party

From there it was an easy walk across Alphabet City to Bedlam Bar, where Mike Stalagmike, Bela Lugosi Alex and Valefar Malefic were spinning a deathrock-based mix that had black-clad dancers gyrating and careening into the early morning hours in the Halloween edition of Memento Mori.
this side of the local graveyard.

Friday, Oct. 28

Madame X hosted “Lifting the Veil – A Sexy Halloween Bash” at QXT’s in Newark, attended by costume contestants from the greater NY/NJ area and beyond.

Saturday, Oct. 29

Fr. Jeff hosted the Halloween edition of Ward 6 at Windfall, a dance night complete with costume contest featuring a $100 first prize and $50 Gothic Renaissance store certificate second prize.

Amityville Horror All Hallow’s Eve

Club Revolution and Music Hall on Long Island hosted a musical extravaganza on Sunday night before Halloween with a variety of bands and musicians covering a spectrum of appropriately themed goth-industrial performers. Sandwiched between openers Night Gallery who reprised their act to a more receptive crowd (see above) and headliners, Disorder, whose tribute to Joy Division has become a staple of the NY/NJ goth scene, was star of the dark stage, Baron Misuraca who performed an impeccable cover of the Rammstein mega-hit “Du Hast” and also served as emcee.

Oklahoma-based Esoterik featured a darkwave , but less than melodious set with a gorgeous female vocalist and a single multi-instrumentalist on guitar, drums and keyboardist. Espermachine, hailing from Little Rock, AR looked and sounded a lot like Laeatherstrip.

Disorder opened with an eerie track of historic newsreel commentary from the early days when Joy Division was first hailed. From there, they performed eight songs in all, including “Isolation,” “She’s Lost Control” and “Shadowplay,” before pushing through a medley including “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “Transmission” and the tragic-sounding Joy Division/New Order transition piece, “Ceremony.” Each was performed with their now-to-be expected fine mastery of Joy Division’s repertoire. Mike Strollo’s vocals, have a carefully crafted sense of strain in faithful simulation of venerated idol, Ian Curtis, and have become increasingly indistinguishable from the original.

The night ended with a costume contest which was enlivened when the groom of a zombie couple of contestants suddenly produced an engagement ring and real-life proposed to the bride right on stage. Happily, she accepted, and the rest of the night was spent in celebratory dancing to deejay-selected sounds.

Dracula’s Ball at Trocadero, Philadelphia Monday Oct 31, Halloween

This was the first Dracula’s Ball in quite some time. In earlier days,it was held three or four times a year, mostly at the now-gone, multilevel Shampoo mega-nightclub. When impresario Patrick Rodgers was able to put together an entertainment bill featuring reunited industrial rock giants Stabbing Westward and secure the historic Trocadero music venue, Dracula’s Ball arose from the grave. Balancing the bill was an opening tribal/medieval trio, Ashagal whose “songs of myth and legend”reminded us of Quintal or Dead Can Dance, and who warmed the crowd with music of ancient Scandinavia and Ireland.

Indeed, the evening did start early with doors at 9:00, Ashagal at 9:45 and Stabbing Westward at 10:40, so costumed revelers were able to dance the rest of the night to deejay sets by Chas Paris and Rich Russo. Those who preferred the intimacy of the upstairs lounge area had their own full bar and could dance to the spinning of DJ TK-421. Many of thegetups were stunning as well as creative, thus it was a little disappointing to see some attendees in sweatshirts, hoodies, jeans and sneakers. Costumes were “encouraged, but not mandatory.” Segregated areas were available for those of drinking age and those not. Attendees under 21 years of age could not access the bar service areas.

On the negative side, the Trocadero felt a little claustrophobic compared to Shampoo, but that’s nobody’s fault, just the laws of physics. To his credit, Patrick Rodgers limited the sale of tickets to well below the fire regulations specified limit for the venue. On the plus side, there were beautiful, original and creative items for sale in the merchandise area as well as records, posters and tee-shirts for the bands and the event.

Stabbing Westward put on a spectacular show, and lead singer Chris Hall seemed to be over-the-top with actual love and enthusiasm for the crowd as he exchanged jokes with the audience and belted out 10 great hits, ending the first set with “Save Yourself,” before taking a break, then returning with a three-song encore set that concluded with “Shame.”
We can only hope that having met with complete success with this sold-out the event that Patrick Rodgers is able to put another ball together again sooner than next Halloween.

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Nights Out

The Memory Pain at The Famished Frog

Aug 5, 2016
Morristown NJ

We had the good fortune on this Friday night to catch a performance of top-notch cover band The Memory Pain while dining at Morristown’s The Famished Frog. This venue hosts a large, noisy and distracted crowd whose patrons are mostly 20-something imbibers who are there on dates or looking to pick-up or be picked up while ambling around the big rectangular bar in front of which The Memory Pain performed. A nice, recessed space provided adequate room for this 4-piece group to spread out comfortably. That’s important, because frontman Fred Zoeller performs in a remarkably active, excited and physically mobile fashion.

When TMP performs their flawless, live covers of hits from the past 20 or so years, it isn’t just a walk down memory lane, but rather a dynamic, faithful reprise of great music from the past that we all share. The repertoire is drawn largely, but not exclusively from standards from the heyday of MTV in the 90s when most of us acquired and refined our taste in rock. “Talented,” “tight” and “professional” are the words that come to mind in summing up the performance by this well-rehearsed quartet. Veterans Fred Zoeller (lead vocals/guitar) and Dan Esser (bass guitar) are joined by alternate lead vocalist Dan Callas on guitar and multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Adam Gruss on drums to create a rich, authentic and room-filling sound. This is essential to re-creating faithful reincarnations of well-known and beloved favorites of the audience’s shared musical history.

Despite the fact that dating and dining are their primary reasons for being present, some of the audience felt so compelled by the good music issuing forth from the band that they broke into dance although there was little spaced allocated for it. If hearing masterful, accurate covers of famous hits by Counting Crows or Third Eye Blind have that same effect on you, I suggest you follow The Memory Pain at various venues where they perform and where you can come as close as possible to being at live performances by the originals.

Lost Boys Beach Party at QXT’s

Newark nightclub QXT’s held a theme night called “Lost Boys Beach Party.” The club was absolutely packed, both the upstairs main hall where DJ Ron Medina spun his usual masterful mix of 80s and Dark Wave; and the two lower spaces, where DJs Wintermute and Mykill Plague assaulted rivet-heads and their ilk in Area 51 with EBM and industrial; as well as The Crypt where DJ Helixx aired danceable, but horror-themed Goth and darkwave. Vendors were present offering horror and vampire themed merchandise as well as accessories of club attire. There were periodically announced giveaways.

A special treat was a live performance by singer/saxaphonist Tim Cappello, known and revered for his musical performance in the now-classic vampire movie “The Lost Boys.” Appearing youthful and muscular at 61 years of age, wearing little more than an elaborate set of chrome chains, a ponytail and a black wife-beater, Cappello absolutely enthralled the audience with his energetic show. The crowd pressed up to the stage to get the most out of his performance. Excitement was heightened further when Cappello jumped off-stage, singing and wailing from his sax right into the midst of the crowd who responded with enthusiasm and a flurry of camera-phone flashes. Despite the love showered upon him, Cappello limited his performance to the single “I Still Believe,” modestly admitting it to be his one and only hit. But what a hit!

Necropolis at Windfall
5th Anniversary

On Sept. 3, veteran DJ and club organizer Fr. Jeff Ward celebrated the 5th anniversary of his over-the-top, successful monthly dance club night, Necropolis, at midtown Manhattans’ Windfall. Jeff managed to rescue from oblivion a dance night called Necromantik that he had co-hosted at the Knitting Factory some 9 years ago. The Knitting Factory has long since moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. He recruited 3 top deejays, Patrick Cusack, Sean Templar and Erik Aengel who now serve as consistent resident DJs to the renamed, monthly Necropolis along with various guest spinners. Moving from the Knitting Factory to The Bowery Poetry Club, then later to Element (previously The Bank) Jeff finally settled on Windfall.

For this anniversary celebration, the guest was noted musicologist and published author Andi Harriman, as pleasing to the eyes as to the ears. Together, they created a festive and gala observance of the milestone event with a rhapsodic mix of classic post-punk and oft-forgotten gothic/industrial treasures, such that the floor was crowded with fervid and energetic dancers like rarely seen elsewhere.

Windfall is an elegant bar and dance hall smack in the middle of Manhattan’s midtown. Once the site of the Architects’ Guild, it boasts modern interior design in the Frank Lloyd Wright or Mission-style, with stately wood floor and paneling, to which a curved and lengthy polished-top bar has been added. It is the location where black-attired and finely groomed Goths and denizens of the NYC after-hours music crowd gather on the first Saturday of every month to attend Necropolis.

Doors open at 11:00 pm. Imbibers line up and socialize at the exquisitely designed and well-stocked bar, where knowledgeable and attentive mixologist Gerard serves up the concoctions of their choice. Attentive, pony-tailed manager Chris roams the space, ever watchful to assure everyone enjoys a perfectly comfortable time. The main reason for attending this particular night is the uncommonly astute musical selection served up by Father Jeff (Ward 6) and his cohort of similarly skilled DJs, to provide a the atmosphere for a night of New Wave and Goth-Industrial dance. Eminently danceable musical rarities are blended in with beloved favorites from the Depeche Mode/Sisters of Mercy/ Siouxsie repertory.

Celebrities of Gotham’s underground scene are noted to come and mingle, sometimes spreading word and flyers of upcoming social and musical events. Merging with the crowd of gorgeous and transgressively garbed patrons this night were DJs Arsenal and Ron Medina, Sir William Welles and Matt V Christ. Among the glitterati, Shirley Alvarez and Kai Irina Hahn of The Sedona Effect add glamour to a ravishing and splendid crowd of attendees.

Memento Mori 1st Anniversary

This monthly, Thursday night Deathrock-themed dance party celebrated its 1st Anniversary on August 25, drawing its largest crowd ever, culminating a success story beyond expectations, at the customary location, the appropriately decorated Bedlam in Alphabet City, NYC. Doors opened at 10 pm, and the turnout grew exponentially as the denizens of the Greater New York demimonde began showing up to enjoy the music and extend their congratulations to the principals involved. Returning briefly from the U.K. for the celebration was Ana Vice, long-time mainstay in the scene and mentor to the enterprising group consisting of two novice DJs, Valefar Malefic and Bela Lugosi Alex, and the established, seasoned DJ Mike Stalagmike, host of Defcon. Together they managed to pull off the difficult accomplishment of drawing a steady and satisfied crowd to a late-night, weekday night event.

Greeting guests at the door was the glamorous and beautiful Catgirl Morales who heaped praise on the organizers and was happy to disclose the details of the past year to interested attendees. A who’s who of famous celebrities of the Goth scene included Aurelio Voltaire, just back from an international tour; gorgeous and multi-talented Kai Irina Hahn; impresario William Welles; and DJs Mark Cage Knight and Joe Hart of Procession, which is yet another successful and on-going weekday night dark dance party. Goody bags with candy and Memento Mori buttons were among the giveaways.

The scene was appropriately lit with only scattered tea-light candles and draped with hanging shroud tatters. A pitch-black musical selection of classics and obscurities entertained a roomful of die-hard guests until 4 a.m.

Bodylab
at La Poisson Rouge

Extensive Facebook promotion of this new, free and thematic dance party paid off for the organizers , DJs Eisdriver and Arsenal who succeeded in drawing an staunch crowd of between 25 and 30 committed, rivet-headed industrial music enthusiasts on a Thursday night to the downstairs at La Poisson Rouge lounge. Starting around 10:00 pm, attendees were assaulted (in the favorable sense in which they understand it) with a blend of the hammering sounds of old-school industrial and mechanized Germanic EBM (electro-body music).
The classics of the 80s and 90s from Skinny Puppy, Front 242 and Ministry are now-largely neglected, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear these and more woven into a selection of Nordic/Germanic and highly danceable Neo Old School EBM.

The black-clad, booted crowd consisted of recognizable adherents of the genre by their attire, their bearing and their mastery of the dance style, which is characterized by muscular, decisive and resolute stepping to the insistent beat of this mode of music. Celebrities of the scene were in attendance, including the statuesque and talented beauty, Kai Irina Hahn (front vocalist of The Sedona Effect), renowned DJ Father Jeff Ward and noted Diesel-punk artist CharleSilas Garlette. The hosts and their spouses greeted and mingled with the special and somewhat exclusive in-crowd of devotees. Raffle drawings and giveaways of CDs and tickets livened the evening. The crowd seemed to be actually growing when I left around 1:30 am.

Local Music Festivals

A Murder of Crows

A Murder of Crows took place on August 12 and 13 at the Mercury Lounge, in coordination with The Red Party, billing itself a 2 Day Goth & Post Punk Festival hosted by DJ Patrick Cusack, Sean and M Banshie Templar, Dave and Jenn Bats as well as Stefan Axell, Frank Vollman and Jaycee Cannon. Friday’s live musical lineup featured Ritual Howls, VOWWS, and the Memphis Morticians. Saturday saw The Exploding Boy, Frank The Baptist and Skeleton Hands. It is reported to have been a smashing success as revealed in the nearby photo.

Nowhere To Run Post-Punk Festival

took place August 20 at The Paper Box in Brooklyn and also featured an all-day-and-night of bands and dance music. Music historian and DJ Andi Harriman opened the event at 2 pm and reports that the event was packed all night, estimating some 300 people, representing the whole spectrum of goth, punk, techno and industrial fans – came through the doors. Incidentally, Harriman succeeded in selling off the entire stock of her notorious book, “Some Wear Leather Some Wear Lace,” which covers the history of the Post Punk movement from the 80s onward, at the merchandise stand. Among the 11 or so live bands, Post-Punk group, The Pawns and industrial band Statiqbloom captured the audience with their on-stage presence and interesting sound.

Museums & Galleries

Taxidermy: Art, Science and Immortality
at Morbid Anatomy

Brooklyn NY
Aug 12, 2016

Brooklyn’s Morbid Anatomy Museum opened a new and dazzling exhibit with a champagne toast on a Friday evening. Attendees to the reception were guided through the multifaceted aspects of the art by the exhibit’s curator, J. D. Powe whose personal collection comprised the majority of the pieces. Mr. Powe, who is a co-founder of an educational software company, explained how his fascination with taxidermy began with his earliest visits to natural history museums. Small pieces and then large were added to his collection which by now boasts a staggering array of miniature as well as grand acquisitions, spanning the whole variety of specimens. These include wild and domestic; animal, fish and fowl; artistic arrangements; dramatic dioramas; furniture adornments; freakish abnormalities; and perfect, paradigmatic exemplars of the various species.

Thus we are treated to glass cases chock filled with vividly colorful birds, one serving as a fireplace screen. The right half of a sailfish in a regal pose floats high on a wall over a variety of his finny cohorts, while several toothed probosces of different sized sawfish lay disembodied and ready for inspection directly below. Two-headed cattle, a dwarfed calf, a walrus with duplicate tusks and other mistakes of nature are preserved for study and to evoke amazement at nature’s sometimes-slipshod processes of reproduction.
Elephant and rhinoceros feet drew attention in the case displaying functional items such as ashtrays, flower vases and bookends fashioned from animal parts. An entire wall was stacked high with glass cases housing the mortal remains of beloved, deceased pets, mainly dogs. Free-standing canines stood on the floor below them and were aesthetically beautiful representatives of man’s best friend, a large hound and a spotted Great Dane. Little dioramas housed theatrical tableaux, one of which posed a paternal frog administering an over-the-knee spanking of a young’un.

Enlightening, educational and at the same time mind-boggling, this exhibition brought a decidedly respectful – even loving – approach to a practice that might seem controversial to some. The emphasis here is on the beauty of the animal world and of each subject, the ingenuity and skill involved in the craft, and the fascination we appropriately feel when given opportunity to examine carefully prepared and maintained samples of the natural world.

The really good news is that this exhibit is being expanded starting in September with some anthropomorphic taxidermy, i.e. animals clothed and posed as if engaged in human activities. Look for it!

The Creeper Gallery
in New Hope, PA

No trip to the twin cities of Lambertville NJ and New Hope PA is complete without a long and leisurely tour of this extraordinary gallery where artist-owner D.L. Marian gave us a brief rundown on how and why she came, along with her partner and fellow-artist, Danielle Deveroux, to fill this tiny storefront with grotesque and gorgeous sculptures, paintings, mixed media constructions and rogue taxidermy specimens, all of museum quality. Definitely not for the squeamish or the easily offended, these works, self-described as “gothic,” are horrific, iconoclastic, charming, even while bordering on the sacrilegious, but seem to get away without offending by being so ingeniously conceived and artfully crafted. There are fabricated or altered effigies, dummies, heads, skulls, shrines, photos, paintings, constructions and assemblages to provide material for your nightmares as well as food for your thoughts on mortality, morbidity, aberrations and Hell.

You can learn more by checking out their website, but nothing can substitute for first-hand, up close and painfully personal viewing of the ever-changing exhibit of items for sale at the Creeper Gallery.

Manus x Machina
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

On exhibition from Fashion Institute of Technology at ”Manus x Machina,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art held a display of the wildest and most artistic and high tech examples of mainly dress designs produced by a combination of astounding and specialized manual skills and modern day mechanization, such as 3D printing. The range of styles and materials was overwhelming in diversity, but we zeroed in on the most sci-fi and gothic pieces.

Which all goes to show how far and deep into the mainstream culture that gothic/punk/industrial taste has penetrated!

Meanwhile, on the roof of the Museum, the Met had erected the façade of everybody’s favorite creepy domicile: The house from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” which, set against the beautiful twilight cityscape of New York City’s skyline, appeared as a mischievously evil blot on the otherwise uplifting panorama.