{"id":2040,"date":"2017-06-09T19:18:30","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T19:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=2040"},"modified":"2019-12-28T02:42:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T02:42:35","slug":"june-2017-new-dark-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=2040","title":{"rendered":"June 2017 New Dark Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Svmmon at Talon Bar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Brooklyn
\n A new dance night, Svmmon, self-described as a \u201cdecadent, dark experience\u201d opened at the downstairs space of the Talon Bar in Brooklyn\u2019s Bushwick section on Friday May 12. And, no, it is not misspelled. Host deejays Joe Hart, Andi Harriman and Hi-Fi Hillary filled the air with new and classic goth, darkwave deathrock dance music. Heard during the night were such prime movers as \u201cPoison Door\u201d by Sisters of Mercy, \u201cStranger\u201d by Clan of Xymox and \u201cThe Calling\u201d by Death in June. A rather repetitive video loop showed silently on a brick wall in the passageway between the bar and dance floor. The bar was well stocked and the friendly barista a most adept and accommodating mixologist. There was seating along the walls for those who needed a rest from hoofing it.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An early highlight and photo-op occurred when gorgeous ecdysiast Casandra Rosebeetle took to the dance floor in black, fetish-inspired attire and \u2013 to musical accompaniment – removed her garments right down to and past an attractive lingerie outfit and beyond.\"null\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook counted around 62 attendees. There appeared to me at least that many. It suffices to say that the place was packed to capacity with enthusiastic and black-clad dancers and imbibers.<\/p>\n

For an opening night event, Svmmon appears to have set some king of attendance record for a small, downstairs venue, portending a very serious revival of the Goth scene in the greater NYC area.<\/p>\n

\nTribute Night at Maxwell\u2019s<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hoboken<\/p>\n

SIN
\nBattle of Los Angeles
\nSchism
\nJune 2, 2017<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many ways to better spend a musical evening than taking in the performances of 3 superbly accomplished bands as they pay tribute to 3 of the best bands of the 90s. So, for the third time in as many months we headed to the venue where SIN, the region\u2019s top Nine Inch nails tribute band opened the night .

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SIN onstage at Maxwell’s<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Lead guitarist Keith Williams, mastermind behind Tool tribute headliners, opened SIN\u2019s set with a virtuosos rendition of the short , menacing riff known as \u201cPinion\u201d from the \u201cBroken\u201d album. Lead vocalist Byron Huares then led the group on an 8-song set, starting with \u201cTerrible Lie\u201d and then \u201cHead Like A Hole,\u201d the monumental piece that lays at the roots of the whole electronic-industrial craze of the 90s.<\/p>\n

At one point, a semi-transparent screen went up between the stage and the audience, on to which elaborate animate graphics were projected. When the screen came down, Byron was stripped to the waist except for leather forearm gauntlets and a blindfold-mask of black tape.<\/p>\n

Proceeding through the NIN time sequence, SIN next executed faithful selections from \u201cDownward Spiral,\u201d \u201cThe Fragile\u201d and \u201cWith Teeth,\u201d then returned to \u201cDownward Spiral\u201c with \u201cCloser,\u201d remembered for its shocking phrase that ends with \u201c\u2026like an animal,\u201d and which changed forever the acceptance of the \u201cf-word\u201d in the world of popular music. Their set concluded with \u201cBurn\u201d from the movie soundtrack of \u201cNatural Born Killers\u201d and \u201cWish\u201d from the debut EP \u201cBroken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides keeping faithful to the strenuous vocal demands on the NIN oeuvre, Byron threw himself enthusiastically into the physicality of the style, capturing Trent Reznor\u2019s early, acrobatic stage style.<\/p>\n

Speaking of physicality, nothing could top Battle of Los Angeles\u2019s lead vocalist, Christian Alcantara who performed the stunts of leaping and hopping while also capturing the cadence and timbre of Rage Against the Machine\u2019s Zack de la Rocha\u2019s defiant rap.

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Christian Alcantara airborne – Battle of Los Angeles at Maxwell’s<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The tribute set list, dubbed \u201cThe Battle of Hoboken,\u201d consisted of 9 songs, all familiar to fans of RATM, starting with \u201cBombtrack\u201d and \u201cPeople of the Sun.\u201d Alcantara\u2019s angry vocals and wildly animated stage ballet was set against a backdrop of grainy black & white and color videos displaying politicians mouthing platitudes, street demonstrations, military displays, and riots. Favorites like \u201cBullet in the Head\u201d and \u201cBulls on Parade\u201d kept the crowd in constant motion, although fortunately a mosh-pit never emerged in the relatively tight confines of Maxwell\u2019s back-room performance space. The set concluded with a ferocious performance of RATM\u2019s signature piece, \u201cKilling in the Name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final act, Schism, masters of Tool\u2019s music, has been reviewed in glowing terms previously in these pages. What more can be said about what is surely one of the most accomplished cover bands ever to take the stage, covering what is one of the most impressive musical projects of all rock history? Superb vocalist Angelo Rivera is supported by left-handed guitarist and band mastermind Keith Williams and his virtuoso team of Sean Murray on bass and Don Pusateri on drums. Touring since 2001, and now increasingly in demand nationwide, Schism is acknowledged by Tool itself as the best purveyors of their original sound.

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Tool tribute band Schism at Maxwell’s<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Their set that night covered a broad swathe of Tool\u2019s oeuvre, delving deep into the formidable complexity of Tool\u2019s works with such favorites as \u201cSober,\u201d \u201c46 & 2,\u201d and \u201cPrison Sex.\u201d Schism is so well versed in Tool\u2019s body of work that, as at previous shows, they called to the audience for requests of any and all songs by the band, easily satisfying all requests and leaving nothing is off limits.<\/p>\n

The audience, as on each prior performance of Schism which I have witnessed, was stunned and awed by the sheer mastery and delicious re-creation of Tool\u2019s revered repertoire of hits. Energized, yet transfixed by the music the crowd rocked rhythmically in place, many mouthing the lyrics that were long-ago committed to memory.<\/p>\n

Ward 6 at Windfall<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Manhattan<\/p>\n

May 27, 2017<\/p>\n

On the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend, DJ Fr Jeff Ward held yet another occurrence of the long-standing, revered dance night featuring \u201cnew wave\/ dark dance\/ goth\/ synth and industrial\u201d as he likes to describe it.

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Ward 6 dance floor at Windfall<\/p><\/div>In addition to his usual hospitality-related duties, Chris Savo was observed installing sound insulation to contain the music within the confines of Windfall\u2019s fancy bar and dance floor. As usual, the friendly and capable bartenders Gerard and Julia kept imbibers happy, and a sizable crowd danced the night away in defiance of tradition of leaving town on the Memorial Day weekend. And as usual, dancers were motivated to enjoy the dance floor early on with such irresistible masterpieces as \u201cLove Come Quickly\u201d by Pet Shop Boys, \u201cWhere Greed Talks\u201d by Wolfsheim and \u201cThe Silence\u201d by The Rope; and later on by \u201cMilitary Fashion\u201d by And One, \u201cKick in the Eye\u201d by Bauhaus and \u201cAn Eye for the Main Chance\u201d by Rosetta Stone.

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DJ Jeff Ward presiding at Ward 6<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

BODYLAB at Le Poisson Rouge
\nManhattan
\nJune 1

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Deejays at Bodylab at Le Poisson Rouge<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

BODYLAB, standard bearer of Old-School EBM\/Industrial returned to LPR where it got it’s start. A growing following of NYC Industrialists attended. The night featured DJs EISDRIVER (Qxt\u2019s, Assimilate) and STRYKK9 from Philly (DeMolition, Spellbound) laying down the heavy EBM beats that kept the dance floor moving. This night was a special tribute to the Industrial act SPAHN RANCH and featured an all SPAHN RANCH guest dj set by the band\u2019s vocalist Athan Maroulis.

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Athan Maroulis of Spahn Ranch at Bodylab<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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\nHuman Music<\/p>\n

May 27 & 28, 2017\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Human Music<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

QXT\u2019s in Newark hosted an extraordinary 2-day festival focused on the revived popularity of what is termed \u201csynthwave,\u201d the retro futuristic style of techno-wave that adapts newer technology to 80s darkwave synthesizer-based music. This may in fact have been an unprecedented gathering of no less than twenty bands representative of the genre plus 8 deejays steeped in the style, supported by sound, lighting and video specialists with the same aesthetic sensibilities.<\/p>\n

Tickets were priced at from $40 – $50 single-day\/ $70 – $80 for both days depending on how far in advance; and $60 single-day\/$100 at the door.<\/p>\n

New Dark Age didn\u2019t attend, but reports from those who did termed it a unique experience and spectacular success.<\/p>\n

A listing of bands the first night included Magic Sword, mysterious group whose songs are featuring in video games; Betamaxx, famous for the \u201cKung Fury\u201d movie sound track; Dead Astronauts in their only USA performance, Trey Frey from Philadelphia; The Rain Within from Charlottesville, VA; Boaconstrictor; and Protector 101 out of Ventura CA.

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Davey Partain of AEON Rings at Human Music Festival<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The second, full, day-into-night event started off with Dance with the Dead in their first east Coast appearance; Gost; Bit Shifter from NYC; Night Club (L.A.); Teeel from Trenton NJ; Street Fever (L.A.); Defiant Systems; Arcade High (Pittsburgh); STRNGR; Skeleton Hands (Cincinnati OH), AEON Rings (Brooklyn); Hunterquinn (Cincinnati); AndaruGO (Cincinnati) and The Encounter (NY).<\/p>\n

Governor\u2019s Ball<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Randall\u2019s Island NY<\/p>\n

June 2,3 & 4 2017\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Governor\u2019s Ball, held over 3 consecutive days and night in New York\u2019s Randall\u2019s Island Park was jus too large a commitment in time and money for New Dark Age to fully attend, but the lure of Tool as headline band on closing night, Sunday, was irresistible. So our crew set out late Sunday afternoon, enduring unbearable traffic jams to reach the ferry slip where we boarded one craft in a steadily running shuttle service that ran from Manhattan\u2019s East River shore to the park on Randall\u2019s Island.

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Ferry slip at entrance to Governors Ball on Randall’s Island<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Disembarking there, then traveling on foot, we hit each of the four active stages, mingled with countless throngs of young \u2013 very young \u2013 attendees, and grabbed beers and snacks at various stands set up for the occasion.

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Prohibited items at Governors Ball<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Cage the Elephant from Tennessee held a vast crowd enthralled amidst whom was a smattering of skilled, self-entertaining hula-hoopers. Across the island, Phantogram, natives of Saratoga Springs, NY captivated the audience with a fine repertoire of hits and with the dazzling statuesque beauty of vocalist Sarah Barthel.<\/p>\n

What we came for was, of course Tool. A fervid crowd had begun packing the area around the stage before 8:30. They were scheduled to appear on the main stage at 9:15 P.M. Tool made its grandiose appearance, opening with \u201cThe Grudge.\u201d This was followed by \u201cParabola,\u201d an extended version of \u201cSchism\u201d and a new version of \u201cOpiate.\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Twelve songs made up the set list, each in a terrifyingly bombastic, yet deliciously accessible signature style; plus there was a spectacular but nameless, extended drum solo that utterly mesmerized the crowd.<\/p>\n

The giant screens flashed images from Alex Grey\u2019s hallucinatory art, Adam Jones\u2019 creepy stop-motion music videos, psychedelic imagery and more. The late drug advocate Timothy Leary\u2019s gigantic and distorted face, floated, dream-like and rendered a monologue that is standard fare at Tool events, promoting the philosophy of \u201cThink for yourself.\u201d The mysterious, spidery silhouette of Tool mastermind, Maynard James Keenan, darkly costumed in some kind of robotic armor, remained inconspicuous and elusive at the far back of the stage.

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Maynard James Keenan revealed in the recesses of the stage<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The crowd was moderately aggressive, especially close to the stage as we were, with many near-altercations that converted instantly into joyful and convivial mosh pits. Having started the show a couple of minutes late, it ended somewhat past the scheduled conclusion. The final piece, \u201cStinkfist\u201d was still audible in the distance as we hurriedly crossed the vast field to catch a late ferry back to the City.<\/p>\n

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Solace at Paul Booth Gallery<\/p>\n

Nature at Last Rites Gallery<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Booth and Last Rites Galleries on West 38th St in Manhattan are ever the places to visit for the latest in art with a gothic\/punk\/industrial flavor. Founded by renowned tattoo artist, Paul Booth in 2007 as an adjunct to his legendary tattoo parlor, these galleries operate in tandem to exhibit surrealist art with a grotesque and morbid leaning.<\/p>\n

June 3 saw the opening reception for 2 simultaneous exhibitions. The one on the first floor was called \u201cSolace.\u201d On display there were, among other works, large-scale (up to 9\u2019 X 10\u2019), high-priced (up to $40,000) oil paintings by Adam Miller in the style of old masters depicting allegorical histories, anachronistic mythological characters in modern situations and bizarre images, all done with incredibly masterful technique. His magnificent \u201cDream of Paradise Remembered by Moonlight\u201d served as the cover image on the flyer for the event.<\/p>\n

Lou Ros, a former graffiti artist had smaller, whimsical works of oil and acrylic, some of which looked like he had purposely vandalized cleaner, neater works with pastels, added childish scrawls and the like.<\/p>\n

Jean-Paul Mallozzi\u2019s mixed graphite, ink, oil and acrylics also had a playful, vandalized look, featuring portraits literally defaced i.e., rendered anonymous by obliterating identifying features with gobs of medium.<\/p>\n

Upstairs the exhibit was called \u201cDark Nature.\u201d Exquisite, elaborate graphite drawings by Zoe Keller were attention-grabbers, as were metaphorical works by Annie Terrazzo.<\/p>\n

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Black Line<\/p>\n

Treason, Sedition and Subversive Activities<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Available on digital download<\/p>\n

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Black Line is an evolving, LA-based collective fronted by Nitzer Ebb vocalist Douglas McCarthy and founder, electronic music producer, Cyrusrex. The long list of collaborators is a who\u2019s who of the electro-industrial scene, and includes such famous names as Paul Barker (Ministry\/Puscifer) and Mark Walk (Skinny Puppy\/OhGr) plus many more, equally famous. \u201cTreason, Sedition and Subversive Activities\u201d consists of 14 tracks with a decidedly high-tech sound.<\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s voice is familiar to fans of Nitzer Ebb. Whether hissing, growling or full-throated, it is generally up front, rendering the elaborately complex synthetic music personal and emotionally accessible. At once angry and desperate, his singing brings a welcome, melodious element to the busy, manufactured music. The instrumental intros to each of these songs afford the artists opportunity to create a variety of auras, some ghostly, others pregnant with a sense of impending significance. The manifold layers of sound include both familiar and unfamiliar synthesized electronic voices, plus menacing, low-pitched buzzing sounds, high-frequency arpeggios, simulation of a human heart-beat and something suggesting banging on an electronic trash can. The listener\u2019s interest never has a chance to lag into boredom.<\/p>\n

There is breadth to this album, with tracks that range from those that feature rapid disco-beats to those that sound like a remorseless, plodding, zombie march. McCarthy\u2019s vocal narratives, some with backup male vocalists, hold it all together. A few tracks are voiceless, sounding like eerie, ethereal soundscapes or soundtracks for an apocalyptic sci-fi movie.<\/p>\n

\nAlison Moyet<\/p>\n

Other<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cooking Vinyl\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If Alison Moyet \u2018s name isn\u2019t a household term in the U.S. it isn\u2019t for any lack of recognition in the U.K. and the rest of the English-speaking world. In the 80s she co-founded duo Yazoo (\u201cYaz\u201d in the U.S.) with Depeche Mode\u2019s Vince Clarke. She then she moved to a solo career with the album \u201cAlf\u201d (her punk nickname) that reached number 1 on the U.K. charts. Since then she has put out a number of albums with varying degrees of success. She has collaborated or appeared with Paul McCartney, the Eurythmics, Bob Geldof, Bowie, Sinead O\u2019Connor and Pete Townshend.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther\u201d contains 10 tracks of a predominantly synthpop style, highly accessible, and obviously the work of an accomplished music professional and veteran with mastery of a variety of vocal techniques. Famed for her impressive contralto, her voice is \u201cbluesy\u201d although the music isn\u2019t Blues by any means.<\/p>\n

The first track has a trip-hop feel reminiscent of Portishead and affords the artist to showcase her powerful and emotionally evocative tremolo – as do several tracks that follow. Melancholy, but not morose, her vocal style fits equally well with slow-paced grooves as well as mesmerizing, rapidly paced dance tracks. She sounds sweet – like a string instrument – in the fourth track, then goes deep during the funky, explosive fifth track. The seventh track is an engaging, existential spoken word poem layered on a menacing, hissing soundscape. When, on the eighth track she is accompanied by a limited piano, she modulates her singing to the same sparse, exquisite level, but raises her presentation to almost operatic level when reaching for her raw, rock roots on several other tracks.<\/p>\n

Listeners will find this album with its variety of styles accessible, appealing and quick to grow on them. This is artist knows how to express herself and therefore how to engage and please an audience.<\/p>\n

Alison Moyet will tour the USA and Canada later this summer, hitting the Philadelphia\/Boston\/ New York circuit in early to mid-September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Svmmon at Talon Bar Brooklyn A new dance night, Svmmon, self-described as a \u201cdecadent, dark experience\u201d opened at the downstairs space of the Talon Bar in Brooklyn\u2019s Bushwick section on Friday May 12. And, no, it is not misspelled. Host deejays Joe Hart, Andi Harriman and Hi-Fi Hillary filled the air with new and classic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2040"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2086,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions\/2086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}