Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Finally, A Gothic Event--or Was It?

From time to time, either on this blog or in my comments on others, I bemoan the fact that there have been no Goth events in my community for quite some time; that is, as far as I know anyway. Sure, we have an active metal scene; but as much as I love metal, I have to admit that the gatherings are not the same. Imagine my surprise when, almost two weeks ago, I got on Facebook, looked at the local events and discovered that a group called Neo Victorian was co-sponsoring a costume and dance party called The Party at the End of the Universe at a nearby venue!

It just so happened that the tea society I belong to was holding its monthly gathering that Saturday, so when we got together I informed my friends, whom I suspected would be interested, about the upcoming; so, we made plans to dress up and attend. During the following week, DJ Infamouis, who along with DJ Dubspeak, would be providing the music, took song requests on the event's Facebook page. Both my excitement and expectations heightened when I looked at the bands the attendees were asking for--Bauhous, Souxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Fields of the Nephilim and The Cure.Oh this is going to be good, I thought to myself. 

Saturday night finally arrived and we found ourselves sitting in a very comfortable and somewhat dark corner of the nightclub. As we sat with our drinks chatting, it eventually dawned on us that we weren't hearing any of the music that had been requested earlier in the week. Speaking only for myself, I fully expected to hear some electronic, but for most of the night, we were offered a musical itinerary that leaned heavily toward that genre and more specifically, dubstep. While the music was certainly danceable, very few attendees seemed overly inspired by it. Many it seemed, had been hoping for a lot more old-school Goth. 


We, the members of the tea society. From left to right, myself, Erin, Mimi the Victorian Clockwork Doll and G. 

Late in the evening--or should I say, early Sunday morning, a member of my party put in a request for Bauhaus and returned to tell me that DJ Infamous was going to play it. That's when the music finally took a turn for the better. Not only did he play Bauhaus' She's in Parties, but then he came down to me and asked if I had any requests. "Sisters of Mercy," I told him. Then, lo and behold, he played one of my favorite songs by them; Lucretia My Reflection, a most inspiring song indeed! The Goth set was finished off with something by the Cure. Now that's what we wanted to hear!






A clockwork doll and a storm trooper? Now that's an interesting combination!

All in all, there weren't as many folks at the event as I would like to have seen; but considering that mankind had just survived the apocalypse at the end of the Mayan calendar, it was common knowledge that there were parties all over the place that night. To tell you the truth, I was happy that I got to attend the event. I danced, drank a couple of margaritas that I have to rank as likely, the most lethal I've ever had, and overall, had a great time. I enjoyed seeing the ladies dressed in their finest and it was nice viewing some of the guys wearing top hats and other interesting apparel. There was even one of Darth Vader's Imperial Storm Troopers in attendance. It doesn't get much better than that. 



 D.J. Infamous supplying the tunes

 While I'm not sure that this was the Goth event that I'd been hoping for, it certainly was a step in the right direction. Still, further encouragement came to me after I had just exited the venue and was starting on my way home. I was only a half block down the street when I bumped into a lady I had met at the party a bit earlier. As we were exchanging pleasantries I mentioned the scarcity of Goth music and dark wave at the event and she, as an apparent organizer, was in general agreement. Much to my delight the lady informed me that her group wants to hold similar events at least every couple of months or so and that she at least, would like to see more dark wave offered in the future. After saying good night, I walked away feeling quite elated. Something good seems to be on the horizon.    

  

    

 

6 comments:

  1. It does sound quite promising, doesn't it? And the Tea Society you belong to sounds very interesting, as well! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go Google dubstep. Duh. :o)

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  2. Yes, the situation does look promising. Maybe they'll be another event by some time in February.

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  3. I'm really glad we got to go, and overall, I think you have the right of it and we can hopefully expect a few more Gothic flavoured events locally in 2013. Turning out en masse for something promising is at least doing our best to be a visible part of the scene and letting the presenters know what we want! :)

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  4. I think the presenters got an inkling of what we (and others apparently) want. Let's see what the new year brings.

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  5. It seems as if the promoters want to make a success of this venture, and the fact they approached you & your friends for requests & feedback shows they want to keep it going by giving the people what they want.

    Even here in Los Angeles, it's tough to find a "real" goth event. Either the scenes been taken over by the fetishists, or the events have to keep "current" to bring in the crowds. Alot of us have slowed down a bit, and don't go out as much due to jobs, families, and the like, so they have to bring in and appeal to a younger set. Another issue is that at one point, there were just too many clubs going on at the same time, causing smaller crowds, and as a consequence, clubs failed & many people just sort of gave up on the club scene in general, as the clubs were just "dead" (pardon the pun, LOL).

    I think you're very fortunate to have promoters who are willing to do this every few months; at least people will get excited and (hopefully) turn out. I, personally, have pretty much given up on the club scene here, and focus my efforts on Bat's Day once a year (we actually make it a family vacation, as well, so everyone wins, LOL). If you ever find yourself in a position to go, Bat's Day is an amazing event, and everyone is so welcoming.

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  6. There's a lot of truth to what you point out, Anonymous. Venues, DJs, and promoters do realize that there are certain benefits from promoting what's current popular--and who can blame them. They've got to make a living too.

    I'm excited about some of the things that are beginning to take shape here and I want to be a part of them. Still, I can relate to your thoughts on slowing down and preferring to stay home. Overall, I tend to be fairly reclusive-- a homebody, who only enjoys going to clubs occasionally.

    I think you're absolutely right; if the community can get something happening every two or three months, we will be fortunate indeed.

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