Tuesday, August 5, 2014

What's Happening to the Goth Scene?

During the last two or three days of July, unsubstantiated rumors began making their way through social media stating that Alt-Fest, a U.K.-based event billed as a new-metal festival, had been cancelled. On August 1, event organizers release an official statement,
which verified the veracity of the rumors. The concept of this event, which had been considered unique by many, had been cancelled.
Had Alt-Fest occurred, it would have been much more than simply a metal event as plans called for four musical stages. The main stage would have featured performances by Marilyn Manson, Fields of the Nephilim and The Cult, to name a few. The other three stages had each been devoted to providing musical performances exclusively in the electronica, metal and goth genres.

In their official statement the event organizers pointed out that cancellation was necessary because they hadn't sold nearly enough tickets to cover band and other expenses. This admission seems to have set off a lively debate on social media as to whether or not Alt-Fest's demise reflects a slow demise of goth culture as a whole. The Vampire Freaks social site released its own Ode to the Organizers,
which concludes by speculating on the possibility that our culture and scene are slowly fading away. Others of course, argue that Alt-Fest was simply a first attempt by its organizers who sadly, were likely inexperienced and found themselves in over their heads. And let's not forget that there are still some highly successful festivals, such as Whitby, which occurs twice a year, and Wave Gotik Treffen. Then again, Prague Gothic Treffen, is set to take place at the end of this month in the Czech Republic. So, the scene is certainly not dead.

Still, Alt-Fest's demise and the ensuing discussions have me thinking about how the scene is faring, not only throughout the United States, but locally and regionally. In my last post, which I entitled The Demise of a Venue,
I mentioned that The Stolen Glass, that very accessible and likely, reasonably priced venue at which we had been holding our Darkness Resurrected Dance Nights, had closed its doors. Further, the Ravenwood Gothic Community had been planning to hold its annual reunion there as well. At the time, I considered the club's closing a bad omen indeed.

At about the same time, I noticed an event promoter in the Tulsa area bemoaning the sometimes low turnout for his events. He moved his affair to Oklahoma City and apparently, enjoyed a successful first night. The question is, will attendance remain high for the next event, and the one after that? Only time will tell.

There's a theory that keeps popping up and it's based upon the belief that musical preferences are slowly driving scene members apart. The argument goes like this: The more traditional folks, who tend to be older, prefer the music that the scene was originally based upon. They want to hear bands like The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy or even newer dark-wave/industrial groups. Younger people, on the other hand, tend to enjoy electronica more. My observation is that at times, various event organizers seem at a loss to bridge this gap. Quite frankly, I think Darkness Resurrected handled things well by playing the more traditional material during the first hour before focusing more on electronic music later on. I'm not sure if that's the answer for everybody, but it might be worth a try.

All things considered, it's hard to tell what might be happening with our sub culture. I know that nothing can remain the same and yet continue being vibrant. Things have to change somewhat; stagnation isn't good; and that most definitely applies to music. Yet, I also realize that things can change to the point that a sub culture is no longer recognizable. In places such as Germany, the United Kingdom and yes, even the Czech Republic, Goth is still doing well. But I am concerned about things here in the States and particularly, here in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

While working on this post I took a break for a minute and jumped over to Facebook, where I found a new post by Darkness Resurrected. Due to the closing of The Stolen Glass and other reasons, Darkness Resurrected Dance Night is being relocated to Little Rock for the next two or three years.While I totally understand the reasons behind the decision and I wish the event organizer every success with his endeavors, I have to admit that I've been overtaken by a cloud of sadness. Little Rock is about 175 miles from where I live and I seriously doubt that I'll be able to make it down there very often, if at all. At the moment, I'm taking solace in the fact that at least the metal scene is thriving up here. Still, metal may be my music of choice and a lot of neat people attend metal events, but it's not the same as going to a goth event.  I'll most definitely miss attending the latter as well as seeing the new friends I'd made.

As for omens, I think really do portend the future sometimes.
 
Photo source: Gothic Pictures Gallery
Artist unknown 
   

24 comments:

  1. I'm torn on this. I want to say the goth scene is still alive and well, just not in my city lol. There hasn't been a goth bar here for almost seven years now. The people who owned the one stupidly allowed kids in without checking IDs the other just went under from lack of interest (it was more of a makeshift goth bar frequented mostly by old guys and sketchy people). I blame the economy. It costs too much to do anything any more. I'm glad none of my favorite bands are touring because I couldn't afford the tickets to see them. Perhaps that might explain why the Apt Fest went under, rather than a lack of interest. Bands also charge a lot more than they used to, it seems. The goth scene is changing and becoming more fashion oriented and less about the music I find. This is only from my observation, I'm not goth even though I may look that way, my friends however are into the scene. They're more traditional but that's probably because of our age.

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    1. Sorry I meant to write *Alt Fest.

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    2. Someone else in a different forum also suggested demographics, the fact that people have gotten married, have kids are older etc. And yes, going to see a band can be awfully expensive, and in this economy...?

      Thanks for the input!

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  2. There is even more bad news in the UK, The Fairywood Festival as cancelled all the bands, but is still happening. There are so many theories and a lot of slagging people off about Alt-fest from not booking the venue to not doing the sums right to MM putting people off going. I am not going to comment, but I am looking forward to Sacrosanct at Reading in September.

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    1. I've been hearing a lot of theories over the past couple of days as well. What saddens me most however, is that our local scene appears to be coming to a sudden end. I guess it's back to sub-cultural isolation for us here; that is, unless Voltaire comes back to town.:

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    2. On the up-side, well for me. I seem to have returned to music promotions and have arranged a gig for my mates The Lost Souls at my local Beer and Music Festival at my local pub this weekend. When I restarted going out to clubs again I was determined to stay just a punter, but there you have it!

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    3. Music promotion sounds like something that would suit you, App'y. Good luck with it.

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  3. The goth scene has been abscent since the beginning of the 90's were I live. I'm one of the few survivors. Young people who dress as goths are either listening to synth pop, electronica or metal. I sincerely hope that the Goth scene elsewere is not vanishing :/

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    1. I share your concern, Linnea -maria, and that's why I posted this article. I find myself hoping that the sub culture isn't dying out. Although I understand the importance of music in our scene, I do realize that musical preferences cannot stay stagnant. After all, one can only listen to the same original bands so many times without wanting something else. Still, a lot of the synth pop and electronica I've been hearing doesn't strike me as dark or spooky sounding at all. I listen to metal more than any other music. At least a lot of it is darkly surreal and invokes dark images in my mind.

      As much as I love music, I understand the Goth scene to be more than just that. It's a love of the macabre as well as dark but creative fashion. So I wonder if the young people people who you say "dress as goths" have interests in Gothic literature, horror films or the creation of a spooky ambiance.

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  4. There's an interesting statement by Jo Hampshire on FB regarding the failure of Alt-Fest at https://www.facebook.com/jo.hampshire1?fref=ts . She is the organiser of the Whitby Goth Festival and has been pretty open about how difficult it was to book bands for the Nov bash. Worth a read.

    Its an odd one. My town has never had a dedicated goth bar, but goths happily rubbed along with the metal crowd for years, with the odd dedicated club night popping up plus gigs. I went to a goth gig featuring decent bands a month or so ago - Bad Pollyanna, Inertia and Ayria. It was very cheap - £10, so great value for money. However, promotion of the event was terrible, they changed all the staging times literally 5 hours before the gig because the venue was also booked as a club night, and the beer was so expensive no one was buying. We were all booted out at 10:15. What was really disappointing was how few people were there - those of us who were had a great night, and the music was great. There was also a good spread of ages.

    I'm going to another gig in the same place later in the month - 3 bands for £8 (Bad Pollyanna again, Ashes to Angels & William Control) - will be interesting to see if it is any better attended. Really, it couldn't be much cheaper if you get merry beforehand!

    We also tried the monthly goth night in town, which has been running for a while. The music was awesome, demographic nicely mixed, the beer cheap...BUT! We were treated like lepers from the start. I was pushed off the dancefloor by the (3) regulars on there. We even got asked if we were local....! Considering the place was pretty empty I have to assume it's a 'friends only' event and newcomers are barely tolerated - why the hell would we go back?

    I don't really look scene, I have no tattoos, no piercings, I don't dye my hair and I tend to dress quite perky. But I would like to support it more, and I do like the music. What's a girl to do :(

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    1. I read Jo Hampshire's take on the Alt-Fest situation and found it very interesting. I've always considered Whitby to be the one festival I'd like to attend above all the others. Although I've never been there, the setting appears perfect for a Goth festival and from what I hear, is always handled well. The fact that the promoters of Alt-Fest, in Ms. Hampshire's opinion, were out to crush events such as Whitby makes me feel better about how things turned out in the end.

      Our local Darkness Resurrected Dance Nights were not monthly, but occurred once every two or three months. I saw no rudeness toward new people by the Goths present and club regulars who happened to stumble into our events were amusing. They had a lot of questions. One older guy told me he thought it was "strange" to see me wearing nail polish," but I wouldn't call him hostile, just befuddled.

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    2. I just felt very uncomfortable, and my husband even more so. I've never felt like that at alt gigs or festivals before, which was perhaps why it was striking to us at this particular club night. I take my hat off to the organisers for actually doing something they enjoy that goes against the grain, and I genuinely loved the music mix - old, new & requests - it was superb.

      WGW has it's problems - togs and the manic scrum on the East Cliff being one of them. Accomodation can be a nightmare to find - we booked ours a year in advance this time round, and thankfully have good relations with our cottage company who held it for us in advance as regulars. However, the actual festival & fringe attractions are well organised and the pub scene is great. It's loud, messy and fun and my feet always need a week to recover from cobbled hills!

      To their credit the organisers do take on board peoples' often quite personal feedback when planning the event. I am very glad they've pulled it together this year, and hope it continues for many years to come. It's quite something to see an entire Victorian seaside town flooded with goths.

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    3. While I'm not sure what you mean by "tog," I think I get the general idea. The idea of a Goth gathering in a seaside town sounds almost ideal. I hear that a person can find some excellent fish and chips there too.

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    4. Tog = photographer, apologies.

      Yup, fish & chips are pretty awesome, as is the cake! There is also gothic football, dog walking, custom cars, bring & buy sale, book launches & readings, meet ups - but it's a bit chilly for picnics!

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  5. We just saw The Cult last night in St. Louis and it was PACKED! They put on a great show. No lack of interest here, it seems.

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    1. Sounds like god news to me. I'm glad you enjoyed the concert.

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  6. There were an awful lot of Alt-Types at the Horror Con, Nightwind. Which was nice because I don't generally see much evidence of them when I'm just out and about in the city. And I definitely don't see any out in the country! It's all rhinestones, big belt buckles and tight jeans. Gah. LOL

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    1. I think you've hit the nail right on the head, Insomniac. There are alternative people around but it's rare that I see them outside of certain events. That's why I'm going to miss our Darkness Resurrected Dance Nights. It provided an opportunity to be around other Goths, who I would otherwise, hardly ever see.

      It's easy to find alternative people around here, especially hipsters. But I'm referring more to the Goth scene.

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    2. I'm not sure I'd know a hipster if one hit me in the face. :)

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  7. I think Ms. Ladyfair might have a point about the economy. A lot of people are struggling financially and nights out are expensive. Plus, as has already been pointed out as well, older Goths no doubt have more responsibilities and less free time.

    I suspect, for better or worse, the subculture is changing/mutating/evolving. The old guard may still retain the original aesthetic and Goth manifesto, for want of a better term, but each new generation will add their essence to the mix, inevitably diluting the prototype and branching off into a multitude of sub-sub-subcultures. It's rather ironic really... the original Goths inevitably become a form of establishment to rebel against. Of course, the pendulum will probably eventually swing back when new generations begin to idealize the pioneers and want to emulate them.

    Hmm... this comment got far more philosophical than I had intended! ;)

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    1. I really can't disagree with anything you say here, Emma. I've never been too traditional when it comes to Goth matters. So, I've never believed that a person has to stick with the old music or the same aesthetic in order to be considered Goth. In my mind, there should be one constant, and that is an appreciation for the darker side of things.

      And the idea of younger folks rebelling against traditional Goth lore is ironic indeed.

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  8. The "scene" doesn't have to be 100% about music and clubs.. there are goth picnics, goth book clubs, goth shopping markets, goth fashion shows, goth dinner parties, and lots of other creative community events that go on all over the place !

    I wonder if we're all "aging out" of Goth though.. not for lack of interest, but busy with kids (or in many cases now, grandkids), jobs and careers. I for one would have a hard time finding a night free from my non-goth-friends social obligations, work and childcare to run out to a goth club on short notice.

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  9. No, the scene really doesn't have to be about music and clubs. For instance, we've started what seems to be an annual tradition of celebrating World Goth Day with a luncheon at a nearby art museum. It only seems to involve a small group of us, but it's enjoyable and something to look forward to.

    As for the club scene, I always looked forward to it because it was a chance to make new friends and see other Goth folk on a semi-monthly basis. But I have to admit that I really have to gear up for a late nights these days. I"m more accustomed to chilling out at home watching a good horror film or reading a good book by the time the clubs even open their doors.

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