Saturday, April 26 2008; Safari Sam’s in Hollywood, CA.

In the ninety degree heat of the city, I would head over to the venue for the Wake The Dead Festival a little early in order to avoid the hassles of this town’s notorious street traffic and problematic parking situation. I would arrive a quarter to seven, to find a spot nearby where I see that things are starting off late as usual. I jokingly refer to as “punk time”, where any event being held would be late by at least 45 minutes, and with the posted door time of 7:00PM had a better idea when things would get started. I would get my name checked off the list and given my wristband, as the sun slowly sets to give all those waiting relief from the afternoon heat. It also does not help that everyone in attendance all pretty much wore black.

7:45PM had arrived and the doors finally opened to let the first batch of the patrons witness The Cemetary Whispers onstage start off their set. One of the newest of the local Los Angeles bands, they had already started making a presence with their punky brand of deathrock that they have spread across town in multitudes of copies of their demos that they have been distributing. Having seeing them once before, they initially reminded me of a darker version of Vice Squad. It was in some of the dark and edgy melodies and the upfront vocals in that certain recognizable style. A few of their newer tunes move away from that style and head off in other directions. With time they may become more prominent in the local scene, and we shall keep observing their process of evolution.

Between sets, the middle of the floor would be given their night’s soundtrack courtesy of DJ’s Eric Dead and Tony X. A variety of deathrock and gothic tunes, new and old would be played for the crowd and to the delight of those who cannot resist the temptation for dance when a familiar tune hits them.

Next up would be Magick Daggers… Hailing from Portland, they would be fronted by Jesse, formerly of The Subtonix from Frisco and drums provided by Max, formerlly of the legendary 90’s San Diego based emocore band Antioch Arrow. Along with keyboardist Christine and cello player Allegra, they would create some haunting and surprising bits of dark cabaret. They would weave and swirl around them a rich layer of sounds from the minimal equipment they have, and would leave one watching in wonder as their body swayed about. They would be another component in the current underground music scene that would either defy classification or create something utterly new genre-wise. It is an interesting path to take when you are seeking something out of the ordinary.

With the venue slowly filling up with the fashionably late, the stage would be taken over by the veteran Portland deathpunk band, Antiworld. These zombies from the Pacific Northwest would rip out their adrenaline-fueled crypt stomping numbers. Grandma Fiendish would lurch about the stage and scream like the banshee that she is as Forty-Five Frank grimaces at the audience like a crazed ape while smashing power-chords on his guitar. They would hand-feed each members of the audience their sugar-coated rat poison while they burst through their campy numbers. An evil fright to their delight is to be had by those in attendance as they thrash away like mad monsters onstage. Who let the rocking zombies out of their cage? Wake The Dead Fest did! Now, what are you going to do about it?

Soon to invade the stage would be Los Angeles’ local chameleons, The Deep Eynde. With one incarnation to another for the past decade and a half, former Kittens For Christian frontman Fate Fatal would bring out the ever-changing face of his current creature creation to the horrified masses. Initially evolving from gothic cabaret to hardcore punk rock and everything in between, Fate Fatal would delve into the dark corners of the human psyche, a touch of science-fiction, and dished out with an unhealthy dose of camp. Fate would initially take stage in the personae of “Death”, in black robe and a bony finger pointing to your destiny. With the passing of a few songs he would cast off each element of his alternate ego and reveal another one… this time, a horribly bloody and scarred monster (with the help of special effects latex). His guitar player and he would jump around the stage in a state of frenzy as his rhythm section would punch out the bottom end to their horror-punk masterpieces to the crowd’s delight.

It’s been a few years since they had returned home to roost as they had long since relocated to “The Big Easy” town of New Orleans, but Ex-Voto return in triumph to lay waste to their hometown with their heavy-duty brand of electrified deathrock. With their trusty drum machine on hand, Larry and his trio of deathrock beauties slash and burn songs from their recent CD “Doloroso” as well as several older numbers. Of the 80’s Los Angeles deathrock bands, they were lesser known of the lot but kept at it with the gumption to where they earn the respect for their efforts today. The audience was packed with fans of Ex-Voto, new and old, as they watched Larry growl and pound his bass through their set as he’s backed by some metallic guitar and dual keyboards filling out the evil aire that would echo within the room. They were impressive the last time I caught them live, at Drop Dead New York in 2006, and I was equally impressed with their set on this particular night. I think the crowd in attendance will agree…

Headlining the night was a band that a whole contingent of former goths/deathrockers had all come out of the woodwork to see. It was as if they could not believe their eyes when Warren’s latest incarnation of Screams For Tina took to the stage to dish upon the long-awaiting audience new songs and old. Here was classic gothic rock at it’s best rising from the deepest depths of oblivion after more than a decade and a half hiatus. First inklings of their resurrection would arise when the Austrian label, Strobelight put out a CDEP of theirs, thus ushering in questions locally on when they would finally take the stage. After a good four year wait, their promise would become reality. The audience was presented with a whole set of deep baritoned SOM-influenced numbers by this quintet incarnation. With this being their first night out in a very long time, maybe they will continue to journey forth to keep up their momentum in the coming days.

With the night coming to a close, I would wander around inside and outside the venue taking to friends about this and that, of days past and plans for the future. A minor drunken scuffle would ensue outside, which is par for the course around here. We would hang out in the parking lot for awhile getting in our final salutations and soon head off into the night, where we would make our way to our respective abode. I was tired, as were most who had survived the night, but I felt good… I knew I had a wonderful night, as did all those in attendance.

I would like to also thank Dan, Nelson, Tony X and Eric Dead for putting the festival together for all of us to partake and enjoy. For those who were unable to of made it out, I hope you are able to get a feel of the night from the review and photos that I have provided here.
Cheers, fears, ghouls and beers!