Eccentrik Festival V was held October 23-26, 2008 at Hell, in Chapel Hill, NC.   Featuring some of the best contemporary Gothic, Dark Cabaret, Steampunk bands, Eccentrik also had a fine selection of vendors, art shows, and DJ’s from around the world.   From its beginnings in 2004, Eccentrik has grown steadily as a grass-roots level event that epitomizes the DIY philosophy of the authentic music underground.  

      I had intended to attend the Eccentrik Festival for several years, but each time something interfered.  Finally, in 2008 I was actually able to do so.  I was in the process of moving from South Florida to North Carolina, and so I was able to combine apartment hunting in the Raleigh area with a visit to the Eccentrik Festival.   My apologies to Emma Mouse; the bands; and our readers for the lateness of this review, and for any inaccuracies or omissions.  They are strictly my own.  The move and starting a new job proved more daunting than I had anticipated, and I lost my notes somewhere in the process.     I only hope that my recollections can do a glimmer of justice to this truly magnificent festival. 

        I was very happy to finally be able to cover Eccentrik, and I was not disappointed.   I worked as a staff member at UNC Chapel Hill back in the late ‘80s, but the area has changed so much that the only feature I recognized on campus was the Bell Tower.    Even though I was tired from the drive, the venue was very easy to find.  Parking is usually one of my personal banes when I attend an event, but parking for Eccentrik was very easy, just a block or so away from the venue. 

   I arrived very early. So early, in fact, that no one was at the door.  I took a seat at the bar and waited. I am a very sparing drinker, usually confining myself to a Guinness or two at most, but the friendly and knowledgeable bartender recommended several very good alternatives.  The venue was a bit smaller than I expected, but this only added to the underground ambiance.  Emma Mouse has my profound appreciation and respect for keeping Eccentrik at this level of artistic intimacy where this kind of  music can flourish, instead of succumbing to the lure of commercial expansion and popularity like so many promoters.   The line-up was entirely appropriate to the venue, which imparted a feel sort of like I imagine a cellar nightclub in Europe or an underground speakeasy in NYC to have felt like during the 1920’s.

   Everyone, staff, vendors, patrons, and performers, were extremely nice.  The event staffs were impeccably solicitous, and I would like to thank Mouse for providing me with a press ID.  I met some fellow (at the time) Floridians, and found we had a great deal in common, so much that I was sad to have met them on the eve of my departure from South Florida.  I had a very nice conversation with Josh of Vernian Process, who was the first DJ.   His set was outstanding, including things I had never heard before at a club.      Between the bands, the DJ’s kept the magic going, including DJ’s Poe; Klaude (one of the infamous Davenport sisters of the Clockwork Cabaret radio show), and others whose selections were simply superb.   

    Nathaniel Johnston started off the evening at around 10PM.  I was familiar with his work with Abney Park, but never having seen in person I was completely unprepared for the sheer brilliance of his performance.  Performing with Nathaniel was an ensemble of unparalleled talent including Paul Mercer on violin; Flutist Rachel Gilley; Davis Peterson on percussion; bassist Jean-Paul Mayden; and the incomparable Magpie Ratt, virtuoso of the accordion.   Seamlessly blending a plethora of elements into a completely original musical vision, Nathaniel and friends held the audience spellbound.  

   Paul Mercer’s The Ghosts Project took the stage next.   Along with Mercer’s mesmerizing violin and Davis Petterson on percussion; Nathaniel and Jean-Paul, the lovely Valerie of the Hellblinki Sextet lent their considerable talents. The second part of the performance featured the stunningly evocative vocals Minka Wiltz.  Guest performers included Nicki Jaine on the musical saw; Magpie Ratt, and more.  Ranging from a selection from Niccolò Paganini to Mercer’s incredible “War Zulu”, the music of The Ghosts Project ended far too soon.   (Paganini was thought to have made a pact with Satan due to his incredible skill on the violin.  How fitting that one of his compositions should be performed at a venue called Hell!)   If the night had ended after The Ghosts project, I would have considered the evening to have been one of the best concerts I have ever attended. And yet, the night was still young. 

   Nicki Jaine was next, at the stroke of midnight.  I have been a huge fan of Nicki Jaine ever since the release of “Pigeons and Other Curiosities”, and seeing her perform in person was a sheer delight.  She began with one of my favorite WWII era songs, “Bei Mir Bist Du Shon” (actually written in 1932), and her set also included  Bertolt Brecht’s “Alabama Song”, complete with  the verse that is missing from the Door’s version.    To my pleasant astonishment, Nicki Jaine also performed “Lili Marleen”.    (During WWII, “Lili Marleen was immensely popular not only with Rommel’s Afrika Korps, but also with soldiers of the British Eighth Army in North Africa who were listening in to German broadcasts.   “Lili Marleen” became one of the great songs of WWII. In 1944, a version by Perry Como even reached number 13 on the U.S. charts!)    Along with classics from “Pigeons…” and her Live CD, Nicki Jaine also performed a new song never before heard by an audience. A human audience, that is, since she remarked that she had sung to her cat.  (Lucky kitty!)   Nicki Jaine was a true joy to hear.  I felt privileged to be able to speak with her later in the evening, and she is as friendly as she is talented.

   Next to perform was another one of my perennial favorites, Jill Tracy.   I was indelibly hooked by her 1999 release “Diabolical Streak”, and overjoyed to finally be able to see her in concert.  As great as her CD’s are, they paled before seeing her onstage.  I was thrilled to hear my favorites such as “Evil Night Together” as well as new songs like “Room 19” and even a bit of a history lesson with ‘Torture”.    For me, Jill Tracy puts the ‘cabaret’ in Dark Cabaret.  The term Dark Cabaret, though, scarcely conveys the depth of her musical and songwriting skill.  Her songs evoke everything from a hot-jazz style of exuberant, yet dark, decadence to a haunting despair of Victorian proportions.   Nathaniel was assisting on bass, and Ms. Tracy asked him how he could manage to keep such perfect time with no percussionist. He replied that he watched her butt and her feet!  Whatever the techniques utilized, the stage held nothing sheer, astounding talent that night.  I even had the honor of speaking to Jill Tracy after her set, and she was kind enough to sign a CD for me.

     One of the great things about this evening was the way that virtually everyone was a guest performer on each other’s sets.  With other types of bands, this may have seemed monotonous.  But with the line-up at Eccentrik, it was perfect.   Each performance seemed more like a social gathering of family and friends than a formal concert, as everyone brought their talents to bear.  The finale, when everyone took to the stage, was simply phenomenal.   I did not want the evening to end. 

     The DJ’s ascended to the booth for the last hour of the night, providing a musical tableau that got everyone onto the dance floor.  People were having fun, and this was great to watch.  Unlike a certain festival I attended a few years ago, there were no belligerent moshers deliberately trying to knock bystanders down, nor do I believe this would have been tolerated by the event community.  And community is what it was!  There was a sense of camaraderie that has grown all too rare at many so-called “underground” events.    There were no barriers between staff, vendors, performers and audience; no fashion snobbery; and no “scene” cliquery, dickory, dock.  It was truly about great music, friendly people and having fun.   Among others, I made the acquaintance of Ducky and Nicole, who also made the grueling trip from South Florida. I was rather chagrined to meet such kindred souls when I was in the very process of leaving that sun-blasted region. 

   Eccentrik has grown into one of the best underground events around, and holds even more promise for the future.   I urge everyone interested in underground music to attend. I look forward to the Eccentrik Festival 2009, and since I am now local, I will not miss a single evening of this great event.  Many thanks to Emma Mouse and her excellent staff.  (Be sure to read our interview with Emma Mouse.)

http://www.eccentrikfestival.com/

http://myspace.com/eccentrik festival/

http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/

Here are a few pictures from the fabulous Eccentrik V. More pics will be added very shortly!

The 13th Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo, held Aug 16-18 at the Deerfield Beach Hilton Aug 16-18 2008, featured over 80 tattoo artists, vendors, bands, suspension shows, and a car show. We attended the 11^th Annual expo and had a blast, so we were looking forward to the 13^th. However, unlike the show two years ago, our experience at this one was rather less than thrilling. When we arrived on Saturday night, parking was virtually non-existent. No one was directing traffic at all, and cars were lining the shoulders of the road as far as the eye could see. We found a space about a quarter of a mile away, and considered ourselves lucky.

There was a beautiful tiger on display outside the entrance, and we hoped he was just sleeping and not sedated. (Cats do sleep most of the day.) At the front door, no signs were in evidence pointing to the ticket booth. We later found that there was a sign taped to a pillar, but it was obscured by the mob congregating in the entrance. A large sign suspended from the ceiling, or at least high enough to be seen above the crowd, would have made things much easier. Nevertheless, the ticket staff and corridor monitors were very nice.

We wandered around, going from room to room to see the vendors.

There was a delightful monkey in the hallway, who was very sociable and a lot of fun to watch. We were greatly looking forward to seeing Slip and the Spinouts, South Florida’s best Rockabilly band. Looking for the band stage, we discovered it was outside by the pool area. The stage area was dark, cramped, and filled with chairs which had been jammed into a huge mass by the passing crowds. After all, this is South Florida in August, so it was humid and hot outside, more so by the stage since it was under cover and not conducive to catching the rare breeze. I do not think it was a good deal for the bands, either, who took a back seat to whatever exhibitions were going on by the pool. We finally found a couple of seats and sat down to wait for Slip and gang to perform.

Read More… The 13th Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo

This (lengthy) article is in response to Douglas Haddow’s article, “Hipster Culture: The Dead End of Western Civilization,” which can be found here:

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hipster.html

Hats off to Douglas Haddow.  His recent article on hipster culture pretty concisely sums up the reason why most people hate them.  Hipsters summarily piss all over everything that every subculture has hoped to achieve in the last 55 years, and it is a legitimate gripe.  However, what is more disturbing and less-known is how the shaping of hipster culture not only derides our past, but is rapidly accelerating its undoing.

Most of us know by now that hipster culture is strongly anti-subculture, sort of a “sit down and don’t be counted,” culture if you would.  It is amazingly simple in execution and its appeal: subcultures, especially old ones, are often quick to judge, and put exceptionally high barriers of entry towards acceptance.  To be fair, these old cultural warhorses have seen repeated attacks and piracy by the constantly stagnating music industry, and if not for these routine assaults, would probably not be as exclusionary as they are today.  However, be that as it may, some of these protective measures, however superfluous and irrational looking from the outside, have paid off.  If not for the visceral infighting that has paralyzed the goth scene in the past, we would find goth clubs full of freaks in Hot Topic gear dancing to tuned-down, terribly-played commercial rock today.  Other examples for other subcultures exist, and are plentiful.

(In)Security Blanket

However, it is this fear of rejection, or more so perceived fear of rejection, that has helped shape hipster culture to begin with.  Every crowd has its snob, and this dynamic has been molded into a stereotype that directs hipsters away from preexisting subcultures.  Combine this with tell-tale stories from hipsters being snubbed in their youth, and it solidifies it.  I have made several attempts in the past (and will in the future) to promote my night to this crowd, and the most common messages I get back are, “It’s not my thing,” “Goths are too snobby for me,” in addition to all sorts of sundry excuses as to why a bunch of people who love Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Chameleons UK, and The Jesus and Mary Chain would never show up to a night that plays these gratuitously.

Read More… Hipster Culture: Dead End for Independent Music?

Hick’ry Hawkins tears up the stage!

Billie of the Bo-Stevens

The Bo-Stevens Rawk!

The Lords of the Highway:  Attack of the Killer Bass!

Samantha and Bunny

The Heavy Rebel Weekender 2008 was held in the fabulous Millennium Center in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. This was the 5^th consecutive HRW I have attended. Unlike some festivals, I enjoyed this one just as much as the first. Due to other commitments, we could only attend on Friday. Last year I had vowed to attend all three nights, but alas, this was not to be.

The parking garage where we usually park was closed, but a block away I easily found parking. The usual vintage cars lined the street, including several that we had not seen before. A very cool chopper with a coffin shaped gas tank was by the steps leading into the Millennium Center. The door staff was very pleasant, as usual, and we were inside the venue in no time. There was lots of room for the vendors, who sold a wide variety of interesting items from vintage clothes to full size concert posters and buttons. The official merchandise tables were moved into the vendor’s area, and a small cafeteria line was set up in the space they had occupied last year. There was a nice selection of food which was actually vegetarian friendly, and if we had realized this we would have arrived earlier without stopping for a meal before heading to the venue.

Read More… The Heavy Rebel Weekender 2008

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.

Read More… Wake The Dead Festival 2

This night was born at a get-together at my house over the holiday season of 2006. Albert and I were lamenting, like so many other people, the fact that Goth music had been swept from so many “goth nights”. We agreed that the time was right to try to do something. Albert spoke with DJ GG, a local DJ and promoter, who was enthusiastic about the idea.

In January 2007, the three of us held we held our first night in Fort Lauderdale, FL at The Mental Ward. For the first time in years, South Florida had a night dedicated to Goth and Deathrock, both old and new. No EBM, no Industrial, and no Techno. We had nothing against these genres, but simple felt that they were well-provided by other club nights, and our objective was not to compete with anyone, but to provide something different. Along with guest DJ’s Carlos St. Germain, Jeanne, and Antichrist, we spun the best in classic and cutting edge Goth.

Read More… Nocturna, Ft. Laud: When New Deathrock Came to South Florida