[DC][DAS ICH][PHANTASMAGORIA][Review]
klaatu
Greetings all,
They actually let me out of the asylum on leave last night. Or maybe I
overpowered the warden. I forget, since I am well-known to be hallucinating
and delusional, so I don't bother to remember much since it's all bogus
anyway, or so my therapists advise me.
Having escaped custody, or being let out (whatever) I wound my way to
suburban Wheaton Maryland, long fabled as possibly the most suburban
suburbia center one could imagine. Once a small town, Wheaton was engulfed
by creeping conformity in the early 60s and is only now beginning to regain
any individualistic character. It's almost got something like class, which
for Wheaton is a first. Part of the acquisition of class is the restaurant
district bordered by Georgia Avenue, University Boulevard, Price Avenue and
Fern Street. Right in the middle is Elkin Street, and right in the middle of
the block is Phantasmagoria.
A record store by day, nightclub by night, even though I generally loathe
Wheaton, I can give a very positive review of Phantasmagoria, since it
really reminds me of my nights downtown as an alley punk in the era of DC
Space and the old Niteclub 9:30 -- it's got that "we're not even going to
try to be pretentious 'cause it just won't work" ambience, a sort of gritty
authenticity and very urban flavor. They've got stacks and stacks of vinyl,
if you wanted to find anything really old and hard-to-find I would highly
recommend it. The place is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of us who
lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society. Close to Metrorail and
busses, surrounded by all sorts of nifty little ethnic eateries and
practically next-door to a nice and underused pool hall, there's even lots
of parking nearby.
I paid the $15.00 entry fee and stepped into a dimly-lit and black painted
swirling gloom of faux-fog and Goths. I have been moaning quite a lot in
recent days about Gothnic Cleaning in the DC area, but either I have been
overstating the case, or Goths had come from a long long ways to catch this
show. I did recognize a lot of Goths from the downtown scene, mostly the
folks from Catacomb DC. But there were a lot of faces I didn't recognize
from the downtown scene, which to me implies that there are a lot of local
Goths I just haven't seen around. There might have been a hundred to 120
people there.
I missed the first band or two, and did catch "In Strictest Confidence" and
"Das Ich".
I used to be pretty unimpressed by German techno/darkwave, but now I sort of
like it. I definitely liked "Das Ich". "In Strictest Confidence" wasn't bad
by any means, it's just that their first few songs just weren't really
catchy, and were sort of weak, but their last few songs had a nice set of
beats to them. It was funny, I went into the smoking-lounge to have a
cigarette and wound up commenting on them to someone in there, I said
something like "not bad but I expect it will only be a year before I hear
their music in an elevator or in the dentist's office". The guy said, with a
german accent, "ja, we have a thousand bands like them in Europe, it's all
presets, lots of people are building on Skinny Puppy's work", or something
to that effect. I said something to the effect of "well, it's difficult to
be original, all of these giants have come before, it's hard to outdo
Mozart, Beethoven or Sibelius", and this guy says something like, "ja, I
like the classics, they are an influence". Turns out he was one of the
keyboard players for "Das Ich".
"Das Ich" started out strong, and only got better, although some of their
tunes were much more infectiously "danceable" than other. They even got me
to dance, which is kind of rare, me being an old geezer. But what I thought
were the best points of "Das Ich" boiled down to two things: they had a live
drummer, who was almost my age, I think -- a german longhair guy who would
look right at home at any hippie gathering. His drumming was superlative, he
did not once miss a beat -- I didn't know one person could get that sort of
rhythmic complexity out of a standard drum setup. Secondly, the keyboard
player I'd spoken with earlier did in fact show a _lot_ of classical
influence, especially as he layered on the sounds behind and next to the
steadier lead and bass rhythms provided by the other keyboardist -- there
were subdued occasional elements within the tunes that were almost baroque.
However the most entertaining element may have been the lead singer, who had
a premiere industrial-techno snarly-voice, and who pranced and bounced
around the stage like some sort of demented woad-painted imp while shaking
his short mane of elflocks at the crowd to everyone's enthusiastic approval.
After one set, they took a short break of about a minute, after which they
returned to the stage to finish off the show with some of their most
danceable numbers.
I think I would recommend to anyone that they should buy a CD from "Das
Ich", and maybe if it's to their taste they would want to also consider
buying a CD from "In Strictest Confidence". But if you ever have the
opportunity, I will definitely recommend that you see Das Ich give a live
show, you won't be disappointed.
--
"We look through a glass but darkly:
What we see is more colored by our beliefs,
than what we believe is colored by what we see."
Selki
: for Wheaton is a first. Part of the acquisition of class is the restaurant
: district bordered by Georgia Avenue, University Boulevard, Price Avenue and
: Fern Street. Right in the middle is Elkin Street, and right in the middle of
: the block is Phantasmagoria.
: A record store by day, nightclub by night, even though I generally loathe
: Wheaton, I can give a very positive review of Phantasmagoria, since it
I second the recommentation for Phantasmagoria. I've seen two good
shows there (Kiva, big world/celtic group with good singers/instruments;
and Xyra + Verborgen, "cabaret rock nouveau"), and picked up some great
used CDs as well. They also have sandwiches for folks who didn't get a
chance to grab something at one of the restaurants nearby.
: practically next-door to a nice and underused pool hall, there's even lots
Didn't know this, thanks. Entertaining review!
December 22, 1999 - 8 & 10 PM . . .
Xyra & Verborgen's "FRIGHTENING BEAUTY" CD Release
Party @ BLUES ALLEY! (Georgetown)
Not spam, just a fan. I like the rich sound of the instrumentation
combined with Xyra's contralto voice, and they have some intriguing lyrics
(not just the usual love songs!), too. Their sound is not as
world-weary as Marlene Dietrich (surely you've heard her "Falling in Love
Again"), if not as up-tempo as Suzanne Vega's 1996 "Nine Objects of
Desire" CD (also cabaret-oriented). Their Glass Birds CD was pretty good.
--se...@clark.net
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that
can be counted counts." - Big Al
Rachael
> They actually let me out of the asylum on leave last night. Or maybe I
> overpowered the warden. I forget, since I am well-known to be halluci-
> nating and delusional, so I don't bother to remember much since it's
> all bogus anyway, or so my therapists advise me.
What a nice exposition to an "Egodram" [1]. Thanks for posting this re-
view that reminded me a lot of the last concert of Das Ich I've been to:
Leipzig in May 1998. ( http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de )
<snip Wheaton>
> [The club Phantasmagoria] is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
> semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
> providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of
> us who lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society.
You mean... us mainstreamers? :P
<snip>
> I paid the $15.00 entry fee and stepped into a dimly-lit and black
> painted swirling gloom of faux-fog and Goths. I have been moaning
> quite a lot in recent days about Gothnic Cleaning in the DC area,
Indeed. But it is most entertaining, so keep on hedging your political
discontentment with updates on D.C.'s misfits.
> but either I have been overstating the case, or Goths had come from a
> long long ways to catch this show. I did recognize a lot of Goths from
> the downtown scene, mostly the folks from Catacomb DC. But there were
> a lot of faces I didn't recognize from the downtown scene, which to me
> implies that there are a lot of local Goths I just haven't seen around
> There might have been a hundred to 120 people there.
You call 120 people a lot? In a concert near Washington?
Methinks, your goth scene is rather non-existent then compared to our
European, in particular German scene. As I posted on a.g, Deine Lakaien
attracted more than 800 listeners last week to a concert in a small uni-
versity town with an population of 80.000.
Even regular nights often have three times as much attendees despite
the lack of a metropolis like Washington nearby. I'm feeling spoilt
right now.
> I missed the first band or two, and did catch "In Strictest
> Confidence" and "Das Ich".
>
> I used to be pretty unimpressed by German techno/darkwave, but now I
^^^^^^
Electro. Please. The term "techno" describes mainstream rave in
Germany and has little in common with the electro/industrial scene.
<snip>
> It was funny, I went into the smoking-lounge to have a cigarette and
> wound up commenting on them to someone in there, I said something like
> "not bad but I expect it will only be a year before I hear their music
> in an elevator or in the dentist's office". The guy said, with a ger-
> man accent, "ja, we have a thousand bands like them in Europe,
Absolutely true. Apart from Dreadful Shadows and a handful of bands
there is no gothic (rock) scene anymore. It's all electro, industrial
or a variety of ethereal genres like medieval or darkwave.
goth !:= electro
> it's all presets, lots of people are building on Skinny Puppy's work",
> or something to that effect. I said something to the effect of "well,
> it's difficult to be original, all of these giants have come before,
> it's hard to outdo Mozart, Beethoven or Sibelius",
Obviously this is true. Nonetheless, if you liked to give modern classi-
cal composers a try, then look for Helga Pogatschar's "Mars. Requiem" or
for her new record "Titus. Trash. Tatar". She's lecturer of the Munich-
based University of Theatre and Music, and combines musique concrčte,
electronic sounds and classical structures to a demanding avantgarde.
The audioplay "TTT" for instance sounds like an electronically fragmen-
ted 3D Weill. Definitely worth being looked up, in particular "Mars" w/
its obvious cites of Debussy and Stravinsky. ( http://www.chrom.de )
> and this guy says something like, "ja, I like the classics, they are
> an influence". Turns out he was one of the keyboard players for "Das
> Ich".
It could've been Bruno Kramm. He's much into classical music.
The members of Das Ich are in my experience very nice and openminded,
in contrast to what was posted about their UK cancellations lately.
> "Das Ich" started out strong, and only got better, although some of
> their tunes were much more infectiously "danceable" than other.
"Egodram" is their epitome of harsh industrial music. I, for one, prefer
such calm albums like "Morgue" which is a setting to music of Gottfried
Benn's lyric. Their first releases "Satanische Verse" (1989) and "Die
Propheten" defined a very own German darkwave genre altogether with
Goethes Erben. Both of them contain their most popular song ("Gottes
Tod"), which still fills the dancefloors ten years after its release.
<snip>
> However the most entertaining element may have been the lead singer,
> who had a premiere industrial-techno snarly-voice, and who pranced and
> bounced around the stage like some sort of demented woad-painted imp
> while shaking his short mane of elflocks at the crowd to everyone's
> enthusiastic approval.
Just take a look at the booklet of "Re_laborat". You'll be able to
esteem Stefan Ackermann's visual change over the years then. <grin>
> After one set, they took a short break of about a minute, after which
> they returned to the stage to finish off the show with some of their
> most danceable numbers.
Which may have been "Destillat" or "Kindgott", I suppose. Both on [1].
> But if you ever have the opportunity, I will definitely recommend that
> you see Das Ich give a live show, you won't be disappointed.
I could not have put it better. Go! For the music, for the show, or best
of all for both of them.
Rachael
who'll be offline again till Saturday for his dialogue-seminar
& listening to Borodin
[1] Das Ich's most industrial record released in 1998 (?).
--
"Suavia musae... me delectant, me deiciunt, me consolantur."
Follow me... http://redrival.com/quisquilia/initiatio.htm
Rachael...@gmx.net
klaatu
>
> klaatu scripsit:
>
> > They actually let me out of the asylum on leave last night. Or maybe I
> > overpowered the warden. I forget, since I am well-known to be halluci-
> > nating and delusional, so I don't bother to remember much since it's
> > all bogus anyway, or so my therapists advise me.
>
> What a nice exposition to an "Egodram" [1]. Thanks for posting this re-
> view that reminded me a lot of the last concert of Das Ich I've been to:
> Leipzig in May 1998. ( http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de )
Actually, I think they might have been releasing a new CD last night, lord
knows the CD-sales desk got mobbed after they stopped playing.
>
> <snip Wheaton>
>
> > [The club Phantasmagoria] is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
> > semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
> > providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of
> > us who lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society.
>
> You mean... us mainstreamers? :P
Yeah, you know, us normal seeming people who ordinarily seem like clueless
rednecks or loser sysadmins but who put on dark clothes on full moon nights
and go out and dance to <big grin> guys screaming in german over a jillion
synthesizers.
I took your advice, and tried making out what they were saying, but never
did quite understand much.
>
> <snip>
> > I paid the $15.00 entry fee and stepped into a dimly-lit and black
> > painted swirling gloom of faux-fog and Goths. I have been moaning
> > quite a lot in recent days about Gothnic Cleaning in the DC area,
>
> Indeed. But it is most entertaining, so keep on hedging your political
> discontentment with updates on D.C.'s misfits.
The few that are left... Oh, PS, four years ago, DC's misfits _were_ the
political scene, or vice-versa... but an election intervened.
>
> > but either I have been overstating the case, or Goths had come from a
> > long long ways to catch this show. I did recognize a lot of Goths from
> > the downtown scene, mostly the folks from Catacomb DC. But there were
> > a lot of faces I didn't recognize from the downtown scene, which to me
> > implies that there are a lot of local Goths I just haven't seen around
> > There might have been a hundred to 120 people there.
>
> You call 120 people a lot? In a concert near Washington?
Hey, I said Gothnic Cleansing had been remarkably successful.
wrob
> Rachael wrote:
> >
> > klaatu scripsit:
> >
> > > They actually let me out of the asylum on leave last night. Or maybe I
> > > overpowered the warden. I forget, since I am well-known to be halluci-
> > > nating and delusional, so I don't bother to remember much since it's
> > > all bogus anyway, or so my therapists advise me.
> >
> > What a nice exposition to an "Egodram" [1]. Thanks for posting this re-
> > view that reminded me a lot of the last concert of Das Ich I've been to:
> > Leipzig in May 1998. ( http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de )
>
> Actually, I think they might have been releasing a new CD last night, lord
> knows the CD-sales desk got mobbed after they stopped playing.
>
> >
> > <snip Wheaton>
> >
> > > [The club Phantasmagoria] is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
> > > semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
> > > providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of
> > > us who lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society.
> >
> > You mean... us mainstreamers? :P
>
> Yeah, you know, us normal seeming people who ordinarily seem like clueless
> rednecks or loser sysadmins but who put on dark clothes on full moon nights
> and go out and dance to <big grin> guys screaming in german over a jillion
> synthesizers.
>
> I took your advice, and tried making out what they were saying, but never
> did quite understand much.
>
> >
> > <snip>
> > > I paid the $15.00 entry fee and stepped into a dimly-lit and black
> > > painted swirling gloom of faux-fog and Goths. I have been moaning
> > > quite a lot in recent days about Gothnic Cleaning in the DC area,
> >
> > Indeed. But it is most entertaining, so keep on hedging your political
> > discontentment with updates on D.C.'s misfits.
>
> The few that are left... Oh, PS, four years ago, DC's misfits _were_ the
> political scene, or vice-versa... but an election intervened.
>
> >
> > > but either I have been overstating the case, or Goths had come from a
> > > long long ways to catch this show. I did recognize a lot of Goths from
> > > the downtown scene, mostly the folks from Catacomb DC. But there were
> > > a lot of faces I didn't recognize from the downtown scene, which to me
> > > implies that there are a lot of local Goths I just haven't seen around
> > > There might have been a hundred to 120 people there.
> >
> > You call 120 people a lot? In a concert near Washington?
>
> Hey, I said Gothnic Cleansing had been remarkably successful.
Klaatu - I wondering if you could find something out for me about P-goria.
(hey, you're a "journalist"; I'm not.)
Are they still losing money??
They recently closed their Dupont circle location (the store with the big
black
one 8th-note pinned to it) to raise money so they could refinance their
Wheaton location which was the only place they could profitably show local
bands in the evenings.
Not a good idea if you asked me, but maybe they were desperate.
What I was wondering is if they're still in the market for another location to
sell music. There's a great big storefront for lease in Takoma Park, although
it's one drawback is it's owned by Doug Jemal. (the storefronts are underneath
Arise Importers.)
-BER
klaatu
>
> klaatu wrote:
>
> > Rachael wrote:
> > >
> > > klaatu scripsit:
> > >
<chomp>
> > > > [The club Phantasmagoria] is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
> > > > semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
> > > > providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of
> > > > us who lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society.
<gobble gobble>
>
> Klaatu - I wondering if you could find something out for me about P-goria.
> (hey, you're a "journalist"; I'm not.)
>
> Are they still losing money??
I don't know, I didn't ask.
>
> They recently closed their Dupont circle location (the store with the big black
> one 8th-note pinned to it) to raise money so they could refinance their
> Wheaton location which was the only place they could profitably show local
> bands in the evenings.
>
> Not a good idea if you asked me, but maybe they were desperate.
Actually, DC's downtown scene is totally too expensive for most goths to
afford to hang out, since after all if you dress like that in amazingly
tradition-bound DC, nobody's going to hire you, not with Gothnic Cleansing
going on anyways. Dupont Circle in any case is way too expensive for anyone
to afford IMHO unless they already own the venue outright.
Plus, Wheaton really needs a punk/alternative/goth scene, it's a perfect
antidote to the place taking itself too seriously. But Montgomery County's
tax/licensing system is almost doomed to kill what it had attracted with the
lower operating expenses. There's almost noplace left in MC which wasn't
primarily a restaurant (also serving alcohol as an afterthought) from the
beginning. For instance, Gentleman Jim's and Stained Glass Pub survive
mostly because peopel who come in to drink and catch acts (like, get this,
at the Stained Glass Pub we got Tom Principato with no admission or cover
charge!) always make a point to buy the food whether they are hungry or not.
It makes sure that the place stays open and you can always doggy-bag the
food and eat it the next day.
MC desperately need to do away with that 50-percent or greater food sales if
alcohol-licensed. But on a sidenote, if they allowed drinks-only watering
holes, they'd completely wipe out all hopes of a DC recovery within six
weeks... and in fact I think they've always known that simply licensing
drinks-only establishments in MC would wipe out DC's economy faster than a
combination of Congressional abandonment and retrocession combined. Truth be
told, outside of visiting museums or maybe catching a show here or there,
there's simply no reason other than showing up for the government job to go
down to the District. Well, not for now. Maybe DC can change that. I give
them five years.
>
> What I was wondering is if they're still in the market for another location to
> sell music. There's a great big storefront for lease in Takoma Park, although
> it's one drawback is it's owned by Doug Jemal. (the storefronts are underneath
> Arise Importers.)
Hopefully they will catch this article. Hey, you just want a place closer to
you to go hang out with Goths, right? Heh heh. Hey, gals in bondage attire
with little razor-edged Ankhs on chains, and varicolor green eyes that see
right through you to those desires that it turns out they can articulate
better than yourself? What more could any man want? Or woman for that
matter?
</evil chuckling watching the can of worms...>
>
> -BER
--
"We look through a glass but darkly:
What we see is more colored by our beliefs,
than what we believe is colored by what we see."
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - P. Henry
Be kind to your neighbors, even though they be transgenic chimerae.
Re-transmission of this e-mail expressly prohibited.
Non-UseNet re-transmission of this article is a willful violation of US
Copyright Law and the Berne Convention. Statutory damages are $250,000.00
Whom thou'st vex'd waxeth wroth: Meow. http://www.clark.net/pub/klaatu/
Leonora E. Unser-Schutz
> Rachael wrote:
> >
> > klaatu scripsit:
> >
> > > They actually let me out of the asylum on leave last night. Or maybe I
> > > overpowered the warden. I forget, since I am well-known to be halluci-
> > > nating and delusional, so I don't bother to remember much since it's
> > > all bogus anyway, or so my therapists advise me.
> >
> > What a nice exposition to an "Egodram" [1]. Thanks for posting this re-
> > view that reminded me a lot of the last concert of Das Ich I've been to:
> > Leipzig in May 1998. ( http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de )
> Actually, I think they might have been releasing a new CD last night, lord
> knows the CD-sales desk got mobbed after they stopped playing.
> >
> > <snip Wheaton>
> >
> > > [The club Phantasmagoria] is a complete antidote against Wheaton's
> > > semi-successful attempts to turn itself into "the new Adams-Morgan",
> > > providing a perfect breeding ground and assembly point for those of
> > > us who lurk mostly unseen beneath the rock of society.
> >
> > You mean... us mainstreamers? :P
> Yeah, you know, us normal seeming people who ordinarily seem like clueless
> rednecks or loser sysadmins but who put on dark clothes on full moon nights
> and go out and dance to <big grin> guys screaming in german over a jillion
> synthesizers.
> I took your advice, and tried making out what they were saying, but never
> did quite understand much.
> >
> > <snip>
> > > I paid the $15.00 entry fee and stepped into a dimly-lit and black
> > > painted swirling gloom of faux-fog and Goths. I have been moaning
> > > quite a lot in recent days about Gothnic Cleaning in the DC area,
> >
> > Indeed. But it is most entertaining, so keep on hedging your political
> > discontentment with updates on D.C.'s misfits.
> The few that are left... Oh, PS, four years ago, DC's misfits _were_ the
> political scene, or vice-versa... but an election intervened.
> >
> > > but either I have been overstating the case, or Goths had come from a
> > > long long ways to catch this show. I did recognize a lot of Goths from
> > > the downtown scene, mostly the folks from Catacomb DC. But there were
> > > a lot of faces I didn't recognize from the downtown scene, which to me
> > > implies that there are a lot of local Goths I just haven't seen around
> > > There might have been a hundred to 120 people there.
> >
> > You call 120 people a lot? In a concert near Washington?
> Hey, I said Gothnic Cleansing had been remarkably successful.
> >
> --
Leonora E. Unser-Schutz
-Leonora
The Industrial Love KittenLady
trash such as:
I've relented to using the icky newsguy webfeed. So let's try this again.
>> > What a nice exposition to an "Egodram" [1]. Thanks for posting this re-
>> > view that reminded me a lot of the last concert of Das Ich I've been to:
>> > Leipzig in May 1998. ( http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de )
>
>> Actually, I think they might have been releasing a new CD last night, lord
>> knows the CD-sales desk got mobbed after they stopped playing.
Their new CD is re_laborat which is an anniversary CD celebrating ten years of
either Das Ich, the label they founded (Danse Macabre), or both. I can't
remember. It's not got any new material on it, unless you fork over the money
for the two cd (the second cd is named re_animat) limited edition set (there are
two versions -- the original german and newer french. the tracklisting and
packaging is the same). They also ahve a tour cd which is called
re_kap(something I can't spell) which has the original version of the songs on
re_laborat (a best of, I guess :) and the one song from re_animat which was new
(titled re_animat).
r_l is very good. i wouldn't recommend it unless you are familiar with their
material already -- it is very misleading if you expect them to sound like the
l'ame imortelle remix, for example ;)
on a note -- what opening band did you have in DC? I know you weren't there for,
them, but maybe someone else can fill me in? Here Android Lust took taht spot,
and were very good. Along with In Strict Confidence it was an overall excellent
show -- all three bands were interesting and executed the music well. (Although
Android Lust could use more of a stage presence. The music was very good, but I
was not drawn to actually watch them.)
-Leonora
- love and hate tattooed across the knuckles of his hands -
- the hands that slap his kids around cause they don't understand -
- http://www.kittenlady.com wench[at]kittenlady.com -
Rachael
<re: Das Ich merchandise>
>
> Actually, I think they might have been releasing a new CD last night,
> lord knows the CD-sales desk got mobbed after they stopped playing.
I'd suppose it was either the US release of "Re_laborat" or maybe the
2CD digipak edition of it (which includes another rmx CD & is limited to
10.000 copies) that has become unavailable in Germany in the meantime.
"Re_laborat" is a Best of CD due to the tenth anniversary of Das Ich.
There are some excellent mixes and re-arrangements like VNV Nation's
"Destillat" or Ernst Horn's [1] "He Mensch". Dance or Die's version of
"Gottes Tod" and in particular Atrocity's spoiling of "Des Satans neue
Kleider" on the other hand are uninspired crap.
I would not recommend "Re_laborat" as a starter to Das Ich. Records
like "Die Propheten", "Staub" or "Egodram" show the band's work and
evolvement in a better way, make it comprehensible.
<snip>
>> You mean... us mainstreamers? :P
>
> Yeah, you know, us normal seeming people who ordinarily seem like
> clueless rednecks or loser sysadmins but who put on dark clothes on
> full moon nights
I'm amused every once in a while in the clubs by some fourteen year old
that in a vain attempt to decry me refers to "ppl like [me], "the yuppie
scum" or "poseurs that usurp the scene". :o
I've never been called redneck though.
> and go out and dance to <big grin> guys screaming in german over a
> jillion synthesizers.
<joining in an excessive grin that does some damage to our well-founded
reputation as mopeys. perky now and then?>
> I took your advice, and tried making out what they were saying, but
> never did quite understand much.
Well, a concert is not necesarily the best place to make out words
spoken in a foreign language due to the noise and unrest. Moreover,
German is due to its complex grammar quite differently structured
than English. In particular Das Ich's lyrics have become ambitious
over the years, they are much more demanding than Terminal Choice's
"Totes Fleisch" of which I took the refrain some time ago.
<snip politics in this thread despite amusing sidenote>
> Hey, I said Gothnic Cleansing had been remarkably successful.
It's just that I would not have expected such an success. I was really
impressed by reports/web pages on the goth scene in SF, Boston, NYC or
Toronto, thus I'd have expected such a big metropolitan area like D.C.
to offer and attract a variety of subcultures/alternatives scenes/...
Goth, or at least certain gothic items and features, have become in-
credibly successful and popular in Germany. A lot of techno dj's use
ecclesiastical or biblical references, add "doom 'n' gloom" to their
music, videos and outfits, electro/goth bands climb higher and higher
in the music charts. The epitome of goth's influence on mainstream is
for me the fact that H&M (a young fashion retailer) has stocked black
velvet capes for autumn and winter fashion, and that these may become
popular. <grin> Imagine life in the streets then... [2]
Rachael
Ba mhór é a ngradam. [3]
& listening to Das Ich
[1] Ernst Horn of Deine Lakaien that is.
[2] The Return of the Middle Ages (tm).
[3] Terng jnf gurve qvtavgl. ;P
Dana McIntosh
> on a note -- what opening band did you have in DC? I know you weren't there for,
> them, but maybe someone else can fill me in? Here Android Lust took taht spot,
> and were very good. Along with In Strict Confidence it was an overall excellent
> show -- all three bands were interesting and executed the music well. (Although
> Android Lust could use more of a stage presence. The music was very good, but I
> was not drawn to actually watch them.)
As an opener we had Baltimore's Ego Likeness - an as of yet unsigned act
featuring local "legend" Steve Archer(vox, sparse guitar, and digital
FX) and wife Donna (vox and keyboard) and mistress Nic on Theramin and
vox. Aside from issues with the smoke machine (it just kept pumping the
stuff out no matter what until we finally had to unplug it - you would
have thought the Sisters of Mercy were playing or somesuch.) they put on
an awesome
show. I really dig their style, kindof a mixture of etherial trip-hop,
spo0ky soundscapes, and dancier industrial. Definately worth checking
out, they certainly have not reached their peak, and kick much ass
already. Very unique and talented group. Nic has even toured with the
Legendary Pink Dots on Theramin, and word has it her solo act (Coven of
One) will be opening for Matrix and Beborn Beton on the 9th at Nation.
So show up early and prepare to be shocked, she is as bizarre as she is
talented.
-dana
aromantic...@my-deja.com
Beborn Beton this week, but I WILL be opening for Dead Voices on Air
at Metro next Wednesday, December 15th. I am supposed to go on at 10PM.
Dead Voices On Air and Not Breathing
with
Coven of One
Metro Cafe is at 1522 14th St NW in DC.
-Nic
P.S. I am not Steve (or Donna's!) mistress. ;)
Dana McIntosh <da...@digex.net> wrote:
> As an opener we had Baltimore's Ego Likeness - an as of yet unsigned
act
> featuring local "legend" Steve Archer(vox, sparse guitar, and digital
> FX) and wife Donna (vox and keyboard) and mistress Nic on Theramin and
> vox. Aside from issues with the smoke machine (it just kept pumping
the
> stuff out no matter what until we finally had to unplug it - you would
> have thought the Sisters of Mercy were playing or somesuch.) they put
on
> an awesome
> show. I really dig their style, kindof a mixture of etherial trip-hop,
> spo0ky soundscapes, and dancier industrial. Definately worth checking
> out, they certainly have not reached their peak, and kick much ass
> already. Very unique and talented group. Nic has even toured with the
> Legendary Pink Dots on Theramin, and word has it her solo act (Coven
of
> One) will be opening for Matrix and Beborn Beton on the 9th at Nation.
> So show up early and prepare to be shocked, she is as bizarre as she
is
> talented.
>
> -dana
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.