MUSIC: Choose your alternative
eye WEEKLY
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eye WEEKLY October 10, 1996
Toronto's arts newspaper .....free every Thursday
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MUSIC MUSIC
CHOOSE YOUR ALTERNATIVE
by
HOLLY GOES
Quiz time! Get your pens ready for the questions that ask "What kind
of Club Kid are you?"
1. My definition of "house" is: a) progressive, booty-shaking, bass-
thumping tracks; b) repetitive female vocals sung over a steady synth
groove; or c) a building with four walls and a roof, usually with
people living in it.
2. My definition of ultra-fun club music is: a) see "a" above; b) see
"b" above; or c) angry alternative rantings or dark and brooding
industrial laments.
If you answered "c" to the questions above then congratulations! You
are probably already an initiate of the dark and mysterious world of
the alternative's alternative. If you are a new recruit, however,
follow me as I prance merrily in my go-go goth outfit flanked by the
rockabilly huckster Miko Suave.
GO ON, TAKE EVERYTHING
Start the week off with a loud alternative rock 'n' roll bang! The
Guvernment hosts Carnival Diablo every Monday night. Promising Freaks!
Freaks! Freaks! and grungy good times, the opening night succeeded, if
only because mixed in with the usually jaded opening night crowd last
month were real mohawked punks and tall, lanky goth-goddesses.
DJ Gio played a fairly straightforward set with a steady diet of
Jane's Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins, although he did throw in some
Stevie Wonder and a few other bizarre choices.
While the crowd was in the mood to party, they were especially in the
mood for blood, and the freaks didn't disappoint. It wasn't as all
that as the Jim Rose Sideshow or even a good issue of Zippy The
Pinhead, but it was entertaining all the same, especially the Countess
Vanessa who ate real, live, icky bugs!
So where to go from there? Friday night at Oz is an alternative/Retro
'80s night which draws a mixed crowd of alternative (hunky boys!) and
college rock types, which means that everybody can get drunk and
listen to The Cure, The Cult and whoever sings "Electric Avenue" with
equal pleasure.
A similar vibe is in effect at the Velvet Underground, where Queen
St.-weary kids go to hear some Good Tunes! and jump around on the
crowded dance floor. Which makes me think: does moshing ever present a
problem? I spoke to DJ James (the other half of the spinning team that
includes alternative DJing god Iain) at Oz about the situation.
"It doesn't happen much at Oz on Fridays, but sometimes when Iain is
spinning at the Limelight on Sundays, the kids will go crazy for a
song or two. But then we switch to something a little more mellow."
At the now sadly bowling-alley-less V.U., I spoke to Paul Duncan who
said that a 'No Moshing' policy was enforced because the club is too
small and the kids who go there tend to have been there and done that
anyway. Good thing, too, because some of us babes would've been
trampling steel toes with six-inch heels.
The best thing about goth clubs is that people take what they wear
very seriously. Tired of those boys who think that putting on the
first T-shirt that they see lying on the floor in the morning is a
cool thing? Then a goth boy with his tight vinyl pants and sheer black
shirt is for you -- just be prepared to compete with women who look as
fabulous as he does. Catch 22's bat-caving atmosphere means that the
lights are kept dim, especially on the dancefloor, which is almost
pitch black. Everybody is dressed to the (cat-o'-) nines and are
either chatting in the front parlor, playing pool around dimly lit
tables or swaying on the dancefloor to the heavy throbbings of DJ
Mars. Will you pick-up in this club? Absolutely. Will you be able to
tell if they're cute or not? Not really -- it's too dark, but by the
time the sun comes up, you'll probably be long gone anyway.
Whether you're a flannel-wearing, ripped-jeans kind of guy or you
prefer to dress in shiny black from head to toe, there is a club out
there tailor-made for you! These clubs may have more feet-stomping or
arm swaying than booty shaking, but the end result is the same: you'll
still come home happy, drunk and ready to go back for more the next
week.
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