The folks at Modern.Wav have hit upon a novel idea for the San Diego area: a daytime goth event. And they went the whole route with two rooms and go-go dancers right along with a live performance. There, on Newport Avenue, surrounded by the colorfully assorted beach crowd, is The Holding Company. A very nice venue with its clockwork marquee, dual floors and sun deck. I have to admit that it was a bit surreal watching the regulars mingled with the semi nude ripped fishnet crowd, all while the Packers-Steelers game played on every TV.
When folks like myself reach “a certain age”, it’s nice to have the option of going to a daytime event and still enjoy a live show. Never mind the after party. Now the pregame is the happening event.
As a last minute late arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the event included a live performance by Straight Razor. But as the DJs wrapped up on the first floor main stage, we were soon treated to a hard hitting show.
For those of you who don’t know, Straight Razor is a musical project of actor Omar Doom, known for his work with Quentin Tarantino. Not only was he impeccably dressed and perfectly groomed, I was treated to some of the coolest mic stand poses I’ve ever seen.
Straight Razor
Doom and his unidentified accompanist delivered a set that was on point with selections from their most recent release, Casualty, including their single The Curse as well as a cover of The Cure’s 100 Years.
Daytime goth events could be the new big thing. It’s nice to check out a show and still be home by 9:00.
A Tuesday night in San Diego is not for the faint of heart. Only the bravest would dare venture out on this evening. And so it was that tonight’s show would be for a very select audience.
Having missed his last visit to San Diego, I was eager to see Curse Mackey do his thing on the local stage, but first….
Black Season Witch
Opening the show was Chicago’s Black Season Witch. Seeing a cello onstage definitely caught my attention and they put it good use as they opened their set with a number that made me think of dark chamber music. In fact, they created an entire atmosphere around their opener and set with sound effects and black-and-white visuals. The two extended goth jams then segued into a metal vibe that concluded with a very faithful Black Sabbath cover.
It turns out that there was a last minute change in set order as Curse Mackey came on next. Fans of Curse Mackey’s latest release, Imaginary Enemies, would do themselves a favor by seeing him perform live as these songs can be best appreciated through a venue sound system and very loud. Honestly, after opening with an electronic cacophony and then cutting loose on songs like Submerge, I found myself rediscovering an appreciation for the songs as the bass rattled my bones.
Curse Mackey
Now, with some artists who do the one-man-band thing, it can quickly become a glorified karaoke night. Mackey’s stage presence goes a long way toward making this a fulfilling live experience with enough energy to make a true show.
Additionally, this was the night that Mackey performed Kindness Of Serpents live for the first time.
Closing the show was San Diego’s own Moods of a Sinner. Buzzy guitars and solid rhythms fueled this mid-tempo fever dream with flavor. While I could definitely hear a little Christian Death in their sound it was clear that the musicianship is there. They can do more than goth, as proven when they offered some drop D riffs that made me think of the late Geordie Walker.
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Moods of a Sinner
Visitors to the San Diego area would do well to check out a show at Brick By Brick, with its friendly staff and solid sound system. And hopefully artists like Curse Mackey will continue to bring their talent to our fair city.
For the longest time, I was worried we wouldn’t have another Red Lorry Yellow Lorry album. From a prolific run through the 1980s, 1992’s Blasting Off was purported to be the final RLYL album. Cut to twenty-three years later and we have Strange Kind Of Paradise, which is also purported to be the final Lorries album.
The excessive reverb and programmed beats have been phased out in favor of a more traditional rock sound that’s reminiscent of 1960s garage rock but with a bit of 90s Britpop thrown in. Chris Reed’s signature droning baritone voice remains consistent and strong with an almost country-like twang on tracks like As Long As We’re Breathing and Killing Time. The dual guitar sound is put to effective use throughout along with subtle electronic touches such as on Chicken Feed.
Long time fans who remember The Lorries’ early work may feel that Strange Kind Of Paradise is not as atmospheric or moody as previous releases but, still, it does have some elements that make it a very listenable album. And keep in mind, who expects a forty-year-old band to sound like their first album?
Known throughout the rest of the country as the Industrial Nation Tour, and sponsored by the legendary Cold Waves Festival in Chicago, the event brings some old school Industrial favorites back to San Diego.
“Hello. My name is Paul Barker. This is my music.”
So began the evening. An evening of all-star Industrial music and a few surprises along the way.
Lead Into Gold
Opening the night was Paul Barker’s Lead Into Gold playing selections from the new upcoming release. Barker stalked the stage, not looking altogether comfortable in front of the crowd.
“I feel like a caged animal up here.”
Between self-deprecating comments and occasional technical glitches, Barker delivered a blistering one-man show that truly reinforced his status as an accomplished Industrial elder. This was in noteworthy contrast to his last San Diego performance: this time he handled the vocals exclusively and didn’t play bass at all. One thing is for sure: all indicators point to the new Lead Into Gold release to be a banger!
Next on the lineup came Clock DVA, a band I’d heard of since my college radio days but never thought I’d get the chance to see live. Standing side by side before their laptops, the duo went into an understated yet intriguing set of cerebral minimalist electronics, spoken word vocals harkening to a poetry slam, and visuals ranging from William S. Burroughs to Michael Powell movies.
Clock DVA
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This being the midway point of the night, it was time for the Halftime Show.
Out on stage came a tarpaulin and a St. Andrew’s cross, the necessary equipment for Domina Death and friends to demonstrate a little wholesome BDSM. Not unusual for a Modern.Wav event. While not for the squeamish, those into flogging and restraints would enjoy the eyeful of pierced flesh, whips, chains and other prurient delights. And not one drop of blood was shed throughout, the mark of a professional.
Domina Death
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Next, we have Front Line Assembly. What hasn’t been said about FLA at this point? They are legends and rightly so. This being my first time seeing them live, I was pleased to find out that the night’s set was dedicated to their earlier Wax Trax!-era material. It was a fairly short set, which is one of the things that bugs me about these festival-type shows. But the fans were able to get their fix of classic FLA material.
Front Line Assembly
Last but not least, we have the mighty Nitzer Ebb.
Nitzer Ebb
Elephant-in-the-room time… this would be my third time seeing NE live, but the first time since the death of vocalist Douglas McCarthy. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who didn’t know what to expect. Fans have been accepting of Bon Harris carrying on the NE name as this is not the first time Harris has handled vocal duties.
Well, all I can say is that the band has suffered through loss and heartbreak only to come back stronger than ever! This is honestly the best I’ve seen NE live. They hit the ground running and opened strong with their trademark Control, I’m here and never let up. With very few breaks between songs, they cut through an exhaustive set of fan favorites as Harris bounded and shimmied across the stage with limitless energy. It was truly compelling, old fans were more than pleased and new fans would have been amazed at the freshness that this 40-plus year old band brought this night.
Appropriately, the encore was a heartfelt tribute to the late Doug McCarthy which included a new song that is part of material the band was working on at the time of Doug’s passing.
All in all, a grand time was had by all. Personally, with the presentation I saw, I can easily see any of the night’s artists carrying on for years to come.
I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to call Gary Numan the Godfather of Industrial Music. His body of work, spanning almost fifty years, speaks for itself. From his punk rock origins with the band Tubeway Army, to his runaway success with The Pleasure Principle album, and of course the mega-single Cars, Numan has firmly cemented himself as the benchmark that Industrial artists are compared, consciously or otherwise. His detached android-like persona became iconic during the New Wave era and his distinctive, almost mechanical-sounding voice has never been replicated by any of even his most devoted emulators. And while A Perfect Circle isn’t his first live album, it acts as a great time capsule and retrospective of Numan’s career.
Filmed and recorded at the OVO Arena at Wembly in London during his 2022 tour, Numan takes the crowd through a comprehensive tour of his musical history, featuring songs spanning almost every phase of his career. The performance is a top-notch production as expected, with plenty of visual spectacle. Interestingly, Numan has abandoned the stoic and almost disinterested stage guise in favor of a more animated show. Swaying, dancing, and egging the audience on with an ease that shows how he’s grown into the role of not just creative genius but a full-blown rockstar.
Joining Numan onstage are contributors to Intruder, his most recent release at that point, including his daughters Raven and Persia, adding background vocals.
A Perfect Circle is perhaps the best introduction for newcomers to understand and appreciate Gary Numan, the innovator he was then and exemplar of electronic music that remains to this day.
