Of all the awesome clubs in the San Diego dark music scene, one thing that sets Club Nothing apart is the inclusion of live music into their events. So I was looking forward to this double bill at Corazón del Barrio. The venue itself is set within a bustling stretch of Logan Avenue in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood and works as a combination of music venue and meeting hall. I even remember attending an art show there a few years ago. The layout, size, and location are ideal for a music venue for fans south of downtown who may not always want to go clear across town to check out some live music. The smoking patio does get crowded and old-timers like myself would have appreciated a few more spots to sit down, but the crowd had a great vibe and the atmosphere was perfect for a Deathrock show. Such was the setting to welcome San Francisco’s Altar de Fey with San Diego’s own New Skeletal Faces.
The DJs were on fire this night, doing some of the best beat matching I’ve heard in Goth/Industrial since, well, EVER! Mixes including Siouxsie & The Banshees and Nitzer Ebb stood out particularly in my mind. And while the playlist included plenty of classic favorites, the song selection ran deep enough to have me playing the guessing game of “which band is this deep cut from?”.
There was one scary moment as the security guard made a stage announcement warning club goers to stay inside the venue due to a disturbance outside. (We later found broken glass along the street.) But, thankfully, there were no incidents inside the club aside from a few drunks who got a little too rambunctious in the mosh pit.
New Skeletal Faces started the live portion of the evening off right. Their elaborate, shrine-like stage decor – complete with runes and candles – created just the right setting. I’ve seen NSF live a few times and they can always be counted on for a solid live set. And they were in excellent form. Fans of NSF know that the band rarely takes breaks between songs, making the show one continuous flow of songs with wailing vocals that seem to be haunting the songs more than driving them.
Singer/guitarist Errol Fritz worked the crowd with his innate rockstar bravado while KRO and Don (bass and drums respectively) went through their set with lockstep tightness. Fans up near the stage where I was were losing their minds. Fists were pumped. Heads were banged. It was at this point that I looked behind me to see that a sizable mosh pit had broken out. Truly a rock ‘n’ roll spectacle for the books.
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It seems that the NSF following made up a substantial portion of the crowd. I would have liked to see more of them stick around after the set. But a respectable number of partiers stuck around to see Altar de Fey, so it was all good.
AdF took the stage amid what seemed like a ritual, complete with incense and blessings to the crowd, and fully looking the part: teased Mohawks, tight black jeans, and ghostly makeup. Singer Jake Hout’s black feather arrangement was an especially nice touch. The rhythm section was filled out by Kent Cates on guitar, Aleph Kali on drums, and bassist Skot Brown.
It took a few songs for the sound to get fully dialed in, but the performance didn’t suffer for it as they went into selections from their back catalog. It is worth mentioning that, while the band first formed in 1983, most of their releases date from the 2000s and 2010s.
The crowd seemed devoted to welcoming these veteran Deathrockers to not-so sunny San Diego. (It was raining outside.) And everyone young and old we’re getting into the old school vibe.
These are the kinds of nights that, as a music fan and musician, I live for. It is my sincere hope that we San Diegans will see more from Club Nothing and the top notch entertainment they’re bringing to town.
In truth, I knew nothing about Larva before attending this show. But I had faith in the good folks running Club Rapture that they wouldn’t steer me wrong. Turns out that this Barcelona, Spain export has been doing its thing since 1998 starting with the duo of InqUest and Blackend as Morbid Mind. Officially rechristened Larva in 2003, InqUest continues to pursue dark themes with more of a focus on social issues.
Go-Go dancer Katana alongside DJ SinDrome
I was impressed with the turnout for a Thursday night. Those more informed than myself, aka the local Larva fans, turned out to show their support. It was extremely helpful that DJs Barbie Serk and SinDrome did an excellent job of warming up the crowd with some the best mixes I’ve heard at Til Two for some time.
DJ Barbie Serk
By showtime, the dance floor was dense with dancers eager to get down. I can see why, Larva’s sound is nothing if not danceable, with a keen sense of melody and floating synth leads that made me think of early Gary Numan or later Ultravox.
As a live act, Larva’s energy is contagious. This one-man show was truly engaging; often jumping offstage to dance with fans, exchange hugs, and I think I saw him give several people playful noogies. When onstage, he would gyrate, flex, and contort himself wildly while going wherever the vibe of the moment took him. New converts like myself were easily won over.
After the encore, there was an additional surprise in store as everyone joined in to wish Larva a happy birthday. And while there was a wee bit of a language barrier to contend with, he clearly got the gist and expressed his appreciation to everyone present.
Whether you understand Spanish or not, you would do well to check out Larva’s respectable catalog or take advantage of a tour date in your town. I’m glad I did.
We have returned to the Sounds and Shadows Darkscene singles chart. This month I have combined April and May but we have had the most votes cast to date. 2081 votes from our group of Bands, Djs, Reviewers, Promotors, and Superfans. These were all singles released in April/May of 2023 in the loose “Darkscene” genre. If you have a single out in June or know someone who does please add it to the Sounds and Shadows Facebook group poll, or become a Patron Subscriber. All the songs here are bangers, so please give a listen, support underground music, and tell us about your favorites.
Ground Nero – Stars
Leathers – Fascination
The Bellwether Syndicate – Noir Thing
Health – Hateful
Bellhead – Bad Taste
Bara Hari – Agoraphobic
Vaselyne – Under Your Skin
Self Titled Album – Haunted Chuck E Cheese
Danny Blu + Moris Blak – Cover of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation“
CARV.R feat (Mari Kattman) – Deflect
Ego Likeness – Cover of Madonna “Live To Tell”
Ground Nero – Stars – April 2023 release out of Belgium from Mark Sayles (Mark E Moon) , Peter Philtjens, and Peter Smeets. The first thing I notice, glorious organic drum beats which make this feel more old school than any guitar riff could. Mark’s vocals growl like a lean wolf stalking under a full moon. The chorus opens with a captivating hook worthy of the Mission. It’s a modern day anthem plucked straight from the 80s.
2) Leathers – Fascination – Another April release from Vancouver Canada synthstarlight project of Actors member Shannon Hemmett. Every single released gets more sparkling and elegant. Shannon’s voice burns braver. I love the jet set Duran Duran 80’s opulence in every molecule of this sound.
3) The Bellwether Syndicate – Noir Thing – I waited so long for this album and single from the Chicago legends. They just returned from a tour and trip to Germany. This whole record is produced within an inch of it’s life. This single is a furious rampage let off the leash. William Faith has a lip curl snarl in his voice. Blistering Sigue Sigue Sputnik time changes and Jesus and Mary Chain rockabilly bassline. If you have never witnessed this live you desperately need to.
4) HEALTH – Hateful – LA Electronica demolition experts with an explosive new single. This intro absolutely sizzles. Listening to it makes me want to plan a jewel heist. It crackles with danger, it drips with sensuality, it swirls with deception. There is a reason EVERYONE in modern electronica is raving about this trio.
5) Bellhead – Bad Taste – Chicago bass duo keeps rolling out tension narratives of undefinable indie darkness that continue to be unnerving, captivating, and fresh. The vocals between Karen and Ivan are a dialog between thunderous baselines and slashing guitars. This is a dark star rising before our eyes.
6) Bara Hari – Agoraphobic – LA based theatrical dark pop with this shock whip April single. I just had an interview with Sam about this single and video. She really captured the national emotion during the pandemic of the walls closing in. Powerful delivery on a slinky dance beat and sword strike guitar riffs.
7) Vaselyne – Under Your Skin – The Dutch Duo of Yvette Winkler and Frank Weyzig on COP International return to our chart once again. Beautiful, delicate, haunting that organic connection of plucked acoustic strings against Yvette’s mournful plead. Around 2:40 the sky opens up with a sky fire guitar solo and vocal harmony. Raw emotion that gets under your skin.
8) Self Titled Album – Haunted Chuck E Cheese – Once again Utah based shadowdelic band of Rob Fkin Varney, Josh Hollar, and Tim Hall grace our chart. It’s always difficult to put words to the slushy decay and electronic assault. This track has a wonderful 90s alt rock hook that really captures the nostalgia of anyone who was abandoned in the animatronic capitalistic horror show that is Chuck E Cheese.
9) Danny Blu + Moris Blak – Cover of Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson – I just saw this amazing tour a few weeks ago and the chemistry between these two top tier artists is a blessing for us all. I have long held that the Rhythm nation album was always an industrial pop record which defined the genre before we had a word for it. I love how this cover brings the best of both artists. Danny’s cadence is sharp and throws sparks with every steel foot stomp. The backing music is crackling precision and mysterious twists you can never quite predict. If you still have a chance to see this tour it was one of the most exciting things I have seen live in a long while.
10) CARV.R Feat Mari Kattman – Deflect – East coast team up of Cristian Carver and Mari Kattman two veteran performer/producers which united to unleash this jam. New England Poltergiest Disco at it’s finest. The percussion is such a cascading tight spiral which Mari’s voice dances on like a ballerina. I love everything about this pairing and hope there is more to come.
In my interview with David J and his current project “Night Crickets” he told me the story of them being in the studio for the album “Express” and they were already planning on the 3rd album. David was at an all night party with Pat Fish from “The Jazz Butcher”, having smoked a spliff as the dawn was breaking (1985) and they were listening to the first album by “Violent Femmes” and David knew that was going to steer the next album of Love and Rockets. That was how we got the epic coming of age album in my life called “Earth + Sun + Moon”. I had heard a couple of their songs but the night I sat down with the CD of “Earth + Sun + Moon”, Love and Rockets managed to mosey into my top 5 and park it, staying roughly at number 3 (with all their family in tow) since 1988. I even have it written in my will that I want my ashes pressed into a vinyl record of “Earth + Sun + Moon”. A psychedelic folk rock album filled with eastern philosophy.
I first saw them perform in July 1989 at the Park West Amphitheater in Park West Utah, and I got a few words with them that afternoon. I have met them on and off over the last 30 plus years, as they are all fantastic musicians and songwriters. They filled the side of a mountain, and told us at the end of the night that we were the nicest crowd they have played for yet on the tour (There is a bootleg recording of Kevin saying that to us).
I saw them at a festival in Denver in 1996 at Fiddlers Green, by then I was no stranger to driving long distance road trips to see concerts, especially someone as beloved as Love and Rockets.
When I saw the announcement of them rolling through Salt Lake, in their first time here since 1996, and playing a decent sized outdoor venue, I was counting the minutes (that dragged) for months. Something I never expected to ever experience again was Love and Rockets live.
There was so much chatter and excitement in Salt Lake over this show and friends from all over the state of Utah were rolling in for this monumental event.
The venue was to no one’s surprise packed, to even more surprise, a sort of absence of black clothing, and it was a “Class Reunion” of some sorts, of all the old school punk/goth scene folks. Basically everyone who went to see them in 1989 was here that night, and it was great to see everyone again.
The opening act was “Soriah”, a bloke in First American shaman clothing, face paint to match, with a drummer. He began his set by singing a couple verses of “Proud Mary” by Ike n Tina Turner, giving a humble respectful tribute to the queen of Rock & Roll who had passed into the beyond that day. He then blessed everyone with his feathered scepter in the calmest softest voice, it was so soft you could barely hear him as he spoke. He then began his throat singing, chant like. There is no way to describe this guy accurately, only that his music takes you to places in the far reaches of the space time continuum. He had performed and recorded with Peter Murphy, so no serious effort to connect the dots as to how he ended up performing for us that night. All I can say is that when he pulled out his Aztec Death Whistle and as he blew through it, the spirits came out to haunt all of us, and scare the hell out of everyone there. This guy is absolutely amazing, and worth whatever you would pay to see him live. He takes you to the metaphysical space that you would have to be to really enjoy the Love and Rockets catalog. Just look him up, it is an amazing performance.
After a quick shift, the intro tape “Angels and Devils” began to play, and we all knew what was coming. Kevin Haskins took his seat and started playing in sync with the hollow drums pounding away, David J came into the stage with his bass strapped on ready to play, and Daniel Ash came on the opposite side of the stage, the band was complete. Everyone wearing glam sunglasses, and ready to go. They opened with the unexpected “I Feel Speed”, to an overly excited crowd, we didn’t really mind that they picked that one, it just was out of place. As the punters cheered louder than the band was playing, at that moment, everyone there, band and fan knew they were in the right place. “No Big Deal” came right after with no words in between.
Daniel Ash was wearing his hair in typical Daniel fashion and a very glam mirror panel jacket and alligator shoes, David J was wearing a crimson velour leisure suit, with Buddhist prayer beads around his neck and gold loafers. There was nothing Goth about their appearance this evening, it was a mix of the image of Love and Rockets being a glam band with eastern religious influences, only Love and Rockets could be so adorned and pull off being the coolest band in the world.
Daniel Ash can still pull it off as the coolest glam star
David J said “All aboard” and there was a train whistle, and they went into “Kundalini Express” playing as tight as ever. The band was playing on top of the sound from Kevin’s High Hat cymbals sounding like they were “hissing” the steam out from an old train engine. Nothing in the world is as cool as a band playing on top of the steam engine sound coming from the high hats, NOTHING EVER.
With not even a “Thank You” Daniel started cranking out C, F#, G, D, F#, and churned out “Dog End Of A Day Gone Bye”, a long song, hypnotic as far as the guitar and base lines, just repeated a couple measures. The real wonder of this song is the imagery they give you, walking through all kinds of religious dogmas and in the end making sure to tell you “Don’t let the smoke get in your eyes”. Don’t be deceived, at least not for long. This is a classic that still sounds current, in content (more current now than ever actually) and composition.
Kevin Haskins
David J
Daniel Ash
A few songs later, David J finally said something, poetic, and insightful, if we were still bearing the burden of the Aztec Death Whistle, and those spirits Soriah called forth, he simply said “The word that would best describe this feeling, would be “Haunted””, and we got another trance inducing “Haunted When The Minutes Drag”. By the time we got to “Haunted by your soul, Haunted Your hair….” we were all pretty in a trance just swinging around like we were caught in the sway of the twirling dervish. I don’t know how long they played that song, but it felt like a long time, but that was also the point of the song.
As the evening moved on we all realized these guys had only 2 real charting hits, but everything they played was straight of the fan’s songbook. “No New Tale To Tell” seemed like it was only 25 seconds long, and didn’t seem to last long enough for all the memories I had from this song. It was fantastic, but, I wish it went on for a while longer, like another 9 minutes or so.
They played their biggest hit, because they had to “So Alive” which, was ok this time around, it was boring when I first heard them do it in 89, so I guess the song improved with age.
We got some gems from the later albums “Deep Deep Down”, “My Evil Twin”. This was the part of the set where I was hoping to hear the total gem from the self titled album, “Rock and Roll Babylon”, it would have fit perfectly here, but alas, the only one we didn’t get that I was hoping for.
“The Light” was the only piece that didn’t feel like they were into it. Daniel Ash said in an interview that he gets bored with playing Love and Rockets music, and it took a few measures for this one to get going. It ended well.
A staple of all live performances, we got “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)”. That song is a must for every live gig, and is the one where everyone cuts loose. At previous gigs David’s mic stand fell down and he was laying on his back singing “BEAUTY, BEAUTY, BEAUTIFUL”, this time around he was at the edge of the stage in everyone’s face thumping out the bassline, while Daniel was doing the same on the other side of the stage.
Beauty Beauty Beauty Beautiful
They left the stage for a few minutes, and back for the encore, they started of that segment with “Holiday on the moon” then “Love Me” and then “Ball of Confusion” the Temptations cover, which was just awesome live. The history for that song is that they usually open the set with that one, but the first show they played in 89, it was absent from the set list. They tore through it with strobe lights flashing on each drum beat, everyone was pleased with this one.
They closed with “All in My Mind”, without having said anything the entire evening, just playing songs, it was this moment that we could all say with clarity, that Daniel Ash and David J have managed to maintain their voices. David J was singing very smooth, his token half David Gilmore half Roger Waters voice, sounded just as good now as he did when we first played their records. Daniel was tight and smooth with his voice, also as genuine as ever.
All in all, Love and Rockets taking the road, 30 years after their “biggest hit” days, might have seemed risky, but a band like this, having been continually playing in other bands and still writing and producing music, gives them an edge that we all were able to hear. They are sharp and as tight as ever, and it wasn’t a “nostalgic” moment, they just put on a show that you would want to go to if they came through once a year, very few bands can do that, but Love and Rockets did, and still do.
“Finally!” I said to myself. Ever since The Damned announced their “farewell” tour in 1989, I’ve been on a mission to see them live. The Damned, with their undeniable influence on Punk, Goth, and Deathrock, has been a must-see for me since the day I saw them perform Nasty on The Young Ones back in the 80s. And for all the tours that have come and gone since then, I wasn’t interested in missing them for an eighth time. So, after many missed opportunities, I, at last, got the chance to see London’s pride and joy punkers in my hometown at the good ol’ Observatory.
Starting off the night were some stateside-based rockers back in action after a long hiatus: The Dictators (not to be confused with The Dictators NYC). This NYC proto-punk band has seen its changes since it first started in 1973, and the lineup for this night included: Andy Shernoff (bass), Ross “The Boss” Friedman (lead guitar), Keith Roth (guitar and vocals), and Blue Öyster Cult alumnus Albert Bouchard (drums).
The band’s witty stage banter was obscured by some sound problems that were sorted out by the end of the first song. I love bands that don’t feel above a little self effacing humor. It’s even better when they know how to save a joke after it bombs. Match that with Bouchard’s habit of losing drumsticks throughout the set made for entertainment both seen and heard.
The noticeably older crowd got into it whether they were familiar with The Dictators’ oeuvre or not and everyone seemed to be digging it.
After a cover of the Velvet Underground’sWhat Goes On, the band wrapped up their set with the announcement that new material has been recorded and a new Dictators album can be expected by the end of the year.
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Now… what I’ve waited over 30 years for. The Damned took the stage and proceeded to live up to their reputation as a solid and fun live act.
For starters, they looked like they haven’t lost a single step since their inception in 1976. They came onstage with a mutual playfulness that showed that they are still buddies as well as bandmates. Lead singer Dave Vanian looks like he hasn’t aged a bit with more energy than even I can muster these days; stalking the stage with animation, poise, and swagger. And his voice was spot-on and polished. Captain Sensible was wearing his signature red beret when he wasn’t wearing his guitar on his head. His wit was conveyed even when I couldn’t understand his accent. Monty Oxymoron looked like a cross between a hippie and a mad scientist as he held down the keys. Laidback bassist Paul Gray and left-handed drummer Will Taylor rounded out the night’s lineup.
Selections from Darkadelic, their newest release, were featured through the first half of the show and things got progressively heavier as the night went on from the polished refinement of later albums to the snarky angst of their early punk days.
Now I see what I’ve been missing. The Damned is nonstop fun to see live. When they’re not razzing each other (while wearing red rubber noses), they bring go-go dancers from the crowd onstage. When go-go dancers aren’t twerking alongside the band, Captain Sensible is revving up the crowd; cracking jokes in his cockney accent. When the Captain isn’t revving up the crowd, Oxymoron is dancing manically and maniacally across the stage.
The songs ran from classics like Neat Neat Neat which segued to tributes to The Doors and The Stooges. Favorites like Eloise and Smash It Up were featured, of course. They even threw in an improvised jam to open the second encore.
As the band wrapped up at last, Captain Sensible offered a parting thought with the declaration of, “We’ve still got it!”. Truer words were never spoken.
