25th August 1979 - I saw MO-DETTES and CUDDLY TOYS at Global Village which was housed in Railway arches near Charing Cross somewhere and if memory serves later became Heaven. It was a late gig and interesting walking through the quiet area. That also meant there was hardly anyone there. I never went back, as it seemed so lifeless. Cool bands though.
On 25th August 1995 there was a bit of an epic night at the Monarch in Camden featuring:
BINGO
JAKE’S JUST TRAINING
MOTORCADE
… and the awesome DREAM CITY FILM CLUB (a full gallery of their photos from the night is posted today for paid subscribers only).
LIVEJOURNAL…
25 August 2022
WRECKAGE Cryptology (Wreckage Productions)
With EC artwork, and a head crammed with memories, creating a Best Of can’t have been easy for Tony Lestat, but he’s ransacked the masters and put together a collection he can be proud of, and that you can be loud with. Wreckage never made do with a certain sound and a set way, an that breeds longevity.
It’s a riled beast of a record overall, sharp opening salvoes coming from different eras. ‘Like Wreckage’ is a skittery noise with deft touches, while ‘Burning Waters’ belts along on its scabby guitar, trailing vocal rubies in the dung. Well may he laugh at the start of ‘Bodycount Jive’, knowing the post-Crampsian glory that follows, and ‘Subway’s End’ is great punky fun, whereupon ‘Believe’ stands as imposingly great Goth activity, with an old voice, cool pace changes, and power.
Then some muddle. A cover of ‘Atmosphere’ is maybe too pleasant, but certainly assured, ‘Blue Monkey’ with slower vocals, and mayhem, is a rare form of Billion Dollar Rabies, and ‘Phoenix Rising’ with enough space for cool guitar gymnastics, mad speed bursts, has ace vocals and a sense of class, only for ‘Falling Mountains’ with the big voice dominating stillness, to start to build, when a braver course was to remain steady throughout.
‘Wait For The Blackout’ has a crap production, but at least he isn’t as vocally challenged as Vanian, yet ‘Blood Is The Life, a clumsily odd synth track wearing Arabian tights, sounding positively Damnedish! As well as all that you get three brisk highlights with ‘Devil’s Little Helper’, ‘Sister Night’ and ‘Kitten With A Whip’ that all tantalise and satisfy, so you can more than regard it as a success.
Lucky thirteen.
http://www.wreckageproductions.com
August 25th, 2005
VARIOUS ARTISTS Some things are quite naturally respectable, through being respectful, and while I don’t know enough about DCD to fully judge, you can sense this is the sort of thing which raises no eyebrows. Knits them together, perhaps, because fans can always argue over the minutiae of expression and depth present in certain songs, but overall there’s a high cuteness factor. I don’t even know when to call them Dead Can Dance, or deadcandance, but that doesn’t matter. I can still tell you about it. Arcana tackle ‘The Arcane’, the wags, seriously and sensitively getting things started well, and also introducing some strict, grave drama later with ‘Enigma Of The Absolute.’ Dark Sanctuary handle ‘The Summoning Of The Muse’ so Rajna dither laconically with ‘Cantara’ before unfolding some gleaming percussion around an unsettling mood, which I enjoyed. Mirabilis flutter through ‘The Writing On My Father’s Hand’ like true ethereal forest dwellers, then Chandeen do their fluffy euro thing with ‘In Power We Entrust The Love Advocated’ which is bland. Kobe’s ‘Bird’ is a nicely jolting piece of decorated slate, scrawled with dabs of vocal chalk, and Athan Maroulis With Surface 10 try really hard with the steadily spreading ‘Ulysses’, but it didn’t draw me in. It’s left to Stoa to close gracefully, with a captivatingly dour ‘Cantara.’ It’s all very pleasant but I’m almost tempted to say it’s a faintly pointless exercise. There’s no explanation as to
SUMMONING OF THE MUSE (A Tribute To Dead Can Dance)
Projekt
August 25th, 2006
ZERAPHINE It was a bit weird this turning up around the time I was enjoying their ‘Blind Camera’ CD/dvd set, but that’s synchronicity for you. A band who sometimes sing in German, sometimes in English, and mix undemanding Goth atmospheres with de-bollocksed Industrial touches is something quite a few people ought to be interested in. Expect no shocks and you’ll get plenty out of it. ‘Still’ is in and gone in a scrupulously clean fashion before you have noticed, seemingly harmless and blandly pointless, but it’s the only letdown here. Although their website suggests they’re reminiscent of The Mission at their best the fact they’ve toured with Him tells you more. They’re like a harmonious Chiron with a streamlined rock style, so the vocals bow pleasantly and then wander up and down in front of loose guitars and simple, patient rhythms, while it all suck you in because it’s meant to. ‘Niemand Kann Es Sehen’ gets more creative juices crackling beneath it’s pliable surface, as the synth starts to push a poppy passage out over suddenly forceful guitar, but it’s the way they drop back and stagger the texture which makes it works well, the jabbing rock rasp is a glaring surprise on top of it all. ‘Inside Your Arms’ has a comforting, sleepy style, but with braying, hurly burly stitched in and what is good is that having the two feels works. If it was all roar it wouldn’t be raw enough. If it was all slow it would be barren. Together the styles clash positively. ‘Gib Mir Dein Gift’ again allows the friskier synth input to lead the song and some UK listeners might be as shocked as me to suddenly realise the singer sounds a bit like Graeme Garden which isn’t meant to happen, but this nimble song waddles happily, unconcerned. ‘Nichts Aus Liebe’ flaunts the nagging commercial deportment with a gently shaped reflective mood buoyed and restless. ‘Toxic Skies’ sees the guitar pushing to the fore lifting you easily and plonks you down on the rhythm like riding a soft, portly crocodile, so off you wiggle. ‘Fang Mich’ bobbles and bubbles and this is more blustery pop. ‘Halbes Ende’ is controlled, subtly imploring and while undemonstrative far from undemanding. It’s an oddity in the middle, and a pleasing piano-stirred calm before the storm. ‘Since We’re Falling’ is another golden piece of crushed commercial glory as the vocals soothe while the guitar rolls calmly on. ‘I’ll Follow You’ maintains this with bass hugging the linear development, ‘State Of The Moment’ then oozes to a more scooped up ending and ‘Nur Ein Tag’ is even more conventional grazing but with enough slowly clanging guitar and drowsy moody droplets to beguile. That all adds up to a sustained second half where you’re cocooned by their sound. There is
STILL
Phonyx
http://www.zeraphine.de
August 25th, 2009
SOME BANDS
I’ve decided to pop up a few links most days now of the bands I come across, in case you care for some speculative listening. The good, the bad and the grr arggh! I have been doing some books based on my livejournal material from 2002 onwards and I used to do this a lot at the beginning. It’s fun to wade through things. Well, I think so.
PECADORES http://www.myspace.com/pecadoresofficial - you have to love this lot.
UNDESIRABLE STRANGER http://www.myspace.com/undesirablestranger - Paul Nemeth!
DEAR BOBBIE http://www.myspace.com/dearbobbierock - punky.
INDUSTRIAL RESERVA http://www.myspace.com/industrialreserva - noisy.
NOEIN http://www.myspace.com/noeinmusic - VERY noisy!
SPLINTERSKIN http://www.myspace.com/splinterskin - scary weirdness.
UNHOLY BLADES - http://www.myspace.com/unholybladesus - Black Metal.
SATTOR - http://www.myspace.com/sattor - moody Portugese rock.
54R - http://www.myspace.com/54rgrind - Mississippi grindcore, for those who felt they were missing that.
LUNACY ACT - http://www.myspace.com/lunacyact - mad indie (thought it was them Clauberg Opera nutters for a moment!)
DARK EYE MAGAZINE (Greece) http://www.myspace.com/darkeyemag - a Greek Goth mag, which is good news.
August 25th, 2010
MAILUNA
THE BEGINNING OF THE END demo
Download/Zorch Factory
Originally released in 2009, now yours for free. Although the band now is solely composed of one Tetsuya I gather the demo is the work of a large band.
‘Murder Suicide’ is a piquant slice of melodic indie fraternisation with Post-Punk gloom with cool, clear introspective vocal reflections bathing amidst spindly or widely spread guitar and an intricate rhythmical mattress. The guitar is barbed, the vocals tunnelling through ‘She’s Still Suffering’ which has an interestingly crumbly but sore texture. The vocals are quite soothing in ‘All Out Of Love’ where the synth bubbles over its own wash, and unless I’m a bit mental there appears to be a lyrical thread linking these songs, unless he’s just got a bleak worldview.
‘Discontent And Misery’ rocks in an inverted grunge way. Imagine Cobain spinning on his head, subtle sparks flying, including gargled, extended vocals over a mottled guitar wrung dry. Initially ‘Wrong Again’ sees dance beats skidding through as chunky guitar tries to establish a grip, then vocals nosedive in another grungey spiral as the songs remains wiry and catchy with neatly rampant bass. ‘No Signs Of Aging’ is really sweet, the low burbling bass and scuzzy spidery guitar nudged by a squeaky synth and toneless vocals. This is the real Post-Punk deal with a hint of early Goth despondency, only let down by the sampled vocals sex grunting or whatever it is. Still an interesting and weirdly trucculent climax to an excellent set of songs.
http://www.zorchfactoryrecords.com/official-releases/item/24-mailuna-the-beginning-of-the-end-demo.html
http://www.myspace.com/mailuna1
http://www.mailuna.com
FLYERS
a busy night!
Sexy 1987
1994
25 August 2014
MICK MERCER 33 - now uploaded - a truly EPIC show! http://www.mixcloud.com/.../mick-mercer-radio-broadcast.../
25 August 2016
In 20 minutes...
Jack Phoenix is going a show tonight based round thew Gothic Rock CD series. Hopefully I’ll see you there as I’ll be in chat. Here’s the info.
If you ever wanted to chat with Mick Mercer , he will be in-chat talking with people during the discussions in the live text feed during my 2 hour set;“Mick Mercer’s “Gothic Rock” !” 8:00 EST,5:00 PST ( 1:00 AM London)
Ritual Noise will be broadcast LIVE via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DeeJayJackPhoenix) with audio on
http://wfku.com/
We will be playing selections off of Micks Limited Edition GOTHIC ROCK Box set (Upper left in pic) along with old School Goth, as well as showing the wonderful pictures in his past books! So please join me for a Mick Mercer-Themed show and take a trip back with old school Goth songs! IF you can’t reach a computer, please feel free to download the app to listen on your phone at
http://wfku.com/
25 August 2017
So then, our kittens, adopted over the weekend because some charmless individual was threatening to have them put down. They’re running us ragged! The names they already had weren’t like anything we’d choose, meaning a change was imminent. So say Hello to Yum-Yum (foreground) and Nanki-Poo (tail-grabbing).
25th August 2018
The LAST thing in the world you will ever see Lynda in is a t-shirt, but having seen this one advertised I figured I really ought to get it for her.
25 August 2019
Ah, here’s another undated ADAM ANT photo. I only have one shot as I only took two (one came out blurred) because the event was so boring, but took place, I think, in 1980 at the ICA. They had a series of music panels and Adam was on this one. Gary Numan was meant to be on it too but never showed. Poly Styrene, left of shot, didn’t say much, and I think one of the Fall was there. It was deadly dull, except for the bloke in the stripey shirt. I think he was from an old folky rock band Quintessence, and was both amusing and interesting and saved the night. Anyone know the date, or why it was happening?
17th September 1980 as part of the “music business and the artist” seminar.
25 August 2019
SUNSHOT fans ahoy! Maria Bricheno is doing a night marathon to raise money for Cancer Research. Lob any spare change her way here, and look for the Gift Aid bit towards the bottom of the page.
25 August 2021
Bleakness!
25 August 2022
Strange wallpaper!
25 August 2023
A true clash of titans as LIONESSES meet. YUM-YUM and MABEL prepare for glory!!! Don’t miss the video at
25 August 2023
Criminals beware!
25 August 2024
ON TONIGHT’S LIVE RADIO SHOW from 9pm (UK time) you get AMAUTICA - BELLS OF SOUL - BYRONIC SEX & EXILE - CLIFF AND IVY - GOSSIP COLLAR - HOLY BRAILLE - HORROR VACUI – ILLEGAL FUNERAL – INTO THE MIST - LOS MORTS - LOVELYEDDIE - MOLCHAT DOMA - MY FUNERAL DANCE – MY MANIFESTO - RADARFIELD - REN FLOWERS --- SATAN’S PILGRIMS – SEVIT - TERROR BIRD - (THE) AEMOTII CRII - THE BEAUTY OF GEMINA - THE CHAMELEONS - THE MARCH VIOLETS - THE NIGHTMARES – THE_VERY_THINGS - U.S. GRAVE – UNTIL WE ARE DUST
Use this stream (goes live a couple of minutes before the show itself) >> http://hagar.purepowerstreams.net:7006/index.html
To listen click on Listen or the black play triangle. Anyone can also come to the event page and chat with the regulars:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1835071650238397
25 August 2024
Any other old bastards remember watching Dr Syn on tv when they were a kid?
I only ask because I saw it and loved it, but never saw the film. Now it seems the tv version WAS the film, just cut into three chunks! Pretty weird. We’ve just been to the 60th Anniversary Syn celebrations in Dymchurch, so expect a full report tomorrow.
More tomorrow…
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