_"I don’t feel no remorse. And I don’t feel sympathy.
Well I don’t feel anything, but, right now, I’m feeling you."
-- Aesthetic Perfection, "The Siren"

Artist(s): Aesthetic Perfection

Album: A Violent Emotion

My Thoughts: Aesthetic Perfection is another of those bands/artists that I learned about from Digital Gunfire Radio, for which I cannot thank Shirow enough.

I'll admit that I'm a bit behind the times, as this album's been out for a few years now. But that's okay, because it is 100% pure Grade A awesome. Brutal industrial beats, combined with a steady mix of distorted and un-distorted vocals, and themes meandering between self-destruction, mutual condemnation, fairy-tale creepiness, and other strange and complex ideas - this is one of my go to albums right now if I want some solid industrial with intelligible and coherent lyrics that aren't just about murder and unbridled aggression (I've got Dismantled and Combichrist for those).

"A Violent Emotion" is just a really, really good "general" industrial album that doesn't get too caught up in itself and provides a good mix for the aural palate.

Highlights: Honestly, I really like every single track on this album. Daniel Graves did not waste a single jot on half-assed filler-tunes or sub-par experimentalism of any kind.

If I had to choose, I say "Pale" and "The Ones" are my two favorite tracks, but they've got stiff competition from everything else on this release.

"Pale" mostly because the subject seems to be one of emotional manipulation in the face of the search for truth, a particularly resonant topic. The repeated chorus of: "And I'd lie for a chance to taste joy/And I'd die for a chance to keep going on..." just kicks home that sense of internal desolation and compromising of the self that comes with relationship dissolution. The song evinces strong upbeat techno roots, but without the dull repetition that plagues most techno - maybe synthpop might be a better term than techno then. Either way, it's still got an inexorable sense of accusal and despair in the lyrics to make it less hopeful than most synth- and future- pop.

"The Ones" strikes me as some kind of dark fairy tale version of the tooth fairy (in fact, it specifically reminds me of the little blue tooth fairy monsters from Hellboy: The Golden Army). The whole song smacks of some kind of paranoid schizophrenic delusion after a week off one's meds. The creep factor is excellent, but that creepiness is accompanied by a solid industrial beat, a discordant "out-of-tune" synthesizer piano, and voice distortions that sound more like buzzing than a voice.

Final Thoughts: Definitely one of the albums I take with me everywhere - I literally keep the CD in the car just in case my MP3 player dies so that I can keep listening to something on repeat that I'm unlikely to get tired of and switch out or have to repeatedly skip tracks on.

Seriously, it really is that "all around" good as an album, with frequent mood changes - so whether you're a hardcore industrial fan or just someone who likes a little industrial while driving or playing video games, "A Violent Emotion" is a no-holds-barred win, musically speaking.

In fact, I'd even say it's an excellent entry-album for anyone interested in learning whether they like industrial music. Even if industrial isn't your thing, you're still likely to find a couple of tracks you'll enjoy.

Based on this album alone, I already know that I absolutely want to pick up their previous album "Close to Human" (which I've been able to sample a little on Digital Gunfire) and their latest release from this year "All Beauty Destroyed". And I think that's probably compliment enough, all by itself.

-- Mr. M.

"Whenever I'm alone with you,
you make me feel like I am free again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
you make me feel like I am clean again."
-- The Cure, "Lovesong"

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Lots of life going on, which seems weird to me.

As a side effect of all this life and trying to hit clubs and events, my sleep cycle's all kinds of fucked up. One night I'll be up until 2 a.m. and up at 7 a.m. and the next night I'm in bed by 8 p.m. and asleep until 9 a.m. and.... blargh. The effect of all this is that I feel more than a little exhausted all the time.

Add in to that financial stuff. I've lived a little too large of late, trying to hit more events and shows than I probably should, expending immense amounts of gas and paying lots of bridge toll. I'm working on figuring out some ways to free up a little more cash each month, and now I just have to enact some of those plans - but money is a stressor for me (as I'm sure it is for many folks), and I'm delaying for fear of having missed factoring something, somewhere.

This last bit makes me feel really bad - like I'm not supporting the scene enough if I hold back due to cash-flow reasons. And, for the sake of the site, it is fairly important that I do go to lots of events because that's where one actually finds out about more events in the scene.

For example: I'd have never been to Club Nocturne if I'd never heard of Solace first. And I would have never heard of Solace had I not gone to Dark Shadows. But I would have never heard of Dark Shadows had I not gone to Death Guild in the months before Dark Shadows started.

This sort of thing, of course, is the reason that SFGothic.net exists - to help my fellow darklings hear about things they never otherwise would have. Especially folk like me who live outside civilization-proper (by which I mean: I live in, basically, ultra-East-Bay suburbs) and so don't get to hear about the latest and greatest events and clubs and concerts and what-have-you that are springing up.

So all that said - what with the holidays about to kick into full gear and my cash-situation being a little strapped already - I'll probably not be getting out to a whole lot over the coming month or two, while I get finances sorted out.

Instead, I'm hoping to start writing a few more reviews of albums I've had the pleasure of picking up over the last six months or music I find on the web and also a bit more discussion on fashion. And maybe even more of my thoughts on stuff in general. We'll see.

Ultimately, what I'm saying is: you may be seeing a bit less of me out-and-about than before in SF-proper for a month or two, but I'm hoping that you'll be hearing/reading more from me as a result.

To kick some of that off, let's do some scene news:

There's rumblings that the Cat Club is radically shaking up its weekly/monthly calendar for 2012 -

• Word is that DieMaschinen will be ending in December due to low turn-out (I'll be honest, I only got to make it out there once and wasn't super impressed with whomever was DJing in the back that night - and I've heard some horror stories from other attendees that only reinforce that bad impression).
• I've also been told that Diverge will be ending next month as well. Diverge has never struck me as quite my thing, but I know some awesome people that really enjoy it, so it's a loss that will be felt within my circle.
  
• There's also tales that the wildly successful and excellent Dark Shadows may start happening two nights a month... and potentially on Saturdays instead of Fridays. So there's some serious "yay" in that. EDIT Update: Nope, sounds like 2nd and 4th Fridays. That's okay. I like hitting the Cat on Fridays.
  

I'm still hoping to hit Club Nocturne later this month, and maybe the Cell the week after. I might even try to hit Disorder finally on the following Saturday, since it's on my side of the Bay Bridge.

-- Mr. M.

"It seems the man who cured the globe
cannot stop his own extinction...
But I can go out with a BANG!!!

Things you see in a graveyard.
Things you see in a graveyard."
-- Repo: The Genetic Opera, "Things You See In a Graveyard"

Le Bal des Vampires was excellent. I'm not really sure how else to describe it.

DJs DarkMoon and Persephone were amazing, as always, playing a mix of goth, early 80s, and other pop classics on the bottom floor of the venue. I also got a short chat with the very lovely DJ Femme Mystique, who was in attendance as well.

The mid-floor was dominated by a set of four lovely singers (one of which doubled as an harpist) who spent much of the evening singing old songs (often a capella) from centuries past. Also, a set of tarot readers whom, I am sorry to say, I did not get a chance to take advantage of.

The top floor was quite a delight. For the majority of the night, this giant ballroom was a scene of amazing cotillions and elegant waltzes, all accompanied by the excellent musical contributions of period musical providers Bangers&Mash. In fact, yours truly had the pleasure and delight of dancing his first real waltz (for which I'd love to thank the extremely lovely and terribly kind Ms. Mina). I danced a total of four waltzes that night, thanks to the immensely pleasant and infinitely patient women that asked me to dance. I enjoyed this aspect so much that I am tempted to make PEERS events a rather regular part of my tour... I just wish I had better clothes for all those period-specific gatherings for which PEERS is famous. I certainly hope to advertise more of their gatherings on SFGothic.net.

Also, the mid-evening performance by the Theater of Vampires (if I recall their name correctly, of course) was quite amusing in and of itself. Lots of fun-making regarding Twilight and the pro-Prop 8 crowd, which, really, brought immense joy to my heart on both counts.

As to my fellow attendees?  What a beautiful bunch of folks (and I'm not just referring to the ladies; though, as to them specifically, I can only say "WOW"). They were pleasant and their costumes, whether Louis period, Victorian, Edwardian, Georgian, 1920s, 1930s, fictional, whatever, they were fantastic. Not a single "tourist" in the crowd - everyone was in some kind of costume. I cannot convey how much this... completeness infected the event. It made it so enjoyable to my sense of verisimilitude and beauty. It was like walking through some amazing pastiche of history with a smattering of fictional awesomeness (props to the Blade and Joker .

Final assessment: Mister M needs to attend more PEERS events. Seriously awesome.

As to the coming weeks - I may try to hit Dark Shadows on Friday. And I definitely plan on being at Club Nocturne on the 26th. I can't promise anything more than that, but the VNV Nation show on 11/21 and Dark Sparkle on 11/23 both seem like they could be great fun. Either way, I hope to see you kiddies out and about.

-- Mr. M.
_

"Hands cover whispers of the lovers' fright -
Fear-cloaked renditions of that autumn night.
Digging up rumors of the kids in the park.
What awful things happened in the dark?"
-- The Birthday Massacre, "Lover's End"

ShadowDance was fucking glorious. Beautiful, elegant, mysterious, awesome, decadent. I could just keep listing adjectives for a day and a half and still not run out of great things to say.

Ariellah has created something of which to be truly proud. A thing of beauty and majesty. A place of visions and nightmares gone so exquisitely wrong.

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin, because there was just so much amazing-ness crammed into those two nights. So I'll try to hit some of the highlights of each evening. If I leave someone out, I'm terribly sorry, because there was just entirely too much to remember it all clearly.

Evening One: Shadowside at the Vagabond

The performances started with an eerie set by goth-industrial band Lestat, which was a good kick-off to the evening.

Next, I finally had the pleasure of seeing Madame Deidre Anaid perform her elegantly vampiric Rhapsody. Her fan-work was especially well-done, but the whole thing was quite lovely.

And later came the Deshret Dance Company's Nihil, a piece of stark energy and brutal intensity. Not to mention the immense speed and amount of shimmy-ing that those ladies, including Ariellah herself, pulled of.

There were several other amazing performances that first night, but in addition to the ones that are a blur, I also had to leave before Act III began (sometimes things just come up), so I missed out on some other fantastic performances, for which I am truly sorry. I especially regret missing these two: Sataray's musical stylings (hopefully I'll be able to pick the album up in the near future) and Dusty Paik of Snake Church, whom I've seen just enough of to know that I adore her.

Evening Two: ShadowDance at the Oakland Metro Opera House

The night started off with a strong spiritual element, thanks to the vocal artistry of Soriah. Known for his use of Tuvic Throat Singing, Soriah brought us a haunting vision of light and darkness beyond the veil, while accompanied by a male dancer (whose name I did not catch, I'm ashamed to say) whose dancing reminded me of a combination of Native American and Samoan dances that I have seen. An exquisite combination of visual and aural input.

Darkstar brought as an homage to Winston Churchill, a piece of dancing tied into that British sense of victory in the face of adversity and stoicism in the face of very possible annihilation. A celebration of strength and beauty found in resolve.

Eerie De Scent - this piece was quite amazing. With bits of metal strapped to her body, Eerie used a portable grinder to fire sparks at dark demonic visions cast in projection behind her. It was like watching a Japanese shadow-play turned into a video game turned into some kind of grandiose visual opera. It was epic, it was powerful, and it was fantastic.

Inman and Undercrypt performed a combination monologue and dance performance - a tale of madness, envy, and vicious murder. A story relating how we can never escape the things we've done and that the murderer's toll may be worse than that of her victim.

The Lady Fred brought us a charming and sexy dance interpretation of Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Elegant and lovely, the Lady Fred was a soft vision of illusions shed to reveal the darkness beneath.

Finally, came Rachel Brice. Her piece was the top of the show, if I have to draw any kind of comparison. An image of black-clad shadow, we were treated to a shedding of veils to expose the beauty beneath - only to finally have revealed to us a lovely skull-painted face and a dance of death, where, instead of a sword, this lady balanced a scythe upon her head and twirled to that elegant dark music, heavy with the drum-beat of death, like a fading heart gasping through its last throes. Such a wondrous nightmare vision.

So, now that I've bragged about all the awesome I saw this weekend, allow me to brag about the awesome for next weekend: Le Bal des Vampires will be happening at the Alameda Elks Lodge. It looks like tickets are still for sale! So if you want to dance with the (un)dead, you should get a move on - because they won't be selling tickets at the door!

"I love the night.
I like it spooky.
Werewolves and their bites.
I like it spooky.
Skeletons laughing at your fright.
I like it spooky.
A black witch in green light.
I like it spooky."
-- God Module, "Spooky"

Stupid computers. So I had this entry all finished up and when I went to post it, my browser locked. Then crashed. Lost the whole post.

Here's try number two. With added frustration for flavoring.

So any of you who managed to make it out to Death Guild's Halloween celebration last night (10/31) probably don't need me to tell you how fucking amazing it was. Really, the only point in going into it is to rub salt into the wound for those that were unavailable.

Hand me the salt, please.

Seriously, to those that couldn't make it, you missed an awesome night. The Death Guild DJs tore the place up. And the people were packed in. This latter bit would have been a problem, had it not been so much fun to just stand there and check out the costumes.

For example: dread Cthulhu was in attendance.

This picture does not do Cthulhu justice by a long shot. Suffice to say, that most squamously tendril'd Great Old One was looking very dapper and posed not once, but twice, since my stupid phone doesn't have any storage space and deleted the first image (which looked a hell of a lot better than this one).

Hopefully, he doesn't come from the ocean depths and swallow me in retribution. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

So yeah, the costumes were truly amazing and so was most of the crowd.

After a few hours of dancing (during which, I might add, all of my song requests got played), we got another treat at midnight: a live rope-and-paint bondage-art performance by Tensei Sugahara, Japanese artist/model/designer/etc. (Thanks to the auspices of the folks at Synchro MG, who are organizing Tensei's tour).

As part of Tensei's performance, a number of lovely local models and dancers were fit to be tied (he he) and then splattered with paint (from both brushes and a paint-infused whip), including one of the darlings of the San Francisco scene: Mistress Fushia of the Visceral Vixens.

I did hear some complaints about the bondage not being "bondage-y" enough, but, I'll be honest, I think those folks were expecting a BDSM show and not a Bondage-As-One-Part-of-a-Full-Performance-Art-Piece. And seriously, folks. This is Death Guild. You want to see hardcore bondage? Go to Bondage-A-Go-Go. That's why it exists.

In my opinion (which all of you already know is the only opinion that matters), Tensei's work on stage was glorious, sultry, and sexy (and not just because of his gorgeous models). It had the feel of intensely intimate and beautifully deviant visual kei. And, as my acquaintance Ryan put it: "The ropes create a negative space for the paint. Awesome." Awesome, indeed.

I had planned on buying some of his work before bailing, but, like a goof (a really tired goof, I'll admit), I forgot until I was on the Bay Bridge on my way back to my hole.

The rest of the evening went swimmingly. I actually ran out of business cards for the site, which was a new experience. Met lots of new people, including the very charming DJ Femme Mystique. And hung out with many of other people I've had the pleasure to meet in the past. And I danced until my fucking legs ached and it was wondrous.

My only complaint (I know, I always seem to have at least one): as the wee hours of the morning came and the true goths and the Halloween crowd started to filter out, I started to notice a ring of uber-creepy guys that looked like the preppy detritus from some other club just standing around the edges leering at the women on the dance floor - like medical waste left behind from a rapidly dropping tide. They were really fucking gross and I wish they weren't there. Blech!

But besides that really disgusting display of humanity, the rest of the night was seriously fucking awesome. I stayed right up until the last song, then slipped out and got back to my bed well after 3 a.m.

Later this week, on both Friday and Saturday night (11/4 and 11/5, respectively), I'll be at Ariellah's ShadowDance, which is sounding more and more excellent every time I think about it. And then, the following Saturday (11/12), I'll be at Le Bal des Vampires, also in Oakland.

Hopefully I'll see some of you darklings out there.

-- Mr. M.