"I'll catch you with my death bag."
-- Bob, Twin Peaks

So, it turns out that I'm a lying liar.

Okay... that might be a bit extreme. It turns out that my original obligations for the evening didn't manifest, so I was able to slip out to SF for the opening gala of Anti/Life.

And what an opening it was!

The music was excellent! The crowd was awesome! All of my favorite people were there! It was a perfect club night!

Well, mostly. You kids know me. I can't compliment anything without coming back with a few complaints.

First, the good:

The bar at Cafe du Nord is gorgeous and very classy looking. And the lounging areas were excellent (a little more seating would have been divine, but such is the case in most bars... and they certainly have more seating than DNA Lounge).

The music was pretty fucking awesome. Lots of industrial and techno body music goodness, so that's a win by me. Bravo to the DJs: Lexor, Keyz, and Unit 77.

There was absolutely no one there that looked like a tourist. This is a nice contrast to Death Guild (in fact, the tourist-factor is the only thing I don't care for about DG and DNA Lounge). Everyone was decked to the nines and looked beautiful!

All the Vixens I know on sight were in attendance, which was lovely. But instead of being the go-go dancers for the night, they just got to hang out on the dance floor and have a good time.

Now onto the "meh" - in this case, the complaints are purely venue-specific - not complaints about Anti/Life itself.

1) The dance-floor at the Cafe du Nord is really small. Considering that there was something in the vicinity of 150 people there last night (rough mental guesstimate, so I may be totally off - take with plenty of salt), you couldn't comfortably fit more than about 20 people at a time on the dance floor. This is something that probably can't be rectified in the downstairs space of the Cafe (which is a shame because the place has excellent atmosphere). But maybe make use of the large upstairs dance-floor space as well or instead?

2) The men's bathroom was fucking disgusting. Walking anywhere near the restroom door was malodorous and offensive, even when said door was closed. I can't convey this enough. I am a guy. I'm used to gross bathrooms. But in a joint that looks as classy as the Cafe du Nord, I'd expect the restrooms to not smell and look like an abattoir of shit and urine (piss on the floors, guys? Really?). This is something that the venue can absolutely change and/or fix. I hope that any future events (especially any future Anti/Life nights) insist on the venue management ensuring that this isn't a problem going forward. Really bad form, folks.

I have no idea as to what was going on in the Ladies' room. Hopefully nothing this foul.

Anyway - overall opinion: Anti/Life is excellent! Eric and Fushia had an amazing first night and I look forward to seeing how this newest addition to the scene grows going forward.

For those curious about the rest of the week:

• Strangelove's Vampire Ball is on Friday at the Cat Club.
  
• Disorder at Bar 355 in Oakland is on Saturday.
• PEERS' Victorian 12th Night Ball is also on Saturday, at the San Mateo Masonic Temple.
  

-- Mr. M.

My Thoughts: I first got the chance to hear Everything Goes Cold when they opened for Dismantled at the DNA Lounge back in August (link to that post here). I enjoyed them enough that I picked up their album from the vending table before leaving that night and have been listening off and on since then.

(An aside: Oddly enough, that was the same night I met Nero Bellum/Marshall Carnage, who actually co-founded Psyclon Nine alongside EGC's frontman Eric Gottesman... and a few days later, I met Josef Heresy - the other founding member of Psyclon Nine. I'd say: "Weird", but I get the feeling that it isn't really - the scene is close knit enough in the Bay Area that this is just sort of par for the course around here.)

What I like most about EGC is the intense sense of the absurd to many of their tracks. Songs about ex-girlfriends stealing time machines to erase your existence and buddies hawking each others' organs to finance a used van really play to a niche that I didn't even know ever existed - a kind of Industrial-Punk-Dysfunctional-Comedy, if you will.

Even the non-overtly funny songs seem to carry a strong sardonic streak, but don't let that fool you. EGC has somehow managed to still sneak a bit of pathos and social commentary into all that cynical humor.

Highlights: The entire "vs. General Failure" album is fairly solid, with a heavy industrial beat, an oft-grim humor, good sampling from unused sources (believe me... there's a growing overlap of samples these days), and a clean sound uncluttered with extra noise.

Among my particular favorites from this album -

"I’ve Sold Your Organs on the Black Market To Finance the Purchase of a Used Minivan" - Really, the name on the tin explains the subject matter quite clearly. But extra bits like the chorus of: "you're not worth enough to be sacred, all you're worth is my transportation!" and "I'll have room for seven and you'll be saving ten. I can help your girlfriend move with your help!" just hit it home if you weren't sure. A hard beat, heavy guitar, and Gottesman's sardonic vocals really give it all the edge it deserves.

"Ice Brigade" is pretty much a song for super-villains trying to rule the world. "The forces of good will descend and obey. They are the reason and we are the way!" It's like Darth Vader got his own band... and ditched the re-breather (I mean, I bet that breathing issue would fuck up someone's ability to sing. Maybe that's why he was so pissed off all the time? He couldn't sing about his feelings.). Lots of heavy synth, an military-march cadence to the beat, and the warcry of "ICE BRIGADE!!" truly characterize this song about world domination.

"Bitch Stole My Time Machine" is the sad but all-too-common tale of the end of a relationship and the resulting inevitable urge of one party to completely erase the existence of the other from the timeline. Really, who doesn't identify with this song (as either the aggressor or the victim)? A good taste of the guitar, strong symphonic elements, and Gottesman's strangely pathos-inducing lyrics combine amazingly well to convey a mythic tale of love-gone-paradox.

I also really immensely enjoy "Fail", "Don't Quit Your Day Job", and "Monsters of the Modern Age" - but I try to keep myself from raving about too many songs in one sitting. Better that you listen and hear the awesome for yourself.

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed EGC when I heard them in person. My appreciation of them has only increased as I've listened to and fully grokked their album.

It seems to turn up on my MP3 player much more often than odds should indicate with all the other stuff on there (Gottesman evil plan involving MP3-player-hacking music-viruses coming to fruition?); and yet I never skip to the next song.

As I mentioned above, it's not your regular industrial fare. But if you like your music a little comic-bookish, a little coldwave, a little humorous, and a lot awesome, Everything Goes Cold serves up an amazing sampler platter of their range with "vs. General Failure".

P.S. Before I go - Eric Gottesman is launching a new club-night at Cafe du Nord tonight- Anti-Life. I probably won't be able to make it, unfortunately (silly lack of planning on my part), but I suspect it might be fairly awesome and hope some of you other darklings can make it even if I can't.

-- Mr. M.

Wow... so... Yeah.

I've been a huge flake lately.

I'm going to try to lay most of the blame on the holidays and related issues, even though many of you probably won't believe me. Hopefully I'll get my shit together and get back into the blog here soon.

Make sure you check out the club, event, and calendar pages! There have been a number of changes with the new year to the event landscape. For instance -

1. Dark Shadows is now 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month.
2. Dancing Ghosts has moved to Dark Shadows' old 3rd Friday slot.
3. Club Nocturne is running in San Francisco at the EZ5 Bar for the foreseeable future.
4. DieMaschinen is no longer at the Cat (and may very well be dead. No updates on their website.)
5. Anti-Life will be kicking off the first Wednesday in January with their inaugural ball and may be running every first Wednesday at Cafe Du Nord.

So keep up with your favorite clubs! I'll keep you updated as I hear more.

-- Mr. M.