As the Goth turns..

[jdecay at att.net]

I think that the scene is more Industrial these days, insofar as concert attendance is the barometer. With the exception of the major names like Voltaire, Bella Morte, and The Cruxshadows, most Goth shows I've been to lately have been underattended. Voices of Masada, The Last Dance, Apocalypse Theatre, Sunshine Blind, even Christian Death. Granted, concert attendance is down in general, but the drop seems to be deeper for Goth bands. In the mid 90s, when this list began, those last three bands routinely played to large crowds.

As far as what Manny said, I agree that the Rave scene influenced the G/I scene in the late 90s. Just look at Front 242 these days. And three of the most popular Industrial subgenres, Terror-EBM, Power Noise, and Futurepop, all have a strong dancefloor focus for the most part. Heck, even locally, remember how Next Level X dissappeared into the techno scene?

One particularly good change - I can't remember the last time someone tried to convince me that they were a vampire. Still, I miss some of the intensity and passion of the mid-90s that spawned so many zines, shops, local crafts / art, and commitment to the scene.

J
-------------- Original message from gwen <gwenix at gmail.com>: -------------- 


> So, with Ceremony closing down, I've started to reflect on how goth 
> has been changing for a while. I still remember in my early days as a 
> gothling (babybat), people were still very much darker, dressing in 
> different times, costuming much more than we've seen in the past 
> decade. And when I've gone to Ceremony in the past few years, the 
> people there are even different than our industrial practicality of 
> '97, dressing more in prefab outfits bought at Hot Topic or online 
> goth outlets. I don't think this is bad, just different. 
> 
> But the thing I've noted all this while is that goth has gotten 
> brighter. The music is more dance-oriented, the outfits are more 
> "perkygoth", and even the publications that I've seen have been more 
> comic. Emo is the new goth, but it's really much more about the mopey 
> than the morbid. This isn't bad, mind you, don't get me wrong, but I 
> have wondered why we were so bleak back in the late 80's/early 90's 
> than now. 
>