Summer Festival Summary

So the sheer number of Alternative Festivals this year, coupled with a malfunctioning camera (which has now been replaced by a phone!) means that it was impossible to report on Waregem, M’era Luna Festival, Infest and Dark Mills Festival.

So instead, here are a list of festivals, performances I saw, brief ratings and some pictures and videos I took. I have seen more bands recently including The Birthday Massacre, Luxury Stranger and Bitter Ruin and that I think it’s unlikely I’ll review at this point so please visit MissJade’s YouTube Channel to see videos from these gigs!

Waregem Gothic Festival – Belgium, Waregem 16th, 17th and 18th July

Bands seen:

Friday 16th July:

  • Funker Vogt - 3/5
  • Umbra Et Imago - 1/5
  • Covenant - 4.5/5

Saturday 17th July

  • Anne Marie Hurst - 2/5
  • Front Line Assembly - 3.5/5
  • Skinny Puppy - 5/5

Sunday 18th July

  • Vic Anselmo - 5/5
  • The Eden House – 4.5/5
  • Alien Sex Fiend – 1.5/5
  • VNV Nation – 5/5

Festival Highlight: VNV Nation

Best ‘Unknown by MissJade before the festival’: Vic Anselmo

Special Mention: Covenant (for being massively off their heads on stage!)

M’era Luna Festival – Germany, Hildesheim 7th & 8th August

Saturday 7th August

  • Angelspit – 5/5
Angelspit performing at M'era Luna Festival 2010

Angelspit performing at M'era Luna Festival 2010

  • Brendan Perry – 1/5
  • Stolen Babies – 3/5
Stolen Babies at M'era Luna 2010

Stolen Babies at M'era Luna 2010

  • Laibach – 1.5/5
  • Rotersand – 5/5
Rotersand at M'era Luna 2010

Rotersand at M'era Luna 2010

  • Nitzer Ebb – 3/5
Nitzer Ebb at M'era Luna 2010

Nitzer Ebb at M'era Luna 2010

  • Unheilig – 3.5/5
Unheilig at M'era Luna 2010

Unheilig at M'era Luna 2010

  • Sisters of Mercy – 4/5

Sunday 8th August

  • Hanzel & Gretyl – 3/5
  • Zeraphine – 3.5/5
  • Skinny Puppy - 4/5
  • Placebo – 5/5

Festival Highlight: Placebo

Best ‘Unknown by MissJade before the festival’: Stolen Babies

Special Mention: Hanzel & Gretyl (for performing their crazy slightly non-PC German jokes in Germany)

Infest – UK, Bradford 27th, 28th and 29th August

Bands seen:

Friday 27th August

  • De Vision – 2/5

Saturday 28th August

  • Agonise – 2/5
  • [x]-Rx – 4.5/5
  • Rotersand – 5/5

Sunday 29th August

  • Patenbrigade: Wolf – 4/5
  • Nachtmahr – 3/5
  • Project Pitchfork – 3.5/5

Festival Highlight: Rotersand

Best ‘Unknown by MissJade before the festival’: [x]-Rx

Special Mention: Nachtmahr (for being hilarious by saying that they had made the woman put the cat in the wheelie bin!)

Dark Mills Festival – Merton Abby Mills, London Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September (only 4th attended).

Bands Seen:

Saturday 4th September

  • Rome Burns – 4/5
  • Diva Suicide – 4/5
  • Maleficent – 2/5
  • Vic Anselmo – 5/5
  • Beautiful Deadly Children – 2/5
Beautiful Deadly Children performing at Dark Mills

Beautiful Deadly Children performing at Dark Mills Festival

Festival Highlight: Vic Anselmo

Who I also had my picture taken with!

Vic Anselmo and MissJade at Dark Mills Festival

Vic Anselmo and MissJade at Dark Mills Festival

Best ‘Unknown by MissJade before the festival’: Diva Suicide

Special Mention: Rome Burns (for being lovely people!)

 

Wave Gotik Treffen Leipzig Festival Day 5 (Monday) – Kitty in a Casket, In Strict Confidence and Festival Closing Party at the Moritzbastei

Apologies for the late writeup – Wave Gotik Treffen took so long for me to write about that in the meantime I have seen KMFDM at the O2 Academy, been to Waregem Goth Festival, M’era Luna Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival (where I saw The Tiger Lillies) and am soon heading off to Bradford’s Infest! Hopefully I can get some more write-ups done before then.
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After the mayhem of the previous night’s partying at “Eine rituelle Zusammenkunft” Mittelalter Rock club it was a late start for us. We headed down to the Werk II for Austrian psychobilly rokers Kitty in a Casket.

Kitty in a Casket performing at Werk II

Kitty in a Casket performing at Werk II


(Unfortunately it was at this point my camera died! Se here is a crappy picture I took on my iphone. Apologies for the lack of photos/videos!)

I couldn’t help thinking that lead singer Kitty Casket reminds you somewhat of a cooler, more rock and roll Avril Levine. She’s a small, slight woman who jumps around and prances about on stage. The rest of the band: Slappin’ Suspender, Billy The Bat and Mike Mean Machine (I bet their parents don’t call them by those names!) all performed well and although I do enjoy Psychobilly music, I do find it hard to get really excited about.

Kitty in a Casket‘s most recent release “Horror Express” is available here from Amazon. This and their back catalogue is also available from missjade’s alternative music & culture shop.

Rating: 3/5

After some time milling around in the Medieval Village (above the Moritzbastei), we headed to the Kohlrabizirkus (which we had by this point rather maturely nick named “the boobie building” in honour of the two cones sticking out of it’s roof making it look like Madona‘s bra). We went to the Kohlrabizirkus to see the fantastic In Strict Confidence.

In Strict Confidence at the Kohlrabizirkus

In Strict Confidence at the Kohlrabizirkus

The German Electro-rockers In Strict Confidence gave a tremendous performance. They performed infront of some of their fantastic music videos such as when performing “Forbidden Fruit“, “My Dispair” and “Silver Bullets” and front-man Dennis Ostermann has a wonderful voice when performing live. Beautiful female vocals provided by Nina di Lianin and additional guitars were provided by Haydee who, when not rocking out on her guitar performed with fire staffs and poi. This, along with Nina di Lainin‘s skinny figure being hugged by a tight, red latex dress with matching elbow-length gloves provided plenty of spectacle to the event.

In Strict Confidence were definitely one of my favourite performances of the festival, especially as it is impossible to see them play in the UK. Their new album “La Parade Monstrueuse” is also fast becoming one of my favourite albums this year!

La Parade Monstrueuse” is available available from Amazon or this along with their back catalogue is also available from missjade’s alternative music & culture shop.

Rating: 5/5

Having seen our final performance of Wave Gotik Treffen, we headed out to find an end-of-festival party. Although almost every venue was holding a party, we decided to go to the Moritzbastei as we hadn’t yet been inside the venue. What a venue it is! The Moritzbastei is an old fortress which is made up of brick rooms linked by a series of catacombs. Each room has been converted into bars, seating areas and dance floors giving a very unique feel to the venue. The music policy was fairly eclectic and a remix of Depeche Mode‘s “Master and Servant” particularly stood out from the night. We partied late into the night, saying a final goodbye to friends before heading to bed in order to catch our train from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof to Berlin in the morning.

Rating: 5/5

Global Citizen at Club Reptile (The Minories, Tower Hill) Saturday 8th May 2010

Flyer for Global Citizen at Club Reptile 8th May

Flyer for Global Citizen at Club Reptile

Reptile is an unusual club; it has a “strictly no EBM” policy. “Anyone found in possession of glow sticks will be prosecuted” claims their website. What they do play is Industrial, Electro, Metal, Goth and Punk.

It’s here that Global Citizen are playing. I last saw them perform at 2009′s Dark Mills Free festival where I remember them as standing out from the lineup. The London based Electro-Industrial band have decided to do a special short preview show of their brand new material.

Singer Richard Mills stands on a makeshift platform stage to perform. On his face is a black, mask-like eye stripe with peaks and troughs that make it look almost like sound waves. Its a distinctive and unsettling look and although Global Citizen‘s music is perhaps not quite as original as Richard Mills’ makeup, the unsettling part definitionally applies to the bands sound. Behind him Vade Retro and Callum Gray (aka DJ Jo The Waiter) play repeating post-apocalyptic electro rhythms on keyboards.

They open with “Kimochihi II”. Singer Rich Mills has a fantastic bass melancholic voice, reminiscent of classic Gothic vocalists such as Sisters of Mercy‘s Andrew Eldritch or original Fields of Nephillim frontman Carl McCory. His voice is flawless throughout and sings with obvious passion. The next songs are “Broken Doll” and “Early Morning Star” followed by the slow track “New” which makes for a good chill-out tune. The song “Don’t Make it Slow” is next which, as the name suggests not nearly as slow as the previous song “New” (funny that…)

The penultimate song – “Things” is probably my favourite track they perform. Despite the somewhat uninspired lyrics of “I make things difficult for myself” repeated over and over, it does have the most catchy rhythms and danceable beat of all the songs performed. The anti-monarchy anthem “Majesty” is Global Citizen‘s finale and leans more towards post-punk than the rest of their set.

Global Citizen‘s short set is polished but does somewhat lack interaction between performers and the small, supportive crowd.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera before the gig but I asked Bobbie Bajwa who has very kindly said that I may use her great pictures on my blog. Please visit Bobbie’s site – Chameleonart.

Vade Retro, Richard Mills and Callum Gray perform as Global Citizen taken by Bobbie Bajwa

Vade Retro, Richard Mills and Callum Gray perform as Global Citizen taken by Bobbie Bajwa

Global Citizen taken by Bobbie Bajwa

Global Citizen taken by Bobbie Bajwa

Global Citizen performing to the audience taken by Bobbie Bajwa

Global Citizen performing to the audience taken by Bobbie Bajwa

You can buy Global Citizens 2009 album “Master Stroke” here or from the missjade’s alternative music & culture shop

Rating: 4/5