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May. 21st, 2003 12:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrphIt seems to be the season for rants about goth. Specifically, for rants about why live goth music doesn't seem to get much of an audience these days. Never one to be left out, here's my rant on the subject. It's worth what you paid for it :)
I think there are at least two related but distinct factors here.
Firstly, the UK bands who are gigging on the "goth" (and related bleep/oddness) scene aren't (for the most part) the bands who are filling dancefloors in clubs. Now, the two things don't have to go together, but I don't think I've ever seen them quite this far apart before, and it certainly can't be helping. I'm sure one of the reasons that bands like Covenant, Assemblage 23 and APB do so well at attracting people to gigs is that their music is virtually everywhere in UK clubs, and lots of people dance to it.
Secondly, the "big name" bands - The Mission, Sisters of Mercy, Chameleons, Siouxsie/Creatures and so on - have cut most of their ties to the scene. They don't play the normal goth venues, they don't deal with the usual UK goth promoters, they don't have goth bands supporting them when they do tour. Which leaves a very wide gap between the tatty old goth gig circuit and the sort of gigs that most goth bands want to be playing - not at all easy to cross unless there's someone on the far side to lend a hand and throw you a metaphorical rope.
[AAE now seem to accept that goth support bands aren't automatically a bad thing, which is one small step in the right direction...]
Looking at some specifics - UK bands who have widespread goth club success and actually play at goth gigs/events. Dream Disciples. Killing Miranda. Mesh. VNV Nation. There are plenty more who get played now and then, or who have a reputation for great gigs - but I suspect those four are the only UK ones near the top of the club dancefloor favourites list.
So, what to do about this...
There seem to be three main tactics.
Firstly, bands can go and look for a different way to reach a wider audience. Escape from goth (at least for a show or ten), get a support slot for a metal/indie/whatever band and build a new fanbase there. Preferably without loing your goth fans in the process. Nice trick if you can do it - Killing Miranda seem to be managing, and Ghost of Lemora look to be doing something similar now, too.
Secondly, the promoters can go out of their way to bring in big name outside(ish) bands. The Damned, for example. Or Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Or Paradise Lost. Done often enough, that also helps to break down the barriers. If it doesn't completely misfire, anyway - the German scene does this extremely well, I think, with the likes of Killing Joke, The Fall and Marc Almond playing at various goth fests....
Thirdly, sod the UK and concentrate on hitting it big elsewhere. Somewhere with a healthier live scene that's not quite so isolated. Tricky, but it just might work.
I think there are at least two related but distinct factors here.
Firstly, the UK bands who are gigging on the "goth" (and related bleep/oddness) scene aren't (for the most part) the bands who are filling dancefloors in clubs. Now, the two things don't have to go together, but I don't think I've ever seen them quite this far apart before, and it certainly can't be helping. I'm sure one of the reasons that bands like Covenant, Assemblage 23 and APB do so well at attracting people to gigs is that their music is virtually everywhere in UK clubs, and lots of people dance to it.
Secondly, the "big name" bands - The Mission, Sisters of Mercy, Chameleons, Siouxsie/Creatures and so on - have cut most of their ties to the scene. They don't play the normal goth venues, they don't deal with the usual UK goth promoters, they don't have goth bands supporting them when they do tour. Which leaves a very wide gap between the tatty old goth gig circuit and the sort of gigs that most goth bands want to be playing - not at all easy to cross unless there's someone on the far side to lend a hand and throw you a metaphorical rope.
[AAE now seem to accept that goth support bands aren't automatically a bad thing, which is one small step in the right direction...]
Looking at some specifics - UK bands who have widespread goth club success and actually play at goth gigs/events. Dream Disciples. Killing Miranda. Mesh. VNV Nation. There are plenty more who get played now and then, or who have a reputation for great gigs - but I suspect those four are the only UK ones near the top of the club dancefloor favourites list.
So, what to do about this...
There seem to be three main tactics.
Firstly, bands can go and look for a different way to reach a wider audience. Escape from goth (at least for a show or ten), get a support slot for a metal/indie/whatever band and build a new fanbase there. Preferably without loing your goth fans in the process. Nice trick if you can do it - Killing Miranda seem to be managing, and Ghost of Lemora look to be doing something similar now, too.
Secondly, the promoters can go out of their way to bring in big name outside(ish) bands. The Damned, for example. Or Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Or Paradise Lost. Done often enough, that also helps to break down the barriers. If it doesn't completely misfire, anyway - the German scene does this extremely well, I think, with the likes of Killing Joke, The Fall and Marc Almond playing at various goth fests....
Thirdly, sod the UK and concentrate on hitting it big elsewhere. Somewhere with a healthier live scene that's not quite so isolated. Tricky, but it just might work.
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no subject
Date: 2003-05-21 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-05-21 03:33 am (UTC)Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against small bands, it's just that watching someone singing along to a DAT/MD is the most tedious thing known to humanity. VNV Nation being a prime example of how to be quite palatable on CD and totally gash on stage. And a lot of goth bands do this. Presumably because there's just not enough money in the scene to carry any more than 3 people in a band, unless you're Manuskript.
And although the Dreamies do use a DAT, at least they have the decency to also use real live drummers and bassists, which makes a hell of a lot of difference to their sound and presence. Much like Switchblade Symphony, who are DATted and synthed up to the nines, but have the decency to have some real life brass, which adds a lot.
Maybe goth is just a genre that's best 'enjoyed' in the comfort of one's bedroom, alone, with plenty of candles and a Lovecraft book...
no subject
Date: 2003-05-21 01:13 pm (UTC)Nah, I don't buy that. Not getting the CD because you've downloaded the pirated mp3s, that's one thing. Not going to see the band play live, though...?
That's no more likely, IMHO, than not going to see the band because you can listen to the CD at home. Or the tape/record.