A few days after SoM hit town, for nearly 1/3 the price, lucky fans in Atlanta got to see four great goth/rock bands who, incidentally, played all their instruments live. <cough> Brought to you in part by C'est La Mort Management, this tour survived a rocky start with a lot of hard work and perseverance and went on to become one of the most talked about and complimented US tours this year. I heard about The Xymox tour long before it got to Atlanta so I was primed and ready for a good show.

The crowd was actually quite bigger than I expected. Not doubting Xymox's pull, but rather, acknowledging the lack of local support for live shows as of late, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people out - so many new and unfamiliar faces too. Atlanta's own The Flowers for Luci opened the night with their special blend of goth rock caressing the crowd with their melancholy melodies. Slow and deep, the vocals were highlighted by counter melodies on the keyboards, accented by the guitar and bass and drove along by powerful drumming. These boys have been making the rounds on the East Coast lately so be on the look out for them in a club near you.

Another local band that played that night and had the privilege of getting the slot right before Xymox was Bend. Bend is a mix of metal and goth rock with a smattering of electronica/industrial thrown in just to keep it interesting. Always a powerhouse of sound and energy, this band never fails to get the crowd moving. The talent of vocalist Scott Dodd always amazes me live. Sometimes I think he doesn't need a microphone at all with the intense singing he does. Always energizing and exciting to watch live, Bend seemed especially charged for this show and the crowd seemed to agree.

The Last Dance, hailing from California, was a sentimental favorite having played here some years before at one of our long since departed clubs - No Exit at Sol. Several people in the audience that night had been present at their first concert here and cheered when asked and were rewarded with a free CD from vocalist Jeff Diehm. The music they played that night was a wonderful mix of dreamy ethereal overtones and upbeat goth rock. Jeff danced as he sang to the audience covering the entire stage - always in movement, always greeting people with a smile. My eyes though, finally settled on the awesome talent that is Rick Joynce. I've seen a million people play guitars - some good, some not so great, but this was different. I'm not sure if was the mood, the lights, or the steady fan that blew his hair is soft waves too and fro, but there was something mesmerizing about the WAY he played - not just what he was playing (which believe me, was spectacular enough). He was in a world unto itself, fused with the guitar and creating such a beautiful counter-melody to the singing that it was almost a second voice in a duet. I found it hard to tear my eyes away from his fingers plucking at those silvery strings. Later on, I'd read his bio on their web page and find out that I wasn't just a delusional fan that night - his guitar playing has been mentioned in the past by many people as something on an almost spiritual level.

The Last Dance opened their set with "Regret" which is a sexy, slithering song with an undulating beat. They also covered "Spirit" by Dead Can Dance which was a unique but excellent departure from the original. One of their most popular songs (written by Rick), and by far the crowd favorite, was "Do You Believe In Angels" with its grace, mysticism and musical charm. The door price alone would have been worth it just to see this band.

The crowd hardly moved between sets, keeping vigilant watch over their places close to the stage in anticipation of seeing The Clan of Xymox. Finally, through a dim fade of blue and red lights, a keyboard is heard and the introduction is played. Colin Gibbons, (who's actually their manager), filled in on keyboards that night in quite an impressive way! Not long after, the crowd caught sight of the tall, lanky silhouette of Roni behind the darkened lights and let out a cheer. They opened their set with "This World" and "Jasmine & Rose." And although the music was 100% and Roni's voice just as deep and velvety smooth as always, his actions seemed a bit hesitant as if he was sizing up the crowd and absorbing the atmosphere before committing himself to the show. Perhaps it was the new band line up and uneasiness about the cohesiveness between the new musicians that contributed to the "careful" vibe I was getting from the stage. Whatever the reason, after rousing the crowd with "A Day" and "Louise," opening tensions seemed to ease a bit and the band settled into their surroundings covering more of the stage in less restrained movements.

As I watched them perform "Creature," "Cry in the Wind," and "Back Door" I realized it was the contrasting qualities of strength and fragility in Roni's delivery that makes his songs so richly textured and appealing. All at once you have this powerful masculine voice singing these very fragile, emotional human sentiments. The ability for one to be strong and yet so open about the trials and pain of life is captivating. Even in the eye of technical problems, the band persevered just as they had throughout this tour. In the middle of "Out of the Rain" Roni's guitar went out and suddenly, as one crowd goer said, it was "Xymox unplugged!" They stopped of course and looked with questioning eyes towards the sound box in the back. After a few moments delay and some test runs on the guitar, they started the song again, undaunted and full of energy. They ended their set with "Taste of Medicine" and "Going Round" while the crowd started requesting their favorites by shouting out "Michelle" and "Imagination." Infact, they got quite competitive in the crowd about what their favorite Xymox song was - there was several excited shouting matches going on while everyone else clapped for an encore. To our dreamy-eyed, grateful delight, the band re-emerged from the darkness to play "Obsession," "Mosquito" and "Michelle." For a fraction of what the show was worth, we got to see true musicianship, legends to be and even a shy smile on the lips of Roni at the end of the night as confirmation of a job well done. One day when we're old and retired, we'll be talking about "the time I saw The Clan of Xymox" to eager baby bats. Its history in the making folks - hope you were taking notes.

Bend http://www.noisyart.com/bend/
The Flowers for Luci http://www.flowersforluci.com
The Last Dancehttp://www.thelastdance.com PO Box 9685 Fountain Valley, CA, 92728-9685 tld100@thelastdance.com
The Clan of Xymox: PO Box 59076 1040 KB Amsterdamn TheNetherlands.
xymox@cybercomm.nl   www.clanofxymox.cybercomm.nl
Metropolis Records, PO Box 54307 Philadelphia, PA 19105
management: Cest La Mort
The Masqerade

Halloween Bash @ Albion
Featuring: Bitter Grace, Voltaire and The Cruxshadows
~by Kimberly

October 30th was an exciting night for me. Not only was it a celebration of my favorite holiday, two huge New York bands - Bitter Grace, and Voltaire were playing; along with the band that has been taking the goth scene by storm, The Cruxshadows. They were all playing at Albion, Downtime's Saturday night. As far as I was concerned, it was the best lineup all year.

The first band of the evening was Bitter Grace. Lapis and crew have often played at Albion; I've always enjoyed their performances, and this one did not disappoint. Albion's management chose well in deciding to include Bitter Grace in the night's lineup. They were perfect in bringing people to the downstairs stage level; and getting the audience's blood flowing and feet moving. The band began with a few slower songs, and then started to play some songs with a quicker, dancier beat. Lapis, dressed in tight vinyl and leather, cut a striking figure, reminding me of a dark prince. They played songs from their last album, "…God and the Abyss"; and from their new one, "…Prelude", which Lapis announced would be available in the next few weeks.

By far, the best song performed during Bitter Grace's set was "End of Days", off their forthcoming album. As an introduction to the song, which is about the end of a subculture, Lapis announced that it was very special to him, which was deeply apparent. While singing, Lapis clutched the mike, making it an extension of himself poetically. This wasn't lost on the audience, who listened raptly, and clapped heartily, giving it the appreciation it deserved.

"Precious", the band's best-known song was equally as enjoyable. Their dance hit, combined with the strobe lights, gave the song an otherworldly, very danceable effect. It was impossible not to move. "Burning Kisses", the main ballad off the same album was delicately moving. The rest of the band, all former members of Figurehead, clicked well with Lapis' singing and songwriting style. There have been a few lineup changes of Bitter Grace over the years; this one seems to fit best.

For many reasons (none of which seem very good, now that I've seen the show), I'd never before seen Voltaire perform. His show was by far the most amusing and talented piece of performance art I have seen in a very long time, if not ever. Voltaire came onstage with red makeup covering all visible parts of his skin, latex horns on his head, pointed ears, and long black clergy robe with a huge white satin cross on it. His show became a hilarious exercise in proving that you can be goth and still smile. Voltaire's innate talent of interweaving words and phrases brilliantly was evident throughout the entire set.

To prove his point, in between songs, Voltaire joked around; including gently poking fun of Rogue. At one point, Voltaire announced that God had kicked him out of heaven because his butt was nicer. He also did a damn good imitation of a rapping goth, poking fun of "vampires with plastic fangs". Every one of his jokes were done in good fun; none of the punchlines were truly at anyone's expense. Even with his jesting, Voltaire showed how nice of a guy he is. He called a girl onstage to play "Guess Which Orifice". As a reward for guessing correctly (don't get excited, it was always his mouth), the girl won an "Oh My Goth" pendant, "OMG" #4, and Voltaire T-shirt. Not bad booty.

Voltaire and the band played the best version of "Shalom Aleichem" (and old Hebrew folk song) I've ever heard. They performed just about their entire album, "The Devil's Bris". Included, of course, was the most famous track, "When You're Evil", as well as "The Man Upstairs", "Ex Lovers Lover", and "Oweee". I couldn't decide which was funnier-the antics, or the songs. Voltaire and Company also played one of the most touching and uplifting romantic songs, "Anniversary". My boyfriend, who is decidedly not goth at all, loved the performance so much, he bought a Voltaire T-shirt and CD, which has been on heavy rotation in his CD player ever since.

Voltaire, a true Renaissance man (he has won numerous awards for his stop motion animation) truly has a magnetic onstage personality. His success though, has not made him lose touch at all. After the show, while I was interviewing him by his merchandising table, Voltaire focused on me, giving me his rapt attention. This was not an easy feat, given the hordes of people clamoring for his attention. It was obvious that he was having fun with the show, and it was infectious. Only half the audience, however, seemed to get Voltaire's message. The other half didn't seem to understand that one could have a sense of humor and still be GAF. They were far too concerned with smoking their cloves very seriously, and looking like the ubergoths they know that they are. In particular, one gargantuan bald guy next to me, seemed to insist on lifting his arms up slightly, so that his cape blocked my view of the stage (he was over six feet tall, and I'm 5'3"). One of those people that throws their head back and laughs only at appropriate moments.

And then, The Cruxshadows took the stage like a revelation. I'm a major fan of the band ever since they played New York in 1997. They played Albion while it was at The Bank, and opened for Switchblade Symphony. I had been in the balcony, not paying much attention to the unknown band from Tallahassee. In fact, I had been making fun of opening bands in general. That is, until I heard the singer's voice. Immediately, I had to go down to the stage, and witness the source of the vulnerable yet strong voice. This past performance did not disappoint. Their brand-new album, "Mystery of the Whisper" was also finally on sale, which was special in itself, since I'd been waiting to get it since I'd heard "Telemetry of a Fallen Angel".

As always, Rogue's overwhelming stage presence took over, mesmerizing the audience. The band works so well together, it's easy to see why they have a very strong following, with a few fanatics of the music. Rogue is becoming, whether he wants to be or not, the seemingly new poster boy for the gothic aesthetic. It's not something he's vied for (at least, I don't think so), but with his ultraskinny body, unique haircut and deeply emotional, touching lyrics, it's a position he's going to have to get used to. He did his customary performance, which included getting off the stage, and climbing on the bar, the balcony railings, high speakers-in other words, converting the stage and it's environs into his own personal jungle gym. It's absolutely a fantastic spectacle. The show was especially transcendental, at one point when Rogue was singing offstage, and his voice was an omniscient force descending on the audience's ears. His habit of singing, while looking directly into an audience member's eyes, including them; silently saying "I understand", is one reason the Cruxshadows are gaining such momentum. Each member of audience is suddenly involved. The band's shows are the best interactive performance I've seen anywhere.

The band was focused mainly on promoting their new album, the follow-up to the outstanding "Telemetry". The new songs the band performed, including "Cruelty" (already a hit in at Albion, where DJ Ian Fford spins it almost every week) were just as devastatingly moving as the works off the first album. The Cruxshadows also did a fine cover of "Go Ask Alice", which I've seen them perform before, and have completely made their own. They played the most well known songs off the "Telemetry" album- "Little Monsters", with "Marilyn" as an encore. During the latter song, audience members got on stage and danced while the band played. Rogue sang in the audience, his spiky hair bobbing, as the only clue to where he was.

The rest of the band supported, and enriched the show immeasurably. They definitely do not get enough credit for all the obvious work they put in making up the ensemble. Chris Brantley is a solid keyboard player, and has excellent backup vocals that very much compliments Rogue's singing. Rachel McDonnell, of the ever-changing hair colors (currently pink) and the band's most recent member; was, notably, the only female performer of the evening. She has definitely proven to be an integral member of the band, and a wonderful addition to the group. Her regal stance while playing the violin is exciting in itself; her talent is so apparent that it's almost tangible. Kevin Page, a true talent on guitars, rounds out the lineup and enriches the overall quality of the band's sound.

Though I spent over four hours on my feet to ensure a good view of the bands, it didn't seem to matter. It was the best night I've had in quite a while, and one I won't soon forget.

Article and Photos by Kimberly
Links: Bitter Grace http://members.aol.com/BittrGrace/index.html
Voltaire's Website (information on his CD, his animation and comic books) http://www.voltaire.net
Label: Projekthttp://www.projekt.com
The Cruxshadowshttp://members.tripod.com/~Darkage98/cruxshadows.htm
Label: Dancing Ferret http://www.ferret.com/discs/

Helloween Concert Reflections
Nocturne & Gropius
@ Curtain Club Dallas, Tx
~reviewed by Jett Black
(also see Jett's interivew with Gropius here.)

Nocturne & Gropius converge upon Deep Ellum, Dallas Texas inside the Curtain Club on the last Helloween of the Millennium. Cover charge was just $1.97 due to KEGL 97.1 FM hosting interviews on-location that evening as part of their "local show" coverage. Nearly 200 fans crowded into the small music venue.

Chaz Mix'n served as interviewer and Master of Ceremonies for the evening and included a Costume contest between music sets. Gropius took the stage at 10 p.m. followed by a drawn out costume contest with nearly 2 dozen contestants, most of them fully clothed. Nocturne took the stage sometime around mid-night.

Gropius, featuring vocalist Melissa Addams drove home a mixed deca-set of sultry Southern Gothic favourites from Penitent Roses, Songs For Walter and several new songs which may appear on their (as yet unrecorded) third cd release. Julie Carpenter (violin), Amy Boyd (viola), and bassist Matt Koch held the fore front of the stage for nearly an hour sawing away at finely tuned strings. When I saw that Rich Sanchez, percussionist, proudly donned a DEVO cap for Helloween, I felt certain we'd hear a cover song. One cover issued (but not of DEVO). "No One Lives Forever" (originally by Oingo Boingo) brought to the stage Lee Dillard, manager for Gropius, who has a new project called: die atom kinder. Gropius, well-loved by all North Texas audiences for years, gave up heavy applause and crowded the stage closely when Lee attempted to exit after this cover. Much love for Lee and Gropius both.

Nocturne, now signed to Hollows Hill with the debut Twilight now available, represents a harder edge of Gothic rock which has helped them in opening for Ministry, The Genitorturers, and the Electric Hellfire Club this year. Nocturne's Lacey Connor took the stage with fire-engine flaming red hair which draped nicely across her wrists as her lead vocals rode high upon thundering guitar riffs tweaked out by Chris Telkes. Chris had all the look of a great guitarist falling in love with the music again and again throughout the entire performance. Truly a heavy, sweat stained set of just seven original Nocturne favourites including P. M. S., and ending with a new songs as yet untitled. One of the contestants, Betty Boop, suggested "Sincere Excuses" as a potential title. I'm certain Lacey and Chris will take this under advisement as they "vacation" throughout Europe in promotion of Nocturne til mid November.

This Sunday Helloween evening brought together a wide variety of Gropius and Nocturne fans perhaps even more diversde given the LIVE interviews with local favourite KEGL 97.1 and the mere fact that on the last Helloween of the Millennium, no one could predict just who would be roaming about the Deep Ellum cultural music district.

Nocturne  nocturne@flash.net http://www.nocturne.cc
Nocturne c/o Axcess Broadcast Services 4801 Spring Valley, Suite 105B Dallas, Texas 75244
Hollows Hill Recordsjelly@guavajelly.com  http://www.guavajelly.com/
Jelly P.O. Box 862558 Los Angeles, CA 90086-2558
Gropius gropius@necronom.com    http://www.gropius.net     http://www.skinny.net
Um Die Ecke Productions
hundin@hotmail.comhttp://www.abbadon.com/umdieecke 605 Bernard Denton, TX 76201
KEGL http://www.kegl.comchaz@kegl.com
The Curtain Club http://www.curtainclub.com/ 2800 Main St. Dallas, TX 214-742-2336 http://www.abbadon.com/umdieecke

The Hallowed Sky Tour
Bella Morte, The RaZor Skyline and Aphelion
Sunday, November 7th, 1999
Dotties - Atlanta, Ga
~written by Blu

Dotties is one of those scary, local bars where old guys go to drink their troubles away in a not-so-nice neighborhood but is appropriately enough right across the street from Atlanta's largest cemetery - Oakland Cemetery (which makes it GAF). For about a year now, the owners of Dotties have been remodeling a bit, adding a nice light set and an adequate sound system ever since their weekly Battle of the Bands had begun to catch on. You see, in the right frame of mind, Dotties is a really fun place to have a concert. The drinks are cheap, especially for Atlanta, there are pool tables if you get bored and a jukebox in case your DJ wigs out on you and doesn't show up (and hey! they even have The Misfits in there). There's a TV on the wall in the corner by the bar - a permanent fixture along with some of their "regulars," a covered back porch when you need to get some air and of course there's a wall of bowling trophies. The "concert area" is small but cozy with over stuffed chairs that make you feel like you're lounging in someone's livingroom.

Yeah ok, its kind of a dive, but its our dive, the locals like us, its cheap, the sound system ain't bad and I've seen some of the best concerts there. Unlike some of the big, fancy venues we have in Atlanta that always feel empty no matter how many people come, Dotties is small and intimate. The band is pretty much in your face - no room for messing up, the crowd could smell the onions they ate on their pizza for lunch. In general, the bands (unless they're glamour queens) get a kick out of playing there too. Instead of a large empty void between them and faceless bodies that sit at the back of the room, the crowd is inches away (even if they are sitting at a table), making contact, listening, watching, dancing. This is the feeling you get when you used to play in the basement to a bunch of friends from school - this is the where you can show off and improvise and laugh. Its all about good attitude and putting on a good show - and the bands that played that night definitely had it right.

Sheryl and I got to Dotties fairly early that night in hopes of doing interviews with both bands. People were rushing around here and there with equipment but I didn't see anyone from the bands that I recognized so I decided to take the opportunity and make a restroom stop before the fun got underway. Now granted, there's no telling what you'll find in the women's bathroom at Dotties, but I absolutely did not expect what I saw when I opened the door. All squished together, cramming for a glance into the one, small mirror over the sink, aerosol hairspray and combs in hand, were the three members of Bella Morte. Surprised, I think I said, "you're not supposed to be in here, " to which one of them explained with a laugh that it was the only mirror in the place and they needed to do their hair. Please note: doing their hair consisted of teasing it and adding enough hairspray to make it stand straight up. I introduced myself and we had a good laugh. That is how I met Bella Morte. Moments later, the members of The RaZor Skyline came in. Onyx headed straight for the bathroom and playfully yelled, "Out! Get out!" Something tells me she's done that before on this tour.

The interviews with both bands went well - Bella Morte was energetic, almost hyper at times like kids on one hell of a roller coaster ride, while the members of The RaZor Skyline were laid back, wise and relaxed. Both bands talked complimentary of each other. They had formed a good friendship on the road and had enjoyed working with each other so much that they're thinking about doing a West Coast tour together in the future. There's even talk of the two bands spending some studio time together laying down a few tracks.

As the night wore on, the crowd got anxious for the show. Finally a local band, Aphelion, opened the set. Aphelion is comprised of talented musicians trained in classical aspects of music who present the audience with cerebral, ethereal music. Instruments like a harp, cello and violin pave melancholy paths flowered with touches of The Renaissance, Victorian sentiment, mysterious fables and most notably of late- a bit of experimental avant garde thrown in to keep you guessing.

Next up was The RaZor Skyline who opened with an emotional "Circle the Stars." I don't believe Karen even needed the microphone in that place. Her voice- loud and clear and strong, was very impressive live, to say the least. They followed that with "Strangeness," "Andrea," "Oblivious" and "Hanged Man" - Onyx steadily thrashing the drums while The Gunn's guitar sang perfect counter-melody and rhythm to Karen.

"See the Light," melodic and dark, was another favorite of mine that they performed that night as well as the cynical, tongue in cheek, "It's All About Me." I think they saved the best for last though - "Queen of Heaven" off their first CD and "Fade and Sustain" off their newest CD rounded out the set. "Queen of eaven" was an absolute sound storm. Karen's voice shook the place with quite an intensity equaled only by the insistent beat of Onyx's drums. In contrast, the more laid back yet emotionally wrenching "Fade and Sustain" was moody and rich.

The textural and intricate waves of sound produced by this trio is amazing - you would think you were standing in front of a five piece band. Accomplished and comfortable, they seem to have settled into their current band line-up like a well worn glove and go about playing with an aire of "rightness." Some bands find the formula to make it work just rightand when they do, there's no questioning it - it just is. In a previous concert review, our staff writer Anthony had likened Karen's voice and The Gunn's guitar playing to forces of nature- his wind to her rain. After witnessing it for myself, I have to agree.

Occupied for a while with the cheesy gambling video-game by the bar, the boys from Bella Morte had finally crept back into the concert area to cheer on their friends in The RaZor Skyline as they played. Gopal stood up front and half danced, half head-banged to the songs while Andy and Bn took a seat nearest the stage. During a particularly energetic stint, The Gunn had let the last note of a guitar solo rip off his hand which sent the guitar shooting upwards towards the ceiling. Normally this wouldn't have been anything to worry about - but remember, we were at Dotties and The Gunn is kinda tall. The neck of the guitar collided with the ceiling causing a delicate rain of ceiling-tile debris to float down upon the surprised guitar player. Andy immediately grinned and gave him a thumbs-up as the song went on. After it was over, he called out, "watch out for those ceilings man!"

Between set ups, the promoter of the night leaned over to me and nodding towards the tussled heads of hair on the stage said, "I can't wait to see them play". My sentiments exactly. During the interview, Andy had been quick to point out that their live show isn't what you expect, "Our CD is one thing, our live performance is another. We're alot more about energy than dramatics when we play livebut you'll see tonight" and then went on to guarantee me that people would *not* be sitting down during their show. Putting energy into your show and guaranteeing that people will get up and dance are two very different things. I have to admit, I was skeptical that anything could make this crowd known for staying in their seats, take to the floor. Oh how naïve I was.

I first got interested in Bella Morte by reading a CD review that was done here on StarVox by another staff writer. I searched the net and found an mp3 of "The Dawning." I was hooked from that point on. I listened to it over and over again for about two days and finally couldn't stand not hearing more and bought the whole CD. I've since listened to it pretty much non-stop on an 8 hour drive from Atlanta to New Orleans and back again and it still dominates my turntable. So I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what this band was about: beautifully sensitive lyrics that are comparable to prose all on their own, catchy beats (especially in "The Dawning"), mournful slower songs like "Away" and lighter, punk-infused songs like "Where Shadows Lie." Yeah, I thought I was prepared.

Bella Morte opened with "The Dawning" that night. As Andy paced back in forth in front of the stage while the quiet, chiming keyboards were softly washing over the crowd, I smiled to myself knowing the song was about to kick in with full force. And wow. What can I say? What words would possibly do justice to what happened next? When the time came, Gopal and Bn jumped in and the band became electrified. The music soared and Andy was a wild man thrashing all over of the place with an energy you'd just have to see to believe. Despite his antics, his vocals came through loud and clear and no one missed a beat. The sound was perfect and the atmosphere charged. People looked around with surprised expressions on their face - holy shit these guys can really play! It was so intense - especially in the close quarters at Dotties.

But being the ever doubting skeptic, I'm thinking, "Ok. Their opening song rocked, but how long can they keep this pace up?" And well, the answer at the end of the evening was- the whole freakin' concert my dear and an encore after that. The second song they played was "Relics" - which still featured a driving beat but slower, more melodic vocals. Again, they were perfect - despite Andy's jarring physical movements. It was amazing - the intonation and purity of sound in his deep vocals are something that just has to be witnessed to be believed. The poppy upbeat of "The Rain Within Her Hands" was next - Bn and Gopal almost as animated as Andy while they played. Smiles kept escaping from Gopal's lips as if there was nothing in the whole world he'd rather be doing at that moment then making the universe pivot on the beats of his bass. By this time, people were starting to get up and move closer to the stage. It was clear from watching them interact, from watching them give 120% to the audience, that these guys live for playing shows. I don't think it would matter- 5 or 500 people, you'd get the show of your life with them.

They continued their energetic animations with three songs from their first CD- "Remorse," "Always," and "Remains." Then they played "Where Shadows Lie" and a now shirtless Andy (cue teasing cat-calls from the members of The RaZor Skyline) jeered and jumped and sung "For dark beasts are watching you, When you turn out the lights" reminding us all of the Halloween that just passed days ago. They turned the excitement up another riotous notch on the last song of the set,"The Fallen," which was one of their older, more punk sounding songs about Zombies. By the time it was over they had the people up front dancing, chanting the chorus with them and begging for more.

For the first time ever at Dotties, I believe, there was an applause and demand for an encore. Smiling at the cheers and at the arrival of a much deserved pitcher of water, the boys treated us to two more songs: "Winter" off their new CD and the last song, *so* new that it doesn't even have a title yet, went off without a hitch. When it was all over I looked across the floor to indeed saw people standing - not in their chairs languidly smoking cigs. They actually did it. Hearts where beating and smiles were on everyone's faces. Hell, even one the old regulars had made it down to the stage and in a drunken stupor, offered Bn some money (as a tip I suppose?).

And as is usually the case, I had put my camera away too soon. I missed the best shot of the night. I turned back to the stage just in time to see Gopal set his bass down, smile at Andy and give him a big, enthusiastic hug. What a high. You would have thought, from their reaction, that they had just played the best show of their lives to a sold out crowd of 2,000. But it was just a handful of lost souls, in a dive bar, in a not-so-good neighborhood in Atlanta - and it didn't matter.
Aphelion http://www.mindspring.com/~obscura/aphelion/
Bella Morte http://www.bellamorte.com/index1.htmlbellamorte@bellamorte.com
The RaZor Skyline http://www.razorskyline.com/index2.html
COP International