For the sixth time it was time for GOTHAM SOUNDS FESTIVAL at Area 51 in Hilden near Düsseldorf this year. On 28h and 29th April, four bands shared the stage each day.
First band on Saturday were MELANCULIA from Essen. With Nino (vocals), Quoth (guitar) and Jo (bass) three members of AEON SABLE were in the band, but that didn’t mean that they have the same musical style. A bit less Goth and a bit more Rock plus a live drummer instead of a drum computer made you abandon every thought of a mere side project in an instant. The four delivered a great show, and the audience came in numbers despite the early hour and was obviously happy.
Next band were DER HIMMEL ÜBER BERLIN, in my opinion one of the best live bands in Goth Rock at the moment. From start to finish the quartet from Italy gave it all, and the temperature in the room went up by the minute.
They were followed by THE SOCIETY, who – although not “official” – are probably the only legitimate follow-up band to the legendary THE DANSE SOCIETY. And once again the band around original drummer Paul Gilmartin proved that the song despite their age lost nothing of their quality.
Last band of the night were BFG. It is a bit strange that since the reunion one and a half years ago, they had played four shows in Germany, but not a single one elsewhere. This can’t be due to a lack in the quality of the performance, for the guys around Mike Simkins made the room boil once again.
The Sunday started with LA SCALTRA. Since the last time I had seen the band they have extended their lineup with a bass player, and this added a lot more power to the sound. So today as well the audience was delighted early.
The second band of this day came from Italy again. Most visitors probably hadn’t heard of TANKS AND TEARS before, but they surely gained a couple of new fans this night. Great Gothrock/Postpunk with driving rhythms definitely went down well.
The next to last band of the festiva was something special for me. 10 years ago, I had COCKATOO from Canada on the third edition of my SMOKE AND SPOTLIGHT compilations, and from that time on I had been hoping to see them live in Europe some day. And in spite of some difficulties (the flight of a part of the band was late, so there was no time for a proper soundcheck) it turned out to be a great gig.
Las band were THE SNAKE CORPS. Just as at their gigs I had seen before, the band around singer Marc Lewis had no problem to get people going from the start. And if the audience had their way they might have gone on a lot longer than five encores.
Conclusion: Once again a great little festival, and you can feel that it is done by fans for fans – here’s to Vol. 7 next year!
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