Something Else
Aug. 13th, 2004 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darren_strangerGrrlock posted about this event happening in Perth, which seems to combine a rave party with roleplaying, LAN gaming and a cybergoth theme: http://www.outbreed.org/linked/DIposterweb.jpg
While that's immensely Not My Thing, the novelty of the idea, and a misinterpretation of something patchworkkid was saying, got me thinking about special events in general, and possible alternatives to the 'same thing different week' cycle of clubs.
There's always been 'special events' going on, in fact you can't have a public holiday in Melbourne without two or three popping up to jostle for your attention. But they still usually end up just another club in a different venue or with different DJs. Perhaps some of the Cyberball type things have come close to breaking the mould, but there seems to rarely be anything that has a consistent theme running through it. Something that covers everything from the music to the dress code to the decorations to the sideshows, with things like dresscode discounts to bribe people into getting in the spirit - eg if it was, say, a pirate night, the music would be all or mostly piratey, the place would be done up like a pirate ship, you'd have pirate movies playing, games of (ummm.. whatever's a piratey game) and you'd get in half price for being dressed in pirate style - that sort of thing.
This Lychnobyte thing sounds like the closest, though it's not quite my cup of saki (i have a passing interest in anime and Japanese fads but not enough to counter my EBM phobia), but i can think of a lot of themes that would be my kind of thing. Admittedly, the themes that come to my mind are the sorts of things i'm into anyway, like a '50s b-grade horror theme (50s/horror dresscode and decor, psychobilly and deathrock music, b-grade films, maybe even held at a bowling alley or something) or a swing/noir thing (gangster dresscode, jazzy music, cabaret singer, crap games and poker, maybe a mini-casino, though all with a goth flavour) and so on, but if there were themes that appealed to enough people..
i guess that's the cue to a poll of sorts - what kind of theme would get your interest?
While that's immensely Not My Thing, the novelty of the idea, and a misinterpretation of something patchworkkid was saying, got me thinking about special events in general, and possible alternatives to the 'same thing different week' cycle of clubs.
There's always been 'special events' going on, in fact you can't have a public holiday in Melbourne without two or three popping up to jostle for your attention. But they still usually end up just another club in a different venue or with different DJs. Perhaps some of the Cyberball type things have come close to breaking the mould, but there seems to rarely be anything that has a consistent theme running through it. Something that covers everything from the music to the dress code to the decorations to the sideshows, with things like dresscode discounts to bribe people into getting in the spirit - eg if it was, say, a pirate night, the music would be all or mostly piratey, the place would be done up like a pirate ship, you'd have pirate movies playing, games of (ummm.. whatever's a piratey game) and you'd get in half price for being dressed in pirate style - that sort of thing.
This Lychnobyte thing sounds like the closest, though it's not quite my cup of saki (i have a passing interest in anime and Japanese fads but not enough to counter my EBM phobia), but i can think of a lot of themes that would be my kind of thing. Admittedly, the themes that come to my mind are the sorts of things i'm into anyway, like a '50s b-grade horror theme (50s/horror dresscode and decor, psychobilly and deathrock music, b-grade films, maybe even held at a bowling alley or something) or a swing/noir thing (gangster dresscode, jazzy music, cabaret singer, crap games and poker, maybe a mini-casino, though all with a goth flavour) and so on, but if there were themes that appealed to enough people..
i guess that's the cue to a poll of sorts - what kind of theme would get your interest?
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 04:12 am (UTC)Saving that a swing/noir night would be very cool.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 04:29 am (UTC)I'd love a TV-themed night of some kind. Cheesy TV - 50s to 80s B grade maybe. I like yr horror theme too.
Sleazy Noo Orleans? Gothic jazz n mardi gras in a humid, tropical sleazy atmosphere! Nekkid bosoms optional for the beads, natch ;)
What about a really Aussie Dogs in Space swampy style nite? With a sort of Mad Max theme?
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 04:37 am (UTC)Mmm, the possibilites are endless.
i like the New Orleans idea - could slip some voodoo chic in there too.
Just need to get in the ear of some organiser now to do it all for us..
(/me loses DIY card)
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 05:59 am (UTC)I like to have the theme with music stuck to a bit more as well to make it a real different even.. other wise yeah its just the club but with a different flyer
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 06:40 am (UTC)Sometimes it's the crowd too - i've lost count of the number of times we've been close to the only ones to get dressed up for a theme. i remember one Halloween party at Psychonaut, they'd gone to lots of effort and dressed the place up all halloweeny and tacky, but there were only about three people we spotted (including us) who even bothered to wear anything other than what they'd normally wear (probably figured goth = halloweeny enough so come as you are). Still, we did win a showbag full of Redresser stuff for our effort, so it wasn't all bad. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-14 01:14 am (UTC)For me, it has to be a theme that has some interest for me and, to be honest, that fits in somehow with my conception of 'goth' (ie, i spend all week at work dressing down and "playing games i don't respect or like", so at the weekend i want to get away from that and immerse myself totally in my own chosen culture). A pyjama party or similar will have me running a mile in horror - i wear pyjamas every night, i want somewhere to wear my kind of clothes.
But even my conception of 'goth' isn't a static, homogenous thing - there's lots of different flavours within it to my mind, not just the three general denominations of cyber/industrial, old-school and metalgoth. Most goth nights either try to cater to those general areas, either all at once (with a sort of lowest common denominator effect) or one or two at a time. What i'm thinking is more along the lines of still a distinctly 'goth' flavour, but exploring themes within that - eg the b-grade/halloween theme is a flavour of goth in itself (the 'deathrock' thing), and to my mind themes like beatnik, noir, '20s cabaret or fin-de-siecle Paris are all part of the gothic tradition that could be played with.
Of course, as you've probably guessed, i've got something of a 'retro' fixation at the moment, and i realise that there simply may not be enough people interested in those various kinds of 'vintage goth' that i'm thinking of to make these theme ideas work, but it's nice to daydream. (The possible exception would be the b-grade one, since that's something that does have a bit of interest, both in the goth scene and also some bits of the punk and rockabilly scenes who it could be pitched at to make up numbers, and suitable music is easy to find).
To tell the truth, i didn't realise it myself, but i probably posted this in the first place out of curiosity as to whether anyone else at all would find this daydream interesting.
These'd make me wriggle with happiness!
Date: 2004-08-14 03:17 pm (UTC)*Old School Goth (yeah, we have to have f**king theme nights now...)
*Victorian fin-de-siecle decadence.
*Pagan night! Loads of 'pagan' friendly music, bellydancing, etc, and beautiful decorations. Maybe on a festival night, so there's a definite theme.
*Goth-hippy night. A real drumming circle to dance to and performances by firedancers.
By the way - would you mid terribly if I sent the esteemed organiser of Cabaret Nocturne the link to this post? Because he may be inspired to make some of it happen.:)
Sorry...
Date: 2004-08-14 03:18 pm (UTC)Re: These'd make me wriggle with happiness!
Date: 2004-08-16 04:02 am (UTC)Feel free if you think he'll find the discussion of interest, though it's more "wouldn't it be nice" daydreaming than concrete suggestion (and i'm hesitant to say to anyone "hey, here's a good idea, why don't you do all the work and put it on at your own financial risk?"). But if it makes good food for thought..
Speaking of old school goth themes, the "Deathworship in Eurasia" nights (last spotted at Carmillas) are good for that. i missed the last one, but the first couple were great (well, the first one was, nobody showed up for the second, but i would have been great) and Shane, Lyle and Kosta put in a decent effort to dress up the venue for a very 'Batcave' feel, with lots of netting, spiderwebs etc to make it more than just a playlist. At least a little on the way to what i was thinking.
Re: These'd make me wriggle with happiness!
Date: 2004-08-16 04:04 am (UTC).. IT would have been great
*cough*