Gothtober- Absolution Fest 2023 @ the Crowbar in Tampa

 Night Sins was the main reason I ventured out to this festival crammed into the Crowbar. Located in the Ybor district of downtown Tampa, it seemed more tailored toward the younger crowd, though the elder goths were aptly represented. I caught the tail end of Black Rose Burning , who are a post-punk band that leans more toward the rock n roll end of the punk spectrum. Next up was Double Eyelid, who plays a style of goth that leans towards the classics, with all the typical Halloween trapping draped in ample melodrama. Not the most original act of the night, they barrowed from Bauhaus, the Cure, and Gary Numan, in equal measure with the odd angular clanging thanks to their guitarist. While the songs seemed largely written by the singer, the vocals were not the strong point of their sound. They might be veterans of the scene, but did not sound like they were touring regularly to keep the cobwebs off the vocal cords. They got the job done, but nothing really caught my ear that made me want to do more than wait for their set to be over. 

In contrast Miami's Astari Nite  showed what a band who has been putting in the mileage of the road sounds like. Their take on death rock , is a celebration of androgyny. My only complaint is their singer really wants to be Rozz Williams. To their credit the rest of the band is not trying to recapture  Christian Death's legacy as the guitar never replicate the jagged snarl of Rikk Agnew's guitar tone, and seem to be doing more of their own thing with bursts of electronics worked into the proceedings thanks to their bass player who served double duty in this regard. I think the band also has a lighter lyrical current than the bleak sleazy explorations of darkness Christian Death delved into. Astari Nite tends to contemplate love, and try to deal in good vibes, which takes a little of the edge off and sets them on the lighter end of the death rock spectrum. To their credit the vocals started me off against them, and their showmanship and songwriting won me over. 

Panic Priest was next.   Double Eyelid might have used some backing tracks for drums and bass , but they seemed to be largely controlling this through keyboards and a lap top, This was just one guy singing and "playing" the guitar to backing tracks. He has a strong voice, and stage presence, but his retro heavy synth wave leaned on the anthemic pop side .There were a few darker moments, but to compare him to some of the other acts that night would be comparing "80s night" to "goth night", sure there are famous goth bands from the 80s. but that does not mean everything 80s is goth. He was closer to Gunship than the Cure. 

Night Sins, had to follow up his high energy set, so they leaned into what gives them the edge over an artist like Panic Priest, which is their songs. They played as a duo with Kyle just focusing on singing. His stage persona was both aggressive and introspective at the same time. Most of his live experience is from being behind the drum kit for Nothing, as Night Sins is not a band that tours heavily. He was joined on stage by Cecilia Liu who plays with him in Death of Lovers. She played the guitar parts, and handled the triggers for the backing tracks. This made them more organic than Panic Priest, there was a darker mood to their set, and less of the brash foot on the monitor grand standing. I thought the tied with Astari Nite as the best act of the evening. 

The show closed with Light Asylum. To best honest Astari Nite should have head lined. The only thing this one woman act had was volume, which was just a matter of who was running the sound board, the gain could have been cranked for Night Sins or Astari Night in the same manner. Most of the hype around this Brooklyn based project comes from the fact they have one song that gets spun for goth night, take that away and they have nothing. There was a Roland drum machine / work station that the tracks she was "singing" to were being trigger from, and she was controlling her own vocals effects unit. but there were no actual instruments on stage. Very loud karaoke, delivered by some one running their voice through so many effects I am not sure if they could sing or not.  I left before there set was over as it reaffirmed the sad fact that the stupid masses might fall for a sound over songs, even if they are wearing black, that does not mean more oxygen is going to the brain. They wanted a familiar beat they could dance to and that sums up the sad state of the millennial goth scene. Perhaps a little gate keeping might be better for business.