Clan of Xymox is a household name in these pages. Formed in 1981 in the Netherlands, they are celebrating their 45th anniversary with a month-long co-headline tour together with the Los Angeles band Cold Cave, and they will continue to tour in Europe in the fall.

Sadly, I missed the openers, Buzz Kull and Rosa Anschütz, but when I arrived at the venue I was immediately drawn by Cold Cave's stage presence and powerful sound: a great mixture of synthpop and dark rock that's the perfect bed for Wesley Eisold's baritone voice and stage dark-rock-icon stage presence. Amy Lee is on keys, delivering the goods, and their new drummer (from Bologna, Italy) is helping deliver the show with great intensity and commitment.

Clan of Xymox started with a cool lighting trick by Sean de Winzer, who then took the stage-right keys position and had a few more lighting tricks up his sleeve (literally) later in the show. Ronny Moorings, with his perfect 80s hair, was on guitar and voice, delivering the clean arpeggios that are so typical of this genre and that defined the sound of the band. It was a bit hard to understand his lyrics or even his talking between songs, but their sound engineer was doing a good job with delays on the vocals, and the sound was powerful with nice low end (even the occasional infra-subby sine drops), although I must say, after seeing Cold Cave with a live drummer, the lack of drums on the Clan of Xymox set, did feel a little bit like an energy dip. Nevertheless, a great live show from one of the most respected and established darkwave bands on the scene.

The concert was organized by LPR (Le Poisson Rouge), one of the best venues in New York City, where Clan of Xymox has played previously. But this time around, with a co-headlining tour and fans of the Clan and the Cave coming together, a bigger venue was needed, and Pioneer Works in Brooklyn was perfect.

POST-EVENT reflections on live music performances by SEVIT, VISION VIDEO, THEN COMES SILENCE at TULIP'S

I'm the guy in the back leaning against the bar and checking out how well things are going between the band and the audience. This is one of those moments when everything that the folks most directly involved set out to accomplish was achieved and shared well with the attending audience. Kudos for simply having a great time on stage with the audience participation.

Sounds simple? Maybe it is. Maybe just having a good time can be contagious, and maybe... we can all learn a little about what really matters to the real people spending real money in the hopes of experiencing something memorable and having a great time doing it.

Overview thoughts:
Then Comes Silence [SWEDEN] visits the scene and TULIP's FTW, the music venue tonight is PACKED!! Great job to all who showed up to enjoy these fantastic presentations, which... and I do hope that you will explore each band's music links and dive deep because if you were not able to make it out this evening, you don't wanna miss this in any shape or form the next time any of these bands take the stage!
Tulip's venue: Let's touch on the rocking potential of this small venue.

The stage ... which is completely enjoyable from a position standing at the front bar waiting on those deliciously well-poured drinks... generates an inviting ambiance and the lighting is stellar. The sound booth area, two levels, and three technicians for the sound and lighting details with several monitoring display screens (color me impressed for such a small stage, but it comes off perfectly).

Sevit, local favorites brought the energy and just the right mood for this mixed crowd of young fiends and elder goths. SEVIT also performed recently just this past weekend at a private event called THE WITCH'S BALL, which was held inside a CASTLE here in Texas! SEVIT has played so many venues recently this year and during the past nine months that one wonders when they might find time for recording their next album.

Then Comes Silence, the bass player owns the stage with amazing vitality, contagious energy, and just completely in-the-zone.

Goth Dad's VISION VIDEO is the group of musicians that steal the show with excellent interactions with the audience, and very personal reflections on what eventually affects us all; death and dying, grief, loss, and violence in the streets. Goth Dad takes an approach that MANY other music groups have stated concern for fear of maybe seeming pushy, or preachy about what's mutually affecting so many people every single day... even with the greatest common denominator: DEATH, and then further with social unrest.... and I know what some may say... because I have heard the excuses for so long already.... but here's the thing, the venue was packed, Goth dad mentioned that this was a return visit and that he could see many familiar faces among the wall-to-wall throng populating the TULIP'S music venue... so maybe, instead of excuses, some people simply generate RESULTS!

The audience was moved in more ways than just the awesome music. The soulful messages which we explored together this evening, discussed with the audience, not just shouted at them, before during, and after each song.... was engaging, and people were into it... You may find yourself at a show like this someday where the person singing songs and speaking into the microphone actually has something meaningful to communicate in such a dialogue, and if so, then hopefully it will move you, too!

We were able to audition new (un-recorded) songs, some of what we heard tonight may hopefully get recorded and available soon. Goth Dad also entertained and initiated a full house sing-along in celebration of someone attending the show on their birthday. We soon discovered that there were a few birthdays being celebrated during this very show at Tulip's last night.

The patio area is very spacious and welcoming. In so many facets, I do see a lot of diversity and potential for making this intimate venue into anything you might need it to be for any crowd in attendance. I will leave this for now to any out there reading this with enough curiosity to check out Tulip's FTW music venue anytime.

This show accomplishes the good time that I believe most people were there to enjoy. Success in the scene is definitely something to celebrate! OH! And the merch table... oh my goth! The exceptional variety of wow-artistic (MUST HAVE) tee shirt designs was just... like a kid in a candy store!

Please also visit these for more details...

--------> SEVIT: www.sevitband.com
--------> Vision Video: www.visionvideoband.com
--------> Then Comes Silence: www.thencomessilence.com
--------> TEXAS WITCH'S BALL: www.txwitchesball.com

Banquet of the Spirits played several sets at the Stone as part of Cyro Baptista's week-long residency. The core band is a quartet consisting of bandleader Cyro Baptista on percussion and vocals; Brian Marsella on keyboards, Tim Keiper on drums, and Shanir Blumenkranz on bass, oud, and gimbri. During the four sets they did during the residency, they were joined by several special guests including Nels Cline (guitar), John Lee (guitar) and Peter Apfelbaum (horns).

Tuesday night's early set with Nels Cline was a loud, heavy powerhouse of a concert, and the small venue was about as crowded as I've ever seen it. It was actually such an intense musical experience that I decided to leave after one set because I didn't think I could handle another one!

Thursday's sets with John Lee and Peter Apfelbaum were still intense but also lighter, more melodic, and more fun. The intensity came less from power and noise and more from the ecstatic live music experience that you get from a band that is 100% on point with a room full of people who can truly appreciate what they're doing. While some concerts wear you out, I found this night to be energizing and uplifting. So many different kinds of musical fun, between the homemade musical instruments (like some kind of percussive pipe organ made from PVC and plywood), the percussion back-and-forth between Tim and Cyro, the manic keyboard solos from Brian Marsella, Apfelbaum's fantastic melodic sax solos... and I think my favorite moment of the night was the interplay between John Lee and Shanir Blumenkranz (on guitar and bass, respectively) during the last piece before the encore during one of the sets.

It seems like Banquet of the Spirits is a band on top of their game right now, and I hope they get more chances to play out very soon - I'll be first in line to see them again!

On October 18 & 19, 2014, the NYC chapter of the Content Creators Coalition held a benefit, rally, and protest march to raise money and awareness for their cause. They have three main points, which are that artists should have control of their own work; artists should receive fair pay for their work; and that artists should have the right of collective representation to protect their interests. (I think most music fans would have a hard time arguing with any of these points!)

The first part of the two-day event was held at Roulette in Brooklyn, which is one of my favorite venues for new music in the NYC metro area. This event was a benefit concert as well as a bit of a rally, with a number of speeches from musicians and other interested parties about the problems artists are facing today, especially in regards to the way profits from digital music are (mostly) being distributed to everyone but the artist who actually created the work. It was very educational and I learned a lot about the state of the music industry.

There were a number of performances throughout the night from too many musicians to list, but some of my favorites included a quartet of Steve Coleman, John Zorn, Ches Smith and Trevor Dunn; a solo clarinet performance by Doug Wieselman; and a quartet of Marc Ribot, Amir ElSaffar, Ches Smith and Henry Grimes (I hope this one in particular is a lineup that happens again in the future!).

The next day, Sunday, there was a free concert/rally at Le Poisson Rouge, ending with a roughly three-quarter-mile march through Greenwich Village and finishing with a protest at the New York Google offices (since they are heavily involved in the sort of digital music distribution that the Coalition is concerned with).

The concert was fairly similar to the benefit the night before, with similar speakers and the same short film, but with different musicians - again, too many people to list, but some highlights were Cibo Matto, Roseanne Cash with Wesley Stace, and Ava Mendoza (who I really loved - I'd never seen her perform before). In addition to the live music and speeches, we were encouraged to take some markers and make up some signs to hold during the protest march.

At the end of the concert, the grand finale was Kenny Wollesen and his band, the Himalayas - they started up in the hallway and most of the people in the venue (musicians and fans alike) followed along, beginning the march. This was really my favorite part of the weekend - the CCC did a great job of making the march appealing to everyone. I was actually sorry we didn't have a longer walk, I would have loved to keep following the band around Manhattan! The music was just right, the crowd had a fun vibe, it was a beautiful day, and the unsuspecting crowds we passed (tourists and locals alike) seemed, on the whole, very supportive of artists' rights and they seemed to appreciate the music and the spectacle. We were constantly being filmed and photographed by interested bystanders. Hopefully this is a good sign for the Content Creators Coalition and their mission. I'll definitely keep an eye out for future CCC events, and I'd encourage other music fans to do the same.

Last week, renowned composer/musician John Zorn premiered a third series of his popular Masada compositions, entitled "The Book of Beriah." He announced that there would be a total of 92 pieces in the Book of Beriah, each one to be played by a different ensemble. The premiere concert, held at Town Hall in New York City, featured no less than twenty different bands playing twenty different pieces. Musical styles were - in typical Zorn fashion - all over the map, including jazz, metal, classical, klezmer, rock and a host of experimental sounds.

It's impossible to fully review twenty different bands in a short review, but there were some notable highlights. Eyvind Kang's string-heavy octet was my personal favorite of the night, a very beautiful and melodic piece which featured Frank London on trumpet. Another highlight was vocalist Sofia Rei's duet with saz bass player Jean-Christophe Maillard, who brought us a lovely exotic piece with a sparse arrangement that perfectly framed her voice. The most fun band of the night was undoubtedly Zion80, Jon Madof's Afrobeat-influenced big band, who lightened the mood before the intermission.

The Merkaba Quartet, comprised of a string trio plus Marc Ribot on electric guitar, was another one of my favorites - it reminded me a lot of Bar Kokhba, with a sort of slinky, laid-back-yet-energizing sound. Mephisto (which was the band Mephista, but with a substitute drummer) was one of the more experimental/avant groups of the night, with Ikue Mori's fascinating electronics and Sylvie Courvoisier's dramatic piano keeping me captivated throughout.

Cleric, a Philadelphia-based band on Mimicry Records, were probably the most polarizing band that we heard; fans of heavier music absolutely loved them, while people less appreciative of that scene were rather taken aback by their aggressive sound. Secret Chiefs 3, one of their Mimicry labelmates, capped off the night with a fantastic and energetic finale, leaving us with our heads spinning and wondering about what the next installment of the Book of Beriah will hold. After a three-hour concert of almost unbelievable diversity, it's hard to imagine what could come next!