TLA Goes Goth At Clan of Xymox, Cold Cave Show
A bill full of electronic body music, darkwave, and gothic rock bands took over the South Street venue, turning the space into a veritable goth dance party.
Clan of Xymox | Photo by Ariana Droz for WXPN
A post-punk, industrial, and darkwave show co-headlined by Cold Cave and Clan of Xymox led to hordes of humans donned in dark overtaking the floor at Theatre of the Living Arts last week.
Clan of Xymox formed in the Netherlands in 1983 and are widely considered legendary pioneers in the darkwave genre, helping to define its cool romanticism and shadowy textures. And Thursday’s show was a bit of a homecoming for Cold Cave: frontman Wesley Eisold and synth player/bassist Amy Lee met at a Philadelphia music festival.
The night began with a soft-voiced siren by the name of Rosa Anschütz. She shared a short set of hauntingly layered vocals and synths. With each beat, Anschütz took the audience deeper into the atmospheric world that she creates with her electronic soundscape.
The Berlin-native musician and fine artist has made waves in her hometown and may continue to do so here in the states during this tour. She ended her set with a few selections from her latest album, Sabbatical, released at the end of last year, then bid the early crowd goodnight with gratitude.
Buzz Kull took the stage soon after and electrified the audience with a lively set of electronic body music and darkwave sounds. The floor quickly turned into a goth nightclub when bodies became animated and moved in tandem through the obscured room to the heavy sounds and stylized dark voice.
Australia-based artist Marc Dwyer started making music under the name Buzz Kull around 2012 and has since released four albums, the latest of which was released in February.
When Cold Cave came out, Eisold reminisced about the formation of the group in the early 2000s and their deep ties to Philly. He talked about having lived in numerous neighborhoods during his time in the city and described meeting Lee through a mutual friend at Philadelphia’s underground Making Time festival.
During their performance, the audience sang along to popular songs such as “Confetti” and “Everlasting,” and interjected confessions of love for Lee, showing the crowd was not just full of fans, but also friends and loved ones. “I loved her first,” Eisold told concert goers.
Cold Cave’s set left attendees cheering and ready for more, and Clan of Xymox inherited the energetic crowd to close out the show.
To open their set, each member of the beloved and long-awaited band emerged one by one, starting with the percussionist, then the synth player, and finally the lead guitarist, vocalist, and founding member, Ronny Moorings. Each musician commanded the stage in their own right, but still came together to create the sound that transported the audience right back to the ‘80s. They delivered a setlist of their classic and most popular songs, including “Jasmine and Rose” and “A Day.”
Many danced the hours away as each band filled the space with mystifying performances that reverberated off the walls at TLA. As the final notes dissipated into the corners of the room, the crowd began to disperse. The energy settled, and the room returned to a quiet black box.