Reflections on April's New Scream
The weather on Thursday was definately a disappointment. Once we got into April, I thought we wouldn't have to deal with the snow thing again, but then again we live in Canada, so what can you do? Deal with it, put on a great night, and hope people brave the weather for it! Attendance was down from previous months, but I do definately thank everyone who bundled up warmly and made it to the show.

DJ Darq is well known throughout Toronto for his work with Fetish Masquerade and has held a regular club night at most of the regular clubs we haunt. His music and friendly and professional demeanour did not disappoint me, and people really enjoyed his sets.

Lust gave an outstanding first performance at the February 2003 Fetish Masquerade at the Reverb, after which I promptly talked to them about doing a future New Scream. You couldn't ask for a nicer band, and they showed a tighter sound and more confidence on Thursday night. Stay tuned for more performances and great things to come from Jason, Vee and Trent.

Perdition had just come back from a long trip to Montreal (March 28th) with The Divine to play at Saphir, and had played at B-Side on March 15th. Any exhausation from this hectic schedule was not apparent in their performance. New Scream was thus my third time hearing them play in less than three weeks, and I enjoyed each performance. Just when I think they can't give a better live show, they prove me wrong. I can see Chris's passion and stage presence increasing with every show, and New Scream was no exception. The two newest additions to the lineup, Amanda (secondary vocals/guitar) and Monika (secondary vocals, keyboard), are not only damn sexy, but their capabilities and confidence are shining through more and more with each show. Steven, on guitar, always has a casual air to him while he plays, but do not be fooled into thinking he gives any less than 100% to a performance. Thor (bass) is the other longtime member of Perdition, and not only does he play that bass with a devoted concentration, he is also really handy at lifting heavy equipment :)

A note about the images taken during the night: I did the ones during Perdition's performance, and Dark Dancer did all the other ones. Regarding the lights this Thursday: the rental equipment was faulty (this was beyond our control) and we apologize for the periods of bad or non-existant lighting. It was generally fine during Lust's performance, but gave us a lot of trouble just prior to, and during, Perdition's performance. The photographs of their show were not up to my standards, but that was the best I could do given the lighting cirumstances. Thanks to DJ Darq for his advice about getting a partial refund for the faulty equipment.

New Scream cannot happen without the help and contributions of many people. First of all, thank you to Steven and Ian (Set to Stun Music) for the technical end of the night. Savage Garden is not a live venue, and the sheer amount of work that it takes to set it up for live bands, and then tear everything down at the end of the night is astronomical. Set to Stun Music keeps everything sounding the way it should, and Steven does the lights that hilight the bands. The owner of Savage Garden, Paul aka Lord Pale, was also kind enough to do lights during Perdition's performance. Yonge St. Tattoos has been a long time supporter of Toronto-Goth.com and the scene, and congratulations go out to the winners of the free tattoo and free piercing. Visit their website or drop by the store at 604 Yonge St. to make an appointment: their work is high quality, the staff is friendly and professional, and they exceed Health Board standards. Thank you to Dark Dancer for taking photographs during the night, and to Nighthawk21 for taking over door from me for a while. Thank you to Paul and all the staff at Savage Garden for putting up with us for yet another month, and for all their support. And thank you to everyone who came to New Scream, and I look forward to seeing you on May 1st for Aphasia and First Born Unicorn, with DJs Void and Darktide. Without your support, New Scream cannot happen.

Dem 04.05.03