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Thursday October 2nd 2003
Perdition and Eliminate The Body with DJ Barbi
Fashion show by Ikaris Gothic


The Afternoon After: commentary by Dem (with input by Steven) on Oct. 3rd 2003

I knew it was going to be a good night when I looked at the time early on. At 9.30pm, lots of people were already starting to come in (some people aren't even awake that early!!) and they just kept pouring in throughout the night.

Eliminate the Body
First up was London, ON based Eliminate the Body. Visually the members were enticing, and they put on an energetic performance. Somebody commented that the vocals were reminiscent of Al Jourgensen (Minstry) with a heavy flange effect, as well as the Spooky Kids. Eliminate the Body chose backlighting, so the band members became silouettes shrouded in mystery and your attention was focused on their music. The guitarist and bassist were wearing white, so they glowed almost as much as my wig under the black light. Visit their website at http://www.eliminatethebody.com for more information, and also upcoming live shows.

DJ Barbi
I cannot say enough good things about DJ Barbi. She's smart, sexy and savvy. Her musical choices strayed away from EBM and synthpop, and she also played some classics by the Cure, and also "I Walk the Line" by Alien Sex Fiend. Her rapport with the crowd and her good humoured emceeing during the fashion shows and contest giveaways added a lot to the night. You can hear more of DJ Barbi on Friday nights at the Bovine Sex Club, and she will also be back during the evening of the November 16th New Scream Special Edition and CD Release Party at Savage Garden.

Ikaris Gothic Fashion Show
The aim of New Scream is to promote and bring to the forefront talent in Toronto. So far we have only focused on the musical side of the scene, with bands and djs. But this scene has so much more to offer, and one important aspect is clothing. Many of us like to dress up for a night of clubbing, or even a trip to the grocery store :). And not all of us are skilled with the needle and thread, so we must turn to others in the community for assistance. New Scream is excited to add fashion shows into the mix, and we plan to feature more newer and independent designers, as well as old favourites and classics within Toronto and area. The fashion shows are co-ordinated by Ikaris, so it was only fitting that this talented designer be featured during the first show. So, what can I say about the Ikaris Gothic Fashion show? Three words: fun, sexy and drools. His clothing is fabulous, and his designs innovative. My only complaint is the brevity of the show, it definately left us panting for more !! The models: Audra, James, Jeff, Kate and Kim, as well as Perdition band members Chris, Ian, Monica, Monique and Thor strutted their stuff to the tunes of VNV Nation and the clothing descriptions were announced by DJ Barbi. My favourite parts were seeing the hot pants and the accompanying ass wiggle and shake by Kim (this girl is definately not one of Ikaris' Fashion faux pas in those hot pants, meow!!), and seeing Ikaris do his standard faux pas pose (accompanied by a nipple pinch) when he and the models came out at the end. Check out his website at http://ikaris.toronto-goth.com and his next fashion show on November 16th at Savage Garden.

Perdition
By this time, things were running behind a wee bit behind schedule. C'est la vie!! Perdition hit the stage around midnight. The intro to their set: a spooky backdrop, heavily effected Gregorian chants, and an almost subliminal text woven underneath, which was an actual recording of an anonymous caller leaving a death threat to one of the band members on their voicemail ! Thor nimbly opened the curtain, and Perdition burst into their first song, Portal. The sound went out at the end of the next piece, Sunsong, which was quite unfortunate, and some technical diffculties ensued from that point on. Perdition stood their ground, perserved and continued with their hour long set. Blood of Regret was also played, and the significance of this song was that it was written for Kevin Simmons, and it was only fitting that it be played on October 2nd, the anniversary of his funeral. The Perdition set ended off with two older songs, Faiths Collide and Empty Promises. Their new album, "Down Beneath the Skin" will be released on November 1st at Savage Garden, so be sure to stop by that night and hear their latest work, and pick up a copy which will be specially priced that night. Their website is http://www.perdition.com

Prizes and Giveaways
So, the bands and the fashion show were complete. What else is left to be done? Hear more of DJ Barbi, and win some prizes !!! We all know how sexy strategically placed piercings and tattoos can be, and Yonge St. Tattoos comes to our aid - they have been wonderful to New Scream, and donated both a piercing and a tattoo for each night. Congratulations to Cy and Tim for winning those, and be sure to show me what you get !! Nocturnalia House of Dreams, who will also be doing a fashion show at the next New Scream on November 6th, gave away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky New Scream enthusiast. The big prize of the evening was a Bronze Demo Recording package courtesy of Set to Stun Music. As Barbi said during the draws, please let a band win this prize !! While a band didn't win, we have word that September's New Scream headliner, A Random Exit, will be making the trip to St. Catherines and making good use out of this recording package. And last but definately not least, Toronto's best known gothic emporium, Siren, donated a living dead doll to New Scream this month, and I must admit I was jealous of the lucky girl who got to take that baby home ! Speaking of dolls, be sure to check out the Dark and Dirty Doll Fair on October 18th at Funhaus (see www.miztix.ca/dollfair for more info).

Thank *you*
And, of course, there is a huge list of people that must be thanked for making the October 2nd New Scream such a huge success. First of all, the public - thank you for coming out and supporting the night. We hope to see you next month for our two events! Special shoutouts go to Tim B. and his friend, who were visiting Toronto all the way from London, UK. Safe travels back across the ocean !! The photographer for this month was William Chrysler, aka Zaiden. This man can take pictures like a god, so be sure to check out his site at http://www.zaiden.com and expect to see his work from the night on the New Scream website sometime within the next couple weeks. This month we had some financial support from Coldstream Associates, and that is definately always appreciated. The prize sponsors, Nocturnalia, Siren and Yonge St. Tattoos, as well as the advertising partner, Ava'Tar get huge thanks as well. Thank you to Eliminate the Body for coming to Toronto from London, ON and putting on such a great performance and having such free spirits. Huge thanks to Ikaris for putting on the fashion show, and all of the models for dazzling our senses. Thanks to Perdition for their performance, and I look forward to their new CD and seeing them play again on November 16th. Thank you to Nighthawk21, volunteer extraordinaire, for donating her time and thoughts to the night. Steven said I shouldn't do this because it sounds cheesey, but I'll do it anyway: thank you to the New Scream staff !!! :p We had a new bouncer for the night, Rod, and he gets special mention for doing such a professional job and keeping the flow moving smoothly. Check out his website at http://humangame.deviantart.com - he's also a talented graphics artist, and has recently done the new passes for Saturday nights at Savage Garden, so be sure to pick one of those up (you'll get free admission after midnight with it). And Paul Samuels, owner of Savage Garden: thank you hugely for your support of this night and the Toronto scene. And finally, thank you to anyone I may have forgotten to thank here, you are all the beautiful people.

link: upcoming new scream events (nov. 6th, nov. 16th, dec. 4th).

Sound provided by Set to Stun Music
Prizes for the night are provided by:
Yonge St. Tattoos and Nocturnalia House of Dreams and Siren
presented by toronto-goth.com