WAVE-GOTIK-TREFFEN 2009
- Leipzig turns into Gotham
city…
Wave Gotik Treffen (WGT) 2009 – The
largest Goth gathering in the world… Think 30000+ Goths in one city for four
days; 150+ international and local bands, and an entire exhibition hall the
size of Newlands rugby filed, full of stalls stuffed with gothic clothing, dark
accessories, gothic boots and music from all over the globe… Oh and boots and
music and yeah… did I mention music and boots…lots and lots of big black gothic
boots! In short, all your black heart can only dream of while you are in South
Africa, or drool over on the internet site – now at your fingertips, to breathe
and touch, and….in your pocket if you have the euros to match.
Picture this… The sidewalks are
covered in a sea of black, the ancient Johannesfriedhof and Suedfriedhof cemeteries
are invaded with roaming black shadows, lurking around graves from the 1500 –
1800’s.. The air is magical and it’s full moon…
Between the AGRA (main event hall
hanger) and the Heidenischedorf (Pagan Mittelalter village in the forest) the
Papparazzi are snapping away and TVcameras were rolling all in a frenzy to
capture images of the likes of Nonseferatu, Victorian beauties, brides,
mummies, cut-up corpses, cyber Goths, regular Goths, classic Goths and even a
few punks! – But all part of the “Grufti” (german word for Goth) crowd. I felt
sorry for the “regular normal” folk who live in Leipzig,
as they really contrasted against the black backdrop in their “civilian”
clothes.
As I stood in front of the AGRA
promenade and watched the black world unfold, I sighed, paused for a moment and
sighed contentedly... ”Ahhh oh my Goth, this is gothic-heaven indeed…home sweet
home!”
I get pulled back into the
reality of the moment as another jam-packed tram delivers more to add to the
black mass of exquisite gothic fashion, make-up and hair, to the annual WGT
gathering at the AGRA. I breathe in
the black Leipzig-air deeply….Tonight is opening night…and this to me is virgin
territory… mwuahahahaaaa…..
- Opening
night…
After a four hour drive between Bremen
(where I live now) and Leipzig, on
the speed unlimited autobahn, we arrive at the tented camp next to the AGRA.
Green police men were everywhere, not little green men, but HUGE green men, the
size of rugby players, with MIB / FBI expressionless faces – you don’t even
think about messing or negotiating with them… Nope… you just don’t, you only do
as they say….We found camping and parking places for the other half of our
crowd, then headed off to the beer and food stalls…winding through the long
snaking queue to get armbands – your ticket to it all…
The paper WGT ticket – that look
like a medieval relic or tombstone, could be bought online in advance for 66
euros. Not a bad price considering that you get to see 150+ bands live. This
card is then swopped for a nifty black armband at the venue, which is also your
entry to any concert and ticket to use all public transport such as the
underground and trams. Public transport is essential especially since you have
to travel between 15+ awesome and intriguing venues scattered all over the
city! And then, armband secured, food in one hand, and programme book (yes,
book – 200 pages!) in the other, you let your feet and your black heart loose
to instinctively find their own way around. Not much thinking required because
no matter where you end up, it’s going to be awesome!
I walked through the charged
atmosphere gasping at outfits, make-up and hair, so much creativity! And the
got drawn by the unmistakable base of a full-scale EBM party in the cave… Me
and my black booted feet ended up in the basement of the AGRA,
where 2000+ gothic feet were stomping it out. It made the gothic scene in Cape
Town look like a mini picnic! But to my surprise, the
DJ’s were no other than Yogi and Ronan Harris from VNV Nation and Peter
Spilles, the lead singer of Project Pitchfork! G..A...S…P!! whoh… the Stars
having fun and having the crowd of Goth screaming for more, like a bunch of
hungry vampires who waited a whole year to feed again…and feeeeed we did…till
sunrise…
- Media-pass
Experience…
WGT night 2: Flying under the
banner of mymusicmatrix.com, it was time for me to join the paparazzi crowd for
the 1st concert. Ah, the magic media pass – you flash it, you get
through – no questions asked. They only frowned at my rather small digital
camera, but don’t you underestimate that 10x digital zoom! The adrenalin rush
was intoxicating as we waited in the stage wing. The announcement rang out, the
band storms on stage and its light, music, bass and screaming everywhere – it
all happens fast. The flashlight comes on, passes are checked, and then a
stampede breaks loose as each camera scrams for the perfect spot to get that
close-up shot of Combichrist (that is if he stands still in one place for more
than a shutterspeed second!) We are only allowed between the crowd and the stage
for two songs – so it’s nose on the stage and a clicking and zooming swinging
frenzy as the cameras swish around again to follow him to the other side of the
stage. The energy is crazy. Combichrist leadsinger (Andy LaPlegua) stood so
close to me on stage, a mere 30 cm away – darn too close to get a shot in! But
then I slipped into the paparazzi rhythm and clicked a few dreamshots… ooohhh
ye! All too soon we were thrown out of the hotbox and into the 20000+ screaming
stomping crowd of gothiness. Earplugs are essential to your WGT survival, as
they were pumping their famous song “This shit will fuck you up” at least
120dB!! The rush, images and beats linger in my mind as I drift off into sleep
after seeing another sunrise…awesome shots in hand! I can get used to this….
- The Band
Line-up…
Yes, Goths live by night and
sleep by day – the programme was designed around this and most events only
started at 16h00 and carried on till 07h00. Like I said…goth heaven =) Can’t
list all 150+ bands here, but have a squiz through the full program on
www.wave-gothik-treffen.de
The diverse programme gave
everyone their favourite fetish indulgement. Be it an opera, an old black and
white Nosferatu movie with live piano accompaniment or mittelalter (medieval)
villages and bands to shopping, browsing and yeah, even flogging ;o) Other
events I attended was an organ performance in the 18th century
Nikolai Kirche in the center of Leipzig; a gothic “scenesgottesdienst” (gothic
church service) in the 15th century gothic cathedral, St
Peterskirche; literature readings by candle light in the Moritzbastei cellar;
Autographs at the Cinestar moviehouse; an awesome Victorian picnic and multiple
band sessions. I only managed to see four of the 15+ venues namely AGRA,
Kohlrabiezirkus, “Spiegelpalast” (mirrorpalace) and Moritzbastei – but squeezed
in about 20 bands in the four days – EPIC! The bands I saw varied from Celtic
(Night in Dream), to Mittelalter (Vrouenspiel), Metal (Opeth, Draconia,
Samael), EBM (VNV Nation, ASP, Project Pitchfork), Industrial (Combichrist,
Eisbrecher) and alternative (Peter Murphy). Combichrist’s performance was
energetic but anonymous and did not capture the crowd to engage. Unlike ASP –
who stole the show from Combichrist and had 30000+ Goths singing along to
“Schwarze Schmetterling” (black butterfly) and screaming at some awesome use of
fire on stage. It was amazing to hear 30000+ Goths scream heeyyyy---hooooo as
we got them back on stage again! Unbelievably, Project Pitchfork (PP) stole the
show from VNV Nation, as the crowd screamed for a fourth encore, and enjoyed PP
playing 3 songs at every encore! It was electric and all too soon another
sunrise was there…
Talking to a few regular WGT
pilgrims, I learned that the European crowd is a very “concert-educated” crowd
and see their favourite bands live more than once every year. They have every
CD, T-shirt and other collectables… So what they are after, is a performance on
stage that capture their attention and imagination, other than just hearing the
songs at home on DVD or MP3’s / CD. Project Pitchfork and ASP certainly
delivered with style!
The last day was mostly spent
browsing the exhibition halls, having more beers, chinese food, a walk through
the magic forest and comparing experiences as we watched the sea of black
walking to and fro, while sipping “rosenbluten federwasser” (fermented beer
made from rose petals) in the medieval Heidinischedorf…
After a few days of multiple
travelling across the city to catch one band in the north and off to see
another in the south end of the city, the off to a third or fourth venue to
catch the next show…its insane but wonderful! You have sore feet, a sore throat
and sore ears as the after-effect from 120dB still echoes away – but you have a
happy black heart as you fall into your bed / coffin or tent and dream of the
impressions of WGT 2009…
- The
Parting Shot…
If you consider yourself a Goth
or have had such tendencies in your past, present or future – then I can only
say to you: YOU need to make the annual Goth-pilgrimage to Leipzig WGT at least
once in your life!
“Ich bin jetzt ein WGTarier und
du? Wir treffen uns naechstes jahr in Leipzig ! »
Forget the 2010 World cup, but
get to WGT 2010 Leipzig around 30
May to 3 June… Get your Black heart out there… whatever it takes, get there, and
GO!! It is worth every euro many times over! If you are not convinced yet –
check out the photos or sign up for the newsletter on www.wave-gotik-treffen.de