adventure in the forbidden zone

howdy pop pickers

so far as i am aware (or can recall) this is now the second post i have done on vibes that is not to do with the new tape (which they are releasing on tape) off of The Cure, which i had foolishly expected to be the next one i did. my assumption was that no further tunes would come along in that time, look you see. i was, and no not the first time and unlikely to be the last, wrong. although this one is, kind of, very much of The Cure and certain contemporaries. 

i don't quite rightly know when i first became aware of a gig by someone called Sanctum Sanctorium happening within walking distance of my place of living in this era of exile. rather likely that it was on an advert in a game on that social media thing. however my awareness came to be i am jolly glad that it did come to be, as it was one hell of a fun gig. 

prior to me going "off on one", let me link away to Sanctum Sanctorium (The Dark Side Of The 80s) for those interested. here's their official website and here is the facebook thing for them. should chance permit, yes, oh my, i thoroughly endorse going to see them. 

everything about the videos i have attempted to film (or take) with my phone at gigs suggest i should really not bother. so, i have not. also not all that many pictures. well, i did find myself front row centre at this gig, so it felt quite rude to get the phone out and be a teenager. being honest, i was also having far too much fun "dancing", or jumping up and down with a bit of a shuffle, to worry too much about documenting it all. 

what's the band all about, and why (if interested) the title? very much that "dark side of the 80s" that they give themselves a tagline of. a Sanctum Sanctorium gig is built on some of the finest songs gone done by bands diverging away from the beaten track of 80s pop classics. you know, the music of The Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Cult, among others. other such as The Damned and similar. music from them that one seldom heard on Radio 1, or saw on Top Of The Pops. yes, indeed, nearly all of them featured on that show at some point, but with more popular songs than what were on offer at this gig.

a peculiar quirk of my time, if not my generation, is that few i knew had elder siblings. often it felt, to my teenage mind (or what have you), that we were a "next generation" thing, bereft as we mostly were of the influence of elder brothers or sisters. of those few ("less") older brothers and sisters of friends, well, i am not sure if they have any awareness (or care) of the influence. music has long since been my passion, even before the teen years. i vividly recall one older sister of a friend telling me that i was "not allowed" to be a fan of certain bands, which age 8 or 9 i took quite seriously. whilst my mid 80s was very, very much the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and what have you, every now and then i went off and sought out those bands i was "banned" from liking. 

quite a pleasant surprise, then, for me to find that i actually knew (and was familiar with) most of the songs what they did at the gig. by no means all, but overall a lot. it was most impressive, for instance, that they commenced with A Forest off of The Cure. partially i was thinking that it was a major song to be starting a show with, but then it dawned on me that they had at their disposal a wealth of similarly outstanding tunes to fill the set with. 

highlights? there were no down moments. both lead singers are gifted, and get all full tilt into character for the songs. well, yes, all right, being right at the front and surrounded by some amazing ladies, all resplendent in fine goth / indie attire, all of us dancing away and digging the vibe, was brilliant. musically it may be that my knees never, ever recover from the excessive jumping up and down with joy at She Sells Sanctuary off of The Cult. now that i think, that might explain why my right calf muscle has felt totes f****d for the last week or so. 

certainly Hong Kong Garden was a brilliant part, with it of course being that song being a highlight of any day or evening. yes, true, i would have loved Peek A Boo, one of my all time favourite songs ever, but that was somewhat (slightly) outside of the "darker side" stuff, and as amazing as all of the band were, probably a nightmare to try and do live. 

bonus points, indeed, for how the gig all ended. it was very much an iconic rock moment that i had always dreamt of. for some reason the band really, really like smoke machines. during the gig there were one or two members of the audience coughing and spluttering, so ramped up the machines were. for some reason it seems i am quite fine with inhaling vast quantities of smoke (sorry). anyway, as the last song approached, they kept ramping up the smoke machines. a lady with a torch kept sneaking on to the stage to turn them down and the band were very much like (in a nice way) "f*** off" and turned them back up. so much so that, in the end, either fuses were blown or the smoke alarms were fired off and the power to the stage was cut. a fine Spinal Tap moment. 

two somewhat different variations exist in terms of life. some say you should never do as a job that which you love as it will destroy your love, others will argue that if you do what you love for a living then it doesn't feel like work. at some stages of this gig i found myself reflecting on what a total and utter f*****g sell out i have been all my life, like them i should have followed my passion for music. oh, i don't have a single ounce of talent or ability musically, but still. i was always fascinated by the likes of Peter Grant, Malcolm Mclaren and, yes, Ian Faith. perhaps i really should have used my life as a rock and roll manager, with (of course) a cricket bat. 

best gig of the year so far? well, no, i saw Suede twice. and the Manics that amount of times. certainly this was way, way better than the James debacle. if it means anything at all as an endorsement, it is very much that i shall actively be seeking the chance to see Sanctum again. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!