2025 marks the first time in my life that I went out to see not just one, but TWO live shows in the industrial / goth scene. And I’ve been writing for this site for a decade or more now since my early 20s. It’s rare that I want to leave my house and go see bands perform but when I saw that Patriarchy was gonna be visiting a venue not too far from me I grabbed a friend and we headed out. Like the Hobbits on a trip to Mordor did we brave state borders and enter into New Jersey and found the kingdom of QXTs. Have I heard of this place before? Yes. Have I ever been there? No. Was it a cute little venue? Absolutely. Am I glad I went there? Sure as fuck am, bud.
One thing that I love doing the most is going into these shows a bit blind. I know who Patriarchy is, that’s why I left my house in the first place, but the other bands I was wholly unaware of. Riconnaissance, Eric Raven, and Torppsbride. SO. I was interested in seeing what they could bring to the stage and I wasn’t disappointed. For the most part.
Riconnaissance was the opening act of the night. Noise? Check. Industrial? Check. A bit of gabber / hardcore? Check. A solo act that can best be described as an ADHD Goth-Space-Barbie who wasn’t afraid to be themselves both on and off the stage. There was spice and attitude to their lyrics and the finale of their show was the best part – a slamming industrial metal jam influenced by hip-hop. Dare I say it was inspired by Limp Bizkit? I don’t know. But it sounded like it. Stage presence was fantastic and they were able to keep the audience engaged the whole time.
Riconnaissance departed after her last song and joined the crowd to watch an angel grace the stage, that being Torppsbride in full pastel goth costume. And, look, I’m gonna give act of the night to her right now. Right before the show began she said she wasn’t gonna hop around due to a torn ACL and a knee surgery. Where most people would have cancelled their shows and given up Torppsbride went the exact opposite route and got her ass on stage and gave a pretty good show. Alternative rock, a bit of dirty pop and some noise-esque bits with samples in between gave us a sharp look at her style. Oh, and she did hop around despite saying that she wasn’t going to. She even managed to pull a Carrie and poured some (hopefully not real) blood upon her head.
With long leather gloves, a skirt, and a corset fashioned to himself did Eric Raven enter the stage next looking like a cross between a character from the Rocky Horror Picture show and a serial killer. Brought to the table was an industrial metal show that was decent minus two caveats. One, feedback from the speakers during one segment of the show was appalling and needed to be fixed fast. Two, there was a moment during the show where they brought Kira Kelly of Anemoia to the stage as a guest vocalist for their collaborative single Fangs on the Fragile. I was absolutely stoked to hearing this but, unfortunately, Kelly’s vox were completely drowned out by the instruments and I couldn’t hear a word see sang. A bit sad as I checked out the song later on in the evening and it’s solid. Regardless, the rest of the set was enjoyable.
Patriarchy was the last artist to grace the stage and, simply put, they dominated as I expected them to. Only two people up on stage but they were phenomenal, confident, and put on a great show. Obviously, with the release of their most recent album Manual For Dying they focused most of their set on those songs. The snuff pop pioneers brought their BDSM soaked parade to fruition with Boy on a Leash where they used the microphone cord to control each other around the neck. A physical performance filled with sweat and angst and intense focus.
I am not a performer. And I don’t know what it’s like to get on stage and bare my entire soul and craft and being to a crowd of people. But all four acts this night did fantastic. A community night filled with great beats from all walks of life. Now I just gotta convince all the bands that performed that night to create tank tops or racerbacks so I can show them off at my local gym.
