There are a few clubs out here run by djs who have a passion for the music, some of whom even spin in Leipzig's Wave Gotik Treffen. I used to love talking with so many of them at great lengths about bands, about projects they are working on, and geeking out about Minimal Wave + Post-Punk. They're good people.
But I stopped going to the clubs for several reasons.
The scene, at least in most places in the United States, isn't very enthusiastic, it's dwindling. There aren't enough people to financially sustain a regular club night. Social Media, and obnoxious pop stars (dare I say) appropriating the 'Goth' look has kind of watered down the allure of it, and most people have moved onto other things. Therefore, the clubs were watered down as well.
The djs I'm referring to had a HUGE music collection, but they were only allowed to play certain bands, as to not stave off the wandering Hollywood normie. Cookie cutter people love Depeche Mode and The Cure nowadays, so that was fun. But "nothing too dark or obscure," which is the biggest misnomer in a music subculture that prides itself in embracing those things. So any chance of learning newer or obscure bands was at a zero, and that really took away the fun of it.
The second part, is the incestuous crowd. It was always a group of regulars who would show up and act like "the cool kids' because they've known the "big names" since the early to mid 90's. And they'd turn their nose at any new faces. They all dress exactly the same, leather jackets with "Siouxsie and the Banshees" scrawled across it. Me, being the dork that I am, painted Lisbeth Salander, Neil Gaiman's Death, or Sith symbols from Star Wars. I'm a geek, but a morbid one. I also wore the "Deathrock Deutschland" badge, because for me, coming from a big Deutschie family, I've always felt at home in Leipzig/Berlin, and I wore it with pride. This didn't sit well with some people, in the last couple of weeks I even tried giving the scene another chance.
It's a gossip fest of manbabies galbabies who, in the end, aren't very creative people, aren't happy, and definitely aren't successful. I love the Goth scene as far as Post-Punk, Coldwave, Minimal is concerned, but the Los Angeles scene is made up of very low-functioning, negative and self-destructive people who love the angst/dark vibe that "the scene" gives them and use it as a tool to lash out at the world.
There were level-headed people, naturally, that I've befriended, but the shit taste in my mouth that the toxic individuals, and overall vibe that this dumb scene has coalesced into, was what made me give up entirely. I feel really bad for the people that are still running these clubs, because they really aren't appreciated here, aren't allowed creative freedom to play what they want when they're not the actual bar owner, and while they might just be a dj, their main job is to be a big babysitter.
Hopefully I'll find my place in a smaller, but less drama filled scene that will just be in it for the music, and go again, soon enough to Deutschieland. (To end on a personal note)
