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November 06 Goth Queen for a Day
Daedalian Adventures The road ahead is rarely straight…
By Lynelle Barrett
Goth Queen for a Day
Most of the time she looked like any other English teacher, dressed in skirts and sweaters with her red hair in a ponytail. But sometimes she felt a need inside her to be someone different, a call to run with the creatures of the night. Sure, she had an interesting life. She liked her work and knew lots of interesting people. But sometimes it wasn’t enough and she yearned for a different life, a life lived as someone else.
The night creatures look different than other people and their costumes help them identify each other. To blend with the darkness, they always wear black. If they wear any color at all, it is the color of shadows or blood. Often their hair and make-up is black too, and all that stands out is the glowing whiteness of their skin. Since they are timeless they often don the garb of other eras, styles from times before the night was illuminated by electric lights and the glow of computer screens.
She planned an adventure, a dalliance with the wild soul inside her. She chose a look, chose the way to express her other self. She bought a black wig to cover her flame-colored hair. She bought a black skirt shiny enough the reflect moonlight. She retrieved black lace and corsetry from the depths of her dresser drawers.
Using the internet, she found a gathering of others like herself, other souls that yearn for the romance of night. Music was the siren song luring them from far and wide to Wieze, Belgium. The name of the gathering was Metal Female Voices Fest. This festival brought together Gothic Rock bands from all over Northern Europe, plus Israel and Taiwan. Vampires and other night creatures came from places like England, Holland, Belgium, Sweden and Germany to dance by the light of an electric moon.
She ordered her ticket online and planned the excursion. She packed her overnight case with every thing she needed for her transformation. On a Friday night, she got on the international train and headed for Brussels.
After a lovely dinner in a restaurant on Rue des Bouchers and a good night’s sleep, she got up early on Saturday to make the transformation. She pinned up her long red hair and donned the black wig. She blackened her eyes and painted her lips the color of deep, velvety wine. She encased her body in black. Then she walked to the train station to take the shuttle bus to Wieze.
When she arrived at the Central Station, the waiting area was haunted by groups of vampires, bikers, head bangers and other night stalkers. Then they all boarded shuttle buses headed for the Oktoberhallen in Wieze about 20 miles away.
At the Oktoberhallen, everyone lined up to enter the concert hall. It was strange to see all the night creatures lined up in the clear morning light. The night has the effect of making all the creatures ageless, but in the bright sunlight, you could see teenage acne or wrinkles of age in their faces. The equalizing effect of the make-up was lost during the daytime. But once inside the dimly lit hall, she entered a microcosm where what was alternative in the outside world was normal. Vampires, demons, soldiers from Middle Earth and dwellers of the underworld wandered about enjoying the music, buying CDs and posters, eating bratwurst and drinking beer. The men wore long coats, kilts, shirts with full, romantic sleeves or T-shirts promoting their favorite band. Women wore long flowing skirts and corsets or mini skirts and striped stockings with heavy boots. Long rippling hair or dreadlocks seemed to be required.
The bands played all day. This festival brought together Goth bands that have a female lead singer. This style of music combines the angelic voice of a soprano with hard metal music. The song lyrics romanticize death as if it were a tender lover. As the soprano sings about eternal embraces, the guitar players swing their long hair in hypnotic circles with the pulsing beat. Twelve bands played that day. Her favorites were Draconian from Sweden, Epica from The Netherlands and Distorted from Israel.
When the day was done, she took the shuttle bus back to Brussels with all the other exhausted, sleepy demons. Back at the hotel, it took a while to wash off the dark make-up, remove the corset, take off the wig and unpin her hair. Then she was herself again. Just another English teacher. Now the black wig is back in the dresser drawer. Put away for now, but not lost and certainly not forgotten.
Lynelle Barrett lives in The Netherlands, where it’s still fashionable for demons and vampires to roam the streets. Check out photos of her adventures on her website at: http://lynelleinholland.spaces.live.com
Links (you can hear samples of music on the band websites) Metal Female Voices Fest
Epica
Draconian
Distorted
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