At New Haven, Connecticut’s Blacksun Festival, a congenial and relaxed, yet quite fashionable atmosphere greeted your humble reporter. The staff was more than accommodating and festivalgoers were friendly and willing to chat about anything. A general feeling of camaraderie and shared interests permeated the entire gathering of people from all over the country and abroad. The festival took place over three days in a variety of venues, including the concert space Toad’s Place. The main room at Toad’s is perfect for a gathering like this. There are many areas in which to watch the band, peruse the vendors, people watch, or just imbibe in a cocktail. Also included was an upstairs lounge filled with a variety of DJ’s for everyone’s dancing pleasure.

For the uninitiated, the Blacksun Festival is the east coast’s fastest growing Gothic Festival. Although there are other festivals in the area, this one is predominantly Gothic – which America is in desperate need of. Only in its second year, Blacksun is attracting a large audience as well as world-class bands. This is an event, according to the festival’s website, “that was created and [is] run by people who love to dance, see great bands, and meet interesting people”.

Unfortunately, because of work constraints, I was not able to attend the entire weekend festival. Attending only on Saturday, I got a feel for the entire event and saw some amazing bands. On Friday, July 28th, 2006, The Brides, PTI, Anderoid Lust, Infomatik, and Das Ich played to a packed house, from what I hear. Sunday’s show was held at the Alchemy club and included the bands 51 Peg, Jenn Vix, and Null Device.

Saturday’s lineup was equally as diverse. First up were CTRL and The Last Dance; both were highly energetic and put on a great show. Claire Voyant, from California, played third. I feel their dreamy, ethereal, gothic sound was a bit of a downer at this point in the show. To place them between two upbeat bands was a mistake. During their set many people drifted outside, or into the DJ lounge upstairs. It was a shame because Claire Voyant is one of the best purely enjoyable Goth bands in America today. Their sound mixes elements of The Cocteau Twins and the shoe-gazing British bands of the 1980’s, along with their own uniquely American musical mix. “Close To Me” is one of their best songs, and they performed it with haunting grace.

At midnight, Chemlab got the crowd pumped up with all the usual hits. Formed in the late 80’s, this Industrial mainstay released its first EP in 1990, and they have a similar, rough guitar rock, industrial synth sound to other bands of the era. Some material was played off the newest release, 2004’s Oxidizer, to much fist pounding and slam dancing. The singer, Jared Louche, warns that this new Chemlab is “not your father’s Chemlab, rather a mutant strain”. The new version of Chemlab was heavy on the guitar, and I feel a bit too rock and roll. Jared himself performed in a silver leather jacket, high-heeled boots, flared black jeans, and a purple feather boa; all this made him appear to be the ghost of glam rock. I have it on good authority that the guitar was pre-recorded. At one point during the show the guitarist tripped over his cord, unplugging his guitar, and the sound didn’t skip a beat. If it is true, it seems a waste to fill out the band with musicians when a computer can do the work just fine. All in all it was a stalwart performance by a veteran band tweaked for the new millennium.

The crowd got what it came for when Combichrist hit the stage with vengeance. Although the lyrics are quite simplistic, you can’t stop the beat. Frantic dancing, pogoing, and frenzied fist pounding accompanied a robust set of hits; there was not a bad beat within earshot. This kind of frantically danceable, heavy synth music – what Metropolis Records refers to as TBM (Techno Body Music), an update of EBM (Electronic Body Music) – has come to define Industrial music in the 21st Century. Icon of Coil and Panzer AG’s lead singer Andy LaPlegua also fronts Combichrist. This side project is threatening to eclipse Andy’s output as Icon of Coil. The set opened with “Get Your Body Beat” from their most recent release of the same title. When Combichrist tore into “Enjoy The Abuse” the audience was screaming, above the din, for more. Their new song, “Electro Heads”, only increased excitement in the crowd. With an encore, dancing girls dressed in rubber on the side of the stage, and Andy’s near constant pacing, this show was one of the best to hit New Haven in years. Now that Andy has moved to the US I predict Industrial domination by this worthy candidate.

And One was a last minute cancellation, but thankfully Das Ich stepped up to the plate. The bands on this roster delivered a musical event on par with European festivals. It will remain to be seen if Blacksun Festival can attract a larger audience in its third year. The organizers are already making plans for next year’s festival and I wish them all the best for continued success for years to come.