Lupine & maelstrom @ The Talbot march 2002
First of all I think it`s only fair to confess that I did, in fact witness the entire evening`s proceedings through an absinthe-fuelled haze - my dictaphone contains horrific evidence of this! Drunkeness aside, however, this was still an excellent gig with both bands proving highly entertaining. Maelstrom took to the stage first in the Talbot; which incidentally seems to be emerging as something of a new gothic haven, and gave a strong performance. The Siouxsie-esque vocals certainly did it for me!
Lupine were next up and gave a brilliant performance, with Dr and the Medics` `Spirit in the Sky` making another welcome appearance.The bands mix of trad goth vocals and drum machine mayhem, coupled with their striking image and onstage presence, made for an attention-grabbing set. The fact that the night ended with an entire pub`s worth of pissed-up revellers joining in a chorus of "Molly Lee, Molly Lee ...Chase me `round the apple tree.." is testament to the strength of the band`s material.
Both bands play regularly around the Stoke area - often together - which shows that there is an audience for goth music in the area, albeit a small one. Lupine`s backing vocalist Sian (Whose husband is also a member of the band) echoed this feeling, saying that the audience always consists of the same group of people when they play in Stoke. However she also added that "I have seen a few new faces tonight", which is surely an encouraging sign. Audience member Carrie-Ann is a supporter of both bands and takes a similarly positive view, as she saw the same bill play at the talbot a few weeks ago and described the turnout at Wednesday`s gig as "Much better than last time." Personally I found seeing two bands with female members on the same bill refreshing in such a male-dominated scene - something I`m sure I`m not alone in. In fact I actually thought that the singer from Maelstrom was acknowledging this in the form of her Spice Girls` T-shirt, but it was later pointed out to me that it was in fact a SPICE GOTH one and that I was an arse.Sorry. Add to this girl-power vibe the fact that both bands are also musically very tight as well as visually arresting (Lupine`s frontman alone is the epitome of the word `extravagant`!) and you have all the ingredients for a great night out.
There is talk of Lupine playing at the next Carnival of Souls, which would expose them to a wider audience and do the Stoke scene a big favour - Let`s hope it does. Finally, on a fashion-related note, everyone at StokeGothic can rest assured that no Cowboy hats were in attendence and that instead everyone was treated to the sight of a fantastic tophat...that`s more like it!!!
Review by Depeche maid