Photos of Twin Tribes. Joel Nino Jr. (top left & bottom right) and Luis Navarro (top right & bottom left). The Xavierite
On Saturday, April 26, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Vampire’s Ball at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. As someone who doesn’t normally wear gothic attire, but absolutely loves the music and culture, I’ve never felt more at home.
For one, the venue was amazing. The Epiphany Center is an old church, constructed in 1885, filled with cool, funky, art that fits the entirety of the vibe. There were different types of paintings on almost every wall of the venue, mainly abstract, but each and every piece unique to the other. My favorite paintings at the venue were of distorted figures playing instruments.
It’s safe to say that it felt like I was in a vampire’s headquarters, especially since it was so easy to get lost in the place. There were several different staircases all around the venue, all leading to someplace different.
It was like navigating through a haunted maze. I think that made it fun though, I had a good laugh with security, as they saw me come in and out the same door several times before I found where I needed to be.
Each stage had glitchy-looking TV’s set up by VideoWaste, an analog video art collective, which made everything bright and colorful, giving each performance an immersive experience.
Other than the generality of the venue itself, the artists that performed shocked me to my core. Each and every single one had their own uniquely edgy look and sound. Some artists were more upbeat and EDM-like, while others had hauntingly calming melodies that others may find rather unsettling, but I thought it was rather fascinating.
Although each artist had a sort of haunting look to them, everyone was extremely kind including the attendees, security, fellow press, and the artists themselves.
I had the experience of seeing first-hand what the artists do backstage, and in all honesty, it was like sitting in a room with what I guess you would call, ‘normal people.’ I enjoyed seeing a good majority of the performers outside of the V.I.P. room, conversing with fans, having normal conversations with them, which is something I typically have never seen at other concerts and events.
Later on, before Twin Tribes performed, there was a costume contest where attendees could walk through a runway in the middle of everyone showing off their outfits, while dancing and everyone hyping them up.
It felt like a community, where everyone was just there to have a good time rather than an event where fans worshipped the artists like they were some type of god-like being.
So many different artists performed including Twin Tribes, The Chameleons, Void Toy, Void Vision (Madonna Tribute), Urban Heat, Bestial Mouths, Normal Bias, Klack, Ronnie Stone, Panic Priest, E.T., Fantasma Negra, Miss Misery, as well as some DJ sets.
Each and every artist was amazing, but I was most excited to see Twin Tribes perform. What was even cooler was being able to take photos in the photo pit section, right in front of the band and get an up close experience of their performance.
Before attending the event, I hadn’t heard of some of the artists performing, but I found some new artists that caught my interest, which is usually a rare occurrence for me since I’m particularly picky with what music I choose to listen to.
All in all, the Vampire’s Ball was more than a concert. It was an immersive, welcoming experience that blended the arts, music, and the goth community in ways that I have never seen before. I showed up out of general curiosity, but left feeling like I found a home in a new community: One filled with darkness, but also heart.