Party like it's 1995

[quislibet]

We went to a party last night meant to recall the splendor of the mid-nineties Boston goth scene, which is when many of us in this circle of friends first became aware of one another through a netgoth mailing list. The hosts had forbidden strappy pants and demanded velvet and lace. Make-up was more or less mandatory; there was a table set up where one woman was providing a spooky elegance to those who had forgotten how to work the eyeliner pencil, or whose lipstick had gone off since they last used it five or more years ago, or who had never really done the make-up thing but thought they should for the party. (Patrons could choose from a menu: "The Siouxsie," "The Robert," etc.)

The party itself was splendid. "The Crow" and "Lost Boys" played soundlessly on the television, visible through a black veil. Nostalgia was in the air, even, it seemed, among groups of friends who still see each other all the time. There was something of the atmosphere of the school reunion. People complained about how their old finery didn't fit. (J. noticed the snacks weren't going as quickly as one might expect; maybe there's a connection.) Sometimes conversation was halting; I don't get out much anymore, and I think my social skills have eroded. (Or perhaps they regressed to the drunken flightiness of my clubbing days.) But it was a good time. And it has been a while since I was at a party demanding police intervention.

I had forgotten how annoying it can be to wear fishnets. And who the hell came up with wearing fishnets on one's arms? I think last night was the first time I was conscious of just how silly and kind of uncomfortable that can be. Also, my pointy shoes kept getting caught in my lace skirt.

A bonus: For the first time ever I got to see a particular close friend "I love you, man" drunk, which was quite a spectacle. Oh, and mishak made bacon. I like bacon.

We got home just before sunrise, and slept until lunchtime.

Consuela will be angry, but it can't be helped.

-----
Earlier in the night, to inspire our goth-dressing-related program activities J. and I listened to a mix I recently created for a friend, which I mixed specifically with the knowledge that this party was coming up, and it includes the following tunes that remind me of the days when I went to goth clubs two or more times a week, sometimes rolling pennies to afford admission:
1. "Overground" Siouxsie and the Banshees
2. "Venus in Furs" The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. "Cantus" Faith and the Muse
4. "Clown" Switchblade Symphony
5. "Lilies" Cranes
6. "Red Right Hand" Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
7. "Nemesis" Shriekback
8. "Peep Show" Miranda Sex Garden
9. "Alegría" Cirque Du Soleil
10. "Hex" Specimen
11. "Safe Little World" Die Laughing
12. "Swamp Thing" Chameleons UK
13. "Pagan Love Song" Virgin Prunes
14. "Lullaby" The Cure
15. "Temple of Love (ext.)" Sisters of Mercy
16. "I Walk the Line" Alien Sex Fiend

(Incidentally, shnells, that's the playlist for the CD I brought last night.)


As J. pointed out, though, some of the nostalgia factor is muted when you've only been out a handful of times since the days when everyone dressed like this all the time. That's true. But there are changes. My fingernails are black; time was not too long ago I'd let 'em stay that way until well after the polish had begun to chip off. But today I'll probably break out the remover before we go to the Y.

Comments

[pyrric.livejournal.com]

The close friend was something to behold, wasn't he?

Did the cops actually show up? I left shortly after the first neighborly complaint.

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

something to behold

It was fabulous! I don't envy him the way his body probably feels today, though.

cops

Yes, a little later. They didn't break up the party or anything, though, so I guess we were all right.

[pyrric.livejournal.com]

Nor do I envy the headache he must have. Goodness.

It's been a looooong time since I've been to a party that eventually attracted the police. Makes me feel all young and stupid again.

[whatifoundthere.livejournal.com]

I'm getting misty just looking at the song list for that mix tape. Er... CD. I guess the kids call 'em CD's these days.

This post reminded me of the ambivalent feelings I had about going to Convergence 7 in New York. I had just turned 30 two weeks earlier; I was set to defend my dissertation the following month; I'd also just moved to a new city to start my first full-time teaching job. I was... grown up.

I don't want to think of C7 as the weekend where I said "goodbye to all that" or anything, since I still do get decked out occasionally. Gothdom isn't something I've "left behind," not exactly. But still, there was something about dressing up and going to New York and hanging out with all the pretty prom-queen goths that felt both more and less special than it should have. I used to spend more time on my hair and makeup EVERY MORNING than I did that whole weekend... and yet, that weekend gave me a chance to do it all over again.

Damn. Now I'm starting to feel kind of "I love you guys" drunk even though I'm not actually drunk, so I'd better stop.

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

I've never traveled for Convergence, except a few stops on the subway when C2 was in Boston and Cambridge. Alas.

As it turns out, I never left the house yesterday, and this morning I had to choose between attending to my fingernails or catching public transportatation, so I still have black nail polish on, and am, to my dismay, much more self-conscious about it than when I used to wear it to this same campus building on a daily basis several years ago.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

ahh. i did wonder what was on the cd :) now i know :) we played nosferatu earlier too which i though looked fantabulous through the black lace. hmmm. i was never a goth, but maybe there is a spark of me inside that is!

[futurenurselady.livejournal.com]

A good part of what keeps people in any "scene" is really the company. True, we all have different and more practical ways of dressing and accessorizing now, but that was never what was really important. If it was, we'd all still be where we were years ago, but only geographically.