Grauzone Goth Rock Festival in The Hague (NL) never disappoints. The now well-known cat-head logo makes us anticipate great shows and great music every single year during the cold, dark month of February. A goth rock festival in June, when dozens of bars are serving finger food and drinks on the beach just a few kilometres away, would make far less sense in terms of atmosphere, of course.
So yes, it’s cold outside, and it’s cold (wave) inside as well.
And this time, even Sunday evening, usually a moment to cool down after two intense nights of concerts, was fantastic. Across up to six or seven stages, artists performed simultaneously or with overlapping sets, making tough choices part of the experience. It felt like a race to catch the right band at the right place at the right time.
We arrived late and missed Years of Denial (argh), but we got chills three times. First with Youth Code (USA) and their pure punk / hardcore / metal energy, wow! Then with the very ’80s (is it Madonna?) vibe of Male Tears (USA), who ended with a trio of very dark goth dance tracks, a danceable Joy Division meets Ministry! And finally, Apero (Germany) destroyed everything with their raw punk rock, anarchy in The Hague, pogoing, fun and violent at the same time, excellent sound, great songs.
You could feel it immediately when “10:15 Saturday Night” by The Cure was played by the DJ before the first concert, and both young and not-so-young people in the crowd were singing every lyric by heart, you knew you were in the right (post-)punk place. Huge congratulations to Natasja and her partner for successfully setting up, year after year, the best goth rock festival in Europe, by far.
