2012 - The Year Of The Antichrist [NSFW]

We critics often like to sum-up and splurge about our favourite moments of the previous year. The bands, the gigs, the gossip all boil up and more often than not lead to a few behind the scenes arguments. So to kick off 2013, we thought that we would invite d.Void & Missy, the organisers of the successful gothic/industrial/fetish nights Club Antichrist and progenitors of the forthcoming Alt-Fest to give us a run down of the best moments for Club Antichrist the year that was 2012... Oh yes, there's also some photographic evidence of the debauchery so this post is marked Not Safe For Work to protect the innocent.

1. Extending AC from 7 Zones to 10 zones over 2 floors. 
We originally did this as a one off, it was so popular its now become more of a norm, it means AC has an extra dedicated dance floor meaning both the Goth/Alt floor and the industrial dance floors can both run all night with the addition of a third dance floor after 2.00am (often a metal floor) it has given us more space on busier events, more diversity across genres and it kicks ass!

2. Mouse. 
Mouse does things to her body that are plain wrong! Such as smoking cigarettes from places they shouldn't be smoked and doing things meaning the front row of the audience needed umbrellas. All done with an immense amount of humour which makes what she is actually doing totally entertaining in only the way Mouse can.

3. The Alt-Fest announcement.
d.Void  took an impromptu visit to the stage whilst under the influence (arguably) of perhaps one too many Guinness' to tell the audience about Alt-Fest, the new alternative outdoor festival hitting the UK in 2014. This resulted in the audience of about 600 repeatedly being made (or encouraged) to chant “ALT-FEST, ALT-FEST!” very, very loudly...

4. Peacocks and party frocks.
The fabulous outfits that people have been creating this year, we've seen so much effort going in to the themeing, it's great!

5. The steampunk incident.
All three bands cancelled on us before our steampunk themed event in March! We rarely have anyone cancel, but that one made us squeak! Fabulously though, we had BB Blackdog, Professor Elemental and up-and-coming band Spawn of Psychosis spring up to save the day, and they made the night even better than planned!

6.  Collaborations.
I loved the collaboration between Esinem and Rubber Cult at our Vampire Ball back in August. It was unusual in that we would normally book a show that comes 'ready made', but for this we scripted out part of the act, and brought Esinem and Rubber Cult together. We also had to find a harem for the Vampire Lord, and then purchase suitable gauzy nightdresses on eBay! It was a lot of fun to set up, and I hope to be more involved in future shows or productions for AC.

7.  The sponsored strip!
Which reminds me of another stand-out moment of this year... Missy's sponsored strip! Missy fund-raised for a few months before getting totally naked on the AC stage! The fund-raising was for a friend of hers' little boy, who needed medical care urgently. Missy managed to raise well over £400, and more than a few temperatures on the night!

8. You are my sunshine. 
[Another spontaneous moment was] Joe Black leading 300 goths/fetishists/industrialists... in a chorus of 'You are my Sunshine'. That memory will stay with me forever... awesome!

9.  Rubber Cult's AC début. 
Rubber Cult's first appearance at AC, [involved] a long line of rubber fetishists holding candles and parading around the club before a spot of self-flagellation in the middle of a dance floor. Some people looked worried, some excited, and some just carried on dancing!

10.  Alice Bizarre.
This was also the year of Alice Bizarre! She joined us late last year to have a make up stall, which she continued this year. She then appeared on the cover of an AC flyer and performed at an event!

11. Satan's Strip Show newbies.
This year we have had a huge amount of newbies on stage stripping. We decided that while it's great to watch the beautiful and talented ladies (and boys) doing their thing, we needed a touch more variety. The crowd seem to enjoy the show as much as ever, and it's nice to get a mix of sizes, styles, colours, and ability up there. We'll continue to invite anyone who wants a go to join SSS for a night.

12. Missy's personal highlight of the year. 
All the acts and bands are picked because we think that AC goers will enjoy them, but when I discovered Subsource, I booked them just for me! They are tight and loud and so full of energy, their dub-punk music is infectious... when they played at AC's Halloween Party the room was packed, 500 people all leaping and stomping! I don't normally take time out to play during an AC, but to them I danced for an hour!

For more information on future Club Antichrist events and to keep up with all the latest developments for Alt-Fest please visit the official websites: www.clubantichrist.com and www.alt-fest.com. Also if you had a blast at the latest Club Antichrist, why not head over to the Intravenous Magazine Facebook page and let us know in a comment.

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