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Embrace the devil inside, because this time around, we sink our teeth into the top two Goth conventions on the planet! You many want to brush up on your German.
But first, let’s get the lay of the land. The idea that a Goth is a person with death-white face makeup and dresses in nothing but black is just the tip of the iceberg. Goths trace their characteristically monochromatic aesthetic roots back to the 70s punk scene, but by the 90s became the recognizable “vampire” style called Romantigoth. From there, the look went out and had kids: Today, along with Romantigoths, you have Necrogoths (the zombies), Fairy Goths, Nu-Goths, Deathrockers, Lolitas, Victorian Goths, Trad Goths, Gothabillies, a Japanese import called Pastel Goths, Rivetheads, Fetishgoths, Babydoll Goths, Cabaret Goths, Baby Bats, Medieval Goths, Perky Goths (yes, really), Geek Goths, Emo-goths, Mopey Goths, Tribal Goths, Corporate Goths (again “yes, really”), Gypsy Goths, Military Goths, Glamgoths, and Hippiegoths. And that doesn’t include the Steampunks, Pin-Up Goths, Cybergoths, and Gaslampers that quickly sprouted their own trees in the great Goth forest.
The grandest Goth con is Wave-Gotik-Teffen in the city of Leipzig. With up to 20,000 attendants, 150-some bands, and who-knows-how-many artists and vendors of all things spooky, this vortex of Gothica kicks off every Pentacost and goes for four days — and because Leipzig isn’t the biggest place, changes the firmament of the city itself during its run. Don’t take that wrong; Wave-Gotik-Teffen is one of the most well-mannered events the city hosts.
Following very close behind is M’era Luna, held in the second weekend of August in Hildesheim, near Hanover. Easily competing Wave-Gotik-Teffen in terms of attendees, M’era Luna has a hammerlock on the entire dark-music scene. Indeed, M’era Luna could be considered more of a Goth music extravaganza than a straightforward con. Germany has a long tradition of heavy, monumental music, so this particular con fits that bill rather well.
Goth culture, by the way, is no longer marginalized. Just as the Goths’ looks have proliferated, so too as their event calendars; Gothic get-togethers darkly mottle the globe, but that Germany has the best and the brightest/darkest is sorta ironic: A “Goth” really is a German. The ethnic Goths were part of the Germanic raiders that took down the Roman Empire.
It was the start of a grand tradition.
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