When I was in college I went through a goth phase for a couple of years. This basically meant that I wore a lot of black and listened to some very gloomy music most of the time. I also spent a lot of time at a goth-y nightclub called the Annex. I was a fixture there from about 1986 to 1988 or '89, and I got progressively gothier the more I hung out there. The beer was cheap, the bathrooms were nasty and the air was thick with smoke, but I really loved the place and I met a lot of people there that are still my friends. In fact, I met my boyfriend Pat there. Pat and I have been a couple for almost 13 years now, but we first met in 1986 at the Annex.
The Annex closed down many years ago, but on Facebook many of us have been reconnecting of late. Someone even started a FB group for the Annex "alumni", which culminated in an Annex "reunion" last Saturday night at another goth-friendly nightclub, the Underground. Pat and I decided to go. I may not dress the goth any more but I still love the music and listen to it all the time. I still have a somewhat edgy way of dressing (or at least I hope so) and I still have the punk attitude! So off we went to the Underground.
We were very surprised at the turnout. Not that a lot of people from the Annex days showed up, but that there was a huge goth crowd of young people! Honestly, I had no idea. Apparently the Underground has "goth night" every Saturday or something like that, and the goth subculture in Colorado Springs has been alive and kicking -- and thriving -- all these years. Who knew? We were so tickled to see that the new guard of goth-y kids all dress exactly like we did all those years ago, and they have the same mannerisms, and they even dance like we did. And they have the ultra high-maintenance hair too. How cute is that? Even funnier, these younger kids had heard that a bunch of "old people" were coming to the club tonight to celebrate some kind of goth reunion. Hilarious! I think most of us "old people" are around the 40 mark, which I guess is downright ancient in the mind of a 21 year old.
I spotted this couple (above) and I was just DYING to take a portrait of them. I can't remember their names but I thought they were cute in a gloomy kind of way. They were happy to pose for me. And for your entertainment, below is a photo of me taken in 1986 juxtaposed with a photo of me and Pat taken as we were leaving the Underground Saturday night.
(Click on the image for a closer view)
5 comments:
Cute pictures Tamera! It's funny that you posted this because when I was at the post office yesterday there was a young man all decked out in his goth attire with his hair in several huge spikes and I stood there wondering how long it took him to get his hair to do that!
Awesome post. Loved everything about it, from the spooky lighting of the first photo, to your "f off" expression in 1986.
I thought goth was called New Wave back in 1986? Man, good thing I didn't know there was such a cool club within hitchhiking distance. That could have ended badly. LOL
Just think, The Cure is now classic rock. Sure ain't your parents "Freedom Rock", is it?
No, Goth was a full fledged subculture then. "New Wave" was more the, uh, Flock of Seagulls crowd. Not that there's anything wrong with that ;o)
And I was one of those "old guys" that was there. It was a great time. My first club was the Annex in 1989.
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