Teen Gothic

A few photos I took last night when I saw the Sisters of Mercy in Boston, Massachusetts

I have been really frustrated with this for many years. There are club nights every day of the week with decent- to great- attendance (so the potential audience is there) but shows, not so much. The vibes are extremely spooky 7 months out of the year, and obviously Salem is right there. Nevertheless, we pretty much only have one successful local act, and touring bands (even from close by) just see us as a weeknight stop between NY and philly at best, or skip us altogether.

For reference, Boy Harsher LIVES IN MASSACHUSETTS and has not been here since 2019 as far as I remember. I've picked up on hints from a few different touring bands that they had a bad experience here as well but I am not clear on exactly what the bad experience was — low attendance, people who don't dance, etc? Theories

• Attendance is SUPER hit or miss, and there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why and which bands get a good reception. half the time I'm watching their faces like 'there is zero way these people are coming back'
• People who like fun and dancing seem to just go to clubs and aren't that passionate about the music itself or they're just crossover from the kink community (I love clubbing but I wish there was more cross-pollination)
• People who actually go to shows don't seem to like fun and dancing. They just stand there looking cool with folded arms
• We don't have a lot of local acts to welcome them and they all leave due to it costing one billion dollars to live here. Still, NYC seems to do fine despite also costing one billion dollars
• The population is like 30% college kids and events are usually 18+ but they don't seem to have any interest in going to anything besides molchat doma
• It becomes a vicious cycle where if we're lucky enough to get a stop, it's on a weeknight, so attendance is even lower and the vibe is even lamer.

What can i, some random chick, do about this besides spend another 12 years complaining?

Had a pretty good time. Wasn't the best show ever, but had lots of interaction with both Ben and Andrew. (I made eye contact with Andrew before the show without his sunglasses, very scary but exhilarating!) Andrews voice lived up to what I've read online, but I was pretty happy to be in his presence. Overall had a really good night!

It was a great show! They sounded really good, posed a lot for photos, I got a good spot in the crowd, and heard some of my favorite songs of all time live! If you've been hesitant to see them where you are, I'd say go for it!!

I’m moving to Boston in a month and would love to find some goth/metal places. Anyone have any suggestions?

I’m going to Massachusetts in October (2nd-7th), and was wondering if there’s any goth things going on, or places to check out? Sorry i feel like this is a stupid question, and I hope the flair is correct 🥲