Tomorrow’s Ghosts Whitby 1st/2nd November 2024
Written by Diamond Dave on November 18, 2024
As a man in his early 50’s the idea of standing in all weathers watching bands play from a distance with the wind often blowing the sound all over the place doesn’t quite have the appeal that it used to. One of the benefits of Tomorrow’s Ghosts (like the Rebellion Festival that I covered in Blackpool) is that the bands are all playing inside. Yes. If you fancy throwing some shapes on the dancefloor…go ahead! But if you want to sit at the back, nursing a pint letting the action unfold , well that’s great too! The action takes place in a complex that is right next to the whale bone monument. Also close by is the bench that is dedicated to Sophie Lancaster, who is represented inside the venue by people wearing t-shirts, bracelets and hoodies showing support for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and the wonderful work they do
Flowers are draped round the microphones as the first band to grace the stage this year, The Gospel. Five women, including two on percussion and vocals show an originality and beauty that is rare today. Tracks like Burning Like A Fever and The Pills (a track with the lyric, I threw it all away on Coke and Chardonnay) have angelic backing vocals which accompany their male singer Nick Cave like vocals perfectly. I can’t help thinking of film soundtracks which suit this band perfectly. “Do We Have Any Witches In The Room ?” says one of the members of The Gospel. Quite possibly but even the darkest of hearts in this room could not help being moved by The Gospel.
Skeletal Family are next up for these Tomorrow’s Ghosts and impressive they were too. Formed not far away in Keighley at the start of the 1980’s this band have both gothic and punk blood running through their veins. They start with So Sure and I can hear these thunderous drums but it is not until after the first couple of songs that it is explained that the said percussionist is hidden behind a wall of amps etc, but he is a trooper. Tracks from the new album, Light In The Dark fit nicely with older material and when we hear saxophone and all sorts packed in to the set, well this Skeletal Family has a lot of different flavours. It is brave of the band to not just play the songs that the fans will know, but lost tracks and deep cuts that will have both fans old and new entertained. Skeletal Family will be supporting Theatre Of Hate on their 80-25 45th Anniversary Tour in the Autumn of next year….now that is a bill we won’t want to miss! The band finish with a double delight of Restless and Promised Land and I look forward to our next encounter!
IST IST were without a doubt the band of the weekend for me. I encountered the band in this very venue at a previous Tomorrow’s Ghosts Event in April 2023 and their new album, Light A Bigger Fire is one of the best of 2024. They start their set with the first two tracks from said album, Lost My Shadow and The Kiss. IST IST definitely show that Tomorrow’s Ghosts is not just simply an event for bands who sound and look like Sisters Of Mercy or The Mission, yes they do have a dark edge to their music but there is a lot of light and shade throughout the set.
Hailing from Manchester, they have that Northern swagger and self-belief of fellow Manchester rockers Oasis but while there is no arrogance, the band undoubtably have confidence in their material. Stamp You Out from their previous album Protagonist follows and it is just relentless with bass lines from Andy Keating that hit you right between the eyes and it is not the only track from said album that impresses with Emily and Something Has To Give hitting all the right notes. But it is songs from Light A Bigger Fire that show just how much IST IST have, whether it be the dark love letter that is XXX or my favourite of the set, Repercussions with it’s soaring verses that just show that the world really could be this band’s oyster if the planets align
right. This is their final UK show before a tour of Europe and a trip to Dubai to play with The Mission and The Chameleons beckons (what a triple bill that is!!! UK Arena Tour!! Make it so!!!). The band are not even put off their stride by the whole of the front row being layered with glow in the dark Creeper t-shirts that are quite a sight at the end of each song.
Guitarist and singer Andy Houghton has that intense aura about him while he is performing, curiously enough offstage during an interview he is not like this at all but what does come to the fore is his passion in these songs. Set closer Ghosts which is also the last song on the Light A Bigger Fire album sees his crooning deep voice make us all excited about just where IST IST will take us next. What I can tell you is that it is going to include 2 shows celebrating their 10th Anniversary of their first ever performance in the Night & Day Café in Manchester, returning to the very venue where this exciting ride started….. who knows where they could be in another ten years but goodness me, it will be one hell of a ride!!!
Tonight’s headliner have just finished a run of dates that included a London Arena show and their Merchandise Stall has a queue the whole day long, well I feel lucky to have been able to see them in a more intimate setting as they are arena bound. Their 18 song set starts with Further Than Forever and what hits you is the way that Creeper are difficult to pigeon hole in to terms of genre. Curiously enough on the two previous times I have seen them, they have been on stage in two very different bills, supporting Alice Cooper and at Slam Dunk and on each occasion they went down a storm just as they do tonight. Tracks like The Ballad Of Spook & Mercy, Ghosts Over Cavalry and one of the highlights of their most recent album, More Than Heaven are all greeted like old friends. More Than Death finishes the main part of the set and a three song encore of Annabelle, Misery and a triumphant Cry To Heaven brings day one to a close.
Saturday
One of the joys of Tomorrow’s Ghosts is simply wandering about this beautiful Yorkshire Seaside town as Goths of all denominations wander around the town. I spend a good time perusing through the event’s very own newspaper, The Gathering which has a very interesting article entitled ‘ Exploring The Dark Spectrum Of Goth Subculture’ . Who knew that you get Vampire Goth, Steam Goth, Gothabilly, Victorian Goth, Emo Goth etc?? As for myself, well I suppose I would be an Industrial Goth but who knows, maybe by next year I might become a Gothabilly!!!
Black Doldrums kick off Day 2 in fine style! Unfortunately, I miss the start of their set for which I am ashamed as they play a blinder! Tracks from their recent album, In Literance sit perfectly with older material from their previous albums. Drummer Sophie definitely has that tribal vibe which complement Kevin’s cutting guitar and vocals perfectly. They have hints of Joy Division, The Cure and have a dark, new wave edge. One of the things that I love about them is that they are timeless in a way that you could have seen a band like this in the late 70’s yet their sound has a timeless quality. They are definitely the hidden surprise of the weekend, and I look forward to seeing them again!
What follows is a Swedish double bill featuring firstly Then Comes Silence and Katatonia. Of the two Scandinavian bands, Then Comes Silence are much more my cup of tea. Then Come Silence are a wonderful blend of Goth and rock n roll. Hitting the stage to Flashing Pangs followed by Warm Like Blood, this 3 piece ooze class and are running like a juggernaut. Highlights include tracks from their cracking most recent album , the wonderfully titled Trickery such as Like A Hammer and Stay Strange, which to me feels like an anthem for this whole weekend! As previously stated, the band are a three piece now and there is just something perfect about that (The Jam/Cream/Husker Du/The Police being prime examples). It is just the perfect number of musicians as they are able to have a certain amount of power whilst not clogging up the music. Then Comes Silence fish their set with Strange Kicks/Blind Eye and set closer Rest Will Follow and I hope it’s not too long before we will see them on these shores again. Doom merchants Katatonia are up next but unfortunately I am off doing interviews at this point but they seem to have drawn a big crowd to witness their doom laden set.
Our night and indeed weekend is brought to a close with Joy Division tracks from their two albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer, performed by Peter Hook and The Light. Let’s be honest , in terms of Joy Division (and New Order) Hooky was always the coolest in the band with his legs apart and bass guitar worn so low it almost hits the floor. I have seen him play these Joy Division sets a couple of times before but tonight has been the best by far. I don’t know whether it is the setting, or the fact that it is he who has been chosen to finish off in a particularly joyful (no pun intended…. OK, a little bit but you know what I mean) manner.
We kick off with the Unknown Pleasures opening track Disorder, and immediately I can see smiles on the faces of this crowd, who are not all middle aged and some of whom, especially down the front, will not have been born when this album was released. They are in some sort of dark ecstasy as tracks like Candidate and Insight lead us up to one of the first real highlight of the night, a blistering She’s Lost Control. My mind goes back to the first time I ever came across Joy Division which was the 18th May 1980 (which was my birthday) but also the day it was announced that Joy Division’s Ian Curtis had taken his own life. I vividly remember footage of him dancing in that hypnotically strange way while performing this song on a TV Show presented by Tony Wilson. Hook had dedicated the whole performance to Curtis and you can’t help thinking about how difficult it must be for him to perform these songs over the years since Curtis’ death.
The second part of the set is dedicated to the Closer album with Hook shouting ‘Welcome To The Atrocity Exhibition’ and the band launch in to the album opener! It is closely followed by the song that I have heard from Joy Division’s repertoire most over the years and that is ‘Isolation’. It sounds strange to me this evening and of course the reason for that being that I am far more used to the Therapy? version from their epic Troublegum album than the Joy Division original. However, no matter who plays this song, what cannot be denied is it’s sheer class. The white light on the stage makes the audience feel that it is almost a dream, but this dream could get very dark at any moment. It is mad to think that the Closer album was released a couple of months after Curtis’ death, and I can’t help but think where this incredible band could have gone if it had had the chance to. The celebration of these two incredible records really is a special event. The performance ends with a three track encore of Digital/Transmission and Love Will Tear Us Apart and I find myself already counting the days until I will be back in Whitby for Tomorrow’s Ghosts 2025 which sees the likes of Fields Of The Nephilim, Lord Of The Lost and Balaam And The Angel! See you Halloween 2025!
