Cullen Stalin, Katrina Ford spin at new 'coldwave' party at Club Phoenix
Club Phoenix is a dumpy two-floor bar in Mount Vernon that’s forgotten for most of the week, even by the crowd of older gay men that frequent its downstairs regularly.
But on weekends, it’s become known for hosting well-attended dance parties on its rickety, unvarnished upstairs floor.
Most Saturdays, a bunch of MICA students serve as DJs for the Dance Your Ass Off party.
And this Friday, it will host, for the second time, Ice Age, a monthly party dedicated to obscure, atmospheric music that marries Goth rock and New Wave — something that might sound like a cut from the Cure’s “Seventeen Seconds.”
It’s DJed by, among others, Cullen Nawalkowsky — aka Cullen Stalin — and this Friday, also by Katrina Ford, of the Baltimore band Celebration.
The artists the DJs will play are largely unknown or have become cult figures only recently, Nawalkowsky said. The playlist will run the gamut from proper industrial to “dark” punk to almost-poppy New Wave.
At the first Ice Age, in December, he namechecked these guys in the Facebook invite: "Neon Judgement // Thomas Leer // Mark Lane // Men/Eject // Alien Sex Fiend // Damned // Pink Military // Negativ Magick // Industrial Records // Factory // 4AD // Wierd."
The term that’s used most often to describe this music is “coldwave,” which was associated with underground bands like the Asylum Party and the Belgians Twilight Ritual. Minimal guitar sounds mixed with raw drums are more of a hallmark of the sub-sub-genre.
Lately, it's enjoyed something of a revival in the United States thanks to the small New York label Wierd Records. Dancing is not discouraged, Nawalkowsky said, but “people shouldn't expect to hear banging and thumping tunes."
Still, when I went last time, there was dancing, and lots of it. The normally desolate bar was crowded, no doubt drawn by the music, but also the cheap booze: $2 Natty Bohs and $3 for rail liquors.
The turnout can also be credited to the city's appetite for a party that avoids the usual fare, even by indie standards, Nawalkowsky said.
“The last party had a great cross-section of people dissatisfied with what's currently on offer, stylistically, in Baltimore's dance-night scene,” he said. “And hopefully, this party will grow as a magnet for the disaffected.”
Ice Age begins at 10 p.m. today Friday upstairs at Club Phoenix, 1 W. Biddle St. No cover before 11 p.m., $2 after.
Photo: Cullen Stalin (Josh Sisk/Special to the Baltimore Sun)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
