WAVE GOTIK TREFFEN 2022 / 29th 3-6/6/2022 LEIPZIG, GERMANY

The year 2022 was finally the year that one of our most beloved festivals finally returned again. Leipzig was dressed in festive attire again, hosting visitors who managed to attend from every corner of the globe, even if the corona situation was still in flux. Since measures were constantly changing until the last minute.

Lace, velvet, big hair, and a lot of mood for music, dancing, and above all meeting old and new friends are the elements that make up the first images of the painted black city.  During these two years, the bats may have closed their roosts due to the lockdowns, yet the evolution of the scene continued briskly through the online Twitch channel and live streaming. Something that played an important role not only in the survival of the scene and mutual support between the artists, but also in creating new acquaintances and collaborations.

For those who were able to be there on Thursday, the regular Sadgoth Pre-WGT Meet Up in the early afternoon was the best choice. While later they could continue at the Moritzbastei, a venue which like every time this year was open daily for concerts already from this day. For the after parties this time, it was only open on Thursday and Monday.

Friday morning and off to Leipzig. The excitement is even bigger this time..Two years was too long without our favorite festival. The weather is warm and quite summery. Facing the WGT signs after so long entering the city, a shiver runs through the body..the excitement is great...we are here again..

Our first job was to head to Agra, so we could get our special wristbands. Access to all the concert venues, is exclusively by showing them at the entrance.

We then continue by making a quick stop at the apartment, to drop off our bags and continue on to Clara Zetkin Park. This year, we had the great pleasure as DJ team to meet many of our listener and friends during the Victorian Picnic. People had already flooded this beautiful park very early and we could hardly find some space. Anyone who managed to get there could join us for some ouzo, and listen to one of our DJ sets, have their photo taken with our channel mascot (the doll with the nightmare smile named Scary), and pick up some giveaways on the way out. Friends from every corner of the globe, from Chile, Australia, France, UK, Greece, Scotland, Finland, but of course Germany and many other countries were there and we had a lot of joy and excitement to meet them... Just before the shows started, we packed up and headed to the first venue.

So, our destination was Täubchental to see on stage three of the most legendary bands of Gothic Rock. A large venue beautifully decorated, with a quite spacious and well-kept courtyard, where one can have a refreshing cocktail, try some German snacks and meet some very nice people.

 Inside the concert venue the crowd is already starting to gather. The excitement can't be hidden, and the anticipation gets the adrenaline pumping.  The first sensation we felt was... as if not a day had passed since the last time we were there. The endless days of solitude and lockdowns were just like a bad dream that had passed and no longer touched us.

Up on stage are Funhouse already tuning their guitars. The band from Sweden, formed in the mid 80's , roused the audience with 14 songs, each one better than the next. We heard hits like "Out Of The Blue" , "Dark And Stormy", "Do You Love Me", "Forever True", "The Second Coming", "Hate You", "Dreamtime" "Velvet Kiss" but we had the chance to enjoy their brand new track called "Blue Light".

After Funhouse, the live shows continue. The break between bands was a good opportunity for us to leave for a while, and come back, with even more photographic equipment, and more comfortable clothes, since the night has almost just begun.

Next up were Children On Stun, who got the crowd going with their awesome energy, and with the singer coming down to the audience and singing along to favorites like "Sidelined", "When Lovers Die", "Cats Or Devils Eyes", "Overland", "Choices", "Beginning Of The End", "Echoes", and many more, while leaving "Celebration" to close their live show, probably the perfect song to say goodbye to us.

A short break and time for Nosferatu to take the stage, who continue to write their history in the music scene since the late 80s. The members of the band may have changed several times since then, but they continue to give us great songs and keep the flame burning.

The live shows at this stage have just ended, but no one is going anywhere as one of the most famous after parties, When We Were Young, follows. The party goes on until the early hours of the morning, with people continuing to dance until the lights come up.

No problem though! The next day awaits us with even more music, so it's a good time to go back to our rooms, close the curtains, doors, windows and general fuses so that we can get a few hours of sleep, if only for a few hours.

Saturday has arrived, the weather is quite warm for the time of year, and lucky for us, the concerts we are interested in, start at 5pm.

Haus Leipzig then, and people are already there waiting for Silent Runners, The Exploding Boy, Then Comes Silence, The Names, and Whispering Sons.

We start with dynamic dark synth - postpunk from the Netherlands with Silent Runners who are back with their brand new album "Statues And Ornaments" which was released a the day before the live show in Leipzig on June 3. We listened to, picked out, loved the songs "Go On", "My Truth", "Nothing Stays The Same", "The Midas Touch" from their latest album.

The baton goes to the Swedish band The Exploding Boy who are currently preparing the festive re-release of their debut album "Exploding Boy". The excitement of the crowd can't be hidden, the venue is fully packed.

It's the turn of the also Swedish goth rockers Then Comes Silence with an excellent stage presence and a live set of thirteen tracks such as "Good Friday", "Strange Kicks", but also from their fresh album entitled "Hunger" and songs such as "Animals", "Rise to The Bait", "Ticket To Funerals", "Chain" which are last included in the album released just a few days ago.

Next one is the Belgian band THE NAMES , a post-punk band which was formed in the late 70's originally under the name of The Passengers and wrote great songs, some of which we had the chance to enjoy this evening such as "My Angel Of Death", "Lights", "(This is) Harmony", "Cat".

Whispering Sons to close this evening's live performances, an extremely dynamic presence with the very characteristic and deep tone of Fenne Kuppens' voice . Serious, measured, with intense outbursts and melancholic melodies that lead you through the darkness, on a journey of redemption. They made us shudder while listening to the favourites "Alone", "Hollow", "Got A Light" .

If anyone attempted to get out, they could hardly get back in, as many were late arrivals hoping to make it to the stage to see their favorite bands.

Still, some of us ventured in between breaks to pop into the Medieval Village for the most representative band for the venue. Of course we're talking about Corvus Corax whose live shows are a celebration every time. Their characteristic sound is produced by similar musical instruments to those used in the Middle Ages and there's no way they won't get their audience going every time they're on stage. There really was an interesting variety of sounds tonight.

After the concerts, of course, the idea of going out of the room to change your shoes is not the best... Since you might end up falling asleep while texting and making appointments to meet up with friends... But still, you feel a little better when you talk to them in the morning and they tell you that they fell asleep too... On one hand you say, Saturday at a festival and I fell asleep? On the other hand, it seemed to help us to do even more things the next day.

For those who did manage to stay up late, of course, there were plenty of party options to suit all tastes. At Taubchental another successful When We Were Young party kept guests dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Daybreak was Sunday, and since we kept our strength up we started early for an exclusive show by Trobar De Morte at Kirchenruine, one of the most impressive venues of the festival. Kirchenruine is actually the ruins of a neo-Gothic church, which was built by Konstantin Lipsius in 1865, and is located in the Wachau district just outside the centre of Leipzig. It can be accessed via the city railways, though it is of course easier to visit there by car. After the wonderful live performance, we took a short break in the courtyard in which there is a relatively small cemetery to admire this wonderful monument and take a few more photos.

We then moved on to the next and architecturally unique Volkspalast stage for even more bands like Bedless Bones, Hapax, and Ritual Howls. The Volkspalast Kantine stage where American post-punk band Ritual Howls were playing was packed to capacity and we had a hard time getting in. However, we enjoyed listening and dancing to "Alone Together", "This Is Transcendence".  Bedless Bones a darkwave, electronic project by Kadri Sammel from Estonia played earlier in the main venue.  We heard several atmospheric tracks but also powerful ones like "Sad and Alone". The baton was passed to the Italians HAPAX who once again gave us a great dark emotional atmosphere with their sounds.

Later on, we moved on to the Stadtbad stage for the German Suir and a little later, we almost beamed, one would say jokingly. The group split up so that we could catch the Greeks Kalte Nacht at the picturesque Moritzbastei, which was already packed when we got there, and the excitement of the crowd was high. We danced, we sang and we didn't want this show to end. We heard the favourites "Our Moments Are Answers", "Humans Are Mistakes", but we always have an extra soft spot for "Nychta Skia", maybe some of you already know that...

On the other hand we caught Dark at their debut show at Stadtbad , but also the Americans Astari Nite at Felsenkeller stage who had created a great dark atmosphere and apart from the post-punk, darkwave tunes they also gave flowers to their audience.

The rest of the evening had a different tone, moving from gothic rock, postpunk, cold/darkwave to dark italodisco rhythms with Swedish Tobias Bernstrup and an audience that didn't stop dancing from the beginning to the end of the concert, singing many well-known hits like "Ventisette" which he left for the end, "Enemies Of The Earth", "Utopia", and many more.

The night doesn't end here though, as we are in for a special after midnight live at the festival's biggest venue, the Agra stage. We don't even have time to think about standing up all day, as a truly explosive live show has already begun, starring Gary Numan and company. Lighting, sound, Gary's dynamic presence that like good old wine, the more it matures the more quality it becomes. It now seems that through his successful career in the music scene, he has found the elixir of youth. The singer, shared on his personal page, his worry that the concert would start too late (the live show started at 00:45 midnight) and no one would show up... But when he saw that not a pin was dropped at the venue that night, he realized that the love of the crowd for his music, does not look at hours and fatigue.

The live shows are over for today, but not the night. The When We Were Young party at Taubchental has already started, and this time we're not going to miss it for anything. 

It's Monday morning, our legs may not be in very good shape anymore, but we are not discouraged. We have reached the last day of the festival, and we are ready to give it all!

After a few hours of rest, we set off again towards the stage Haus Leipzig for SYZYGYX, and KITE .

SYZYGYX is an American electronic synth project by Luna Blanc. Her characteristic deep voice combined with strong beats will make you forget any fatigue and make you dance until the end. 

KITE and synthwave for the sequel, and even though the temperature has hit red hot, no one wants to miss the chance to see Swedes Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Berg on stage. We sang "Dance Again", "Jonny Boy", "Panic Music" and left happy and sweaty!

But no Wave Gotik Treffen festival closes without a trip to the Medieval village for one last traditional wine made from plums, in a bottle reminiscent of a magic potion. There we found German medieval metal band Ragnaröek already creating a festive atmosphere with their bagpipes, flags, fires, confetti and all their generally amazing sound and visual shows.

Just before we continued on to the next stage, we made a stop at Agra market, which is located in the same area as the main larger stage of the festival. There you can find everything from cds, vinyl, clothing, accessories to special decorative items and gifts and it's not going to leave anyone disappointed.

To close the live shows we chose Whispers In The Shadow who were playing at one of our favourite stages Westbad. The Austrian band gave it their all on stage, and in our opinion it was one of the highlights of this year's festival for us. Ashley Dayour waved goodbye thanking the audience and saying that after this show he felt twenty years younger. And we with him!

The live shows for this year's festival are already over. Although we managed to see more bands this year, there are always more to come that we wish we could have managed to see!

We don't end the night here though. The night awaits us... Taubchental opens its doors for the last time this year, with the last after party. When the lights were turned on, we decided to continue towards Moritzbastei hoping that the party would go on a bit longer... trying to catch a few more moments of Wave Gotik Treffen 2022.

Although the goodbyes were quite difficult, we are sure we will be back next year to embrace our black-clad Leipzig again. And most importantly! Next year, our favourite festival celebrates its 30th anniversary! Not to be missed!!!!

See you in Leipzig!!!!!

30th WAVE GOTIK FESTIVAL 26-29/5/2023

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