Carpe Sukkubi!

Every Inkubus Sukkubus gig is an experience, and the band never give less than 100%, ever. But some gigs are special. They stand out as exceptional, even among the gigs of a band who have never, not once, let their fans down. Camden 2002 was one of them. The incredible finalle to Wytchefest 2003 was another. These were the magic times, when the band's incredible charisma was magnified by the powers of Albion itself. And then there was Bradford 2005.

For five and a half years Carpe Noctum has carried the torch for Goth in the atmospheric and historic 1-in-12 Club, an unemployed co-operative born in the dark days of the early Thatcher era, but nothing lasts forever and so Saturday 9th April was to be the penultimate event. The fans came early, packing the venue to its absolute capacity, which was in itself a first.

For the first hour DJ Howard GothVodka entertained us with an eclectic selection of music, including a Screaming Dead track for the hardcore fans.

Cauda Pavonis, still recovering from their sadly gremlin-ridden support slot in Gloucester the night before, opened the show, and while the previous gig may have been plagued with faults this one ran like a dream in crushed velvet, perfect sound, no mistakes, no glitches, and a warm reaction from the already happy crowd. All the dark romantic classics were here, Dusk Till Dawn, Nine To Five Freakshow, Love Like Broken Glass, as well as the superb new track to the Celtic goddess of war, The Morrigan. They played a full set and then the organisers asked them for an encore, what else but their infamous cover of Stand And Deliver, enthusiastically joined in by the audience.

There was a longish gap betwen bands, which was just as well as the hard-working bar-staff were being seriously run off their feet by the unprecidented crowd!

And then Inkubus Sukkubus took to the stage and the power came blazing forth from the very first note of the opening track. The new twin-guitar attack, coupled with Adam's overhauled bass lines, and Candia's eternally glorious siren-like voice conspired to rock the entire set in the same way the sixth encore rocked Croydon back in 2003. Track followed track in power and presence, each one earning thunderous applause. Part way through the set, where We Belong With The Dead usually fits, Candia invited Ametyst of Supernature Forum fame up on stage to sing "Come To Me" as a duet, to screams and whoops of joy from the front rows. Unfortunately, singing completely unaccompanied, they both managed to forget the lyrics, but the effect was magical all the same. Both have promised to try again at Dark City in Edinburgh at Beltaine though...

There were a few gremlins, notably the backing track for Lucifer Rising absolutely refusing to play four tracks from the end of the set, however this was quickly bypassed and the pounding thundering rythym of live classic Belladonna and Aconite soon got things blasting along again.

All good things come to an end, and so with Underworld and Song To Pan the main set closed, needless to say despite the by now intense heat in the venue we all screamed for an encore, which was duly delivered, Lucifer now consenting to rise as the final stage event of the evening.

Carpe Noctum of course carried on into the night, the bands hung about for a good while chatting to people, signing stuff, meeting fans, before eventually vanishing upstairs to the 1-in-12 Club's members' lounge for a well earned cool-down and quiet drink.

Yes, that truly was one of "The magic ones". Long will it be remembered!

- Pyromancer, Leeds, 15th April 2005.

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