The Soft Moon @ Holocene, Portland 12/18/12

December 27. 2012 | By Cervante Pope

On Tuesday, goths and chill wavers gathered together at Holocene to enjoy the likes of We Are Like the Spider, Group Rhoda and the ever popular neo synthpunks the Soft Moon. Handfuls of crazy haircut

donning, leather and lace sporting, Robert Smith minions packed the venue full, dancing and drinking the night away. Remember that episode of South Park when Stan joined that group of awkward moving goths? Well, it was like that, all night. But in the best possible way.

Guy Rhoda @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The two opening acts, We Are Like the Spider and Group Rhoda, managed to break the stoicism of the crowd up. WALTS dished out some dancey electro, while San Franciscan female solo act Group Rhoda and her synthesizer man-handled that stage like nobody’s business. Her incredibly droney, dark synth playing went greatly with her monotone style of singing. Think Eurythmics meets Anika meets Metric. Ironically enough after her set was over, the DJ put on Anika’s self titled 2010 album as filler music.

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

With the recent release of Zeros, the Soft Moon’s fan base has increased greatly. Modern post-punk lovers have found saving grace in TSM, bringing back the much missed sounds of 80’s greats like Joy Division and Bauhaus. White flashing lights introduced their opening song, “Total Decay,” the blaring screechiness encompassing everyone in the audience. Soon, everyone slowly started swaying as if in some sort of dark trance. Most of the set was of the new album, with a couple classics thrown in their from their first release as an complete ensemble, last year’s Total Decay EP. There wasn’t a person in the room that wasn’t in some way responding to the magic happening on stage. Even the too-cool-for-school kids had a toe-tap or two going on. It was like a moment taken out of one of those movies that totally mocks what this underground scene is all about. But in reality, this scene is much cooler than it can ever be portrayed. Oh, and let me not forget TSM’s incorporation of both a fog machine and bongos. Awesome, right?

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The Soft Moon gives a good performance that you’d have to be crazy to not want to experience. They have a few dates left on the last leg of their tour so check dates and see if they’re coming near you. You won’t regret it. At all.

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

The Soft Moon @ The Holocene 12/18/12
The Soft Moon

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