Sunday Night Serendipity – The Crüxshadows

The only catch to my enjoyment of the Jefferson Starship concert was knowing that I was probably going to miss the Crüxshadows, scheduled in the Regency Ballroom the same night.  But, in typical Dragon*Con fashion, everything was late, so I clung to a wisp of hope.

When I arrived, the darkened Regency room was clustered body-to-body, standing room only.  A throbbing rhythm, punctuated by a darkly evocative violin strain rolled through me, and hovering over the mass of enthralled bodies, I could see the face of Rogue, the Crüxshadows’ front man, bathed in a white spotlight.  They were still on!

The Crüxshadows mesmerized; they energized; they enthralled.  Dancing was, by necessity, subdued in places of highest congestion, but when the music drove the crowd to excesses of uninhibited movement, we obeyed.

Rogue’s habitual feats of agility were curtailed; the fire marshal had mandated the removal of tables to leap upon.  But to make up for it, two lovely goth femme dancers snaked and gyrated for the crowd’s enjoyment.

They played a mix of songs, classic Crüxshadows hits from their CDs and EPs like “Deception” from the “Music from the Succubus Club” CD compilation and the hauntingly powerful a cappella “Annabelle Lee,” as well as selections from their newest CD release Wishfire.  At the end of their set, the audience screamed, begged, and demanded for more.  The Crüxshadows returned for three encores: “Marilyn My Bitterness,” “Monsters,” and “Heaven’s Gaze.”  The audience would have kept them on the stage all night if we could have.

Wishfire and their other titles are available from Dancing Ferret Discs.  Visit the Crüxshadow’s website: www.cruxshadows.com.

Author of the article

Eugie Foster was the long-time Director/Editor of the Daily Dragon an award-winning writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and YA/children's lit. She received the 2009 Nebula Award for her novelette, "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast," the 2011 and 2012 Drabblecast People's Choice Award for Best Short Story for "The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk" and "Little Grace of the House of Death," and has been nominated for the Hugo, British Science Fiction, and Washington Science Fiction awards. Her works have been translated into eight languages, and her short fiction collection, Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, has been used as a textbook at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California-Davis.