Substance Festival returns to California this weekend and next with a gathering of post-punk, darkwave, industrial, EBM, and synthpop artists spread across two cities and five nights. Los Angeles gets a takeover of The Belasco on Saturday, October 24, while San Francisco hosts four evenings at Great American Music Hall on October 22, 23, 29, and 30. Between Drab Majesty, A Split Second, Crash Course in Science, Desire, and Cold Cave performing Cremations, the calendar offers plenty of opportunities to rearrange one’s sleeping habits.
As in previous editions, Substance puts the relationships between generations within earshot. The electronic experiments that helped establish this music share a bill with artists pushing its rhythms, theatricality, and emotional extremes in fresh directions. There is considerable pleasure in recognizing those connections from the dance floor, particularly when an unfamiliar name on the timetable becomes the reason you arrive early.
The published timetables list start times only.
The Los Angeles edition packs three live stages and a DJ booth into one evening, with doors opening at 6:00 PM. The Belasco is located at 1050 South Hill Street, and the event is all ages.
The Chapel’s running order makes a strong case for arriving at the beginning and staying into the small hours. Philadelphia synth-punk experimenters Crash Course in Science, whose history reaches back to 1979, open the main stage; Spike Hellis, Madeline Goldstein, Buzz Kull, and Kontravoid carry the evening toward Belgian EBM pioneers A Split Second. Drab Majesty then take the final slot, with Deb Demure and Mona D’s expansive guitar melodies, synthesizers, and otherworldly presentation offering an appropriately ambitious destination.
There are good reasons to explore the other floors from the outset. Blone Noble opens The Sanctuary following the release of “Designer”, his art-rock collaboration with Dakota Blue, while XTR HUMAN brings the forceful EBM of his recent “Fake” single to The Chamber. Those early appointments leave plenty to discover before the later run of SRSQ, Void Vision, Zanias, Die Sexual, and Aux Animaux.
A little advance planning will help: Buzz Kull and SRSQ begin five minutes apart, while A Split Second and Zanias start within ten minutes of one another. After midnight, Vioflesh, a TR/ST DJ set, and Drab Majesty begin across the three live rooms within twenty minutes. The complete stage-by-stage schedule follows.
Get tickets for Substance Los Angeles.
Great American Music Hall, at 859 O’Farrell Street, hosts Substance across two successive Thursday-and-Friday pairings. Doors open at 6:00 PM each night. Each bill has its own character, giving Bay Area audiences four different routes through the festival’s mix of electronic pop, body music, and post-punk.
Opening night puts two important chapters of electronic music history at the top of the bill. Crash Course in Science bring the restless invention of Philadelphia’s late-1970s synth-punk underground, followed by A Split Second, whose 1986 single “Flesh” helped shape Belgian New Beat. The earlier sequence of God Tongue, Pink Stiletto, Vioflesh, and Automelodi makes this a full evening of discovery before those final appointments. For listeners drawn to the meeting point of experimental electronics and club music, Thursday is a particularly persuasive starting place.
Additional DJs: Mozhgan and Jumpr.
Get tickets for Thursday, October 22.
Friday puts Aux Animaux, GHOST COP, and Zanias ahead of a substantial late-night stretch with Kontravoid, Buzz Kull, and TR/ST behind the decks. Kontravoid’s Sound of the Void, released October 2 through Artoffact, and Buzz Kull’s Deep Hate EP give the pairing fresh material to draw upon. Zanias adds another compelling voice to the evening: Alison Lewis’s work moves between coldwave, forceful electronics, and the emotional and political concerns explored on Cataclysm.
Additional DJs: Omar.
Get tickets for Friday, October 23.
The second week turns toward the theatrical pleasures of electronic pop. Desire, the project of Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel, close the evening with their combination of cinematic synthesizers, disco, and romantic unease. Immediately before them, identical twins Elyse and Larena’s MOTHERMARY bring the art-pop sensibility introduced on their Italians Do It Better debut, I Am Your God. With Violet Thrones, CLUBDRUGS, Madeline Goldstein, and Sacred Skin filling the earlier hours, there is ample incentive to make a full night of it.
Additional DJs: Starr Noir and Black Lipstick. Individual set times are not listed on the published timetable.
Get tickets for Thursday, October 29.
Substance’s final San Francisco evening centers on Cold Cave’s solo performance of Cremations. The 2009 collection documents the project’s early collision of damaged electronics, noise, and pop instinct, making this a chance to hear Wesley Eisold revisit a formative period of Cold Cave’s music. SRSQ, the project of Kennedy Ashlyn, provides an equally compelling reason to attend, bringing a powerful voice and a body of work that stretches between dream pop, shoegaze, and emotional directness. A.Cold.Era, False Figure, and Houses of Heaven complete the closing night’s live lineup.
Additional DJs: Pink Stiletto and Hot Goth GF. Individual set times are not listed on the published timetable.
Get tickets for Friday, October 30.
Explore four-night San Francisco passes. Visit the Substance website for the festival planner and schedule updates. Set times are subject to change.
Follow Substance Festival:
The post Substance Festival Returns to LA and SF This Weekend and Next with Drab Majesty, Cold Cave, Desire, and More! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.
