The New Jacobin Club comes to Regina
Killer music + sick freak show = awesome
Freakiness at its finest. / Kathryn Trembach
When I first saw a picture of the Punk Rock Gothic band The New Jacobin Club, I nearly pooped my pants in utter fear. These dudes looked creepy as heck, but their appearance intrigued me. So, I channeled my inner punk-rock-gothic-ness and set out to discover more about these freaky little champs.
Since starting up in 1995 (goodness gracious, that’s a long time ago…I was only 3 years old), The New Jacobin Club now stands six-strong and includes some sick band members with some sick stage names: The Horde (vocals/guitar), Mistress Nagini (backing vocals/keyboard), The Ruin (bass), The Luminous (cello), Rat King (drums), and Poison Candi (vocals/theremin/percussion).
In my opinion, the unique names and instruments alone set The New Jacobin Club apart from other bands in their genre. I mean, how often can you listen to someone’s music and say, “Man, Poison Candi killed it on the theremin in that song?” That’s rare.
Anyway, The New Jacobin Club would not be nearly as unique without their wardrobe.
“I think now we actually are dressing for our stage show that goes along with our music conceptually,” states The Horde. “Right now our new album [Soldiers of the Mark] is focused on the idea of a 19th century gentlemen’s club or hellfire club that’s holding these depraved ceremonies because they believe they are going to help bring about the end of the world.”
Freaky? I’d say their album concept is a little freaky, but also deeply creative. I have never heard of an album being based on world-ending, debauched ceremonies that take place in a gentlemen’s club. That, my friends, is a genius idea. And, to mesh that concept with costumes is, in my opinion, artistry at its finest.
In fact, the drummer, who used to play shows wearing a full head mask with the eyes and mouth sewn shut, now plays shows wearing a blindfold. Sorry, what? Rat King plays drums in a blindfold? Yup.
The Horde says, “Actually, yeah, he plays with a blindfold. Sometimes it doesn’t last the whole show. It slides off or it gets too wet with sweat and stuff, but yes he does play in that. It’s pretty cool actually.”
Unreal. To add to their theatricality, The New Jacobin Club has a stage show in their concerts to go along with their music.
According to The Horde, these stage shows mirror classic sideshow tricks from back in the day, including dancing with torches, fire fingers, a fire belt, sledgehammers, machetes, swords, fire breathing, exploding cymbals on the drumset, and apparently one super gross trick that The Horde can’t give away! Sweet mercy that’s really freaky, but really freaking cool.
“We smash a cinder block over a band member’s chest,” says The Horde.
How crazy is that?! What makes this all even more crazy is that this freak show happens during the concert while The New Jacobin Club plays their music.
“It’s all one show,” The Horde states. “It doesn’t stop. Nothing stops. The music and the visuals are part of each other.”
Not going to lie, to me, The New Jacobin Club seems like the most entertaining band of all time. Finally a band that has killer music and a sweet live show instead of killer music and a disgustingly crappy waste-of-time live show.
If you want to see these freaky little champs live, they will be performing their new album, Soldiers of the Mark, in Regina at the German Club on Oct. 25. Seriously, if you want to go see a show to pump you up for Halloween, check out The New Jacobin Club’s Regina concert. It’s going to be freaking insane.
