Vision Video - Nov 23
In addition to the long established names that Club Velocity have been bringing to the Facebar recently, they have also been putting on a number of lesser known bands from around the world (including Morus, Los Fastidios and Heathen Apostles in the last 12 months). Tonight, it is the turn of Vision Video from Athens, Georgia, to make their Facebar debut.

Athens, Georgia has long had a reputation for producing intriguing and influential bands (REM, The B-52s and Drive-By Truckers amongst many others) and Vision Video hail from the city’s growing darkwave scene. Having Tom Ashton from the highly influential The March Violets based in the city and at hand to produce both their debut and sophomore albums gives the band’s recorded output a pleasing mid 80’s melodic post punk sound. With a striking image and some very danceable tunes to boot, tonight was looking like a very promising indeed.

There are a number a die hard Club Velocity regulars who you will see at the majority of the gigs the promotors put on, but tonight also included a decent contingent of younger goths who had travelled far and wide to see the band. I suspect that many were too young to have been around when a lot of the big goth bands first reformed never mind when they were originally on the scene. However, if there was one thing that was always good about the old goth scene, it was the commitment of the fans to travel across the country to see their favourite bands. They may travel on the megabus nowadays instead of hitch hiking but the fact they are still doing it shows that the scene is still flourishing across the generations.

Opening tonight’s show are West Wickhams who originally hail from the Isles of Scilly, a place not exactly known for being a hot bed of rock n roll excesses (although I am happy to be corrected). Singer / guitarist Jon mixes the social awkwardness of Emo Philips crossed with Milton Jones whilst Elle comes from the Chris Lowe school of enigmatic keyboard players, almost motionless behind her stands.

West Wickhams - Nov 23
Describing themselves as psychedelic garage-noir, it is an intriguing mix of influences, with elements of indie rock mixed with early eighties experimental post punk. At times, Jon’s half speaking / half singing touches on the vocal stylings of early Robert Smith. The haunting ‘The Sentinels’ is certainly a grower and I have found myself playing it several times over.

West Wickhams - Nov 23
Vision Video primarily consist of former infantryman, paramedic and firefighter Dusty Gannon and keyboardist Emily Fredock. Tonight, they are also joined by Tom Ashton, fresh from a very well received tour with The March Violets. Dusty casts a striking figure with his spikey mohawk, immaculate eye makeup and black bat like lips as he towers across the stage. He is also a very engaging frontman throughout the set as he explains the background to the songs.

Vision Video - Nov 23
Starting with ‘Beautiful Day to Die’, the silky lead track from their recent ‘Haunted Hours’ album, the band’s sound is a cross between the melodic sounds of The Chameleons (who the band acknowledge as a key influence) and the harder sounds of Joy Division and the Psychedelic Furs. The music may be a throwback to the Eighties but the lyrics cover current topics especially those based on Dusty’s experiences in the various services.

The band’s influences are clear to see as ‘Static Drone’ initially mimics The Cure at their poppiest, whilst ‘Inked in Red’ is a glorious synth infused tune reminiscent in places of The Comsat Angels. ‘Haunted Hours’ is one of those classic alternative tunes beloved by paisley shirted youths in skinny jeans and winklepickers, which is well received by the crowd. Vision Video - Nov 23
Dusty recounts his fifteen years spent in the US army, especially the respect for his fellow comrades, but not the politicians who sent them to Afghanistan and then abandoned the country and its people. ‘Kandahar’ depicts the emotional horrors of Dusty’s time there. ‘Death in a Hallway’ concerns Dusty’s time as a paramedic during the pandemic and those profiteering as others suffered. The song starts with archetypal pounding drums, swirling guitars, pulsating basslines, and smoothing synths before building to its crescendo.
The recently released ‘Normalized’ follows and it is a belter of a tune, faster and more urgent than the songs that proceeded it. The song has the strongest chorus of the night and should find itself being a dancefloor favourite at any decent goth nightclub. ‘Organized Murder’ is another emotionally charged song that continues to build throughout. Vision Video - Nov 23
It’s written into the bog goth bible that all goth inspired bands are allowed to cover one song in their sets. Sometimes it can be completely off the wall (Rosetta Stone’s version of ‘Sisters are Doing It For Themselves’ comes to mind), or as in this case, something more reverential to their inspirations. In Vision Video’s case, this is Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’ – it’s a faithful version made more personal by Dusty’s tale of his thirteen year old self hearing it for the first time and thinking this is my music. A quick truncated version of ‘I Love Cats’ follows before the band launch into ‘In My Side’ with its catchy bassline intro. Probably their most well known song, the audience are singing along in unison as the room bounces along. It’s a fitting end to a highly enjoyable set.
Vision Video - Nov 23 Having seen a number of unfulfilling goth revivals over the years, I am a little more skeptical nowadays about newer bands picking up the mantle, but Vision Video certainly have the presence and tunes to pull it off. I think they are still a couple of songs away from producing that truly epic song that would put them amongst the greats but if they keep on this trajectory they should get there and I can’t wait to hear it. Vision Video - Nov 23