DIARY

Gothic Graze occured at 7:00PM at Afghan Restaurant, 2818 W Devon Ave, 773-262-8000.

Although we made a reservation for 20, expecting at least that, we wound up with only 8 guests. Regardless of the fact that the restaurant lost another large reservation they could have taken had we known our true number, the staff were very accomodating and friendly and service was good.

The restaurant has a very limited decor, with Afghan-related pictures on the walls, but I believe all in our party felt the food made up for it - as one typically finds.

The food was amazing and interesting for both meat eaters and veggies. Personally, I had a pumpkin dish which was unexpectedly yummy - just the right balance of seasoning while letting the rich, sweet pumpkin flavor come through. With our appetizers we were served a green hot sauce which was spectacular - none of us knew exactly what it was, but it had a great balance of spicy and tangy flavor. The lentil soup, which could have been dull and bitter, was instead extremely flavorful and a reason on its own to try this restaurant.

Many in our party plan to return to this restaurant and tell their friends. --Slash

Demons and Darlings sponsored and vended at this event presented by Apathademon. Featuring live performances by Cruciform Injection, FGFC820 and Fragmentation plus DJs Noir and Rexx (Bruderschaft). Abbey Pub, 3420 W Grace | $11 for DnD mailing list RSVP, $13 adv, $15 dos | 8:00PM | 18+.

Fantasy Costumes, 4065 N Milwaukee has agreed to honor a 20% discount on the entire purchase of anyone who mentions "Winter Carnival" prior to their order being rung up, through 1/12/2008.

Our long-time friends at Projekt are giving us sponsorship support for Winter Carnival! Announcing the Official Winter Carnival Afterparty: Neo will host from 2AM-5AM after the Carnival with FREE admission for anyone with a Carnival ticket stub!

This month's trial SnB home was Emerald City Coffee; FREE; 3:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

Download the Demons and Darlings All Caps font version for free from Diversions. Welcome to our new sponsor, Fitzgerald's Realm.

Gothic Graze, a once-monthly gathering to try a new restaurant with old and new friends in the goth/goth-friendly community begins with a 7:00PM gathering at Peacock Cafe, 6014 N Broadway Ave, 773-262-2005.

Nearly all of the 10 or 12 attendees had a good experience, I believe.

The restaurant itself isn't entirely cozy although it's rather small. White walls, too-bright lighting and sparse decoration make it uninviting, but contrarily the staff were thrilled we were there and seemed to be trying their hardest to make a good impression. We were introduced to homestyle pan-roasting of coffee beans for our modified buna - thick, rich coffee served in a clay pot. At first, the beans smelled burnt, but the resulting coffee, which is served very thick - like Turkish coffee, for those familiar with that style - while having tones of over-roasting was regardless fantastically rich and quite wonderful for a true coffee lover.

The food was very tasty! While service implied that staff were overwhelmed by our number, I personally felt they tried hard. Special requests were welcomed and honored, yet one of our party received a dish which wasn't quite what was ordered, still it was good. The flavors were slightly different than what one expects from Ethiopian food here in America - less focus on relative sweetness and more focus on the natural flavors and Eritrean spices, which can be a bit bitter, but in a good way.

Overall, many of our guests claimed they would return to this restaurant. --Slash

After a long hiatus, since Urban Tea Lounge closed, the SnB is back!
We're trying a few different places until we find the one we like the best. This month we tried Fixx Coffee Bar; FREE; 3:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

Demons and Darlings vended at the ElectroHell Fragmentation CD release party! Presented by Xero_One this event featured live musical performances by Fragmentation and guests Oxime; DJs Maldicion, Noir and Sprite; a costume contest with prizes; vendors Cyren Gear, Kaosfield Studios, Nickolaus A. Pacione, VF Magazine, and us, Demons and Darlings; a prize raffle, and more!

| Cafe Lura, 3184 N Milwaukee |
| $7.00 [$6 w/ RSVP, $5 w/ costume] | 9PM-2AM | 21+ |

Demons and Darlings was one of the sponsors for this two day gothic expo with live bands, DJs, unique exhibitions, spooky film screenings, and vendors. We also offered a $5.00 off official merchandise coupon.

2007 featured live performances by Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Bella Morte, Regenerator, Attrition, Ghost Orgy, Elementa440, Red Flag, Grigori3, Deepest Symphony, and many more. DJs Absythesis, Peter Propaganda and more. Excalibur, 632 N Dearborn; $55 2-day pass, $32.50 1-day, presale via Gothicfest website; Friday 10/12: 3PM-2AM, Saturday 10/13: 11AM-11PM; 21+.

Visit the Gothicfest site for pictures!

Discounted tickets offered to the Chicago Horror Film Fest: Three days of indie horror shorts and features PLUS celebrity guests, autograph signings, two live bands, theater concessions and more! Guests included Reggie Bannister (Phantasm, The Mangler, Bubba Ho-Tep), Edwin Neal (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Ron Fitzgerald (Magus, Horrorween)! Also featured were Music of Horror winners Cripple Ewe and Setonas plus Ladies of Horror winner Salome Suicide. Held at Portage Theater, 4050 N Milwaukee Ave; Friday 10/5: 6:00PM-midnight | Saturday 10/6: 1:00PM-midnight | Sunday 10/7: 1:00PM-midnight; all ages. "Demons and Darlings Discount" $2.00 off single day or $5.00 off a 3-day weekend pass! Normally priced $12.00 single day / $30.00 3-day pass.

Highlighting European goth and industrial dance with DJ $#&@! (Censored) and residents Brianne and Noir.

Drink and dinner SPECIALS

VENDORS
-CyRen Gear: fashion and play
-Mad Queens: "mad cow horns" & more (as seen at Bristol Renaissance Faire)
-Mistress Jewelry: handmade unique "Dangerously beautiful" jewelry
-Prodeviant.com: fetish art, leather and "evil" toys
-Tarot by Katthrynn: readings

PRIZES were won by Clare and Brian for best GOTHtoberfest Guy and Girl costume! See the winners' pictures by clicking the flyer.

Cafe Lura, 3184 N Milwaukee
$7.00 | 9PM-3AM | 21+.

Demons and Darlings proudly hosted the  Generation Gothic DJ Tour!

DJ Bruno Kramm of Das Ich and Danse Macabre sadly could not make it due to schedule conflicts, but his partner in criminally good music mixing, DJ Damian Plague (also of Das Ich, Grendel and more) DID show up to delight us with his mixology!

Damian kept people dancing and shared the stage in an impromptu "DJ battle" with our own DJs Brianne and Noir!

It was an awesome night and so many of you missed it!!! But those of us who were there had a good time, so mwah!

The Kinetic Playground, 1113 W Lawrence | $10.00$7.00 | 9PM-4AM | 21+.

For our final! event at Spot 6 we featured synthpop dance tunes as well as various goth, industrial and ebm with DJs Noir, Brianne and DJ Snakegrrl. PLUS! Death Rock A-Go-Go zombie burlesque performance, giveaways and drink specials.

Spot 6, 3343 N Clark | $5.00 | 10PM-3AM | 21+.

DJs Matt Pathogen, JenaMax, Cytokine, and Brianne spun hard-driving industrial, ebm, and some noize! Plus, the Noir Dolls, industrial dancing beauties, performed all night long!

And it was Jasmyn's (our cashier) birthday!

Spot 6, 3343 N Clark | $7.00 | 10PM-3AM | 21+.

A night of incredible music!

After much anticipation, the 25th anniversary tour, of one of gothic and industrial music's classic masters, finally came back to Chicago:

ATTRITION

with Chicago's own i:scintilla, High Blue Star (from Minneapolis, MN; also supporting Attrition on their tour), and another of Chicago's own, back on stage again after a far too long hiatus, Dalet-Yod.

• Four amazing bands
• Twisted Hipz belly dancers
• DJs Brianne & Noir spun gothic and industrial classic dance between bands and into the early morning!

Kinetic Playground, 1113 W Lawrence • 9PM-4AM • $15.00 at door • 21+.

Read the press release here.

Slash invited DnD staff and friends to walk with the Lambda Legal float contingent in the Chicago Pride Parade. DJ Brianne DJ'd live on the float, belly dancers from Twisted Hipz and Read My Hips troupes performed, we gave away lots of goodies to the crowd, had a great time, received many accolades and even wound up on the evening news!

Click the flyer image to view photos from the night.

Featured DJs Mike Spatula? and Brianne spun dark, lovely music.

Upstairs was tarot reader Madelin and Alchemy Arts provided candles, incense, books, tshirts and other fun and mystical items for purchase. In the "dungeon", a dance floor and crazy or spooky horror flicks. As always there were great giveaways too! Some patrons paid as little as $1.00 as the roll of a 6-sided die was used to determine each person's cover charge! Spot 6, 3343 N Clark; $1.00-$6.00; 9PM-3AM; 21+.

Demons and Darlings helped promote and had a table at ElectroHell. This event featured Caustic, Cruciform Injection, and BioCarbon13 plus DJs Mr. Bobby, Darus, and Maldicion. The Abbey Pub, 3420 W Grace; $10 presale + free CD or $12 at door + free CD for those who printed the coupon from our site; 8PM-1AM; 21+.

Demons and Darlings helped promote Guy Madden's Brand Upon The Brain, which ran May 18 - 24 at the Music Box Theatre. "A phantasmagoric story that could be a collaboration between Edgar Allan Poe and Salvador Dali. It's an astonishing film: weird, obsessed, drawing on subterranean impulses, hypnotic."- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times. Opening weekend audiences were treated to a very special performance with live narration by Crispin Glover, live orchestra and sound effects by on-stage foley artists, as well as a live castrato providing the lyrical portions with his hauntingly beautiful voice. The live performance was definitely the most compelling and amazing, but the version with pre-recorded soundtrack is certainly a must-see as well.

Gothic Stitch n Bitch at Urban Tea Lounge, 838 W Montrose; FREE; 3:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

This was our first ever Batcave night - styled after the much-missed London club night. It featured DJs Joolz (Milwaukee), Johnny Bubonic, Matt the Mo', and of course Brianne.

We celebrated Brianne's birthday AND Mistress Xena's birthday too! This was a very fun night: Miss Xena displayed her photo art, there were campy and horror movies, drink specials and giveaways.

Spot 6, 3343 N Clark | $5.00 | 9PM-3AM | 21+ w proper ID

Gothic Stitch n Bitch at Urban Tea Lounge, 838 W Montrose; FREE; 3:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

Click flyer image to view pictures from the night!

Only music released after 1997 – 10 years of new gothic and industrial! Featuring DJs Peter Propaganda, Noir, Brianne, and Cytokine. Plus the Noir Dolls, futuristic horror flicks, drink specials and more! Plus: Anders Manga CD release party with lots of giveaways!. Spot 6, 3343 N Clark; $5.00 - $3.00 if in cyber-fashion; 9PM-3AM; 21+.

Gothic Stitch n Bitch at Urban Tea Lounge, 838 W Montrose; FREE; 3:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

All industrial, goth & rockabilly covers all night! Featuring DJ Brianne plus introducing Cristos (our very own "goth driver" and pirate-in-residence), as well as Angi (one of our friends w/ good taste in music!) Lounge, dance, listen to fun tunes, watch horror flicks on a large screen, and drink with us. $5.00 COVER (ha ha!) or $2.00 off if wearing pajamas! Spot 6, 3343 N Clark; 9PM-3AM; 21+.

This aurally stimulating night began with the new synth-pop/electronica band, Sonikore from Chicago, followed by Chicago's own much lauded 5-piece gothic electronica band Terminal Bliss, and then, the quintessential gothic artist and Renaissance man, Voltaire will took the stage! DJ Brianne spun gothic, new wave, and vintage industrial before, between and after the bands. Mistress Jewelry vending.
A joint production of Demons and Darlings and Dave of WTII Records.

Click the image at left to view pictures from the event

FANGORIA'S WEEKEND OF HORRORS: Three days of "horror-ific" fun with celebrities, vendors, parties and lots of other activities. Friday, February 23 through Sunday February 25 at the Wyndham Chicago O'Hare, 6810 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, IL.

Friday, 3PM-8PM main convention. Tickets $20 and up; all ages.

9PM-2AM: Our own DJ Brianne spun at the Shock n Roll Spooktacular. Along with DJ Brianne, this event featured Fashion Bomb, The Living Dead Girls bloody burlesque troupe, and Dead By Day. FREE to Gold and Silver Weekend attendees, separate $10 ticket required for others ($10 off Saturday or Sunday convention with Shock n Roll wristband!)

Saturday, 11AM-7PM main convention. Tickets $20 and up; all ages.

8PM-12AM: Our own DJ Brianne spun again for the Celebrity Dessert Party in the main event room. This event also featured Ron Fitzgerald, Gothic Illusionist, The Living Dead Girls bloody burlesque troupe, and of course a chance to chat with horror celebs! FREE to Gold and Silver Weekend Attendees, separate ticket required for others. Tickets $65; all ages.

Sunday, 11AM-7PM main convention. $20 and up; all ages.

9PM-2AM: Post-convention party featuring Voltaire at Darkroom.

See pictures HERE

Demons and Darlings, through an exclusive arrangement with Creation Entertainment, provided three lucky winners with a pair of passes to the Shock n Roll Spooktacular event held at 9PM on February 23 at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors. This event featured our own DJ Brianne plus Fashion Bomb, The Living Dead Girls bloody burlesque troupe, and Dead By Day. Each ticket pair worth $20 to this all ages event, plus $10 off convention admission on Saturday or Sunday!

Gothic Stitch n Bitch at Urban Tea Lounge, 838 W Montrose; FREE; 4:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

DJs Kristine (of Planet Earth Chicago), Carrie Monster, and Brianne spun gothic, new wave, and other "graven" classics to dance to! There was ZombiePinups.com First Annual Undead Beauty Pageant hosted by Chad Savage of Sinister Visions (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place costumes won great prizes!) There were zombie movies, a fetish rummage sale hosted by Carolyn of Mistress Jewelry, a mini Halloween Art Exhibit, $2.00 off coupons for Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors, and a bunch of giveaways! Saturday, February 3, 2007; 9PM-3AM; Spot 6, 3343 N Clark; $5.00/$3.00 w/ coupon; 21+ w/ valid ID.

Gene Siskel Film Center presented a new print of NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE 1979, Werner Herzog, Germany, 124 min. With Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz   "You will never see a better Dracula film." --Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune   Herzog’s version of the Dracula myth is the most chilling since Murnau’s 1922 NOSFERATU, which it honors without imitating. It is a truly Medieval vision, stripped of Romantic and Victorian frills, with a remorseless fixation on death and apocalypse, evoked by rushing clouds, parades of coffins, and hordes of rats. Kinski’s superbly disciplined interpretation of the vampire is creepy, sepulchral, and repellent, more vermin than human. English-language version, filmed simultaneously with the German one. 35mm. (MR) Friday, February 2, 6:00 pm; Saturday, February 3, 7:45 pm; Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St; $9.00; all ages.

Gothic Stitch n Bitch at Urban Tea Lounge, 838 W Montrose; FREE; 4:00PM; ALL AGES. Click here for details

Gene Siskel Film Center presents the Chicago screen premiere of DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA: LAIBACH 2004 2005, Sa_o Podgor_ek, Slovenia, 70 min. The seminal Yugoslavian industrial band Laibach toured the U.S. in 2004. Filmed from the tour’s onset, just days after the presidential elections, DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA envisions the faltering U.S. government through the eyes and ears of a viciously critical performance troupe formed under the Soviet system. Friday, January 19, 8:00 pm; Wednesday, January 24, 8:30 pm; Thursday, January 25, 8:15 pm; Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St; $9.00; all ages.

Time to rebuild, ring in the new, shake off the old - come dance off the holidays... DJs Gill T and Brianne. There were games, horror movies, specialty drinks created by Slash, other drink specials and merchants DJ Brianne's Amigurumi in ooky spooky styles, Erica's Innovations jewelry, Hair Alchemy, Jewelry by Simin, Mistress Jewelry, ProDeviant.com gothic/fetish art, toys and accessories, and Sinister Visions art by Chad Savage. There were also munchies from the bar AND, thanks to Scott, free cover to Neo, with ticket stub!