7 July 11-17, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | I t’s Friday night at the Corner downtown, and inside the bar, the air is thick and smells like incense. The lights are dim as usual, but on this night, they are sporting a moody green hue. Pink lights are strung around the DJ booth adorned with votive candles of the Virgin Mary and transparent skeletons. “Cuts Me Out” by Peter Murphy starts playing, and the crowd cheers. The space between the bar and the booth slowly morphs into a dance floor. The crowd swaying to the music shows a clear preference for all-black clothing, thick eyeliner, Klaus Nomi-style lipstick, red puffy skirts, and a sprinkling of animal print. And the ages range from late-forties Gen Xers to twentysomething Zoomers. The event bringing everyone together is Night Shift, a party that Kimberly Andrews — best known in the nightlife scene as DJ Rip- pin Kittin — hosts once a month. It’s a celebration of goth, postpunk, new wave, and “coffin classics,” as she likes to call them. For Andrews, one of the more appealing as- pects of the monthly party is being able to spin the kind of music she enjoys to a varied crowd. With Club Space just around the corner, regu- lar patrons dart in and out of the bar, mingling with the more goth-minded attendees. Miami has always had a taste of the unusual — the city’s devotion to the dark and occult is reflected across cultures and heritages. So, it’s no coincidence that the goth subculture has al- ways thrived in our subtropical haven, and time has proven that this is not just a phase or a nostalgic yearning — goth is well alive and has found young blood thanks to Gen Z. In the ‘90s, South Florida was ground zero for acts like Jack Off Jill and Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. The latter be- came an icon for goth kids across the nation after the release of 1996’s Antichrist Super- star. At its peak, it wasn’t usual to see artists like Manson, Billy Corgan, and Trent Reznor pop up at goth-tinged events across Miami-Dade, particularly David Cordoves’ Church club night. Fast-forward two and half decades, and South Florida’s goth contingent — even if they are Gen Xers dressed in the former-goth style of black T-shirt and jeans — still packs venues and arenas to see legends like the Cure and De- peche Mode and newcomers Twin Tribes and Cold Cave perform live. Local bands like Astari Nite, Obsidian, and Donzii are also keeping goth rock and postpunk alive in the scene. Is it something in the murky swamp wa- ter? Dressing in head-to-toe black in a humid, tropical city like Miami requires a prodigious amount of willpower. (It would have earned you a shoutout on the “Goths in Hot Weather” blog in the early aughts, though.) While it can feel like the heyday of South Florida’s goth scene is over — even Churchill’s Pub closed — Gen Z, perhaps spurred by the proliferation of >> p8 BACK IN BLACK WORDS BY FLOR FRANCES PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA McGIVERN Miami’s goth subculture is growing thanks to Gen Z. Night Shift attendee Day Yera. Night Shift is a monthly goth party hosted by Kimberly Andrews at the Corner.
