As I laced up my scuffed, black Doc Martens (the unofficial yet universally worn Substance uniform) for my fourth and final night at the Globe Theatre, I realized I didn’t want the festival to come to an end. But, of course, even the best things must.
When most people think of music festivals, they picture drone shots showing crowds of tens of thousands of people. Substance Festival is more like a carefully crafted sum of ten to fifteen LA goth nights’ worth of performances and people. It is way bigger than a typical industrial Friday night at Catch or a DIY space, but it is still intimate enough to find your friends between the two stages easily. That is, precisely, my favorite thing about the Substance Festival. Where a conventional festival is like an ungovernable frat party, Substance is a royal candlelit dinner where everyone is dressed like a vampire.
SOFT VEIN, the solo darkwave project of California musician Justin Chamberlain, released his debut LP, Pressed in Glass, via Artoffact Records just last month. Justin says his favorite part about Substance Fest is “being on a massive bill like that with so many artists I respect, and seeing all of those artists mingling in the same space. It’s so fun. There’s something really special about the crowds at festivals too, because they could choose to go to another stage and see another artist. If they’re standing there watching you it’s because they really wanted to see what you’re doing.”
Photos by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
SOFT VEIN took the basement stage around 7 pm. It was already packed and sweaty by the time I made it, halfway into his first track. Justin reflects, “When we walked out on stage to perform, and the basement was just absolutely packed, it was really touching and such a special moment for me.” SOFT VEIN played several new songs from Pressed in Glass, but says his favorites were “‘LEASH’ and ‘PERFECT TEETH,’ I think. Seems like there’s a lot of energy between me and the crowd on those.”
On his favorite Substance 2023 acts, Justin recounts “Twin Tribes, ACTORS and Forever Grey on the main stage, they’re all friends and such tight live acts, they have such a huge presence and just sound great. On the basement stage, I got to catch MVTANT, and he has an amazing sound and energy. It was like an underground industrial show down there with everyone dancing. Really fun.”
Photo by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
A brief rundown of the rest of my night:
High Functioning Flesh kept everyone dancing on the main stage with their EBM, kind of industrial sound. Their set got my energy up for the rest of the right.
Photos by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
Rare DM – I came for the eye-catching platinum blonde bob and black lingerie. I stayed for the far away, dream-pop-y, sparkly sounds.
Normal Bias – This was my favorite new artist I discovered that night. They murdered their set. It reminds me of DAF and a few other 80s acts I love.
Photo by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
Forever Grey – One of my favorite LA-based bands to see live. I even forget how many times I’ve seen them this year. Forever Grey’s cinematic, foggy shows sing to dark hearts in leather trench coats. “The Style Is Death” is my favorite track to see live.
Photo by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
Ms BOAN- Also one of my favorite LA-based acts to see live. I get chills whenever I hear Mariana kick off her set with the opening notes of “Babylon”. So dreamy. It makes me feel like I’m floating to a better world full of ambient neon lights and blinking computers. She also brought a HUGE disco ball on stage, which glimmered throughout her set.
Photos by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)
Between running up and down to catch as many acts as possible, I also saw some new artists, including Bestial Mouths. Overall, though, I had the best time seeing new and familiar acts, running into new and familiar faces. Restless Nites said 2023 was supposed to be the last Substance Festival, but after seeing the outpouring of love and support they’ve continued to receive, I hope they reconsider so I can return for my third year in 2024.
Photo by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)