Back to the 1990s I go - Corpus Delicti live

 

Late to my own birthday party. Sort of. At the end of February I went to Bristol to see Corpus Delicti live - something I’d never imagined I’d get to do.

You’re asking ‘Who?’, aren’t you?

They’re a French goth/postpunk band who formed, released three blisteringly good albums, then split, all in the 90s. Then in 2020* they reformed and started making music again, including last year’s also blisteringly good album Liminal. What’s more, they started touring as well. I try not to drag Mr Robot to too many goth things as he’s not into the music, but this was Corpus Delicti, dammit, and playing in Bristol the day after I turned 52, so we were jolly well going.

I couldn’t be doing with dressing up too much - velvet jeans, satin vest top and my me-made satin-edged devoré kimono, all black, plus hiking boots because of my bad back (it wasn’t playing up, and I wanted to keep it that way). The outfit did the job, and writing it down it sounds fancier than it felt; goth styles can be very ornate but I’ve always leaned more towards a minimalist look, even in my young and thin days. I wore stud earrings, as I always do to gigs, because I don’t fancy any earlobe-ripping accidents if things get lively. Mr Robot wore a black velvet jacket that he got off Vinted; it’s his camouflage for when I get him to go to goth gigs with me. 

(Don’t feel too sorry for Mr Robot; he always gets plenty of beer and nice food out of these trips, as I always want to be sure he has some fun even if the music isn’t his thing.)

The venue was Strange Brew, a small place that was confusingly hidden behind barriers surrounding
roadworks. Cue a small group of bewildered eldergoths wandering around asking each other if they knew where it was. Still, we found it eventually. I’d wanted to get there for the very start as I’d heard music by support act Naut on Spotify and liked it. I felt the singer’s voice was a bit lost in the sound mix, but a pal who’s seen them before said it was the best she’d seen them, and I certainly wouldn’t object to seeing them again.

Corpus Delicti though… they were fantastic. So very, very good. Singer Sebastien’s voice has deepened since the 90s, as is inevitable, but was as full of emotion and nuance as ever. Jerome, Chrys and Fabrice, guitar, bass and drums respectively, didn’t put a finger wrong. And I was surprised that there weren’t more people in attendance, but it meant we got a great view, and Sebastien even came down to stand and sing within the crowd, which was magical. Naturally I loved it, but Mr Robot said it was the best goth gig I’d taken him to. 

Afterwards we both raided the merch stall. Musicians struggle more nowadays - there are fewer live venues, and streaming pays very little to artists. I’ve been trying to buy CDs of bands I find myself streaming a lot, and had waited till the gig to buy Corpus Delicti’s CDs because that way the band got the most income. And it also means my copy of Liminal is signed. *Treasure!* 

Here’s hoping I get to see them again in the future.

*Looks like I wasn’t the only person who spent the pandemic realising how much they missed the black clothes and smoke-shrouded clubs of their youth and decided to do something about it.