Gotham A-Go-Go

Text & Photos by Fred Berger

New York nightlife at the Long Black Veil and Zen Warp

Keywords: Long Black Veil, Mother nightclub, Zen Warp, Limelight nightclub, H.R. Giger Room, H.R. Giger, goth, gothic, transgender, cyber-goth, go-go girl, black leather corset, black lingerie, goth makeup, black goth, New York nightlife, alternative fashion

Keywords: Long Black Veil, Mother nightclub, goth, gothic, transgender, black leather corset, black lingerie, goth makeup, New York nightlife, alternative fashion. This vertical Black & White photo depicts a slender transwoman go-go dancer. She’s visible from the lower thighs up and is centered in the camera frame, which she fills completely from top to bottom. She’s wearing a leather corset, panties, sheer pantyhose, sheer stockings, garter-belt, and torn fishnet top - all in black. Her black hair is teased upwards with twigs sticking out of it and an animal skull placed on the front. Her hips are swaying to her right, legs somewhat parted, arms at her sides, and head tilted slightly downwards and to her right. Her white-face makeup is marked by dark jagged lines across the forehead, along the cheekbones, and the edges of her mouth. The makeup also consists of black lipstick and heavy dark eyeshadow. Behind her at the right of the photo is a sign that reads “TRANSYLVANIA” in black all-capital letters on a white backing, but only the letters “SYLVAN” can be seen. Below the sign is a black lacquered coffin with a silver handle. The background consists of a black curtain, with a stage light at the top-left. The photo is illuminated by a camera flash.

Inspired by The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Long Black Veil’s theme for this fright night in 1997 was “Transsexual Transylvania.” The gender-bending go-go zombie pictured here is Falon, master of disguise and prima ballerina of the danse macabre. (Photo & Copyright © by Fred Berger)

New York City, also known as Gotham, constituted my principal stomping grounds as an editor-at-large around the turn of the millennium. These wanderings took me first and foremost to the Mother nightclub in the Meatpacking District of Lower Manhattan. Among its various weekly subculture events, the Long Black Veil stood out for its glamorously ghoulish fashion sense and theme. Founded in 1997 by club impresario Father Sebastian, it ruled the night until Mother’s demise in 2000. Exercising a strict dress code, the party catered primarily to the local goth scene whose elegant denizens looked right at home in the club’s opulent Versailles Room. Appropriately, the vampiric centerpiece of these dark festivities was a black-lacquered casket.

Keywords: Zen Warp, Zenwarp, Limelight nightclub, H.R. Giger Room, H.R. Giger, goth, gothic, cyber-goth, go-go girl, black goth, New York nightlife. This vertical Black & White photo depicts an attractive Black cyber-goth go-go girl. She’s visible from the lower thighs up and is centered in the camera frame, which she fills completely from top to bottom. She’s wearing a shiny halter top, cargo pants, metal studded leather belt, leather wristband, and leather choker - all in black. She has two ornate silver rings on her left hand. Her long black dreadlocks have four silver tubular clasps, two of which are on each side of her head. Her upper left arm has a tribal-style tattoo. Her body is tilted towards her left, with her right arm raised and her left arm bent towards her torso, as she looks at the camera. Her arms are slender with well-defined muscle tone. Her face is speckled with glitter, she has black eyeliner, silver eyeshadow, and her lips have a dark outline. Behind her is a mural by surrealist artist H.R. Giger depicting a science fiction style architectural structure. The photo is illuminated by a camera flash.

On this enchanted evening in the year 2000, a cyber-goth go-go dancer writhes to the rhythm in the H.R. Giger Room of Zen Warp, located in the Limelight nightclub. Decorated with murals, sculpture, and furniture created by the legendary artist, it was a truly otherworldly space. (Photo & Copyright © by Fred Berger)

Emerging a year later was Zen Warp, located at the Limelight nightclub in the city’s Chelsea district. Launched by club promoter Shane Savant and hosted by Corie Craven, it focused on the goth, industrial, darkwave, and electronic music genres. Within the brownstone walls of the deconsecrated 19th century neo-gothic church that housed the club, this Saturday night party occurred in the famous H.R. Giger Room. This phenomenal space was designed and decorated by the renowned Swiss surrealist of Alien film fame. The scene of many a wild soiree, it ran its meteoric course until 2001, culminating in a fetish fashion photoshoot for Propaganda Magazine, which will be featured in a subsequent article.

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