No doubts at all for Saturday when Mr. Douglas McCarthy will be performing at Agra. Nitzer Ebb during the years slightly changed the approach to their live shows, favoring a more introspective setlist and instrumentation, and even if we admit that we was kinda expecting some more hammering hits, it was impossible to not be captured by the pathos of the proposed versions of Come Alive and Control I’m here.

Sunday was the most critical day of the festival in terms of choices, if your musical tastes vary from gothic rock to harsh-noise. London after midnight, Solar fake, Winterkalte and The soft moon. That would have been the perfect scenario to acquire the gift of ubiquity… But in the end we promised ourselves that we will be screaming Sacrifice along with Sean Brennan till the day we die, so here we go at Agra for the headliners London after midnight, where we were able to take some of our favorite on-stage pictures of the festival.

At the closing day also the weather seems sad that WGT is going to finish. Under a violent storm, but safe inside the hangar of Agra, came about the last and one of the most intense performance of the festival: Agonoize. Preceeded by two very nice surprises Patenbrigade:Wolff -this Berlin-based band sounds very good live and has a unique light/ironic touch that makes their show even more interesting- and Velvet Acid Christ that proposed a very convincing accelerated-BPM tracklist, preparing the ground for the final bloodshed (literally) of Agonoize, harsh electro apotheosis ascending straight out the gates of hell.

The core of WGT is the music of course, but, as the German word “Treffen” suggests, it’s nonetheless a meeting. Many people book their hotels and tickets from one year to the other without waiting for the bands confirmations because the possibility to share this great experience with like-minded individuals from all over the world is one of the main added values to the festival. WGT is also well-known for the many parties that can entertain your nights throughout the festival. Each scene has its own: post-punk or EBM of course, but also fetish, ethereal/neo-folk, deathrock etc., that can really suit any shade of darkness. The music changes but every party shares the same positive and inclusive vibe. Two special mentions go to the Obsession Bizarr fetish party on Saturday, a visual treat of utmost fashion (for those who go to show their most venturous outfits) and tempting debauchery (for the hedonists and dungeon players), and, as the festival reminisces, to the Closing party on Monday at Moritzbastei. The best way to say goodbye to the WGT and to all your friends, dancing away all the magic until the first lights of the morning, in one of the most beautiful venues in Europe.

A dream like atmosphere with so many layers of meaning, a place of freedom and unconventionality where time lacks of linear temporality. I’m pretty sure that the crescendo started with the current edition will lead to a magnificent 29th edition next year, then preparing for the big celebration of the 3 decades anniversary in 2021. The dates are already out, see you next year!

NEXT Wave-Gotik-Treffen: 29th May / 1st June 2020