This past Saturday we attended Gothicfest in Chicago. This would be the second day of the event this year. It was pretty much what you'd expect, a festival celebrating the Goth live style.

I'm not Goth or anything, but it's an image and lifestyle that I've always enjoyed going back to vampire movies and musical tastes. Luckily, there were probably only a half dozen or so people that were "annoyingly goth". Seeing a live suspension show wasn't as weird as I thought it would be.

For those who don't know, it's basically a showcase of young women who get meat hooks dug into their flesh and hung by them in various positions. Yeah, I hope you're not attempting to enjoy a meal while reading this by the way. I saw a lady hung by different flesh sections of her backside as if she were Superman, after her was a lady hung by her mid section as if she were levitating, but what I missed as we were outside the venue was a woman being suspended by her neck.

I heard from more than one person that being suspended gives off a huge high. Rock on for them then. It was still very cool to watch.

They had bands from across the globe performing all day on two stages, which was pretty cool. I ended up hanging out in random areas of the venue and missed a few bands that I might have enjoyed. I did catch the two bands I went to see though.

I got to see Fashion Bomb rock the Club Vision stage with a good set. They played "Avarice" for the first time in a long time, which was a very cool surprise and of course the crowd erupted for their "I'm Afraid of Americans" cover. Then to close the night was Bella Morte.

I saw them for the first time almost exactly a year ago and really enjoyed it. A highlight with their set was their cover of "Earth Angel" made famous due to it being in Back to the Future. Andy (vocals) showed his awesome charisma as he wandered the crowd and sang as a lot of people started dancing.

Basically, we went to a Bella Morte concert and a prom broke out. It was surreal and a great way to end the night. My only problems with the event were the high ticket prices and lack of parking.

I'd suggest a more open venue with an actual parking lot like maybe The Pearl Room in Mokena, IL or somewhere in Wrigleyville. Still, it was a great time and if the chance comes again I will go to next years festivities.