Baltimore MD, July 30 to August 1 – Anyone who has entered the world of con-going knows that it can and should be an intense experience.  Otakon is a 3-day Japanese subculture convention with a 22,000 person attendance.  At any hour between 8 AM Friday to 3 PM Sunday there are 5-8 possible events one could attend, in addition to football-field-sized dealers’, artists’, and gaming floors open throughout, not to mention unofficial events, meetups, and photoshoots going on in and around the convention center.  Official entertainment includes raves, fashion shows, screenings, educational and humor panels, concerts, and burlesque acts.  The accommodations themselves were plush.  It took place in the Baltimore Convention Center, a beautiful, gargantuan tribute to glass-and-cement architecture with everything from rooftop gardens to a Starbucks, in addition to all those staples for hardcore con-goers: plenty of clean bathrooms, comfortable seating, free water available everywhere you go.  These are necessities because if you want to really get the experience of an affair of this magnitude, you have treat it like a marathon.  There’s not a single mile of this you can sit out.

h.Naoto booth at Otakon

h.Naoto’s 2010 collection . image source s-inc.com

And that doesn’t mean for a moment you can skip on style.  Especially at an event like Otakon, seeing and being seen is imperative. Dressing up, people-watching, and taking photos of the best-dressed is all part of the fun.  Adaptations of not just the Japanese looks, but all strains of subculture were on parade.  This year, the convention had brought in h.Naoto, the prolific Japanese designer of all sorts of dark and decayed wearables.  He made a number of appearances, one in which young designers brought in portfolios and samples for him to critique, one in which he gave a Q&A and short fashion show, and several at his booth in the dealer’s room, where one could purchase his wares.  At the Q&A, Mr. Naoto was asked about the relationship between his designs and street fashion.  He replied, via translator, that while he knew all about goth, punk, Lolita, etc. and appreciated all of them, he wasn’t interested in designing in any one of those genres, but in taking what he likes from each and what he see in his own mind and creating something completely new.  He emphasized that you needed creativity, to bring something new into the look.

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We are excited to announce that Auxiliary will be attending Triton Festival happening in Brooklyn, NY over Labor Day (Sept 3-5) weekend!  Presented by Vampirefreaks, the highly popular goth/industrial social networking site, and Audiolust, long time NYC promotion group, Triton Festival has a great lineup including Icon of Coil, Apoptygma Berzerk, and Clan of Xymox and it all goes down in Coney Island (hence the name).

For more info visit, www.tritonfestival.com.

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Brooklyn NY, Saturday, July 21 – The Mermaid Lagoon, a benefit party for the Oceanic Preservation Society and the Gulf Coast cleanup efforts took place at the House of Yes in Williamsburg.  The House is a school of aerial arts so full of personalities and stories that is deserves its own book, but on Saturday night it served to host a gathering of angry mermaids.  The conceit of the evening was that the ocean home of these mermaids had been gravely threatened by the BP oil spill and they want it fixed.  The decor worked with what it was given, an air conditioning-less warehouse crowded with trapeze artist junk.  Blue fabrics were draped and twined, lights strung, and a local sculptor contributed large-scale UV reactive foam sea creatures that had an ethereal, if day-glo, effect.  The bar was serving alcoholic fruit smoothies, which were reported to be perfect for the temperature indoors.

Veronica Varlow

Desert Sin

The “mermaids” of the lagoon, that is, the performers and staff, presented a broad spectrum of entertainment.  The night’s opening act was Desert Sin, a non-traditional bellydance group in elaborate costume. The performance seemed to interpret the darker power of the sea, intense stares and rippling arms abounded.  Then came a fire-palm dance by burlesque performer Veronica Varlow.  Kai Altair, Varlow’s sister and the MC for the night explained that mermaids are famous for seductive dance and song that lures men to their doom and that this particular one was intended for the BP executives.  Altair herself performed her mystical/tropical music with great warmth and enthusiasm later on that night.  Other entertainment included Cassandra of Lady Circus in a breathtaking glass-walking performance inspired by the Little Mermaid, and Ali Luminescent (Coney Island’s Mermaid of the Year in 2009) on trapeze.  To tickle more academic fancies, a doctor of oceanography gave a lecture both on the ramifications of the oil spill and Japanese dolphin fishing in full mermaid attire.  Among other prizes, love letters from Ms. Varlow and prints of the resident oceanographer’s photography were raffled off as further fundraising.

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Plastik Wrap’s Midnight Madness Sale

If you’re in the Toronto area, this is the weekend to shop!

Plastik Wrap’s semi-annual Midnight Madness Sale is happening this coming Sunday, August 1st, both at their Toronto boutique at 2235 Dundas St West and online at www.plastikarmy.com from 8pm to midnight EST.

For those that attend the sale at their boutique, they will have drinks and treats, along with music, a sample rack full of one of a kind pieces for super low prices, and some styles on sale for less than online. Every Plastik Wrap item in the store is going to be discounted just for this one night! If you can’t make it to all the fun planned at boutique, at least make sure you take advantage of the sale online!

for more info visit the facebook event page

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Auxiliary Magazine is sponsoring End: the DJ as he tours to support his new album Endtrovert released in May on Shinto Records. He is currently on tour in Australia, so if you’re a reader in that neck of the woods, be sure to catch a date! If you’re closer to our neck, you can see End: the DJ at Triton Festival, happening Labor Day weekend (September 3rd-5th) in Brooklyn, New York.

for more information visit endthedj.blogspot.com
get a taste of End: the DJ’s track selections, check out his DJ Picks in the Feb/March 2010 Issue

Auxiliary Magazine’s June/July Issue Release Party will be in Toronto, ON at NEURODANCE v6.0!  ISN Radio army presents NEURODANCE at the legendary Club Neutral; ground zero for another evening of cutting-edge industrial / ebm and other selects from the subculture music scene.  Auxiliary Magazine’s Aaron Andrews and Darago will be DJing and Auxiliary Magazine crew will be there to show off the new issue.

more info here

Auxiliary Magazine will be at the upcoming Transmission Dance Party in Buffalo, NY! Transmission is a bi-monthly dance party thrown at Mohawk Place by Bill Page and Jason Draper. Lovingly known as an evening of synthpop, alternative, and indie dance music, it has been operating since February of 2004. So if you’re in the area be sure to come out and dance the night away with us.  Stop by our table and say hi, check out print copies of the magazine, get the scope on all things Auxiliary, and all that fun stuff.

more info here

An upcoming event you don’t want to miss is Toronto’s Alternative Art’s and Fashion Week also known as FAT. It is taking place this week from April 21st to 25th in Toronto, ON.

Here’s a little info about FAT…

The fifth year anniversary edition of FAT titled “Made with Love” approaches fashion from the intelligence of the heart, surveying a different emotion each night.

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Auxiliary Magazine will be at Kinetik Festival again this year!  And this time we’ll have a vendor table!  This will be the third Kinetik, an electro/industrial/noise/hardcore festival in Montreal, Canada.  It will be May 12th through May 16th with many performing including… Leaether Strip, 16 Volt, Chemlab, Gothsicles, Combichrist, Decoded Feedback, FGFC 820, Hocico, Nachtmahr, Memmaker, Rotersand, Melotron, Faderhead, Covenant, and more! Kinetik is one of the most notable festivals in North America, not to be missed. And be sure to stop by our table and say hi!

more info at www.festival-kinetik.net

Auxiliary Magazine and After Dark Events presents…

VNV Nation & [:SITD:] in concert
March 26, 2010 @ 8:00 PM
Town Ballroom : 681 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202

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