Cold Waves streaming virtual fest w/ Meat Beat Manifesto, Young Gods, Test Dept, more
Chicago industrial music festival Cold Waves was originally scheduled to take place in person, at Metro and Smart Bar, from September 18 through 20, with a lineup including Front 242, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Stabbing Westward, The Young Gods, and many others. Instead, however, they’re going virtual over the same weekend, when Cold Waves: “The Lost Weekend” will stream on Twitch.
The virtual fest will include broadcast of Cold Wave’s first year, in 2012, featuring The Cocks Members, Chemlab, Final Cut, 16Volt, Damage Manual, Czar, Acumen Nation, The Clay People, I:Scintilla, Cyanotic, Go Fight, and Iron Lung Corp; the debut stream of Eric Richter‘s documentary Last Call 2350: The Neo Documentary; classic industrial videos with “commentary tracks” from perfromers and directors, including Richard 23 and Patrick Codenys of Front 242, Paul Barker of Ministry, Chris Connelly of The Revolting Cocks, Martin Atkins of Killing Joke, Chris Vienna of Nine Inch Nails, and Eric Zimmerman; live sets from Meat Beat Manifesto, DHS, Ash Code, and Cyanotic; previously unseen performance footage of Chemlab, Paul Barker, Chris Connelly, OHGR, Front Line Assembly, Front 242, and The Young Gods; and more. View the schedule in full below.
The fest will be streaming for free on Twitch, beginning at 6 PM EST (7 PM CST) each evening. They’ll also be selling official merch and rare auction items, including an exclusive Cold Waves 2020 compilation album (featuring a cover of The Cure’s “Burn” by Stabbing Westward). All proceeds will be donated to a GoFundMe set up for the staff of Metro, as well as the suicide prevention and awareness charity, Darkest Before Dawn.
Fest founder Jason Novak writes:
Regardless of the current struggles our industry family and friends are enduring, we realize how much COLD WAVES means to so many people every September, since Jamie Duffy’s passing in 2012 that inspired it all. We felt the need to do something, anything, to try and connect this passionate fan base during our ‘lost weekend,’ and we are grateful to the artists who contributed in such a dark time. Hopefully, there is enough goodwill and gas in the tank left to generate some fundraising revenue for the Metro staff and Darkest Before Dawn, as we all continue to fight to save our industry.
COLD WAVES “THE LOST WEEKEND” LINEUP
Friday, September 18: The Kickoff (7 pm-1 am CT)
– COLD WAVES first-year concert is presented in its entirety for the first time ever. Shot September 7, 2012 at Bottom Lounge in Chicago with HD multi-cam and pro soundboard mix. Featuring The Cocks Members, Chemlab, Final Cut, 16Volt, Damage Manual (acoustic), Czar, Acumen Nation, The Clay People, I:Scintilla, Cyanotic, Go Fight and Iron Lung Corp. Produced by Aaron Pollack, director of the “Rally and Sustain: Cracknation” documentary.
Saturday, September 19: The Main Event (7 pm-12 am CT)
– New, live presentations from Meat Beat Manifesto, DHS, Ash Code and Cyanotic
– Rare and unseen live performance videos from The Young Gods, Front Line Assembly, Test Dept, Chemlab, OHGR, Lead Into Gold, C-Tec, 16volt Vs. Acumen, Cocksure and Bile
– Classic industrial music-videos with “commentary tracks” from performers and directors, featuring Richard 23 and Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Paul Barker (Ministry), Chris Connelly (The Revolting Cocks), Martin Atkins (Killing Joke), Chris Vienna (Nine Inch Nails), director Eric Zimmerman and more
– COLD WAVES artist and crew video greetings and slideshows
Sunday, September 20: The Closing Party (7-11 pm CT)
– Debut stream of “Last Call 2350: The Neo Documentary,” directed by Eric Richter
– A Medusa’s tribute—an audio/video homage to Dave Medusa and his legendary Chicago club
– Goodbye Tonsils: COLD WAVES says goodbye to dearest alumni Severed Heads
– COLD WAVES artist and crew video greetings and slideshows
