Goth Nights at International Bar 

• Courtesy Photo

Under the Milky Way on a Friday night in downtown Salt Lake City, you might feel a shiver down your spine—the tell-tale sign of a Goth Night at the International Bar in full swing. Follow your nose toward the always-damp scent of vintage leather boots crackling down the sidewalk, and further towards the sound of latex's light popping and industrial bass thumping. Chasing your senses, you, too, may become absorbed in the throngs of bank tellers, fraternity rushers, amateur bassists, actual cowboys and your next-door neighbor—all of them goth for the evening, and here to prove one thing: that the Dead Can Dance.

The International Bar—home to the music stage known fondly as The International Artist Lounge—opened to the public in December 2021, still reeling from the pandemic and unsure of exactly how to proceed. Goth Night, an idea that exploded through the fragile shell of uncertainty, was provided by International general manager, bartender and DJ extraordinaire, Fish. In a brainstorming session with owners Nate Silverstein Tree and Andrea Tree, Fish simply threw out the idea: "I was like 'I know this guy who dresses in this cool costume, and he has a lot of people that dance around him. What if we just called it Goth Night?' I didn't think it would work at all. It's crazy how busy it is. I'm proud of it."

The guy who dresses in that cool costume is Fish's friend and goth/alternative eximious DJ Gabriel, who had previously met Fish on a vacation trip to a Vegas club. Gabriel fits the bill that he was commissioned for, arriving to spin dark entries with airbrushed makeup coating his head, wrapped in a black cloak and doused in necklaces of vaguely religious symbolism. The harsh aesthetic looks (for lack of a better descriptor) badass, but has previously been seen as alienating and exclusionary to anyone who may not be quite as daring.

Yet, people of all ages and discernable demographics flock towards DJ Gabriel himself and his sets, which take place one Friday a month. Goth Night attendees shake their bodies in time to melodies of music that, in the '90s, inspired (at minimum) parental backlash, and (at maximum) attempted lawsuits against record labels and MTV.

Gabriel says of Goth Night, "I think people were waiting for it. I think people are connecting to the music. People are angry, they're poor, the last five years have not been kind—no matter your perspective or what side of the fence you're on. Coming out of turmoil, people want a release, and they want it to be organic. ... You watch these kids [in the crowd], and they are just exorcising themselves in front of the stage. Whatever happened that week is just coming out."

International owner Nate adds, "There were countless night clubs in Salt Lake playing Top 40, and that's pretty much what you had access to. There's just a lot more than Top 40. We realized early on that people wanted to dance," and "[G]oth Night really had a cultural calling for underground art and music that hadn't really been satisfied."

With specialty drinks crafted quickly by Fish, a dance floor and a variety of DJs—always including Gabriel—Goth Night has taken flight like a bat out of hell, turning University of Utah students in finance classes on to the likes of Trent Reznor's bleakly beautiful masterpiece The Downward Spiral. Yet, the International doesn't stop there, also bringing in live acts such as Spike Hellis, Molly Nisson, and the just-announced upcoming Male Tears, confidently cementing the bar as "the center of underground culture in Salt Lake City," as Nate proudly says.

Ophelia, a frequent guest DJ and local musician of the project Mercy Seat, provides the artist's perspective an performing music to a live audience at such an event. "When you're really tuned into what you're doing, it feels transcendent. It's almost meditative; you can escape your thoughts and go to a different realm," she says. "It takes all the thoughts that would otherwise be kept in my head, and makes them into something new."

At the beating, bloody heart of the International is the familiar thrum of darkwave deities behind the DJ deck, but also, an ethos of care and inclusion refreshingly unique to the nightlife scene. "My passion is to create an environment where people feel safe and comfortable and want to have a good time," Nate says. "And that's what I'm about. I provide the space, and foster an environment that is conducive to making art, or being artistic, in the ways that everyone should choose to do so."

"It's important to everyone that our nights are safe, and everyone can be themselves. There's nothing to worry about," adds Fish. "[Goth Night] fills a lot of joy in me, it makes me feel accomplished. It makes me feel like I'm not just making money for 'The Man,' or promoting something that's not healthy or safe. It's balanced and right, and I feel happy about it."

The International Bar entreats you to step outside of your comfort zone, drink a little (if you so choose), tip your bartenders well and hearty, dance (a lot!) and explore an entire realm of music with you and yours through movement and community. As Gabriel says, "If you've ever been curious about the alternative scene, whether it be Goth Night or anything else, just go and do it. Even if you have to go by yourself, just show up."

And really, what's there to lose? As the Bauhaus once said, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, anyway.