Haven, Northampton’s “dark alternative club night,” sounds witchy and diabolical enough to suggest that its weekly gatherings must have some sinister purpose, especially in light of the fact that its trappings are rife with symbolism that’s gothic, even vaguely demonic or vampire-esque.
The music is often heavy, pounding and disjointed, with depressing lyrics, the wardrobe selections frequently risque or fetish-flavored. There’s always been a fear among some people who dwell comfortably within mainstream culture that events like these harbor deviant behavior so disturbing that they identify participants as members of some freakish, exclusive cult or coven aimed at undermining traditional values.
In fact, Haven is almost exactly the opposite. Yes, it’s certainly colorful, and on some of the annual costume-themed nights such as Blood Lust: Vampire’s Ball, the Zombie Prom or the Exotic Erotic Ball, the imagery gets more dramatic. But in essence, Haven really is exactly what the word means: a safe place for everyone. If it had an official charter or mission statement, it would be one of ultimate acceptance. Basically, no one is too far out—or too far in—to be welcomed into this community.
“The thing about the ‘goths,’ and this particular scene,” says Haven Mistress-in-Chief Penelope Silverstein, “is that it tends to be… I don’t want to call them ‘nerds,’ but it tends to be a lot of the intellectual kids and the misfits who don’t have places to go, but they still want to have a feeling of community and feeling cool. So we get some really eclectic people in, and it’s kind of awesome—kind of like the land of the misfit toys. I love the land of the misfit toys. They’re my people.”
Silverstein, 34, founded Haven in 1996 with Christopher Kirshner, who’s since moved to L.A. A professional piercer who also owns Haven Body Arts in downtown Noho, Silverstein identifies herself as a refugee club kid from New York, where she was a familiar presence at flamboyant see-and-be-seen locations like The Bank, The Pyramid Club and the Limelight. She attended Hampshire College before deciding to veer full-steam into the world of DJ-ing, promotion and body modification. She’s a walking advertisement for both her endeavors, covered in tattoos and pierced in just about every possible place. Her clinic features not only piercing but also tattooing, branding, scarification and other body modification, and she credits the Haven nightclub community for helping to make it successful.
In addition to the above-mentioned annual events, Haven has featured many notable national performers, such as drag queens Maddelynn and Bianca Dubois and sideshow circus veterans including The Lizard Man and The Enigma, who’ve both been associated with the notorious Jim Rose Circus from Seattle, Wash. It’s also hosted bands from as far away as Germany, including Switchblade Symphony, Sunshine Blind, Bella Morte and Cuxshadows. Asked whether she’s ever booked “dark metal” bands from Scandinavia, Silverstein replies, “I don’t do death metal. I try to keep it danceable and marketable… it sucks that it’s kind of lumped into this dark culture thing—so is emo, which is also unfortunate.”
For the Haven virgin, Silverstein & Co. offer something of a basic primer every fall, an event designed to catch newbies up on 30 years of goth dance and industrial music.
“Goth 101 is something we do in September, when the students come back, and we do a musical journey from when goth and punk started through to the music of today,” Silverstein says. “So we start with Siouxsie and the Banshees from the ’70s and progress forward.”
Haven’s famed Tuesday night events were briefly homeless during a change in ownership from the former Club Metro to the current management of Diva’s, and Silverstein said it was hard for a year or two trying to re-establish Haven for a time at Pearl Street Nightclub in 2000-2001 before she convinced the new Diva’s management to give them a chance. Though the bulk of Diva’s nightly programming is high-end urban dance club and/or gay-oriented, the Haven community turned out in strong enough numbers that the new management ultimately supported its continuation.
In addition to the Diva’s folks, Silverstein has profuse thanks for the Zellers, who owned Club Metro when Haven was just starting out, saying they “gave [us] our first chance to be a night and then tolerated our low attendance until we picked up steam. Without them and their support, there would be no Haven.”
The atmosphere of role-playing and the presence of bondage and S&M elements in the clientele’s apparel certainly begs the question: Is Haven a place to meet people for sexual experimentation? Silverstein plays it down as only an occasional reality at most.
“I don’t think that really happens, except for maybe on certain nights—I mean, we have fetish nights, and I’ll have girls covered in latex slipping around in hot oil, so… that might be slightly different,” she says. “There are fetish performers and whipping racks, but that’s one night a year. A lot of the fashion does have an element of the bondage and fetish or S&M scene, but it’s not as dominant as you might think, at least not anymore. Everything’s changed so much in the past 15 years or so. Now the majority of bondage gear is like people wearing combat boots, and Hot Topic stopped carrying all that [fetish] stuff, any of the Lip Service stuff, because goth is a dying scene.”
Ironic as that may sound, Haven is getting ready to host its 15th anniversary party, featuring popcorn, cotton candy and circus performers including Uber Dami and Dr. J. from Circus Delecti, Djs Znuh and Dirge, contortionists, dancers and a champagne toast at midnight. Haven lays claim to being the longest-lived dark alternative weekly dance night on the entire East Coast, and as such has attracted many fans and supporters from all over New England and beyond. The star of the evening will likely be Las Vegas magician Dan Sperry, whom the nation may know from the show America’s Got Talent, where he appeared to saw halfway through his own neck with dental floss and retrieve a recently eaten Life Saver from his throat, promptly depositing it onto a shocked Howie Mandel. Mandel didn’t seem too happy about it, but fellow judge Sharon Osbourne couldn’t seem to stop laughing about the unexpected turn of events.
Haven’s anniversary party is (as always) an 18-plus affair, so you don’t have to drink to come and party. Dress to impress, and be prepared for a veritable three-ring extravaganza. The event is going bi-weekly for a spell afterward, partly due to its terrible luck with weather this winter, but will likely resume its weekly status as things warm up.
Feb. 15, 9 p.m., $15, Diva’s Nightclub, 492 Pleasant St., Northampton, (413) 586-8161, www.thehavenclub.com. Check out Circus Delecti at www.circusdelecti.com, Dan Sperry at www.dansperry.com, and the Haven website at www.thehavenclub.com.
