Channel Your Dark Side At The Box

     It was a warm Sunday night in downtown Santa Cruz. The series “Dark Shadows” played without volume on the flat screen TV in the corner of The Blue Lagoon. By 10 p.m., men and women in long, black coats and knee-high black leather boots dominated the nightclub. They were surely awaiting Santa Cruz’s longest-running goth event: The Box.

     The Blue Lagoon has hosted The Box for 14 years.

     When asked about the meaning behind the event’s name, Tommy “DJ Shadow Angel” Demeuth said it was inspired by the puzzle box from the “Hellraiser” movies, and that the three points on the logo symbolize “the energies that we [goths] are projecting.” Demeuth has spun music at the event for seven years.

     Despite the intimidating exterior of black clothing and metal studs, people at The Box were extremely friendly and eager to approach fellow attendees. “The goth community is one of the most misunderstood communities, [especially] in the way we dress” said Demeuth. He said that at The Box, “we’re free to be ourselves.”

     Chase Johnson, who has been attending for the past 12 years, had similar sentiments. When asked what his favorite thing about the event is, he said, “Everybody’s accepting here. It’s almost like a home for wayward people.”

     The Box took place on two different dance floors known as the “white room” and the “black room.” The “white room” embodied a mellow, futuristic vibe with new wave and 80s music. The crowd swayed in slow, spiraling dance moves to “How Soon Is Now” by The Smiths, among similar tracks.

     The “black room” kicked up the energy with music that sounded like, if there were such a genre, “techno metal.” Multi-colored disco lights, mostly red, illuminated the dance floor at a rapid pace as industrial music blared through the speakers.

     Transitioning between the rooms was like alternating between two different worlds – one alluringly lax, the other fueled by high-energy music, but both welcoming to all.

     The Box is held every Sunday night at The Blue Lagoon on 923 Pacific Ave. Ages 21+ admitted, no cover charge.