On a Friday night in downtown Baltimore, there are a lot of options . . . if you’re into trendy dance clubs that cater towards frat boys, but there’s very little that offers an alternative to the main stream. One such club that does offer an alternative is Club Orpheus, which hosts “Ascension”, which essentially is the night for fans of goth, darkwave, rock, industrial and all other forms of dark underground music to unite, dance and have fun!

Ascension was created by and is run by Kele De, who also serves as a DJ at Ascension. The music being played ranges from Nine Inch Nails, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, London After Midnight, reaching out to some 80’s pop, and you might even hear an 80s hair band song if one gets requested! The other resident DJs are Fractured & Mz. Bat (they spin the first Friday of the month), Liebchen and Johnny Sake. The club is clean and the light show on the dance floor is captivating as it incorporates lasers, video, and lights. If you’re not into dancing, there is a lot of room to hang out. You can sit at the bar, there are tables, and there is a complete upstairs where you can hang out as well.

Ascension has been around for five years. For the first three, it was held only the first Thursday of every month. After that, a previous Friday night event vacated and Kele De took that as an opportunity to go weekly on Fridays.

I asked Kele De what made her want to start Ascension, and she replied, “Ascension was created to have a club night dedicated to ALL music in the 'dark-alternative' genre and to help preserve the concept of community in the goth scene which has steadily been diminishing over the years... I have noticed an overwhelming bias towards Synth-Pop/EBM the past decade, so with Ascension one will hear just about everything... We play Gothic (old and current), 80s pop, Industrial, Darkwave, Synthpop, EBM, Ethereal and even playful stuff on occasion like J-Pop, J-Rock and uber pop dance-y tracks. We all have a sense of humor.. The shortest explaination would be: Good and diverse music [and] friendly spirits in a safe environment where everyone gets on as long as everyone is respected...”

One of the most interesting things about Ascension is that you never know what you’re going to see in there. There isalways a lot of goth-inspired clothing, including corsets, platforms, etc., but you also see the people who are into glowsticks & techno style, you see some metal heads, and even some ordinary people. The big thing to point out is that pretty much anyone is welcome to come to Ascension. Ascension is an 18-and-up club that offers free admission before 10 PM, and the club operates every Friday night from 9 PM - 2 AM. Check out their scheduleas there are different promotions every week that range from “Goth night”, “Anime Night”, “80’s night”. They even host live bands, and some of the acts who have played there include The Last Dance, The Brides, Red This Ever, The Drowning Season, Black Chamber, Worms of the Earth, Bajskorv, Dharmata 101, to name a few. There is no dress code but they DO encourage people to dress up if they fancy so. There’s a weird stigma that goes with Orpheus that I hear from time to time, but to be honest with you, Ascension night at Club Orpheus is alot of fun, and if you’ve never checked it out, it’s the most original, most interesting club on a Friday night in Baltimore that offers something different from the mainstream clubs. The patrons that frequent Ascension are almost like family; everyone is very friendly and very social. This is what makes Ascension at Club Orpheus like no other club on Friday nights. You can be yourself, and individuality is celebrated at Ascension.

Check out Ascension every Friday night at:

Club Orpheus 1003 East Pratt Street Baltimore, Maryland (410) 276-5599 Corner of Exeter and East Pratt Street (just 2 blocks east of Presidents Ave/83

http://www.marylandascension.com/