Riki :: Sympathy Flowers :: Pink Stiletto
(4/4/24)
Spire The Church, Oakland
Shot and Written by Fiestaban Photography
If you’ve ever felt that Depeche Mode’s Some Great Reward’s 40-minute runtime wasn’t enough, there’s good news…Riki!! The darkwave synth-pop queen (previously known as Niff Nawor) is riding her newest crest of popularity, having dazzled at 2023’s Cruel World Festival in Pasadena. Drawing from everything from Gary Numan, Berlin and Depeche Mode to Roxy Music, Madonna and David Bowie (and donning a Clementine Kruczynski-blue coif) she is a one-woman visionary who appeals to everyone who wants to dance under the serious moonlight. Her performance on Thursday at the beautifully haunting former church and now community space The Spire Oakland saw her crooning and dancing from apse to nave among the gorgeous stained glass motifs and among her dedicated devotees of dance. Her 2021 release Gold is a glittering must-have for music fans of all stripes, although, of course, black goes with everything.
Sympathy Flowers
Armed with a plethora of long-stemmed roses, Sympathy Flowers is East Bay punk chock-full of early Siouxsie Sioux and With Sympathy-era Ministry sounds, for as far as the eye can see. It’s loud and raucous with killer bass-lines and blade-of-knife jams. Keep an eye out for these flowery phenoms.
Pink Stiletto
Back for round three, Pink Stiletto (Valery Kvochkova) and her merry band of New Romantics (featuring Kyle Borodkin, Denis Victorov and Mark Triese) were back with their brand of ice cold synth tunes and dance hits. Getting the crowd ready is never a problem for Pink Stiletto, with Kvochkova donning an original black 1980s Thierry Mugler cocktail dress, and Zachary Rodell providing abstract visual projections over their Patrick Nagel-esque tableau. Check out her single “Synthesize” and stay tuned for more upcoming shows.
