Bonus Pints bring Eli Lev, Goth Night to stage this week
Oct. 11—Bonus Pints and The Record Farm will host its first ever Goth Night Friday. But before things get dark, it will welcome singer/songwriter Eli Lev on Thursday to share his brand of folk pop songs.
Folk singer Eli Lev will perform beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in support of his latest EP, "Walk.Talk.Dance.Sing."
The Maryland musician will be making his first trip to Logansport but is very familiar with Indiana, having completed his undergraduate and graduate education at Indiana University.
Lev has since been around the world and immersed in different cultures. He taught eighth grade English to Navajo children in Northern Arizona. Those experiences informed his first collection of songs, "Four Directions."
His thoughts are currently on Israel. He called Tel Aviv home for a period of time and his sister still lives there, currently trying to leave the country due to the recent terrorist attacks.
"She's between Tel Aviv and Gaza, living there for a year and a half," he said. "It's just a really terrible situation. There are a lot of innocent people on both sides getting the worst of it."
Lev said that his travels have informed his music and the people he has met, the food he has experienced and the sounds of different cultures are definitely there.
Where his first set of songs were inspired by the world, his new album contemplates the isolation and difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unable to go on the tour he had scheduled, he did what other musicians did: went online.
"It was kind of isolating and stopped everything I was doing," he said. "But on the other hand, it was a way for me to connect with people more in the states and abroad."
Lev calls his style inclusive, upbeat and fun. His songs are based in modern folk but also willing to incorporate other forms music.
"I really try to keep things lighthearted," he said. "I would even go as far as saying cheesy. I embrace the cheese."
Along with his original songs, Lev likes to interact with his audience and takes requests during shows. He said his shows are family friendly and hopes audiences finds his performances uplifting.
The Dark Evening
On, Friday, appropriately Oct. 13, Bonus Pints and The Record Farm hosts "The Dark Evening: A Celebration of Goth, Post Punk and Woeful Laments" featuring bands Goth Hat and The Lakewoods.
Goth is a musical style that grew out of English punk in the late 1970s with bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division and The Cure (though bandleader Robert Smith is hesitant to embrace the genre he helped create).
Those appreciative of goth music and culture are known for their dark clothing, dark makeup and love for all things, well, dark.
For a modern reference point, think Netflix's "Wednesday," the hit series featuring Wednesday Addams of "The Addams Family" fame.
But goth can be traced as far back as the nineteenth century and fictional works from the Bronte Sisters, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Bram Stoker's "Dracula."
The Dark Evening begins at 8 p.m. and is a free all ages event. Black eyeshadow, mascara and cloaks are optional.
Bonus Pints and The Record Farm are located at 422 E. Broadway.
