A woman wearing black lace, red leather, and a tiny top hat was wandering through Globe Hall. The merch table was decorated with jack-o-lanterns and a miniature graveyard (just in time for Christmas). It was the release party of Goth musician Sharone’s new album Reflection. The songs provide insight to her personal struggles over the last year. The material slowly builds from shadows of sadness and explodes with passionate energy. When the music started, the light show transformed the venue into a living kaleidoscope.

Sharone Borick who goes by the single name Sharone commanded the stage wearing a black and white ensemble with huge platform shoes from a company named Demonia. She sang with unwavering furor while guitar players Clayton Denton and Ahnaf Kalam, bass player Zach Barerra, and drummer Anthony Hester provided the rock. One of the first songs performed was Turn Back Time. It described regrets of holding on to a lost relationship using the symbolism of a ticking clock. “Why did I push so hard/ I tried to keep us ticking/ Long after we had died.” Sharone introduced the track Shatter by describing the feeling of being in a relationship and getting nothing back.

Sharone brought special guest Emma Leigh Driftwood on stage before singing the song Marionette. She turned out to be the woman in the tiny hat. Driftwood did a mesmerizing dance playing a puppet master. Sharone portrayed her marionette while singing, “The puppet master’s got his grasp on me/ Controlling my mind heart and body/ Not sure how much more of it I can take/ He’s got his hands around my neck/ Leading me down a real dark path/ Awaiting the haunted aftermath.” The combination of the music and the dance was the perfect metaphor for anxiety’s power to hold someone down.

Near the end of the show, Sharone sang a love song about her drummer Anthony Hester entitled Closer to Love – “That cloud was a vision in the sky/ Wrecked everything when it touched down/ Destroyed everything in its path/ I’m just glad it brought us closer to love.” Suggesting there might be some light coming out of the darkness.

The second billed band was Something for Tomorrow. They walked on to the stage while the house speakers played the theme song to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone. A few of the songs the band performed were Just the Tip, Far From You, and Hero in Me. They also celebrated guitar player Jason Lycan’s birthday with a cake in the bar area surrounded by his family and friends. Sharone honored him with a birthday song during her set. Lycan requested that the crowd go crazy in celebration of his big day. That inspired the audience to mosh and for me to run for cover by the cake.

The best surprise of the night was the opening band 21 Taras from Littleton, Colorado. After getting the audience to snap their fingers to the beat, lead singer Julian Fulco played keyboards and blew a mean kazoo to the grocery store inspired Gettin’ Hungry. During non-food related songs, James Steinbach’s remarkable guitar playing awed the audience. 21 Taras will be headlining the Bluebird Theatre on January 12th.

See you at the next show. I’ll be the one surrounded by darkness wearing a tiny hat.