I arrived early at the bar with this year’s co-host, Myke Hideous, a couple of hours before show time to find the bar occupied by a smattering of locals and goths that were either buzzing around with last-minute details or bellied-up at the bar. It was easy to pick out the locals. Even though I am technically not a New Yorker, (or even an American) it’s difficult if you live in New York not to draw comparisons between Miss Goth NYC and the New Jersey Goth Challenge. The former has been around longer and has become a much anticipated release from scene politics and whatever else can plague a subculture in a big pressure-cooker city like Manhattan. Even though in its second year it was almost a given that the New Jersey version would suffer the fate of the copy-cat syndrome; the assumption that it would “never be as good as the real thing”.

Organized and promoted tirelessly by New Jersey’s own Rifts Art Forum Director Madame X, this year’s event was sponsored by a virtual plethora of internet identities including: Corpgoth, Hipnosis Magazine, Morbid Outlook, Middle Pillar, Projekt Records, Punkassgear, Underbelly and WFDU 89.1 FM to name a few. The sponsors generously donated an array of prizes, give-aways and gift bags given to all at the door. The duties of the new Matriarch and Patriarch are murky, but the grand prizes’ awarded to the newly inaugurated royal pair totaled in excess of $600 in cash, CDs, toys and literature.

Vendors Underbelly and The Gothic Shoppe were present with wonderful wares to sell (I especially like Underbelly’s sheer bolero shirt with the beaded fringe sleeves). The front of the stage was set up with an attractive display featuring all the prizes (save the Mistress’ crown, the former crown-holder was unable to attend) The band Acts Magdelena was warming up and putting on a little pre-show set as judges, spectators and competitors arrived. It looked like a promising night for The Rifters’ vision of developing pride in the goth community in New Jersey and to have some fun doing it too. A full set by the band was planned for halfway through the event, this year hosted by Madame X and Myke Hideous of Spy Society’99. With all this going for it, I expected a much more enthusiastic showing both in attendance and from this year’s competitors.

To be fair this is only its second year running and sometimes ideas need time to grow. As a judge at this New Jersey event and the second place winner in last year’s Miss Goth NYC, I went into it expecting to see a lot of imagination and people trying to compete and get the attention of both the judges and the crowd. Loosely modeled on the infamous Miss Goth NYC run by New York promotional team Jason and Althea, there was a good template to begin with, however, some of the crucial element may have been lost in the translation.

The NYC version began as a spoof and the creators have gone out of their way in the last several years to make sure it stayed that way. Hosted annually by the hilarious and usually inebriated Voltaire, the competitors go over the top to out-do the contestants of the year before. The Miss Goth NYC title and crown is open to all who compete regardless of gender or gender-preference. The rules are as simple as can be and each hopeful is encouraged to be as creative and interesting possible. At the end of the night it really doesn’t matter; in the Miss Goth NYC annual there is the interesting combination of enthusiastic contestants and the audience, the judges and the hopefuls themselves all being in on the joke.

Perhaps that was the undoing of the New Jersey version, to take it more seriously. Dividing the genders in my opinion was a mistake. Similarities were evident to the NYC version but there were stricter rules for competitors and an attempt to clean up the show may have taken the fun element out of it. The New Jersey version was designed to be a more tasteful rendition and the entrance requirements were specific; anyone wishing to compete were required to submit to a questionnaire detailing their status as a New Jersey resident, personality and overall gothiness. Not a bad idea at all, but perhaps proved to be a little intimidating to potential contestants.

I respectfully admit that even though it may not be objective of me to compare the two events, I did attend the event with all good intentions and looked forward to an entertaining night. The Miss Goth NYC pageant survives and is a much-loved event because it really is a spoof, it’s fun to watch very nicely dressed individuals do silly things, like the first Miss Goth NYC winner Lisa, tap-dancing to Sex Gang Children. It’s meant to be a raucous, energetic and hysterical night and it always delivers.

As a serious event it loses that crowd-appeal and all the fun. It’s entertaining in its own way, just not the same. With an underwhelming turnout, the whole shebang got underway later than planned and went on very late into the night. Put aside the stage-wary crowd keeping their distance at the back of the bar and the one very, very intoxicated female heckler who more than one time yelled at the judges, the hosts and sometimes the talent, I was mostly disappointed with the competitors.

There were a couple who really did put forth a decent effort but there was an undercurrent of uneasiness on stage. The first order of business after the hosts greeted the audience and asked each judge to introduce themselves was to meet the contestants and to hear their Personal Statements. My first criticism as a judge was delivery. Almost all that spoke didn’t engage the audience or the judges, didn’t speak clearly and abused my own personal distaste of the continued utterance Ummm. I was looking forward to a little excitement from them, a strong personality statement that helped them stand out in the beginning. It seemed that this was not a section taken very seriously by the contestants and the judges scored accordingly.

So far a collective agreement had risen among the judges to hold these competitors to a high standard, hopefully getting a little more from them in the second section, Judges Questions. The questions given by the judges were a mixture of a little fun and some really thought-out questions designed to get something from the contestant. It’s intimidating on stage and with our lady of the drunken persuasion continuing to heckle and yell out at those on stage it was a less-than-warm for some. Skillfully and graciously handled by Myke and Madame X, the less than enthused crowd were more eager to have something happen. They were there for a show, damnit! There were a couple of competitors who were enjoying the questions and responded well, the point being to make a case for yourself, answering in your own style and either show us a serious side or a playful side. Let’s face it, personality and stage-presence counts for a lot as it’s also the audience responses that can sometimes sway an undecided judge. As judges, we scored each person, first the ladies then the men, from 1-10 after each appearance and passed those to a Rifter’s member who added them and kept a visual running tally.

The half-time break heralded Acts Magdalena, and the room filled as curious punters from the bar, who had graciously kept to themselves with the exception of an occasional scout, came in to hear a live band play good and loud. Having caught the warm-up, I elected to go outside for some well deserved air with a couple of the other judges. This longish interlude was also perhaps an error; even though it was one of the best parts of the night, by the time the band was finished, a lot of the crowd had cleared. The vendors took this as a queue to pack up for the night. Lack of people can only make for poorer sales. The thinned-out crowd seemed to take the heavy edge off the challenge itself as drinks settled in and nerves were steeled.

Now it was time for the Evening Wear section. I was expecting a clothing change from the competitors. Not one single person changed what they wore, even with a lengthy break. I was stunned as each contender walked on stage in the exact same outfit. Wasn’t that the point of the section, a full quarter of the overall scoring? I thought so and I wasn’t pre-disposed to score well other than I had to make a call one way or another. I elected to do what only we as judges could do: judge them on what they were wearing. Strangely enough, the only female I was really taken with dress-wise was the who wore the simplest style. My generosity was swayed by the amusing ability she had of being able to identify each item of clothing by which second-hand store it had come from and what each item cost. Bob Westphal and I agreed this was amusing and showed not only a little personality but a touch of old-school know-how too. We were eager to give the award to somebody we liked as a competitor. The male contenders I liked were two very differently dressed men. One wore a great goth-boi ensemble of long shorts with overalls, black n’ white stripy stockings and boots, with a dress shirt, round glasses and a shaved head. I like shaved heads. The other was dressed in basic all-black and sporting huge black feathery wings he had made himself. Now that’s what a judge wants to see – ingenuity! Overall it was a let down not to see an outfit change, or even interesting or humorous interpretations of a simple outfit over having a custom-made period outfit. Show us a little moxy if you don’t have the money! I stand by my opinion of the entire segment, it could have been a real boost to the participants and to the audience had a change of clothing been mandatory, as it was some couldn’t name what they were wearing at all.

The end of the night loomed and all that remained was the Talent segment. It was fun overall and believe me the judges certainly missed no opportunity to heckle the hosts, (just a little, really!) make good natured jabs at each other and still maintain an agreed level of seriousness to our responsibilities. Heaven forbid there be a tie.

The talent section was somewhat disjointed as competitors were for the first time not separated by gender. Whether deliberate or not, it was a smart move to let the talents speak for themselves. I had certain expectations of the overall event and admit that I did carry a bias toward the less formal New York event. But I also expected the crowd to at least be interested in the event they came to see. The din from the crowd was hushed many times by the hosts and sometimes even the judges. It seemed that we were not holding the attention of the well lubricated audience. Nothing was going to stop our lady of the drunken persuasion trying to introduce a new competitor, either. As disruptive as she was, it added to the overall surrealness to the event; the fact that it was a local bar and perhaps not the best venue for a gathering of this nature.

I had hopes that maybe the best was saved for last and this section would yield some as yet unseen potential, and perhaps even decide the winners. The last section was in keeping with the tone of the night and the talents presented were not very exciting. One showed us examples of his art work that were quite good. Another came on stage with a sax which certainly got everyone’s attention. Sadly when you bring an instrument on stage in a competition situation, the judges are forced to judge you on how well you play it. There was also an alarming amount of poetry. Now I like poetry but if you are delivering a work, be it your own or not, you should at least be able to do it without reading from a sheet. Only one competitor could. My generosity had run out at this point and I really wanted to see some defining, funny or at least some engaging talent. I scored well purely for whom I wanted to see win at that point, the ones who seemed to have been the most prepared.

At the close, all that remained was to tally the votes and crown the winners. Each hopeful was called on stage in order from last to first and the new Royal of New Jersey Goth were crowned. I took the opportunity to take pictures of the winners, Master David Castle and Mistress Eva Cancela, and got my things together. It was time to leave. Saying goodnight to all the other judges and to any friends who hadn’t already left, I found my ride and got the hell out of there. In the car, my friend found some nice, quiet classical music on the radio and we chatted a bit before drifting into a comfortable silence. I reflected on the night; for a girl from Australia it was a bizarre movie-like experience. This could be a really great event with a little enthusiasm from the contenders. If this year is seen as a learning curve, there is some potential for the Rifters to create an annual event with some drawing power to it. But it needs to get “competitive” if it is to continue. Perhaps next year will be the one to watch? We’ll see.