There haven’t been a whole lot of Golden Donna sets proper in the past year, with Madison, WI’s Joel Shanahan often opting for the Auscultation moniker. Those Auscultation sets, like ones that Erica filmed at Voice of Valley and last month at The Hideout, tend to be of the heady rager variety. This Golden Donna live PA at Smart Bar, on the other hand, is an emotionally heavy one. It starts off with some really sweet ambient house synth work, working eventually to a storm of sirens.
JS is one of the survivors of the Ghost Shop fire last year and it’s really been a pleasure to see him playing out, bringing his best. Like many of his unfortunate cohorts, JS has been dealing with a lot of aftermath, so be sure to download his most recent Golden Donna release Memory from Bandcamp in support. The live set from WSUM on that one is a gut punch, encapsulating the project’s oft-visited dream states. There’s also a running gofundme, for those so inclined to help directly.
Some quick editorializing: as an underground scene, it’s our job to show love to the people who survived Ghost Ship. We can show love by supporting the music they’re releasing to raise funds (such as 100% Silk’s recent compilation) and, even more importantly, by working to hold each other accountable and make sure this never happens again.
This video was filmed by Erica Mei Gamble.
–Host