Charming Disaster
June 5, 2025
The Foundry, Cleveland
Openers: Cowboy Princess Brigade and Super Secret Cult Band
By Rob McCune
CLEVELAND — It wasn’t just a concert. It was a séance disguised as a sideshow under the flickering lights of The Foundry Concert Club. Goth-folk tricksters Charming Disaster descended on the Lakewood haunt June 5, dragging with them two circus acts of glorious oddity — Super Secret Cult Band and Cowboy Princess Brigade — and left behind a trail of swooning devotees and psychic glitter.
YOU’VE BEEN CULT-IFIED Opening rites were handled with tongue firmly planted in cheek by Michigan’s Super Secret Cult Band, whose apocalyptic doo-wop and conspiracy crooning whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Donning robes that screamed “doomsday chic,” the trio sang of necronomicons, lizard overlords, and the kind of dread that dances. Broadway-meets-B-movie energy? Check. Spiritual awakening via satire? Absolutely.
PRINCESS BRIGADE RIDES INTO GLORY Hometown heroes Cowboy Princess Brigade followed with a genre mashup so bold it might’ve been summoned by a spell cast with a banjo. Picture Dolly Parton jamming with the B-52’s after watching too many Food Network mystery basket challenges. With twang, trombone, and a ukulele that refused to be typecast, CPB served up heartbreak ballads and empowerment bangers that had the crowd two-stepping and testifying.
THE DEVIL’S DUO DELIVERS And then came Charming Disaster. Dressed like ghostly prom dates who ran off with the tarot reader, the Brooklyn-based pair turned the joint into a gothic cabaret where every strum, stomp, and stare felt enchanted. With a Gibson from the grave and a deck of cards from the occult, they let fate pick the playlist — a high-stakes game of cabaret roulette featuring “Showgirl,” “Baba Yaga,” and balloon-assisted jailhouse jigs (“Gang of Two”).
Their latest double album The Double (packaged with 2024’s Time Ghost) got serious play, including the Burton-esque “Time Machine” and haunting standouts “Vitriol” and “Haunted Lighthouse.” The whole thing? Mesmerizing, madcap, and maybe a little cursed — in the best possible way.
BOTTOM LINE: This wasn’t just a gig — it was an exorcism with punchlines. Miss it, and your dreams might haunt you.
Robert McCune is a full-time journalist, a part-time photojournalist and an aspiring rock journalist. Follow his journey at every_thing_after_photo on Instagram, and look for the “Every_Thing_After” podcast on Apple and Spotify.
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🎤 Catch more from Charming Disaster on the Every.Thing.After podcast or summon the footage on YouTube. But be warned: once you watch, there’s no unseeing.
