Sunday night at City Winery–a modern hybrid of music venue, wine bar and restaurant on Pier 57 along the Hudson River at 15th Street in Manhattan, was the scene for a performance by the Italian musical group Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, consisting of Mr. Simonetti, Daniele Amador, Cecilia Nappo, and Federico Maragoni. The group has been together in various configurations for 40 years. Mr. Simonetti is a composer of “Horror” soundtracks (including “Dawn of the Dead”) as well as a performer, so the genre is his and the group’s primary focus.
They can boast of a cult following that coincides with the long-standing status of Dario Argento’s films, “Horror Hip”. CSG’s musical approach and theatrics are guided by a heavy metal aesthetic. However, their performance shows a much more relaxed stage act: they were all seated and mostly inanimate while Dario Argento scenes flashed on the three large screens behind them.
That’s what the crowd, paying up to $100 each, came for.
The City Winery , an attractive, well-laid out space, packed all 450 places with a well-behaved, enthusiastic crowd that spanned from Gen Z to Boomers. Fun was in the air. That’s quite an accomplishment for a location all the way on the west side of the city on a Sunday evening. The Westside is indisputably reviving its night scene, and Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin is part of it.
