Prepare for Thrills and Chills When Cold Cave Stops at Gramps in September

You may have heard a little band called Depeche Mode is coming to Miami soon. Okay, maybe they aren't so little, but neither are their ticket prices. Ticketmaster is charging up to $310 for the remaining seats to see the legendary new wave band at the Kaseya Center. If only there were a way to get your dark synth-pop fix without paying an arm and a leg.

Reader, there is a way. It's time to go spelunking in the Cold Cave.

Following a stint opening for Depeche Mode, Cold Cave — currently consisting of Wes Eisold and Amy Lee — is also coming to Miami. The band will be playing at Gramps on Friday, September 15. Tickets for the show will go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 29. While ticket prices have not been revealed, they will presumably be much more reasonable than anything happening at the downtown arena.

At this point, some of you may be asking, "Who are Cold Cave?" "Why should I care about those guys when they didn't even write 'Personal Jesus?'" "Why exactly is this cave so cold?" I'll try to answer your queries as best I can.

Back in the heady days of the late-2000s indie scene, bands such as M83, Animal Collective, and anyone tagged "chillwave" rediscovered and refreshed the bright synth-pop sound of the '80s. But Cold Cave founder Wes Eisold, inspired by postpunk, minimal synth, and industrial bands such as Joy Division/New Order, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and, yes, Depeche Mode, took the synths and went darker.
Eisold and a series of collaborators, including, at one point, Dominick Fernow of Prurient and Vatican Shadow, plied their sinister sounds across albums and EPs such as Cremations, Love Comes Close, Cherish the Light Years, Full Cold Moon, and Fate in Seven Lessons, all five of which were recently reissued by the band's Heartworm Press label.

Along with likeminded acts such as She Wants Revenge, Boy Harsher, Drab Majesty, and TR/ST, as well as reissue labels like Minimal Wave and Dark Entries, they formed a cohesive scene for the so-called "darkwave revival," generating renewed interest in the darker side of synth-pop and paving the way for bands such as Health and Molchat Doma. "Indie sleaze" fans may also detect some influence from the early 2000s electroclash movement in Cold Cave's tableau of alien synths and disaffected lyrics.

Find all of Cold Cave's upcoming dates below. Also, heads up: Despite the name of the band, considering Gramps' stage is outside and September is still pretty balmy, this show will be anything but cold.

September 5 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom *
September 6 - Albuquerque, NM - Sister Bar *
September 8 - Dallas, TX - Trees *
September 9 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger *
September 10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk *
September 13 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum *
September 15 - Miami, FL - Gramps *
September 16 - Orlando, FL - Conduit*
September 17 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West *
September 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer ^
September 21 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club ^
September 22 - New York, NY - Webster Hall ^
September 23 - Washington, DC - Black Cat ^
September 25 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge ^
September 26 - Detroit, MI - The Magic Bag ^
October 6 - Reno, NV - Grand Theatre %
October 8 - Eugene, CA - Hult Center %
October 9 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile *
October 10 - Spokane, WA - Lucky You *
October 12 - Boise, ID - Revolution Concert House %
October 14 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
October 15 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater %
October 17 - Sacramento, CA - Goldfield *
October 19 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's %
October 20 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's %
October 27 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Theater %
October 28 -L as Vegas, NV - Pearl Theater %

* w/ Riki
^ w/ SRSQ
% w/ the Cult

Cold Cave. With Riki. Friday, September 15, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami, 855-732-8992; gramps.com. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 29, via eventbrite.com.