I was in Cali for the weekend to see the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena.
Rolled in just as She Past Away was finishing their set - which sounded really good.
Next up was Nation of Language. This is one of my gf's favorite bands and they didn't disappoint.
They sounded great and the very attractive keyboard player was wearing a see through skirt - which absolutely made the keys sound better. It's science.
She Wants Revenge killed it and their new music sounded great - heavier guitar work than their previous stuff. Should be coming out later this year. First album in 13 years.
As they were finishing up their set I could hear the intro to Stranger by Clan of Xymox starting on the next stage so we hauled ass over. I wanted to hear 3 songs from Xymox and they played all of them. Stranger, Louise, and A Day.
It started raining while we were watching Alison Moyet so we headed towards the Wax Trax DJ Tent. I felt like I was back at Numbers during the late 80's/early 90's. Awesome industrial music and a packed dance floor. We were peaking and this was absolutely the right place to be.
Checked out 'Til Tuesday - their first performance in 35 years. Aimee Mann looked fucking phenomenal - sexy af.
Death Cult was next. This is just an earlier iteration of The Cult. I was hoping they would just play a lot of Cult stuff. Ian Asbury still sounds great but we weren't vibing with the deep cuts and started making our way to the next stage for DEVO. As we made our way out of the crowd they finished with She Sells Sanctuary which was awesome.
DEVO DEVO DEVO
Fucking killed it. @tbone_ you'll be happy to know that both my gf and I were rocking our DEVO gear. Mark Mothersbaugh sounded fucking great. He just turned 75 and killed it. So much fun!
OMD was amazing and put on a great show. We got in close to see the Go Go's. It was loud af. This was the loudest show of the day. Belinda Carlisle looked like skeletor and really struggled singing. The rest of the band sounded fucking awesome. They were at their best when everyone was singing. We split a little early to make our way to the mainstage to see New Order and heard the Go Go's finish up with Our Lips Are Sealed and We Got The Beat. Sounded good from far away.
I have never seen New Order so I was excited to see them. Their setlist was fantastic - Transmission (Joy Division), Age of Consent, Isolation (Joy Division), Regret, State of the Nation, Sub-Culture, Bizarre Love Triangle, Plastic, True Faith, Blue Monday, Temptation, and Love Will Tear Us Apart as an encore. They had a killer laser light show. The only problem was that Bernard seemed like he was sick. No energy. Couldn't sing - was running out of breath. It didn't help that he was dressed up like a grampa. He and OG keyboardist, Gillian Gilbert, played together by the keyboards and it looked like Granny and Gramps playing holiday tunes. I would like to see them again but it would be better if Peter Hook rejoined the band.
The festival was awesome and we're already planning to go back again next year. Our gameplan of taking drugs and avoiding $20 beers and $30 rice bowls was right on. My friends that drank and ate spent like $300. Fuck that.