Today, appropriately, I just received an email from DEVO Central touting their appearance at the Cruel World Festival for 2025. Inasmuch as I don’t really feel like writing at all today, I’m going to lean into this negative energy. For now. I don’t think I’ve written about the annual Cruel World Festival yet, though I often make a personal not of who’s appearing each year. The festival was scheduled for 2020 but put on ice until 2022 due to the pandemic.
Each year there’s a blend of really iconic names along with new bands far under my limited radar. So that’s how I tend to evaluate such things. “know ’em and love ’em” versus “…who…??” So with that established, let’s take a glance at the lineup this year and break them down into known versus unknown quantities. Band’s I’ve seen in concert in red. One’s I would like to see in blue.
Known Quantities
- New Order
- Nick Cave + The Bad Seeds
- The Go-Go’s
- DEVO
- OMD
- Death Cult
- Garbage
- Madness
- ‘Til Tuesday
- Alison Moyet
- Blancmange
- Stereo MC’s
- Buzzcocks
- Clan Of Xymox
- Midge Ure
Unknown Quantities
- She Wants Revenge
- Chelsea Wolfe
- Mareux
- She Past Away
- Nation of Language
- Provoker
- Depresion Sonora
- Kite
- N8NOFACE
- Actors
- Deceits
- Light Asylum
- Wisteria
- Social Order
That’s about even. Pretty much adhering to the norms I’ve noticed each year with Cruel World Festival. The show takes place at Brookside golf course adjacent to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It happens next May17th. Of the bands I recognize or have seen, I’ve got some opinions.
Headliners are listed as New Order and Nick Cave + The Bad Seeds. New Order are known to have been one of the least inspiring major bands anyone has ever seen live. I finally saw New Order on the “Technique” tour in 1989 and it was a non-plussing event to the extreme. The word “perfunctory” comes to mind when considering New Order as a live experience, and I’ve not paid a whit of attention to the band in 32 years in any case. On the other hand, I’ve heard good things about Peter Hook + The Light, in spite of my antipathy to the bass player fronting a “tribute act,” and they are coming to my town in early 2025. I just may bother to go, based on various friend’s reportage.
Nick Cave + The Bad Seeds we saw on tour behind “Skeleton Tree” in our city in 2017. It was a tremendous show and we’d bought tickets to another Nick Cave/Warren Ellis local show during the pandemic that we let go. These gigs will be large scale events, but having seen Nick Cave in action before, I know that he can make a 5000 seat arena feel like a club.
In 1981, The Go-Go’s were a huge thing with me. I played the heck out of “Beauty + The Beat” that summer and the group were a New Wave success story that had no downsides at all that I could see. That summer, The Go-Go’s were the band I probably wanted to see live the most. They played a club in Tampa but I wasn’t making trips to Tampa for gigs yet. That was still years in my future! But come 1982, the magic just wasn’t there with “Vacation” and the group have not been pinging my cultural radar ever since. I’ve never heard the third or fourth albums.
DEVO, DEVO, DEVO. They are the splinter in my musical skin. A spiritual hangnail that has never been addressed. They are such an influential band with me; as they were crucial in exposing me to what lay outside of the margins in modern music. Their artistic point of view is second to none, and their conceptual baggage seals the deal with me. It is one of my biggest regrets that I’ve not seen them ply their trade live. The chances at this point are getting slimmer and slimmer. The band play a handful of shows a year and soon that will end. The clock; she is ticking.
OMD we’ve seen a few times since their reformation in 2008. They are at the top of my core collection bands, and it’s always a great show, but this tour I’m not making any plans to see them. The tepid new album figures into my antipathy. I saw ‘Til Tuesday on their inaugural tour playing for free at an MTV Spring Break concert in Ratona Beach in 1986. Worked for me. I actually preferred their second album but by the third, I’d moved on. I’ve not heard a note of Aimee Mann’s solo career at all. As for Madness, I never really liked them. Slot them next to Squeeze in that respect.
Then there’s Alison Moyet, I’ve never been a big fan of Yazoo. I grudgingly bought a CD of “Upstairs At Eric’s” some years back because it was inexpensive but I’m still not convinced by Vince Clarke. Even less so by Ms. Moyet. I’ve never heard her solo music but what I’ve read about it suggested that I’d like it even less than Yazoo. Blancmange were a band that I only had two albums for, but “Mange Tout” was a splendid album that worked for me like a champ. When traveling in Canada 30+ years ago, I was happy to find that second album on CD and made the effort to buy one! I’d love to hear the modern Blancmange albums; especially since synthmeister Benge was all over them. I need to catch up, but I’d certainly see Blancmange if I had the chance. Next to DEVO, this is the band I’d like to see the most here.
I saw The Buzzcocks during their early reformation phase in the mid-90s and was happy to see Pete Shelley under any circumstances. I can’t imagine the band without him. Full stop. I never had any Clan of Xymox albums but I’m a little surprised that the band were slotted down in the small print here. Considering the “Darkwave” bands I’ve not even heard of listed in bigger type. I feel that they deserve better. Finally, it’s nice to see that Midge Ure is getting a foothold in a show as big as this one. He’s a mensch and deserves as big an audience as he can get. The sad tale of Ultravox in America is a sobering one and to this fan, criminally unfair. All of the bands that wouldn’t exist but for Ultravox whizzing past him in the marketplace back in the day was very infuriating.
Tickets for a full day in Pasadena start at $249 general admission – fees included. Not bad for a three stage, 13 hour outlay. Especially in Pasadena. Of course, various perks cost more with VIP starting at $479. Nearly doubling the price nets you faster access to everything, air conditioned restrooms, shade, seating, and a parking pass. Plebe level has to pay $25-75 for parking. Which actually seems like a bargain in So-Cal! The weird thing is “Clubhouse” passes [starting at $1029] where food, water and alcoholic beverages are all included, but you watch the show from a suite with live feed and air conditioning. Does that seems weird to you too?
At the end of the day, I can look at a phenomenon like the Cruel World Festival and nod and grunt then move on with my life. I’m simply not built for an all-day, huge festival with three stages and thousands of punters occupying the Southern California space. It was enough for me to do the similarly themed [but hugely enjoyable] Totally Tubular Festival in Raleigh last summer. Though we roasted in the sun in near triple degree weather in the middle of July, the ticket price was just over 20% of the cheapest ticket cost at Cruel World for my friends and I. That felt like a bargain. If you are having an opposite reaction, then by all means DJ hit that button!
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Post-Punk Monk 
I’ve been going every year PPM, and I like it a lot. (Festivals as you know have overlaps and bands playing at the same time which cuts out on seeing or making a full show from certain acts). That said I’m in this year again – VIP. Last year only at Cruelworld 2024 – Ministry playing tracks from With Sympathy & Twitch Albums. Pulled off nicely, I thought 🔥👏✅👍. Gary Numan playing The Pleasure Principle Tracks. Finally, Tones On Tail performing (About 25 minutes (Late Start As Well) to close the night. A comfortable festival for me💯✅👍.
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*Mike B.* – Comfortable? That speaks well for the management of the event. If I lived in So-Cal it would get a lot more tempting. The prices aren’t bad for what it is, just more than what I’m accustomed to paying for gigs in the sticks. But there’s always… the sticks! High value shows in Western North Carolina are far fewer in number.
I’m still astounded that Al Jourgensen deigned to play a note of “With Sympathy!”
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Allison Moyets’ Essex album is great, it’s (if my memory is correct and it’s kinda hazy right now for….reasons) produced by Ian Boudrie of the Lightning Seeds. Came our around the same time Terry Hall was working with him and the alchemy is there as well.
I know this means I have to surrender my 80s music fan card but I can’t stand Yazoo albums so I am with you there but probably in a more conservative vein. Wrote off anything to do with her until Q Magazine raved about Essex and I blind bought it, twas love at first listen.
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I have Moyet’s entire CD catalog including the recent release ‘Key’; two new songs and with the rest being various re-worked versions (not just the hits but mostly her picks). Still a great voice but the release took a few listens.
As for ‘Til Tuesday, I’d love to her them live but will expect my fav tune “J for Jules” to be absent while she is still married to Sean Penns’ brother. I have Mann’s entire solo CD catalog as well; the early stuff was/is so good but the last few have tended towards ‘sameness’ musically (still lyrically powerful).
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I’m pretty much a naysayer of these nostalgia fests – although I recognize that some of these bands are still active to a degree. But I will recommend seeing Nation Of Language or at least checking out the excellent recent album, Strange Disciple. Fun, clever, and excellently produced – and their live show is full of energy. P.S. I don’t know if Substack is a bridge too far for the Monk, but you might be interested in my recent post – a rare look back at some of my favorite post-punk albums: https://anearful.substack.com/p/legacy-looks-top-10-post-punk-albums
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AnEarful – Oh, there’s far worse on the internet than Substack! Thanks for the link and the tip. I only capitulated to a nostalgia fest for the first time last summer but came off of it raving about Men Without Hats.
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I second that you should check out Nation Of Language, even though I lean more towards their first couple of albums than their current third. Very retro but smart. As you like Cold Cave you would most likely appreciate how Nation Of Language plunder the past to create something new. The story goes that one day singer Ian Devaney, who came from an alternative/indie rock background, sat in his dad’s car and “Electricity” by OMD came on, and it suddenly clicked.
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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a great live act that I’ve had the pleasure of catching in Belgium at a large festival. And yes, they did manage to make that ridiculously large crowd feel like a club show. Would go again in an instant.
Saw the Go-Gos …. jeez …. over 25 years ago (?) on their second reunion tour. While that first album was magic (almost a perfect album) I disagree with you and think their subsequent offerings are quite good. They are just playing “the hits” these days anyway. Wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
I’ve seen Devo four times now. Not sure I would want to see them in a festival setting such as this to be honest.
Saw Garbage early in their career, would like to see them again. Haven’t seen Madness, they are a “bucket list” band of mine. Haven’t seen OMD or Buzzcocks, but would very much like to.
I think you’re wrong about Alison Moyet and Yazoo, but you’re entitled to your own (incorrect) opinion.
May 17 would be a tough time for me to travel, let alone spend that much cash on a music trip. It’s a pipe dream but not in the cards for me this time around.
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As AnEarful already suggested, please check out Nation Of Language. I’m leaning myself more towards the first two albums and not the current third, but in any case they should be right up your alley. Perhaps this quote from Wikipedia will intrigue you: “[Ian] Devaney was inspired to start a new project after hearing “Electricity” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in his father’s car”.
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She Wants Revenge is former rapper/rocker Justin Warfield’s entry into the ‘aughts new wave revival. They never quite caught on for me, but I hear they’re great live.
Chelsea Wolfe is difficult to describe – sorta goth, sorta metal (though, oddly, her music never sounds like metal), sorta folk, sorta art rock. She’s a pretty unique figure in contemporary music. Her presence is somewhat puzzling, though she’s certainly appeal to fans of the Bad Seeds.
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Sorry for commenting twice re: Nation Of Language, the first time it didn’t show and I thought I might not have hit the right button. I just went through the list of acts you’re not familiar with, and She Past Away are an interesting band from Turkey who sounded quite a bit like The Sisters Of Mercy when they started about 15 years ago. In the meantime they’ve become a little more electronic, but the vocals are still Andrew Eldritch style, just in Turkish.
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This fest has a lot of acts I appreciate but outdoor festivals are generally a “no thank you” situation for me. Hours standing, usually in the heat and/or rain, for generally crappy sound with lots of people around? Hard pass!
The closest thing I’ve come to a festival experience in quite some time* was being with The Monk to see Jerry Harrison re-do Remain in Light and other TH faves, which was as close to perfect as an outdoor standing experience can get for me.
*I do get to hear some festival acts from the comfort (and shade!) of my balcony, since I live close to the downtown area. When the wind is blowing in the right direction, it’s a really pleasant experience — for rock, ska, and even symphony events!
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I’ve attended the last two Cruel World festivals and enjoyed them immensely. This festival is not that bad. Plenty of grass and places to lay down a blanket. It hasn’t been that hot either. It’s mid-May so you only have to deal with mild heat for a few hours. I’ve never bought the upgraded tix. Just the GA tickets and had no regrets. I’ve done a lot of outdoor festivals from Desert Trip, Corona Captial, to Hyde Park. Cruel World is not much of an endurance test compared to those.
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John Hornung – Welcome to the comments! Your field report paints an appealing picture of the Cruel World Festival, so thanks for sharing! Anyone on the fence for the logistics of it, should pull the trigger if they have the interest and money.
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