Just Like Heaven

“Just Like Heaven,” Robert Smith’s favorite Cure song, has a dreamy, wistful air, both lyrically and musically. It’s a fitting title for a lineup of acts largely 15 to 20 years past their critical and commercial peaks. And in an era of increasingly similar festival bills, its air smells sweetly, uniquely nostalgic.

The festival is held in Pasadena, California at the Brookside Golf Club which directly borders the historic Rose Bowl to the south. Unlike the iconic outdoor football stadium, which celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2022, this is just year two for Just Like Heaven. The inaugural edition took place in 2019 before a pandemic based two year hiatus. The booking this year strongly mirrors that of its predecessor. The aughts indie rock popularity boom is represented in full force yet again.

The festival knows its demographic well and welcomes them with open arms. The bands skew to what Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend refers to as “silverback millennials”on his Apple Radio show Time Crisis. This would be those born in the 80s and early 90s more so than the mid-90s and on. The festival gave many-a-nod to this demo in its lead up Instagram presence with references to Tamagotchi’s, Freaks and Geeks, burned CDs with marker written track listings, Garden State, original iPods and Nokia flip phones.

There was more than enough nostalgia to go around. Early on, electroclash acts like Peaches and !!! took to the stage with pleased patrons watching from their perch in nearby sand bunkers. The dancier tilt would continue on throughout the afternoon at the slightly smaller Stardust stage, with a indie-electro murderers row of Cut Copy, Santigold and Chromeo leading up to M.I.A’s headlining set. It was a rockier afternoon at the Orion stage which saw an equally formidable run from The Hives, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Shins, and Modest Mouse. Interpol closed out the festival immediately following M.I.A’s set, the only band to play opposite no other acts.

Here is a rundown of the two best sets of the weekend:

Best Sets:

Franz Ferdinand - 5:10pm - Orion Stage

Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand formed in 2001, and broke through with their smash-hit self-titled debut LP in 2003, and their world beating single “Take Me Out” in particular. Unbenonuced to many, frontman and principal songwriter Alex Kapranos had been grinding it out in over a half dozen different projects since the early 90s. Three more LPs followed between 2005-2013, along with a collaborative album in 2015 with eccentric 70s American cult band Sparks. In 2018, lead guitarist Nick McCarthy departed and the band ventured into a slightly more electronic sound on Always Ascending, to spectacular results!

The sun beamed brightly on their early evening set. The band looked as dapper as ever, with Kapranos in a silken royal blue button up. The set was bookended by two tracks off their 2003 debut, opener “The Dark of the Matinee ” and closer “This Fire.” That album accounted for 5 of 12 songs, with “Jacqueline,” “Michael,” and “Take Me Out” rounding it out. Nearly all of their primary early singles made the cut. “No You Girls,” “Do You Want To,” and “Ulysses” were present from their second and third albums. The group did make time in their taught 12 song, 50 minute set for one new song. 2022 single “Curious,” from their recently released greatest hits album titled Hits to the Head, fit right in with the rest of their dance rock canon, surely leaving their legion of satisfied fans intrigued for more new tunes in the years to come.

M.I.A. - 8:35pm - Stardust Stage

Of all the aughts-nostalgia eliciting acts, none are more universally felt than M.I.A. Her inescapable 2008 hit “Paper Planes” defined the youth and young adulthood of nearly all present. The trail she blazed still stands unfollowed, as her unique blend of influences still feel wholly original. The release of new singles, and the accompanying videos and short films, for tracks like “Bad Girls” and “Born Free,” were major moments of the era. Her last major tour was for her 5th studio LP, AIM, released in 2016. The logical anticipation for this return performance was palpable in the crowd.

She took the Orion stage just after dusk following a 30 minute gap between her set and Chromeo’s. Chromeo had their sound cut just a few bars into their closer “Jealous.” It made sense given M.I.A. relatively elaborate stage set up and performance. Any grumblings were quickly assuaged and silenced by the unmistakable Middle Eastern instrumental intro to the iconic “Bad Girls” ringing out across the grounds just after 8:40pm. The crowd’s involuntary headbanging was given no reprieve with the transition directly into the militaristic snare build and punk energy of “Born Free.”

A healthy dose of classics off her 05’ debut Arular and ‘07 followup Kala ensued. Standouts included the relentless “Bamboo Banga” and disco-tinged “Jimmy.” For her encore, M.I.A. brought a children’s choir draped in white cloth, backlit from risers in the back. She played “Borders” into presumed closer “Paper Planes.” With the crowd at an absolute fever pitch, a series of fans ballooned a mass of lace fabric enwrapping both M.I.A. and the kids. She broke into the live debut of a new song, set to be released next week. Despite coming off her biggest hit, the crowd only grew more excited, and it was all smiles on the way out.

Photo Credit: Eli Lauren / Courtesy of Just Like Heaven