Living in Southern California comes with a lot of perks, such as epic concert events. Some come to the L.A. Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, SoFi, The Forum. But the coolest one so far in 2023 may be the inaugural Darker Waves festival which took place on the sand in Huntington Beach.
With the who’s who of the music biz in attendance, the larger-than-life bands were set to entertain. As the day started, there was concern about the weather. The forecast was for some wind, but seriously… it was the rain we all feared.
Photo Courtesy of Darker Waves Festival
In the end though, all of our weather concerns turned out to be unwarranted. The winds were calm, and the rain never materialized; it was a perfect day for the sea of humanity that showed up ready to take in this insanely cool show.
The lines to get in were long, but they were dwarfed by the merch lines. Fans wanted their piece of memorabilia – electricity was in the air and there was a sense that this event would live up to the hype. The crowd was diverse – sex, age, ethnicity – with a good number of fashion hits and misses.
Despite all the great new music happening, fans have a keen sense of great timeless music, Music that sounds fantastic no matter when or where it is played. Evidenced by the most recent incarnation of the Cruel World Fest up in Pasadena. This time it was Huntington’s turn to shine.
As the crowd rolled in, the PA went live and fans ran to the front of the stages. There were three on site, with tons of vendors separating them. The talk was centered on headliners of course, The Furs, DEVO, Soft Cell, Echo & The Bunnymen, English Beat, OMD, Human League, B-52s, New Order, and Tears For Fears. We were in store for an insane day.
The stages were set up nicely for quick turnover with a rotating set that was noticeable because there was very little down time between bands. A few of the openers were literally eye openers. Christian Death, Urban Heat, and 45 Grave lit it up.
Openers that are more on the established side included legendary punkers – T.S.O.L. and X. There were The Cardigans, She Wants Revenge, and the much-anticipated performance of Chino Moreno and Crosses.
The only downside to these early performances was the abbreviated sets, even some of the headliners had them. Despite that small drawback, these bands brought their A-game and their fans let them know how much they appreciated them.
What was striking to me was the similarity to Warped Tour. There were so many great bands you found yourself literally running from stage to stage to get a glimpse of your favorite bands. For me, I had to catch my skamigo, Dave Wakeling and the English Beat.
Despite some technical issues, Wakeling and Toaster extraordinaire Anthony First Class worked together for a workaround which sounded fantastic. The crowd was treated to a good mix of EB and General Public songs. They loved, loved, loved the ska and new wave stylings as they skanked to “Rankin’ Full Stop,” “Mirror in the Bathroom,” (GP songs) “I’ll Take You There,” “Tenderness,” and closed with fan favorite, English Beat classic “Save It For Later.”
With a short intermission, OMD was up. Honestly, the crowd that showed up for Wakeling did not leave; in fact more people rolled in to see Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys. These cats have been entertaining us for decades, and fans sang along to every word of every song. starting with “Electricity,” then, “Secret,” “Tesla Girls,” and “(Forever) Live and Die.”
Even though it was an abbreviated set, McCluskey mesmerized the crowd as he segued into some tunes they did for John Hughes, “If You Leave,” followed by even more classic hits “Locomotion,” before closing with “Enola Gay.” The crowd was amped from beginning to end, and OMD delivered.
There were just so many great acts on stage at the same time, I had to stick around for DEVO (who are on their “farewell” tour). I think most of Huntington had the same idea, the number of fans for this one was nuts. Wearing every bit of DEVO swag, they could find the spuds were pumped.
Playing from decades of a music catalog, DEVO took no prisoners. With a devilish grin throughout, Mark Mothersbaugh was on fire.
D E V O
Opening with “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man),” playing the typical kick-ass video element in the background while the band sported their classic look.
Other tunes that captured the audience were “Peek-A-Boo,” “That’s Good,” “Whip It,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Mongoloid,” “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA,” before they closed with “Gates of Steel.” What a set! Fans were insanely pleased and going out of their minds thanks to DEVO’s performance.
Another great act was Violent Femmes. Gordon Gano and crew came out strong with “Blister in the Sun,” as they played their eponymous album from front to back. The crowd danced and danced under the sun to the Femmes.
V I O L E N T + F E M M E S
Pounding out crowd favorites “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,” “Prove My Love,” and “Gone Daddy Gone!” It was Just another epic set at Darker Waves!
Another showstopper was Soft Cell. Fans flocked to this stage just in time to take in the legend that is Marc Almond. He dazzled with “Memorabilia,” and “Tainted Love.” Reminding everyone to stop rewarding corporate greed, Almond took the crowd over the top with “Sex Dwarf.”
Before we had a chance to breathe, it was the Furs front and center. With Mars Williams on their mind, Richard Butler was in fine form. He came out ready and poised to take us to “Heaven.” Playing the songs the crowd wanted to hear, Butler was engaging. The crowd went nuts over “The Ghost in You,” and took it to another level to “Pretty in Pink,” and “Love My Way.” Not one to leave a crowd wanting more, the Furs closed with another epic song, “Heartbreak Beat.”
The heavyweights crushed it, that would be B52s – Fred, Kate, and Cindy are a beloved band, we know this, but this is also part of their farewell venture, and the crowd knew it. Set for an out of this world setlist, the crowd was treated to “Planet Claire.” Seriously, the set list was the soundtrack of my high school and college days. It featured some of their most epic songs, “Party Out of Bounds,” “Give Me Back My Man,” “Cosmic Thing,” “52 Girls,” “Roam,” and “Whammy Kiss.”
Photo by Ron Lyon Phtography Courtesy of HB Cult
Sounding great behind the mic, the trio took turns in their featured set, and were they electric – “Dance This Mess Around,” “Private Idaho,” and “Love Shack,” before they said goodnight to “Rock Lobster.”
With track shoes on, the sea of humans from the other stages made their way to see Echo & the Bunnymen. Playing a few tunes to warm up the crowd for Echo was the Doors’ Robbie Krieger. That gave everyone the proper mindset as the classic Echo logo appeared on the video monitor and out came Ian McCulloch belting out “Roadhouse Blues.”
By now the sun was setting over the Pacific, and the view was spectacular. As the skies turned into cotton candy-like as they rolled into “Bring on the Dancing Horses.” McCulloch pulled no punches; they went right to it with the hit parade. “Rescue,” “Lips Like Sugar,” and “People Are Strange.”
The crowd went orbital to “Bedbugs and Ballyhoo,” and “The Killing Moon.” If that wasn’t enough, the crowd went over-the-top as the opening of “The Cutter” bellowed over the PA system.
Another great performance was The Human League. Featuring a trio of professional entertainers, Phillip Oakey, Joanne Catherall, and Susan Ann Sulley, they provided another amazing set at Darker Waves.
With cool yet classy outfits, the trio took the stage to “Mirror Man” causing a roar from the crowd.
Oakey took control immediately and in a well-choregraphed performance, the crowd went off on songs like “The Lebanon,” “Human,” “Love Action (I Believe in Love,” and it was decibel level type of reaction to “(Keep Feeling) Fascination.”
It just wouldn’t be a flashback moment in time without “Don’t You Want Me.” There wasn’t one person in the crowd that didn’t know each word to that song.
The night wasn’t done and two more slayers were coming up. Up next was New Order, who has such a rich history that everyone at the festival was aware of.
With a wink and a smile, Bernard Sumner took the stage with Stephen Morris alongside. The crowd was ready to see history, and opening with “Regret,” New Order clearly defined the festival best class with a kick-ass soundtrack.
Playing th0ier larger-than-life songs, the hit parade consisted of “Age of Consent,” “Ceremony,” and “Sub-Culture.”
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how consequential this next song was to the ‘80s, “Bizarre Love Triangle,” was a call to arms for so many of the era. It launched the band and its fans into the strata with other classics, “True Faith,” “Blue Monday,” and “Temptation.”
Now, there are songs you close with and then there are songs you close out a set on a stage like Darker Waves. The band took us onto a journey back in time, to the Ian Curtis days as they covered their Joy Division roots with “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Wow, wow and wow is all I can say to describe that moment in time.
Hard to believe, the night had one more epic set, Tears For Fears was next. From Bath, England, this duo are living legends – Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were ready to close out Darker Waves. With new music in tow, the Darker Waves crowd were ready for one more larger-than-life moment.
Opening with “No Small Thing,” and “The Tipping Point,” the guys sounded primed and ready. Touring in support to their “Tipping Point” album, you could tell the band was in sync and tight. But it was when they went into their classic set that you really got to hear what the band sounds like today; they were simply amazing. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was incredible to see and hear and it was followed up by another fan favorite, “Sowing the Seeds of Love.”
Photo by Ron Lyon Phtography Courtesy of HBCult
The crowd went into overdrive to “Mad World,” then “Memories Fade.” It was a very funny moment when Orzabal joked about it being a Kanye cover. Then the segued into “Pale Shelter,” “Break It Down Again,” followed by “Head Over Heels,” before they closed the festival with the biggest ovation to “Shout.”
I have been to a lot of festivals, but this one took it out of me, and to so many of the fans there. It was an over-the-top experience that drew you in and you just didn’t want to leave. Yeah, this was a resounding success, I don’t think there was one fan who won’t jump at the prospect of buying tickets for the 2nd annual Darker Waves Fest – we’re all crossing fingers!
