concerts
New wave royalty invades the Inland Empire By CRYSTAL LAFATA Daily Titan Staff
Tucked away in the foothills of San Bernardino, sun-soaked fans at the KROQ Miller Light Inland Invasion 4 hid themselves from the heat last Saturday as they watched dozens of ’80s and new wave bands play their hearts out. Well over 20,000 fans attended the event held at the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore and were both cursed and blessed with expensive food and drink but free parking for many. As the sun reached its peak, many ran for the mist tents or purchased $15 parasols. The gates opened early and the Walkmen took to the side stage first. As fans trickled in, they barely got to see the end of the Missing Persons set. The crowd finally got past the security checkpoints as the Seattle natives Death Cab For Cutie took the stage for an amazing set of crowd pleasers. But by far the best side stage act of the day was A Flock of Seagulls. The main stage acts began in the early afternoon with Muse and X as hundreds of mismatched, neon-clothed fans shifted toward the stage. Hats and glasses adorned the fans seated on the lawn with their $5 beers and $13 margaritas. They shouted for KROQ hits like “Johny Hit and Run Pauline” which X played at the end of its set. The Killers played next on the main stage but should have been
on the side stage because the band’s performance wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. They looked amateur playing in a spot after such greats like Muse and X. A cool breeze set in as English chap Ian Brown of the Stone Roses opened his set with “I Wanna Be Adored.” Toward the end of his set, Brown said Morrissey was not playing as originally scheduled so, “We’re gonna help you get over it.” This statement seemed like a joke at first but then his set was cut short so a KROQ representative could announce the truth. A press release reported that Morrissey was earlier diagnosed with “sinusitis, acute laryngitis and a high fever and advised that he not attempt to speak for the next 48 hours at a minimum.” Morrissey said he felt disappointed for not playing and has plans to schedule another show for the fans who saved their ticket stubs. As Tears for Fears started its set, high winds kicked up dirt and sand. There was a technical difficulty in the beginning as the band played half of its first song without audible vocals. After the fix, the band encouraged simultaneous hand clapping with an old hit “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” As fans sang every word, Tears for Fears kept the jams coming with crowd pleasers like “Mad World” and “Shout.” They also played Pink Floyd-esque tunes from the new album Everybody
www.deathcabforcutie.com
Indie pop rockers Death Cab For Cutie graced the side stage at the fourth annual KROQ Inland Invasion. Also on the bill were up-and-comers Franz Ferdinand and ’80s legends Billy Idol, Devo and Tears for Fears.
Loves a Happy Ending. Next up, KROQ DJ Jed the Fish introduced a band that merged electronic music and punk to become Devo. As the sun set behind the stage, Devo came out with signature goofy red cone hats and matching yellow prison-style jumpsuits. Singer Mark Mothersbaugh came out shouting, “So much for homeland security if we can have an inland invasion this big.” From the first notes of the keyboards on “Girl U Want” the fans knew what song it was. Devo also played fan favorites “Whip It,” “Gut Feeling” and “Uncontrollable Urge.”
Halfway through the set, they stripped off the jumpsuits to reveal black shirts and shorts with matching knee-high socks and white kneepads. They may be ancient rockers from the past, but they could still provide the energy to excite a large crowd. After Devo dedicated the last song to fallen punk rocker Johnny Ramone, the stage spun around to reveal Franz Ferdinand. The highenergy set consisted of many radio hits. The biggest response of the night came when Billy Idol strutted on stage. Because Morrissey cancelled his set, Idol was given an extra-long time slot to fill,
which thrilled the crowd. The night came to an end with the ever-so-beautiful and talented Siouxsie Sioux playing to an exhausted crowd. She was received with mild amusement during her slightly boring but magnificent sounding set. The day was very hot and expensive, which is common for a festival-type show. It took me back to an era that I’m embarrassed to enjoy and be a part of. The dance, the dress and even the music was scary to say the least. Now it’s back to haunt us and slap us in the face, and all we can do is go with the flow and enjoy it again.
Live illuminates the Los Angeles County Fair By CESAR CRUZ For the Daily Titan
Recently, I have noticed that this world is a very depressing place, chock full of homework and tediously long lectures. So what saved me from falling into a comatose state due to boredom? The L.A. County Fair did. More specifically, the band Live did as part of the End of Summer Concert series which concludes on Sept. 26. Live first exploded onto the music scene in the early ’90s. Since then, vocalist Ed Kowalc-
zyk, guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey have released six successful albums and have sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide. Friday night was great. The atmosphere was amazing and the audience was surprisingly pleasant. The show wasn’t publicized as much as other performances, but the number of people who fattened the grandstands behind our kick-butt, dead center seats really said something. It was during Live’s second song “Sanctity of Dreams” off
Birds of Prey when the crowd began to respond. Once the familiar sounds were brimming over the fans, the venue came to life. The band was awesomely powerful and the people were simply ecstatic, especially when Kowalczyk let the audience sing a good portion of the one of their best-known songs “Lightning Crashes.” At this point, the crowd sounded more like the Austrian Boys Choir than the beer-drinking, middle-aged hipsters that they were. This definitely was the highlight of the night. “All Over You” from the break-
through album Throwing Copper, once again got the crowd going. In exchange, Taylor went absolutely crazy, literally jumping and stomping all over the stage. The audience seemed to really enjoy this, so half of them also went nuts. The concert finally ended with 12 songs and a four-song encore which included my favorite song “White Discussion.” Live is one of those great bands that the music industry, as well as the rest of the world, needs but doesn’t know it yet. If you’re just as fed up as me with depressing
Daily Titan September 23, 2004
emotional bands, suicidal metal and gangster rap, then pick up Live’s greatest hits album, set for release on Nov. 22. Live is such a relief from all the “bling-bling” and the sad sing-sing.
Also at the L.A. County Fair: *Hoobastank Sept. 24 *Jackson Browne Sept. 25 *Willie Nelson Sept. 26
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