Cruel World Recap: Ministry, Simple Minds, Duran Duran Bring Music to the Retro Masses

This weekend’s geomagnetic flares provided some astounding sights across the world, but in Los Angeles, we had a different kind of electric storm and it was just as spectacular.

The Cruel World Festival returned to Brookside Golf Club at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl for a day of dark nostalgia and Gen X mixtape favorites, and compared with its two previous iterations in 2023 and 2022, it might have been the most accessible line-up yet.

Produced by Goldenvoice (Coachella, Stagecoach), Cruel World sought to satisfy gloomier niche tastes, too, with some more contemporary acts like French Police, ADULT. and Harsh Symmetry and interactive extras, including a dance area (Club Doom), a Wax Trax exhibit and black rose installations.

Fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure made sure to get to the festival by the time their respective former drummers, Lol Tolhurst x Budgie, took the Sad Girls stage around 4 p.m. The duo, who just released an album late last year called Los Angeles, performed selections from that record with guest vocalists including Starcrawler’s Arrow De Wilde (pictured), Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock and Jacknife Lee. The set was as rhythmic and artistically varied as one might expect from two musicians who've been known to incorporate an array of worldly sonic embellishments into their past projects.

Cure fans did get one cover, “A Forest,” and though Brock seemed to forget some of the lyrics and the tempos were a bit off, it was still satisfying. In all, it was a unique performance that highlighted the soulful influences of the post-punk genre, which don't always get recognized by blanket aesthetic labels like "goth." 

The big must-see set at this Cruel World definitely came from Ministry, who played music from its early catalog (which singer Al Jourgensen had previously vowed to never perform) on the main stage, dubbed Outsiders. Billed as a set featuring tracks from the band's first two albums, 1983’s With Sympathy and 1986’s Twitch, many of the cuts hadn't been played live since the ’80s. “Work For Love,” “I’m Falling,” and “Effigy (I’m Not An),” “All Day” “Over The Shoulder” and “Just Like You” rolled out within a show that most who saw it up close called "epic," though a few more skeptical fans felt it was opportunistic. Either way, it was a highlight simply because it happened at all. The band's signature number "Everyday is Halloween" closed the set.

We caught that one from afar, as we opted to catch an act we've loved since our new wave teen club years, but never saw live: Heaven 17 on the Lost Boys stage. They did not disappoint, especially on hits like the wistful "Let Me Go," and the vivacious "Penthouse and Pavement."

Traipsing back and forth between stages is one of the toughest challenges of all-day festivals like this, and since it was a mostly older crowd, it seemed many decided to conserve stamina and camp out at certain stages for prime viewing spots, rather than trek to and fro. At least the weather was less brutal than past years.

After hearing about Adam Ant's recent low-energy set at the Greek and having seen Soft Cell at Darker Waves late last year, we opted to skip the main stage til the headliners, and stay near the smaller adjacent stages for The Jesus and Mary Chain, who sounded as dreamy and densely alluring as ever; Interpol, one of the only bands repping the late '90s resurgence of moody alternative acts with lots of  melodious moments; TR/ST, who got the mid-day crowd dancing in spite of all the walking; and Placebo, who had a very real effect on long-time fans who sung along passionately making for an immersive experience.

Six years felt like forever for fans of Simple Minds, who hadn’t played in the U.S. since 2018 and, judging by the enthusiasm of the crowd, were very much missed. The Glasgow band was a radio staple in the ’80s, delivering what might be considered one of Gen X’s official anthems, 1985’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”

They’d have to wait a little longer — that hit came late in the set, which worked out well as frontman Jim Kerr’s voice and energy only got stronger as afternoon turned to evening. The band, complete with a female drummer who certainly got the memo when it comes to maintaining the Simple Minds’ signature big kick and snare beat, expertly grooved through classics like “Promised You a Miracle,” “Sanctify Yourself,” All the Things She Said” and The Call’s “The Walls Came Down,” saving the crowd favorites for sunset. 

What followed was a spirited singalong of thousands of voices straining to emulate Kerr’s low range then exploding into the climaxing “la la la la” of the Breakfast Club theme. By that point, Kerr had to do little but point the microphone in the direction of the masses. 

The band closed out its set with Kerr proclaiming in faux-whine, “We don’t wanna go home!” The band then launched into “Alive and Kicking” and Pasadena’s little golf course felt more like Wembley Stadium as the audience ate it up. Many commented later that Simple Minds was the highlight of their Cruel World. 

Back on the main stage, Blondie took position for a hit-heavy set carried effortlessly by Debbie Harry. Looking fit in a black dress, donning sunglasses and looking New York cool against the California backdrop, the band kept the BPMs north of 120, with drummer Clem Burke driving the beat through classics like “One Way or Another,” “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Atomic.”

Blondie took it down a notch for “Rapture” and “Heart of Glass,” which allowed Harry’s voice to rest into her vocal sweet spot. “I can tell you’re having a good time,” she told the crowd. “I’m having a good time,” she assured, adding that the band had been missing touring after taking a couple years off. They finished out their performance with “Dreaming,” leaving the crowd with a reminder to hope in this Cruel World.

If Duran Duran was a brighter, lighter choice to headline Cruel World this year, they made good by their gothier fans by opening the set up with what many consider their most ominous, cobweb-cleaner dance track, "The Chaffeur." It sounded gorgeous. From there, it was all about high-energy numbers that showed off Simon LeBon's still-sprite croon and John Taylor's gut-busting bass, with standouts such as "Wild Boys," "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Notorious" and "Careless Memories."

We missed the end of D.D.'s set to make one final hike for Tones on Tail, capping off the night. Singer Daniel Ash hadn't played T.O.T. material since 2018, when he did a Glasshouse gig in Pomona with his other bands — including past Cruel World headliners Bauhaus and Love & Rockets along with the newer group Poptone — and there hadn't been a proper stand-alone Tones show since 1984. So it was big deal. With drummer Kevin Haskins' daughter Diva Dompe on bass, the trio delivered the gloomy goods, with a sultry Elvis cover "Heartbreak Hotel" and the apparent first ever live rendition of "Twist" off of the '84 compilation Everything.

Of course, most casual fans only know the dance floor hit, "Go!" and the band saved it for near the end of the set as expected. It was an evocative closer, especially  lyrics-wise. "Living it up" at Cruel World was definitely "a big kick" and it really did seem to be good for everyone. Until next year. 

See more moments from Cruel World in the gallery be

Cruel World 2024

Ministry, Simple Minds, Duran Duran and Blondie were among the highlights of the May 11 music festival

10

Gallery

10 Images