Cruel World Fest delivered 2 sold out days of the most amazing live acts in Southern California! 
newcomers and legendary bands from the 80’s shared the Brookside field at the Rose Bowl under a scorching sun that didn’t shy away the goths and punks dressed up for the occasion celebrating live music once again! 
Concert Review by Josue Meneses
Photos by Josue Meneses & CWF
Featuring: Morrisey, Blondie, The Psychedelic Furs, The English Beat, Bauhaus, Devo, Berlin, Missing Persons, The Damned, Grave 45, Christian Death, The Church, Violent Femmes, Blacq Audio, Cold Cave, Automatic, TR/ST, Sextile, Soft Kill, PIL, London After Midnight, Black Marble, The Meteors, Jay Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel) & The KVB. An eclectic lineup that didn’t disappoint!
Bauhaus and Devo took the night away with awesome performances and amazing graphics & stage lightning effects that blew the audience away! We could even witness a couple getting engaged as the guy proposed during a lunar eclipse while Bela Lugosi’s Dead was playing in the background. Perfect timing!
We missed Gary Numan, Marc Almond, Echo & The Bunnymen & the Captain (The Damned) since they drop off the bill from the original lineup due to visa issues and previous commitments.
Morrissey was fantastic. Missing Persons and Dale Bozzio proves she’s a goddess every time she performs. P.I.L. still impresses and thrills. The Church and Psychedelic Furs haven’t skipped a beat. Bauhaus was gloriously haunting. Everyone brought their “A” game!
Overlapping set times unfortunately forced people to leave early if they wanted to catch with the next act walking half mile back and forth to the main stage. Really exhausting considering the hot weather under the inclement Californian sun!
I missed Automatic, Berlin, Drab Majesty and Missing Persons since it was kind of hard trying to keep up between long walks, lines for the restrooms, lines to the bar and long lines to grab a grub 
Anyhow It was a great show indeed!
Cruel Word Fest epitomizes a hard-to-die generation craving for a long gone era, bringing back that nostalgic Aquanet and nylon fishnet stockings dancing to all those 80’s tunes that even our kids love. I was 13 years old when I started listening to New Wave & Punk Music since I was heavily influenced by my dad who was mostly into classic rock. It helped developing an eclectic music taste welcoming all music genres and styles that still remains until today. Back then, I switched CCR for The Clash. It was 1981 and the underground music scene was exploding with a multitude of interesting acts. The Post Punk was brewing underneath and later that decade became not just a music genre but a lifestyle that refuses to vanish and its not going away anytime soon!
Check out the Cruel World Fest 2023 lineup coming up soon!
B A U H A U S conjured the night at the Cruel World Fest with a mesmerizing performance last Sunday 5/15 during a lunar eclipse, powerfully ritualistic! Ñ espacioalternativo
