By: Dave Afshar
Pasadena, CA (The Hollywood Times) 05/24/2022 — For fans who miss the reverb-y guitars and funster attitude of early 2000s indie rock, Heaven was a place in Pasadena last Saturday.
“Welcome to the greatest festival of 2005!” quipped Pelle Almqvist, lead singer of The Hives. “I don’t remember it being this good, but it is now!”
Presented by Goldenvoice, Just Like Heaven Fest is an all-day, all-ages festival held in Southern California. The lineup is essentially an elder millennial compilation disc; Interpol, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., The Shins, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Hives, and more took to the stage to travel back in time to a forgotten era when art was still fun. After two years cooped up indoors, the audience was more than happy to come along for the ride.
With the same frenetic energy he brought nearly 20 years ago, Almqvist led The Hives through modern classics like “Come On!” and “Hate To Say I Told You So” before closing out the show with “Tick Tick Boom”. Santigold and a stunning pair backup dancers and vocalists opened with hit “L.E.S. Artistes”, while Sri Lankan Tamil rapper M.I.A. performed for the first time since 2018, closing out the second stage with a phenomenal hour-long set.
For post-punk fans, Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand delivered all the classics through jangly guitars and Fender amps, while Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock led the band through fan favorites old and new (and no, they didn’t skip “Float On”).
Interpol closed out the festival on the on the main stage, defending their title as NYC’s post-punk overlords with early hits like “Evil”, “Obstacle 1”, and “The New”.
While an official date has yet to be announced, Heaven is expected to return to California in summer 2023.
Photos: Leeann Leonard
