
Tag: the soft moon

Cruel World 2023- Redemption and Romance at The Rose Bowl
One of the definitions of the word “Cruel” is, “to cause pain and suffering”. As much unintentional cruelty as Cruel World 2023 inflicted on the psyches of so many attendees by abruptly shutting the festival down half way through Iggy Pop’s set on Saturday, festival promoter and corporate media juggernaut Goldenvoice offered an olive branch of redemption by giving those who didn’t have to leave town on Sunday what most of us came to see- Siouxsie Sioux playing her first set in L.A. in 15 years. The build-up to Cruel World 2023 was palpable- not only for the 1000’s of out of towners that took time off of work, booked airfare, hotel and budgeted all year for what was for many, their annual vacation but also an elusive enthusiasm from Angeleno music fans who are jaded and spoiled by their residency in the music capital of the world. It would’ve been tough for any festival to live up to the magick we witnessed at Cruel World 2022 which peaked on the 2nd day of the festival where we witnessed Bauhuas bloody the stage and make the moon disappear but somehow, Goldenvoice rode 2022’s wave into the shores of excitement and

A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram
Friday the 13th should be celebrated with blood… with killing… with a haunting of your soul. That might not require a weapon unless of course, you mean music and in this case, The Soft Moon‘s post punk is the sharpest knife. Selling out show after show on his tour, Luis Vasquez’s trio from Oakland, CA, has created a new sound in an old form. Lethal Amounts brought together three musical acts, each dwelling in the same realm of dark music but from completely different approaches. Drenched in blue lights and dense shadows, Liebestod is a one man show that uses noise to disjoint and sever your connection to anything familiar in music. He’s a noise performer with an industrial edge that uses electronics to make every show a completely new and original thing. Improvising with every fidget of his wires, I’m not even sure if he knows what sonic monster, he’ll end up spawning even so, it was pleasurable to the eyes, the ears, and with the foundation shaking bass, to the skin and bones too. Based in L.A. but hailing from St. Louis, the rust belt, one can imagine what sort of industrial upbringing fueled his current line of