Just Like Heaven returns to Pasadena in 2023 with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, Future Islands, Empire of the Sun, M83 & more on the bill

January 17, 2023 by 2 Comments

Just Like Heaven - 2023 lineup

Just Like Heaven //
Brookside at the Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
May 13th, 2023 //

While last Tuesday served as a big day for live music with Goldenvoice revealing the 2023 lineup for its signature event Coachella, the renowned California-based concert promoter is moving full steam ahead by announcing plans for one of its other annual music festivals this spring.

Just Like Heaven, which became an instant success in 2019 and expanded to two days that year for its debut, will return to the Brookside Golf Course at the Rose Bowl with another top-notch roster that most indie-music fans can get behind after an outstanding showing in 2022 featuring Interpol, Modest Mouse, The Shins, M.I.A. and a whole lot more (read our festival review here).

Even with that in mind, we think it’s safe to say that Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett and company have once again put together a heavenly assortment of indie artists and bands for its third edition.

This time Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, Future Islands, Empire of the Sun and M83 will lead the way for only one Saturday in May, but there’s plenty more stellar acts listed further down the the bill with an undercard that boasts Hot Chip, Caribou, The Walkmen, The Bravery, Fever Ray, Peaches, Azealia Banks, Ladytron, STRFKR, Metronomy, The Faint, The Sounds and Cults. See the poster above for those who are not already mentioned and are scheduled to perform. It’s worth bringing up that Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, STRFKR and The Faint were all part of the 2019 festivities down at the Queen Mary Park in Long Beach, yet as we know, so much has changed since then.

The inclusion of Peaches is particularly noteworthy considering that Merrill Nisker just took the stage at the fest last year and made quite an impression upon many of us (our photos will give you a clear idea about what we mean). How will she top her 2022 set? Well, you’ll just have to be there — or back here — to find out. MGMT, meanwhile, have been booked to play their 2007 debut LP Oracular Spectacular, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled in case you see Leonardo DiCaprio raving once “Kids” begins.

If you’re sold on going to Just Like Heaven, make sure to register for the presale here before GA passes go on sale this Friday, January 20th at 10 a.m. PT for $149 (Tier 1) and eventually increase to $169 (Tier 2) and $189 (Tier 3). GA+ wristbands will be a new option this year for $249 that offers a dedicated GA+ entry lane at the main entrance, fast-lane access at the main merch stand and an exclusive GA+ lounge with air-conditioned restrooms, shaded areas plus additional seating, complimentary bottled water and a dedicated bar for 21+ patrons. VIP and Clubhouse tickets, should you want to splurge, are also available for $369-389 and $649, respectively, prior to any additional fees. Mark your calendars because “heaven” for music lovers of all things indie is less than four months away!

Just Like Heaven 2023 - set times

UPDATE (May 1st): This year’s set times are here, and it’s no surprise there are plenty of conflicts to sort out from day to night. One of the toughest choices has to be just after 6 p.m. when Future Islands and Hot Chip are slated to perform only 10 minutes apart, but fans of both bands won’t be alone in that feeling at Just Like Heaven with STRFKR vs. The Faint, Ladytron vs. Fever Ray, Empire of the Sun vs. Caribou and MGMT vs. M83 also in play. Meanwhile, Yeah Yeah Yeahs will once again be the only act that won’t face any competition as the festival’s 2023 headliner. Find out who’s playing on which stage and when in the full list above.

UPDATE (May 11th): Just Like Heaven has announced that The Sounds will unfortunately no longer be performing this Saturday due to visa issues. Replacing them at 12:35 p.m. will be another Swedish band in The Hives after the well-dressed five-piece rocked the same Orion Stage at last year’s festival.

Just Like Heaven 2023 - map

UPDATE (May 12th): At almost 9 p.m. on the eve of its 2023 installment, the festival has released this year’s map with a similar layout to 2022. The Brookside at the Rose Bowl has been a nice location for Goldenvoice to host music festivals, and with only two stages to choose from at Just Like Heaven, the grounds are big enough to accommodate plenty of people, but at the same time, they aren’t nearly as large compared to other events i.e. Coachella that the concert promoter puts on annually. Nonetheless, we would still recommend wearing a good pair of walking shoes as there’s more limited seating areas for those with only GA access.

Just Like Heaven 2023

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Remix-loving characters get down to RAC, Classixx & Cosmic Kids

November 27, 2012 by 3 Comments

Reviewing DJ sets isn’t an easy thing to do, unless it’s a producer with an album or more of work in their quiver that the crowd can identify with. So in reviewing this show, which featured remix specialists RAC, Classixx & Cosmic Kids November 15th at the Mezzanine, it comes down to describing the command of selections, the vibe of the room and the people that were there.

I arrived during the Cosmic Kids set, and they might have been my favorite set of the night. Their sound is deep, heavy 90’s influenced house that blended seamlessly from one song to the next. Cosmic Kids kept the Mezzanie dancing without interruption, and their use of flow really impressed me.

At one point I saw a blacked out girl with a half-shaved head putting her head down and plowing through people just standing there yelling “I’m empowered!” really angrily. No one knew what the fuck she was talking about, or what she was on, but I would like to think she was high on Cosmic Kids. In reality though, judging by how much she was sweating and the nonsense she was yelling, I think she was probably on some serious uppers and not even aware she was at a show.

Classixx between Two Ferns

Next up were Classixx. This was my fourth time seeing them, and I always really love their shows. Their sound was more tropical disco, which went along nicely with the potted palm trees they had flanking the DJ booth. I saw them a few years ago open for Cut Copy at The Echo in LA, then again at V Lounge in Santa Monica opening for The Twelves and Grum. Between those two sets they had improved immensely, and their Mezzanine continued the upward trend.

The show flowed really well, and the crowd seemed to be really into it as they played a few of their remixes and originals, plus tracks from other producers. The person who seemed to be into it the most was a guy with a haircut that I can only describe as Post Apocolyptic Fabulous. It was like half a star on the right side of his head trailing into a sideburn, one sideburn, while the rest was shaved bald. This guy was going off to Classixx, presumably because if you have a haircut that looks like it was given by an epileptic Karl Lagerfield, you reserve the right rage like no one’s watching.

Classixx ended their set with their track “I’ll Get You,” which is one of the first tracks that really got the daytime disco sound going with U.S. born producers. It’s a few years old but always a jam, no matter what party you’re at, and it gave them a strong end to the show.

This is RAC

Next up was RAC, and everyone went nuts once they started. RAC is so prolific with their production and remixes that they could have just played their own material, and they pretty much did, sprinkling in other great tracks of the moment and songs they are into. “When You’re Dancing” is their own track that seemed to get the most people moving, and their remix of Foster The People’s “Houdini” brought the place down.

They dropped Marcus Marr’s “The Music,” a track with a funky bass line that has been getting a lot of support from DJ’s lately, and the Mezzanine crowd approved. There was a girl holding a library book and dancing with it, and she was trying really hard to make a library book the next must-have accessory at a late-night dance club.

It’s an awful picture, but you can sort of make out the book in the girls hand in the bottom-center. I was too much of a pussy to just walk up and take a flash photo of her from two feet away.

She seemed to be enjoying RAC and doing the most actual dancing, and not just jumping or fist pumping. When I finally left just before the show ended, she was still out there clutching “To Kill A Mockingbird” and getting down for all the literate dance hounds.

All in all, this show delivered and the crowd kept me interested and laughing, even when there were intermittent lulls or down points, which were few and far between. Check out any of these acts if you get a chance to see them.

This artsy bum-ster was outside with a typewriter, just typing in the rain as we left. She may have been Book Girl’s literacy accomplice.

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