Live music review: Love and Rockets deliver timeless pop darkness at ACL Live

In the 15 years since the band Love and Rockets toured their live show, and almost 40 years since the band’s inception, much has changed in the world. Born from the ashes of the legendary post-punk, goth, avant-garde outfit Bauhaus, three of those four players arose in the form of Love and Rockets. It was a moderate shift in style, incorporating beat-driven pop into the mix while folding in a fair amount of modern rock psychedelia. A blend that has allowed the band to cover a significant portion of musical territory and reach an audience beyond those who attended to the less accessible, albeit darker side of Bauhaus. It was a move that established them as, one could argue, one of the more influential outfits to come out of the ‘80s. A statement legitimized by a recent appearance at the increasingly popular Cruel World festival, a gathering of heavyweights from that decadent, dark decade, which kicked off what could be the last tour for the band ever.

On Friday night’s appearance for what could be their final Austin appearance ever, the trio of Daniel Ash, David J, and Kevin Haskins took to the stage at ACL Live and delivered a set of friendly familiars mixed with sprawling explorations of some of their more intense recordings. A casual blend of attendees, some more familiar with Love and Rockets more recognizable songs and others, hardcore Love and Rockets fans, were delivered what could be described as the perfect farewell.

Opening the set and setting the stage with “I Feel Speed,” a hauntingly sparse track, felt like the perfect onramp to what was to come. Wasting no time putting familiar up front, Ash, J, and Haskins upped the tempo a bit with “No Big Deal” from their self-titled ‘89 release, followed by what felt like the heavy, guitar-driven harbinger of what was to follow, “Kundalini Express”. What evolved next was an impressive, precise execution of hits mixed in with masterful musical explorations of the band’s ability to wallow in their psychedelic-tinged, gothic pop, for extended mixes of tracks. The group was showcasing their ability to spend time exploring their impressive catalog of recorded material, plucking hardcore fan favorites from the past, and demonstrating why an 80’s act like Love and Rockets is still relevant in the age of streaming music.

Ash, J, and Haskins played with youthful energy, unmatched by musicians many decades younger, and showed us that rock-n-roll is no longer reserved for the young, naive, and reckless youth. With masterful execution of their instrument skills, the trio sounded larger than life, each track more relevant, poignant, and moving as the band molded an extraordinary 18-track set list into a wonderful, lasting memory. The band’s ability to stir intense emotions related to some of their recognizable classics into a state of blissful euphoria and then turn on a dime and drag you into the darker, drawn out guitar heavy selections that pull from the early days of dark, modern psych-tinged stylings seemed effortless and natural.

Transitioning midway through the set from the eight minute-long, “Haunted When the Minutes Drag” followed by the acoustic, buoyant “An American Dream” into what Ash described as “pop” music, the trio upped the state of euphoria. One of the Love and Rocket’s charting successes, “No New Tale To Tell” followed while the next move found them slipping easily into their most recognizable track “So Alive”.

Exiting the stage three songs later, following the explosive, pulsing “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)”, Love and Rockets returned shortly with a true fan favorite, “Holiday On The Moon”. The set wouldn’t be complete without the band revisiting their hugely successful cover of The Temptations “Ball Of Confusion”, a track more poignant today thank when it was released in 1970. Maybe even more so. That’s what the world is today. 

The beauty of great art and music specifically lies in the artist’s ability to not only present a story rooted in deep-seated emotions and observations that capture feelings that can be relatable and malleable enough to align with the listener’s own experiences while maintaining a similar effect. When that art transcends decades and can still be applicable to the world we live in today, it proves itself timeless. Love and Rockets proved that the music and message that they created decades ago, was born of a place that will exist within us all for decades to come. Well done lads.

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