Dedicated to the Biewen Family
Hoping everyone has had a great start to the new year. Last we spoke we were recovering from a wild weekend at Darker Waves Fest…let’s talk about that first.
Tears for Fears at DarkerWavesFest
The announcement for this show went out just as we were completing hotel bookings for west coast shows including The Hollywood Bowl. The general admission fee was a couple of hundred dollars and the suggested hotels were offering packages that were reaching into the 1000s for the full experience. Though our show budgets (and for some of us, medical fees during the tour) were reaching their limits, that didn’t stop us from making an attempt to go. We immediately got in touch with the ADA team – or reached out to them rather. No response. Then the announcement was made that they had sold out within hours of the presale. So…we were like, “Let’s just get a hotel room anyway and see what happens.” Some of us did, some of us waited until the bills from the main Tears for Fears tour were paid before committing to this…and some just couldn’t do it after attending multiple shows and flying to London for the Pryzm and BBC Radio 2 events. So we didn’t have our 85% rate of representation in that crowd but those that did show up did an incredible job of getting in a day in advance. They set up on-site so we all could experience as much as possible if we weren’t there. Shoutout to all you amazing fans who believe in this type of team work…cause that too comes at a price (monetarily and energy wise).
One of the biggest concerns was how do we get teams to the front to get pictures and do roll call so the band knows we even showed up at all? People flew in early, some waited until the afternoon and found a way to take their time and inch their way to the front. Do not expect to hear the best audio from the videos that have been posted online. One can only do so much when you’re in awkward spots. The videos from most are incredible but they do not compare to actually being there in person and hearing the incredible output from the sound set up and work that goes into these stages (Thank you Sound King Bill). It’s another reason some of us stopped videotaping because our little ol’ phones (I don’t care what brand) do not capture the true sound. We don’t want to do the band a disservice.
Big props to Luis Vladimir Brenes who was able to capture the whole show. Some things to listen out for are the respectful crowd. They were quiet on songs they didn’t know and soaked it all in. We, on the other hand at shows, turn it into a big ol’ gospel sing a long, hands raised and praising the Almighty for the glorious songs the whole time. This was much tamer. Lol. Also, Roland sang Kanye West’s nicked version of “Memories Fade” to start the song and then moved into the original. His ending of “Head Over Heels” was especially fantastic as he elongated the ending just a bit more than usual as it flowed into the best part – the “Broken” ending.
Carina was there as supporting vocalist and did the solo version of Suffer the Children. It was beautiful and we love that both she and Lauren have found a way to deliver that song so well in their own unique style. We’d love to have one version recorded featuring Lauren, one with Carina and one with them both singing it together. Just throwing that out there as I look around at my treasure of things we’ve asked for and received.
The Great Parts of the Festival
The wonderful part about a festival is seeing more than one band all in one place. From what we understand and from doing a video walk through with fans on the night before and the day of… the festival was right there on the beach. Right there in the sand. You had three stages from which to walk back and forth from to make sure you caught as many of the bands you wanted to see that day. Thankfully Tears for Fears were headlining so you didn’t have to give up one other band to go see them. Not so for The B52s, another amazing band with lots of Tears for Fears fans. The best strategy we found was to get to the DarkerWaves Stage just before B52s and stay there until Tears for Fears came on. That’s what several did, and they said they were thankful they did as they stood against the rail putting them on the front row.
This is the reality of festivals…some love it, some not so much. The plus side is you get to hear more than one band…if that’s your thing.
During the show, you could hear a pin drop during several of the new songs. It was quite a respectful thing to witness even if we were on someone’s phone watching remotely. After the show, there were so many who commented that they really love the new songs. In a private Darker Waves Festival attendee poll, Tears for Fears were right up there on the best performances list.
The Uncomfortable Moments – Typical Festival Issues
Not sure if this belongs in “the great parts” or maybe “the bittersweet.” Standing around like that from early morning til 9pm at night was a feat and it was also kind of painful (no pun intended). Roland mentioned it during the early part of the show stating that he knew many of them had been out there ALL DAY. He had reason to bring it up because that crowd might have been a lot bigger had several (like A LOT) not posted they were in pain and leaving after The B52s. They simply did not have the energy to stand around like that for hours.
At Shaky Knees Festival we were able to sit down in the VIP lounges until it was time for the show but even that was not as convenient as we were told it would be. Those lounges were nowhere near the stage that Tears for Fears were to perform on despite being told months prior they would be (the final schedule had them at a different one) and the lounge that was assigned to the stage had no seats! Many of us paid over $1000 each for those experiences as did these DWF goers. So… that kind of stuff right there can cause side effects on your concert experience. So, what did the DWF attendees do? Where did these people go? Several posted that they went back to the hotel and watched/listened to Tears for Fears from the balcony (as we had planned upon learning it was sold out).
Gratitude and Wishes for the Future
We’re grateful that for the first ever Darker Waves Festival, Tears for Fears were promoted like crazy. On nearly every social post they made, Tears for Fears was featured, played, referenced and more. It was incredible. It’s beautiful that the band was the headliner! We won’t ever forget that. Like any first time festival, we and other attendees feel it needs some work. Logistically and price wise, it needs to be reviewed.
What we’d like to see for future from the Darker Waves Fest producers:
- A reliable livestream option with a safe credit card or PayPal option – for a one-time purchase to view vs. an option that says “free livestream” but we’re taking your credit card info anyway. We don’t believe the live stream option that was floating around was even legit from the festival.
- An ADA package – just curate something for those who may be injured. Separate entrance, separate viewing stage that is high enough for those in a wheelchair to see over the heads of those who are tall.
- More water closets, loos, ladies and gents facilities that are reachable by a moving walkway. That long stretch of walking to get there …dude, really?
- Seats. Let’s face it, we ain’t three year old toddlers looking to run around and roll around in the sand. Build a tent or something and put a limited number of seats with premium prices or ramps or something. If you’re going to charge glam prices, then give us some glam accommodations outside of the four-star hotels so we can attend these shows with dignity. There’s got to be a way to work on that. A line of seats in the middle and on the sides or sloping standing ramps because that sand surface left people who were under five feet tall looking at shoulders all day long.
Please take some time to look at the comments that were made. Here are several other experiences from that day and the general consensus is we hope that the band was joking about doing more festivals. Right now, as Gen Z says, “this ain’t it.
An introvert’s tale of Darker Waves in Huntington Beach, November 18th 2023
‘80s Nostalgia Overdose: I’m happy for all the folks who can say Darker Waves was a blast and can say “best day ever” and such. Good for them. I’m glad they had a good time. Me, not so much.
From Daniel K:
We got to the beach early as we were worried parking would be a disaster. The Darker Waves promoters apparently secured no official festival parking so it was wherever you can find it. Thankfully, we easily parked super close to the festival and had time to meet up with friends for breakfast before the big event! We were off to a great start. The forecast called for rain, but we had beautiful weather all day. All indicators pointed to “Best Day Ever”!
As a hardcore introvert, I’ve always loved introspective bands like New Order, Tears for Fears and the Chameleons. Darker Waves put together 33 “dark themed” bands all playing within a 10 hour festival. I felt super excited for this “once in a lifetime line-up”. So many legendary 80s new wave, punk and goth groups. Feeling good and positive, I was looking forward to a magical day of music, food, beer and fun at the beach. I understand choices and sacrifices need to be made at festival concerts so we picked our “must see” bands. In the end we saw about 12 bands.
We entered the festival gates early and walked the grounds. To our dread, the majority of walking would be on beach sand. There were no set pathways to get from one stage to the next. And disappointingly, the ocean was no where in sight. It was my dream to see this amazing concert at the edge of the continent with the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop. Instead Darker Waves erected an opaque 8’ fence surrounding the entire festival area. This gave the whole place the feel of a sandy post apocalyptic prison. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing until you pour in thousands upon thousands of obnoxious drunk folks aka, the people who were having “the best day ever” I presume.
Once the music started it never let up. With all three stages set up to revolve, as soon as one band finished, the next would start in a matter of minutes. This gave us almost zero breathing room to chill between bands. I guess with 33 bands in one day, that’s required, but it did not make for a fun and pleasant day of music at the “beach” for me anyways. Too many short sets on the various stages overlapped, which made it necessary to leave early or arrive late to the next band’s set. We could have stayed at one stage for the day, but we did not.
Trudging ten miles or more through sand all day will make your legs hurt! The Darker Waves layout was atrocious. Earlier in the morning we were walking around before the show and we saw a bunch of what appeared to be platform risers and rolls of astroturf. It looked to us that the Darker Waves set up was left incomplete. It certainly felt like chaos inside the fences once the crowds filled it up.
The beach is flat! Views on the ground were terrible. The VIP sections and sound booths were major visual obstructions. We missed a couple of bands on our “must see” list just because the layout of the stages were so poorly placed. We couldn’t get from one area to another fast enough through the packed crowds. Especially later in the day when this “sandpit from hell” filled up to the point where it became necessary to physically push your way through. Sure, I’ve been to many shows were you’re down in the pit and people are all pushing against each other. I have no problem with that. But when it’s an entire festival crowd with no clear path of escape, it’s no fun and a recipe for death. A drunk girl almost puked on me when she was being carried away. The festival appeared to be way oversold, to the point of feeling locked in and completely unsafe. Crowd control appeared non existent as far as I could see.
By the time the sun went down It felt like we were being sardined in at every stage. Beaten and deflated, it seemed to me the promoters did not care one bit about creating a positive festival experience. Instead it was about packing in as many people as possible and taking our money. Trying to enjoy the music, stay positive and feel good gave way to misery and spiraling darkness in my own mind. We ended up leaving early. At least getting out of the parking lot was a breeze. The festival title “Darker Waves” might have been more literal if we actually saw the waves, but it’s a great name to describe my mood at the end of the night.
Where there any good points? Yes, quite a few. OMD did an energetic 10 song set of hits. Human League sounded fantastic. We got to see the Chameleons do “Swamp Thing”! We met up with friends and made some new ones too.
But the bad stuff overwhelmed the good moments far too much for me to give this mess of a festival a pat on the back. I’m sure it’s not easy to put on a major event like Darker Waves, but I’ve never been to a festival as poorly thought out as this one. I know there have been far worse examples in the history of music festivals, but for me it was a personal low and major disappointment.
I started the day with high hopes and positive energy and had it squeezed out of me by sundown. To end on a positive note, best example of the worst music festival I’ve ever attended.
Would I return again to Darker Waves? Hell no!
A collection of thoughts and responses can be seen here.
Darker Waves Festival was a great concept and we’re glad they had Tears for Fears as the headliners…we’re always happy to see Tears for Fears invited, booked, featured, and praised for their incredible healing music. Those that could attend, did. Overall, we want to watch and support them in a dignified manner. Festivals will have to change their logistics and provide a more comfortable realistic format to match the pricing tiers so that we can celebrate great bands with glee.
Heaven bless Roland, Curt, Charlton, Jamie, Doug, Carina, Lauren, Bill, Gooch, their families and all the fans who are married to their music. As we told Curt long time back, we’re not going anywhere. We’re a weird inheritance. You’ve got us for life. May we all be able to enjoy this band until kingdom come and even after.
What else is new?
There’s not a lot of heavy music news in the Tears for Fears fan land for this month… in fact the past three months have been pretty mellow. The highlights were some of the fun things the band members got into. We have a no “personal shares” policy so we are not going to post the photos from Roland’s life, their excursions or Curt’s visits to Ohio to see his daughter and catch a riveting football (soccer) match but we will touch on some of music related moments for fellow band members.
If you missed Drummer Genius Jamie Wollam’s interview with N:SHMusic on Instagram, you missed out on a pretty indepth two hours with these great musicians. We learned so much…things we did not know despite being on the Tears for Fears train since 1985. We won’t give anything away. Instead, select the link and listen for yourself. Get a cup of tea, sit back and take notes. Some parts will have you spitting up your tea but hang on….and get a good look at Mr. Wollam’s creative space. It is impressive to say the least.
Moles Closing and Curt to the Rescue!
So, there we were online, enjoying our day…when suddenly we get some news from Lady Tamara and Radio Bath’s Dave Mason that Moles (Yes, THAT MOLES!) was closing. The number of teacups and plates that dropped could be heard crashing all around the Tearsworld. After scooping Andye up off the floor and fanning Lady Tamara back to consciousness, we were left in absolute shock. The good thing is, Curt Smith swooped in with the offer to rescue and help with a community conservatory. This could get the space open again and allow for musicians to play there plus support the staff that will help keep it up.
On 8 December, Dave Mason of Radio Bath conducted an interview with the owner and founder, Philip Andrews, to discuss it further. That’s when we learned that Shaun, Curt’s older brother, noted Curt was interested in supporting a Community Conservatory. Mr. Mason noted on the broadcast how those stateside were ready to roll up their sleeves and handle any administrative duties remotely. We’ll see what happens and hope that can all get straightened out. To lose Moles is like losing a relative. If we can keep that as a historical monument that can’t be destroyed or repurposed for anything but music, that would be ideal.
Lady Lauren with the Queen of Christmas
Some fun news did follow that cheered us up this winter holiday season. We learned that Lady Lauren Evans spent a good deal of time on tour with The Queen of Christmas (and Andye’s new neighbour more or less), Mariah Carey. Several posts from Mariah’s team featured snippets of Lauren living it up with her team. We’re so glad to see her having a good time! Sharron Foxx was able to snag a photo with her during their Ohio stop. Super cool! We hope to chit chat with Sharron this quarter on a group fan call we’re arranging.
Oleta’s December Show
As planned and part of the postponement, Oleta Adams, now recovered from a ghastly bout with Covid, had her December show in Minneapolis and several other cities. She’s already posted her early 2024 schedule and tickets are available. As mentioned previously, attending her shows feels like a piece of a Tears for Fears concert. If you love Seeds of Love and RATKOS you need to see Oleta in person. It’s an incredibly moving experience that will leave you soothed and feeling elated and elevated! https://www.oletaadams.com/
Carina Round’s sold out show featuring the full album “The Disconnection” was a success! There is one more at the end of the month in New York. It’s a can’t miss as this is a really powerful piece of music artistry. If you want to try to get tickets, check here. She added a late show because the 28 Jan 7p show also sold out. We hope everyone that has tickets can go and won’t be delayed by life’s challenges. There were a few of those that happened on the 19th of Jan. So sorry for those fans who could not attend because of that. Hope your situations got worked out.
Upside Down Clinic and Bandcamp
Captain Julian (who celebrated his 60th birthday on Sunday) and his music partner with the Upside Down Clinic, Jon Birch, are busy as they are about release yet another banger of an album. The first one is reallllly good. If you haven’t listened, do so today. It’s a perfect album to loop! They have a Facebook group online that you can join and get the latest on everything they’re doing. Check that out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1560020121198057
Graduate and The Korgis
January is often associated with beginnings and a restart of sorts. Well, two bands, Graduate and The Korgis, remind us of both. Members of Graduate did include Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith for a time. Though they did do their own BIG thing and create Tears for Fears, they continued to work with John Baker, one of the members of the band we know now as The Korgis. In fact, both bands’ members have continued to work together in very unique ways. John Baker detailed his work on several Tears for Fears albums and, as you may very well remember, was at the 2022 Tears for Fears tour spending time with the band, fans and family. It was INCREDIBLE! You talk about overjoyed and excited…IT WAS SUCH AN HONOUR and full circle moment having him there. Can’t stress that enough.
The Korgis have a new album out and are very active online. They are a fun band and worth adding to your circle of Tears for Fears, Upside Down Clinic, Diva Smith, Quarterboy (Pascal Orzabal) and some of the other works that the band members and their family have been a part of (i.e. Dion Smith and Captain Julian’s earlier band Libre Stone and also Captain’s work with De:LaQ). The music is just unforgettable and brings you into a whole other realm of the Tears for Fears universe.
Raoul and Wilder’s Art
Wouldn’t you just love a nice exhibition of Raoul Orzabal and Wilder Smith’s art? Imagine a modern museum with amazing music (preferably from their relatives) playing along as you wonder through Wilder’s world and Raoul’s intricate pieces. They continue to share some really dynamic and deep works. Visit their sites and see which one you like most. Raoul’s are for sale here.
The Latest from Diva Smith
If you follow her online, you’ll see she’s singing in a variety of cafes and music venues. Her single “Bet” has vanished from Spotify but you can still enjoy it on YouTube. The songs she has been singing at the latest venues are quite nice as well. She’s got such an incredible voice. We can’t wait to see what she does next!!
A Tale of Two Stephens
Stephen K and Stephen M are both active members of the Tears for Fears Travel Fan team and forum. They have clocked their fair share of miles going to shows and being supportive of the band. Stephen K is local to the states and shared a really cool video not long ago in the fan forum. It was a clip of Tears for Fears on PBS’ Reading Rainbow, hosted by the award-winning Levar Burton (known to many as Gordy on Star Trek). This was especially poignant for us as we watched Reading Rainbow as children and then watched Tears for Fears on MTV. During one episode of Reading Rainbow, Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers were featured. They are a spectacle of grandeur that is located in Los Angeles in the historic area of Watts. His story is quite riveting and we were thrilled to have passed by his famous towers while we were in L.A. for the later part of the 2023 tour. It was like being a kid all over again, reliving the good parts of childhood. Speaking of the good parts, Stephen M. received this incredible statue as a gift. It’s called “The Little Dancer Age 14” (created by artist, Degas) though for many of us it’s “the ballet dancer from “Change.”” How cool is that!? Who else remembers dancing to this song then stopping to step in time with the dancer in the video? Ah childhood. Glad we’re old enough now to go see the band without a chaperone.
Speaking of birthdays, we’ve had some pretty cool ones of late. Roland and Captain Julian’s mother had her birthday in early December. Curt’s daughter Wilder celebrated hers toward the end of the month on 27 December. Then Captain Julian’s daughter Genevieve and TFF Travel superfan Moderator Andye had theirs on the 28th. Eileen I. had one on the 29th and as mentioned, Captain Julian’s had his 60th on the 21st of this month! Many happy returns to everyone!
Anniversary of the Kitchen Appliances
Speaking of anniversaries…so this photo is surfacing again…and from what we remember, it circulated about two months after an infamous post on the now obsolete Tears for Fears dot net. We used to throw out ideas and wish lists like crazy in that forum. This was long before Facebook – we had to bookmark the site and we hopped on daily and spent hours chatting with fellow fans and preparing for concerts. The site was managed by a now absent moderator and she likely loathed several of us for all the wild ideas we brought forth…one being the suggestion that Tears for Fears have an estate sale. We mentioned them selling everything from saltshakers to socks. Andye brought up a toaster and discarded footwear. Roland didn’t find it funny at all. He made a mention of it in a response that went something like, “Yeah after I auction off my socks…and if you believe that…” or something to that nature. Conservative fans who didn’t put up with any type of jokes or fun were quick to dismiss the ideas as horrible and completely unworthy of being mentioned in such a sacred space. Roland did auction off a pair of jeans from the tour later on. As far as Andye is concerned, bring on the toasters! “I got a fiver on it! No, make that $500!” We gotta have a little fun sometimes.
Your Concert Health – tools to make it better
What’s not fun is missing out on concerts if you’re sick. We know that our bodies change over time and no amount of exercise and eating right can stop the inevitable weird things our systems are prone to do or develop. One way we have found to stay well is through deep tissue massages, keeping inflammation down and of course watching what we eat. Sure, we love a big bag of skittles in honour of Curt but we’re not having a bag a day (at least not anymore…that was high school lol). If you’re having trouble with your health, inflammation or feeling just awful, consider music therapy and non-inflammatory sprays like TheraPainPlus. That’s what got Andye through the summer and, for those following along, she’s now in remission for some of the ailments developed in recent years that left her in the wheelchair many saw her being pushed around in during the tours. If you’re not feeling well, don’t suffer alone. Reach out, let us know what’s going on and we’ll direct you to the therapists and physicians we’ve used within the circle of the Tears for Fears fans that may be able to help. We wish everyone a great year ahead and we’ll be back on with more band land news in the coming months or sooner!
Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow the band’s official account on the following platforms:
@tearsforfears @curtsmith on Facebook and Twitter
@tearsforfearsmusic @curtsmith on Instagram
For fan travel info @papasfans on Twitter, TFFTravelFans on Instagram