Just Like Heaven Delivers On Nostalgic Indie Rock Thrills With Rilo Kiley Reunion, Vampire Weekend, Bloc Party (Live Review)

For millennials and Gen Zers, Just Like Heaven festival was as the name of the event promised, transporting the former to their high school and college days while giving later generations an opportunity to see the triumphant return of an indie rock darling that hadn’t toured since 2008.

“Can you believe this is our third show in 17 years?” singer Jenny Lewis asked thousands of fans in Pasadena, California, during Rilo Kiley’s electrifying set. “It’s truly amazing to be here with you all.”

She paused and turned to guitarist Blake Sennett, drummer Jason Boesel and bassist Pierre de Reeder to finish her thought.

“But mostly, it’s amazing to be here with you all.”

Amazing is certainly a word many at Brookside, just outside Rose Bowl Stadium, would use to describe Rilo Kiley’s one-hour set. Lewis — donning a polka-dot dress, tiara, white ruffled socks and Mary Jane flats — even had “Woo!” guys in the crowd, screaming and singing along to the band’s intimate, humorous, catchy anthems.

The L.A.-based band, which played two warmup shows in Ojai and San Luis Obispo prior to the festival, opened their memorable set with “The Execution of All Things,” and they weren’t afraid to slow it down with hits like “Does He Love You?” and “A Better Son/Daughter.”

Luckily for fans, adrenaline and nerves may have slightly rushed them during their set. The band huddled quickly before performing their closer, “Portions for Foxes,” and realized that they had time for an additional song. Rilo Kiley opted for “Frug” from their 1999 self-titled debut album, and it was a sight to behold with 40-something-year-olds, some of whom were carrying children, and teenagers clapping to the beat and singing in unison to the 26-year-old tune.

Many events would be lucky to have such a set as a closer, but it was only one of several notable highlights, including headliner Vampire Weekend. The rock band hailing from New York City known for hits like “A-Punk” and “Unbelievers” leaned into the nostalgia that Just Like Heaven’s lineup promised by covering songs from their contemporaries, like Phoenix’s “Lisztomania,” Beach House’s “Space Song” and “Wolf Like Me” from TV on the Radio, who performed their song earlier in the day on the same stage.

Vampire Weekend’s electrifying 22-song set was an exclamation point on the festival celebrating indie rock acts from the 2000s and 2010s that have been prominently featured on local radio stations over the past two decades.

Another act making somewhat of a return is Bloc Party, who had not played a show in the States since June 2023. The British rock band, which last released an album in 2022, drew a massive crowd at the Orion Stage that it even surprised lead singer Kele Okereke, who admitted he had never seen so many people.

Okereke’s vocals were on point throughout the band’s stellar 15-song set, which opened with “So Here We Are” and built up to a rousing finale with “Flux” and “Ratchet,” prompting festival-goers to muster whatever energy they had after withstanding the heat for six hours and dance.

“Please hydrate,” Okereke urged fans in between songs before Australian electric duo Empire of the Sun wowed with their costumes and standout colorful production.

The event, however, wasn’t without its surprises. Festival organizers announced that Maja Ivarsson, lead singer of The Sounds, was “sadly not able to enter the U.S. due to visa issues.” The rest of the band did make it, and Cara Faye of Shiny Toy Guns took the stage to perform alongside the Swedish rockers.

The hiccup didn’t deter fans from braving the heat and rocking out with the band, and such a turnout lends proof to the notion of fans preferring the single-day festival experience. Just Like Heaven has become a staple in the San Gabriel Mountains and nostalgic bliss for L.A. rock fans who grew up listening to KROQ and ALT 98.7 radio stations. Goldenvoice stepped up in a big way to offer familiar acts along with others who hadn’t performed in the U.S. or L.A. in years, and the promoter is doing it all over again with Cruel World, which takes place this weekend at Brookside and is headlined by New Order and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.