Poptone

Live at the Cloak & Dagger Festival

Los Angeles, CA

October 21st, 2017

Review and photos by Travis Baumann

Poptone brings to the stage two beloved performers from the underground alternative and gothic scene with Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins. The duo have been a mainstay in the scene for decades performing in Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, The Bubblemen and solo outings as well.

Along with Kevin's daughter Diva Dompé, they bring a new delivery of many of their old favorites from these projects to the stage. Accompanied by a dazzling light show, the songs have been updated to make them sound fresh and new and draw in new audiences as well as please old-time fans of these projects from the past.

They opened the set with an Elvis Presley cover, "Heartbreak Hotel" which basically showed that anything goes. They played what can amount to a theme song for this new project, "Ok, This is the Pops", originally by their Tones on Tail era.

They moved over to a classic Love and Rockets song with "Mirror People" before laying in another cover, this time an Adam and the Ants track, "Physical (You're So)".

They hit up two more Tones on Tail songs with "Movement of Fear" and "Happiness" before doing the fan favorite "No Big Deal" from the Love and Rockets days. Diva played bass guitar and sang along with Daniel who also played guitar.

Tones on Tail featured heavily with two more in a row, "Lions" and "Twist". They then bounced back and forth with Love and Rockets' for "Love Me" followed by "Performance" from Tones on to "An American Dream" from Rockets.

They finished up the set with two of Tones on Tail songs that I remember best from the old club days with "Christian Says" and the obvious fan favorite of the show, "Go!".

It was a blast from the past with these nostalgic selections, reminding me of the alternative clubs from the late '80's and early '90's. Diva really added a lot to the performance and her voice blended really well with Daniel's.

I wish they would have done "No New Tale to Tell" and "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" from Love and Rockets but they were definitely more focused on the Tones on Tail era.

I would love for them to do some new material and see where it goes but I am not sure if the band has those intentions or just to rekindle the projects they were known for post-Bauhaus. Regardless, it is well worth it to see these guys live, as they put on a good show and sound really amazing.

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