Tears For Fears

Tears For Fears

Flanked by a series of small light towers, Tears For Fears walked out to Lorde’s gothed-up version of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” and then went immediately into their iconic ’80s hit. That’s a hell of a way to build some tension, and then establish a mood right away. That mood was, basically, euphoric: how many other festivals offer you a chance to see Tears For Fears? It’s one of those bizarre little bonuses Bonnaroo sneaks in, and the crowd gathered there lost their minds at each successive hit. I mean, these guys have some of the most iconic songs of the ’80s, and they still sound totally vital playing them onstage. “I cannot tell you how excited were are to be here,” Roland Orzabal said slowly in a totally flatlined voice. “We have a word in England that expresses this amount of joy. [long pause] That word is yabba-dabba-doo,” he deadpanned. But as sardonic as they might’ve seemed then, he and Curt Smith still seem overtaken when playing these songs, displaying real fervor and joy. They played four — four! — songs from The Hurting, all of which were highlights (but especially “Pale Shelter”), later closing with the dramatic one-two of “Head Over Heels” and “Shout.” (Sidenote: watching Bonnaroo attendees, costumed and on whatever substances at 9:40PM, figure out dances to “Shout” is really something.)