Photos: Totally Tubular Festival Turns the Hollywood Palladium Into a Nonstop ’80s Dance Party

Photo by Dan DeSlover/The Early Registration

Totally Tubular Festival transformed the Hollywood Palladium into a nonstop ’80s dance party on Friday, July 24, packing seven acts and an entire decade’s worth of nostalgia into one fast-moving night.

Tommy Tutone opened the evening before The Escape Club, Animotion, The Producers, Bow Wow Wow, A Flock of Seagulls and Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People took their turns onstage. For much of the night, the festival moved like a rapid-fire mixtape, with the earlier performers delivering quick snippets of familiar favorites rather than traditional full-length sets.

That compact format was part of the fun. The brief changeovers rarely interrupted the momentum, as a steady mix of ’80s classics kept the Palladium dancing between performances. There was almost always another recognizable chorus around the corner, whether it was coming from the stage or filling the room while the next act prepared to take it.

The night’s high point belonged to The Escape Club and “Wild, Wild West.” In a show built almost entirely around instant recognition, the song generated the evening’s most exciting few minutes and stood out as the best performance of the festival.

A Flock of Seagulls and Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People were given more room to stretch out at the end of the night, allowing the closing sets to breathe after the rapid pace of the earlier performances. By then, Totally Tubular had already delivered exactly what its name promised: a colorful, concentrated celebration of the songs that continue to make the ’80s such an easy decade to revisit.

For a festival built around one memorable moment after another, a photo gallery feels like the perfect way to relive it. Dan DeSlover captured the evening’s parade of ’80s favorites from Tommy Tutone through Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People.

Check out Dan DeSlover’s photos from the Totally Tubular Festival at the Hollywood Palladium below.

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