News group rock music writer Peter Larsen discovered on Saturday what residents of my neighborhood have known for as long as they’ve lived there: The weather apps on your phone can tell you that it’s always sunny in Pasadena, or at least that it’s not actively raining at the moment, while your eyes and ears and the water falling from the skies down upon your head tell you differently. The clouds just love to open up from some magnetism of the Linda Vista hills, as opposed to the dry city flats.

Such was the case on the afternoon and evening of the now-annual Cruel World music festival on the fairways of Brookside Golf Course over the weekend. Since I live on the edge of the Arroyo Seco in Linda Vista and had no desire to be involved in any parking or traffic-gridlock situation, I hopped on my bike just in time to ride down onto the course, going zippy-fast on the concrete cart paths, and catch the 4:25 set of Aimee Mann and her reformed-for-the-occasion band ‘til Tuesday, which hadn’t played together for a quarter-century. I looked at my Apple Weather app — rarely correct, it is true, but I looked anyway — and it said that there was zero chance of precipitation in Pasadena. Problem was, it was raining. Rain feels even wetter when you’re at speed on a bicycle. But the bill of my ballcap kept the drops off my face, at least.

“Perfect weather for Cruel World,” intoned from the main stage Andy McCluskey of the English band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. That stage is set in the middle of the No. 1 hole of Brookside’s No. 2 course, though most festival-goers likely just think of it as a nice park in a big canyon.

It was the kind of line many singers said that evening, seeing as how plenty of the acts, most formed in the 1980s, had a Goth tinge to them. And rain is somehow Gothic.

But just like, well, Woodstock, rain does not cancel an outdoor rock music festival, and the show must go on. It was basically a heavy sprinkle, unlike two summers ago, when lightning flashes in the San Gabriels above Altadena caused organizers to evacuate the grounds suddenly while Iggy Pop was prancing about the stage, even though no rain had fallen on the Arroyo.

Anyway, a great time was had by all. The variety of acts kept everyone happy. As I approached the Tuesdays’ set, I advanced against a sea of black-glad Goths streaming toward The Buzzcocks — one of the earliest punk bands, Manchester-formed in 1976 — on the second stage.

Mann didn’t seem all that happy to be there, and her band was gathered in a far corner of the stage, seeking cover from the drips — electricity is involved here. But the inevitable giant video screens still gave us all a great view, and the sound system was clear and clean, and the fact is that my golf course in my neighborhood is, rain or shine, one of the best places on Earth to see and hear a magnificent variety of great bands. I hope that Cruel World and the previous weekend’s Just Like Heaven thrive for many years to come. Their success has become a key part in the Rose Bowl’s and Brookside Golf Course’s economic well-being. And those of us who dig the chance to hear world-class live music right here in our hometown are not just fair-weather friends.

Or, as Scotswoman Shirley Manson of Garbage, who also played that night, who should know, sang: “I’m only happy when it rains. I feel good when things are going wrong. I only listen to the sad-sad songs. I’m only happy when it rains.”

Wednesday at random

Alex Boekelheide from Pasadena City College called the other day about “some great help” PCC students are getting in skilled-jobs training in the wake of the Eaton fire. After years of the charitable arm of the hardware chain working with high school students on their campuses, for the first time, community colleges including his are partnering with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools and delivering new programming for the students. PCC is establishing its program following the Eaton fire in Altadena, Sierra Madre and Pasadena, jumpstarting the training of 80 local high school students with skills that are critical to the rebuilding effort. PCC President Jose Gomez says: “The summer program is a vital effort that will help train the next generation of skilled trades professionals. We are fulilling our vision of creating a state-of-the-art regional Career and Technical Education hub, providing a meaningful way for local high school students to help their communities rebuild.” Good on them.

Write the public editor at lwilson @scng.com