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The
Cult
You
have to understand that this is a bit a religious experience for
me. Every time The Cult have announced one of their countless
splits I have cursed and sworn because I never managed to see
them live. And now – NOW the time is here – I’m finally,
after 17 years of The Cult fandom, going to set my eyes on
Astbury and Duffy, in my view one of rock music’s most
brilliant however unstable couplings.
It’s
the opening night of the 2006 European tour and everything seems
just right as we kick off with classic Lil’ Devil from ‘Electric’.
To speak the truth; the band looks tired, unengaged or just
downright bored. Most notably Billy Duffy who’s a beer belly
richer these days and bassist Chris Wyse who looks like someone
who can’t even be bothered trying to wake up. As we move into
Sweet Soul Sister from ‘Sonic
Temple’ the band luckily begins to slowly thaw and even Mr. Wyse
begins to return the enthusiasm of the elevated Sunday night
crowd, and a content smile starts to spread on Duffy’s face.
This
smile doesn’t even subside as he somewhere mid-set promises a
punter to kick his face in if he continues to throw beer at the
stage. ‘Good times’ as Astbury remarks ironically. That
aside, the audience clearly has a good time. Everyone looks
suspiciously older than the people I see at the gigs I normally
attend (i.e. they are approximately my age on this evening).
And
we are all in for a bunch of classics. The choice selection
mainly consists of the earlier Cult tunes; Spirit Walker, Love
Removal Machine, Wild Flower, She Sells Sanctuary, Peace Dog,
Revolution, Electric Ocean, they are all there. Fire Woman is
also aired, as well as a mid-set acoustic and rather alternative
version of Edie (Ciao Baby). That voice just burns right through.
It just does.
Several
tunes from the wonderful ‘Ceremony’ album and hammer rocker
‘Beyond Good and Evil’ are sorely missed as we are only
treated with Wonderland (plus a bit of Earth Mofo) and the BGaE
single Rise. The latter has grown to be my favourite Cult album
- therefore my pseudo-bitterness…
It
took a couple of songs for the band to get going, but then there
was little to complain about – expect perhaps the stupendously
loud amplification which could have filled this relatively small
club ten times. The Cult is indeed alive and kicking after all
these years and you can trust Ian Astbury when he in the
introduction to Wonderland says: ‘We are quite well-preserved’.
I
say amen to that Mr. Astbury.
Website:
www.thecult.us
Rating:
89 |