HEAVY METAL PLUNDER
It's no easy task generating an "electric" atmosphere inside London's largest barn, but The Cult at least made an attempt to go straight for the jugular!
Ian Astbury cut an odd figure, as he took to the stage; donning black shades, suede cowboy hat, and dressed in a flared, tasselled brown suede outfit. Bono crossed with some sort of hip Apache, if you like.
Funny? But then The Cult were deadly serious, as they kick-started into "New York City," with Billy Duffy's savage, cutting, and wild guitar riffs finding a way through the slightly murky PA. Duffy is, to all intents and purposes, The Cult's figurehead; you only need to refer to the cover of Sonic Temple to confirm my point. The striking guitar hero, striding from one side of the stage to the other, with long blond hair tumbling down, throwing all manner of guitar shapes -- that's our Billy! He's come a long way from the days when The Cult were knowing as THE SOUTHERN DEATH CULT. Billy's hair was spikier than a hedgehogs and the band were considered to be indie Goth rockers.
In the last few years The Cult seem to have passionately embraced the heavy rock genre slash Ethic!
However, after the initial surge, The Cult's performance became a little patchy, particularly in the first half hour, when only "Lil Devil," positively bursting at the seams, made an impression on me.
Things started picking up when they lowered the band's mobile lighting rig from the ceiling, complete with their black cross logo. It kind of resembled a spaceship out of "Close Encounters." The Cult's new drummer Matt Sorum left his drum stool to bang a giant gong, also suspended from the ceiling. (Do you recall those films where an oily muscleman does the same as an intro to the film?) This served to introduce "Soul Asylum" in a grand manner, very apt for a song of such epic proportions.
At this juncture The Cult locked into a hard, unrelenting groove, broken up only by "Edie (Ciao) Baby," an acoustic-tinged song full of dark, menacing drama and a recent successful single.
We were also treated to such crowd pleasers as "Rain" and the apocalyptic "Sweet Soul Sister" before Astbury spluttered out, "We're going to do one more then fuck off." Obviously not a man to mince words, although why he persisted in speaking like the Lone Ranger is beyond me, especially when he looks more like Tonto!
What we got was a celebratory version of "Fire Woman." "Let's fuckin' get it on," hollered a rather hoarse-sounding Astbury, and the hips started shaking down the aisles. "If you want to hear some more you'll have to shout!"
Shout?... they bloody well screamed!
The Cult encored with "She Sells Sanctuary," which needs no introduction and STEPPENWOLF's "Born to be Wild" -- plenty of heavy metal thunder! Finally, an extended "Love Removal Machine" ended the show.
In the final analysis The Cult were convincing, very convincing at times! Their performance was enjoyable, although at times a bit one-paced, and why they didn't play some older classics like the panoramic "Go West" is beyond me. Nevertheless an extremely powerful performance!
Mark Liddell
At this juncture The Cult locked into a hard, unrelenting groove, broken up only by "Edie (Ciao) Baby," an acoustic-tinged song full of dark, menacing drama and a recent successful single.
We were also treated to such crowd pleasers as "Rain" and the apocalyptic "Sweet Soul Sister" before Astbury spluttered out, "We're going to do one more then fuck off." Obviously not a man to mince words, although why he persisted in speaking like the Lone Ranger is beyond me, especially when he looks more like Tonto!
What we got was a celebratory version of "Fire Woman." "Let's fuckin' get it on," hollered a rather hoarse-sounding Astbury, and the hips started shaking down the aisles. "If you want to hear some more you'll have to shout!"
Shout?... they bloody well screamed!
The Cult encored with "She Sells Sanctuary," which needs no introduction and STEPPENWOLF's "Born to be Wild" -- plenty of heavy metal thunder! Finally, an extended "Love Removal Machine" ended the show.
In the final analysis The Cult were convincing, very convincing at times! Their performance was enjoyable, although at times a bit one-paced, and why they didn't play some older classics like the panoramic "Go West" is beyond me. Nevertheless an extremely powerful performance!
Mark Liddell
live shots Nigel Hinkes
Riff Raff
January 1990
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