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Events and Reports - The Cult - Live at Train, Denmark - June 25. 2006
Once again The Cult has reformed! In the period 1985 - 1995 the band enjoyed ten successful years where after they split up. In 2001 the band got back and recorded the heavy, but yet sparkling "Beyond Good and Evil" only to break up once again after an extensive US Tour.
This time Cult tours with a greatest hits package and the first leg of the tour Cult played US clubs only. Luckily the band chose to tour Europe as well and this definitely was very welcomed since it's been 15 years since last time The Cult was in Denmark. This time we got 2 shows, both in Copenhagen and at the great venue Train in Aarhus, which holds around 800 people.
The Cult is Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury. However, the band they brought along was competent with John Tempesta as a solid backbone on drums.
The venue was packed but not sold out. As the stage time neared I found a good spot almost in front. The PA played some horrible techno-like music and every time a song stopped the audience cheered for Cult. We were all bursting with excitement when Cult finally hit the stage 45 minutes later than the scheduled stage time.
The band opened with the classic Lil' Devil. It was a relief to finally see these legends on stage and opening with the one of their best tracks was almost surreal. Astbury's vocals were timed a fraction of a second later than the band, which I think was caused by monitor problems. Billy Duffy also had problems and Duffy yelled at the guitar tech for the first 4-5 songs signaling that his monitor should be turned down.
Second song was Sweet Soul Sister from the amazing "Sonic Temple". Astbury's characteristic vocals were really strong and powerful. He is a vocalist that knows his voice and he skipped the high notes on the chorus ... but I tell ya, it sounded freaking awesome.
Next up was The Witch and the straightforward Electric Ocean, which worked excellent in a live situation. It was not until Spirit Walker that Billy Duffy looked like he was about to loosen up. Duffy's sound problems wasn't canalized via the PA since it was only his monitor feedback. The sound was VERY loud, but yet clear.
Astbury seemed a bit stoned a first, but he was in a great mood and tried his best Danish/Scandinavian phrases like smorgasbord and Skaal! Astbury called this a mini Roskilde festival :) Astbury wore his characteristic bandana plus a bandage on his right wrist - probably an injury from beating the crap out of a tambourine 90 minutes every night. Astbury actually broke 2 tambourines during the show.
The setlist spanned thorough The Cult's long and very diverse career. Personally I am mostly into the trilogy of "Electric", "Sonic Temple and "Ceremony". However, this evening a song like Revolution really came alive. This live version of Revolution sounded up to date and powerful.
Since Billy Duffy already had his old Gretsch guitar The Cult played another favorite from 1985's "Love" namely the marvellous Rain. That guitar riff is so melodic that it got everyone bouncing.
The only song off "Ceremony" was surprisingly a revamped version of Wonderland. A great song but I really hoped for the title track, If or Wild Hearted Son. After Wonderland the band got a break and 2 chairs were placed at the center of the stage. Duffy picked up his acoustic guitar and then disaster was just about to happen.
A dude emptied his beer - (note; there was almost nothing left) - by throwing the last drops against the stage. A few drops hit Billy Duffy who just looked at the "beer abuser" where after the jerk did it again and that pissed Billy Duffy off. Duffy took the mike and challenged the dude to come up on stage and Duffy would punch him in the face. To put pressure on the rest of us he even threatened to cancel the rest of the show if the jerk didn't leave the venue. Billy said that he was in no mood for beer, since he stopped drinking years ago and no one should throw beer at him. It was easy to see that Duffy wasn't joking and with all the monitor problems earlier this was probably the ignition to a furious Duffy.
Astbury was sitting on the stool and looked a bit amused. He could probably tell that the audience was a little intimidated by Duffy and tried to calm things down by joking "Billy's in a good mood today" and also characterized his behavior s "punk rock".
The duo performed Edie (Ciao Baby) acoustic, but Astbury's voice was too strong only to be accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Billy yelled a big "YEAH" to the crowd after the song and he seemed like he just gotten something out of his system. Duffy proved to be a professional and he is a great player that has gotten better and better for each Cult record.
The incident just got Cult more lit up and they performed the best song of the evening Fire Woman, which sounded sharp and precise with Duffy's unique playing all over.
The Cult continued with a couple of 3 chord rockers from "Electric" Peace Dog, Wild Flower and
Love Removal Machine. It was just great Rock N' Roll performed by the real McCoys.
Astbury said they that actually made some new music in the last 10 years and fired off a powerful version of Rise from "Beyond Good and Evil". Rise was amazing live, but it was obvious that the majority wasn't familiar with the song.
The first encore was The Phoenix, where after Astbury promised that we were in for a treat - the filet mignon of Alternative Rock and of course the band ended with She Sells Sanctuary.
This was the real deal. The Cult has made so many songs that are "must have" in any rock collection. Seeing Cult in an intimate setting was a huge experience and they certainly proved that they weren't old and worn out. The band rocked a lot harder than 99,9 percent of today's so called Rock bands. For any rock fan that hasn't got either "Electric" or "Sonic Temple" has got some great music to discover. Personally I am grateful that I finally got to see one of my all time favorite bands performing a superior and rocking concert. My ears were ringing several days after the show, but Cult's performance will forever be in my memory.
| Written by Michael
Friday, July 28, 2006 |
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RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Axel (Anonymous) - Friday, August 25, 2006 | Too much screaming and too little singing
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