London, England, 100 Club
I flew from Tampa Florida to London to see The Cult again at these London shows for my
30th birthday. Seeing The Cult at this tiny little venue on Oxford Street in London was
some of the most fun I've ever had. While standing at the top of the stairs waiting to
get into the downstairs venue, I and others heard the soundcheck (83rd Dream, Dreamtime,
Rain, and about a 20 minute rendition of Gone) and we knew that we were in for a treat.
The inside of the venue is small, only 300 person capacity, with a "stage" only about one
foot off the ground, with the band standing only an arm's length away from the crowd,
barely enough room onstage for the five of them.
During the show, this "special encore for the hardcore", they played '83rd Dream' and Ian
sang part of the lyrics to 'A Flower in the Desert' during its chorus, and Billy remarked
"How long has it been since we played that one?". Too long. Far, far too long. It's moody
and atmospheric, one of the best songs performed this evening, and it should be noted that
most people in the audience knew the lyrics and were belting them out right along with Ian,
myself included. At the Forum two nights earlier, Billy teased us with the first few
seconds of A Flower In The Desert before plodding through another lifeless, listless
rendition of eDIE, I was hoping they'd play the entire song at the 100 Club, but alas, it
was just this enjoyable medley of sorts. Most noticably (and HAPPILY) there was no Edie
tonight! YES! YES! YES! I didn't even realise they didn't play Fire Woman until I was
remembering the show the following day, so that wasn't missed either. 'Nirvana' and
'Spiritwalker' were great openers, 'Horse Nation', and 'Rain' were two other high points
of the set. 'In The Clouds' included mostly ad libbed lyrics from Ian, after which time
Ian and Billy both commented that that was a song "based on 'In The Clouds', and we most
likely with never hear it that way again" because it was "a jazz club improvisation".
After the show, I spoke to Billy (whose first words to me were, amusingly, "You're a long
way from home arent you?") and John again and he said that they'd be changing around the
setlist every night now. GOOD! Keep it unpredictable like this. And lose 'Savages', which
features some of the most inane, moronic lyrics Ian has ever written. There are far better
songs on the new record which should be played instead. Indeed, I kept calling out for songs
like 'I, Assassin' and 'War Pony Destroyer'.
Overall, this show was one of the most memorable Cult shows for me, as well as probably
the most fun I could have had for my 30th birthday. And as an added souvenir from the
show, I can see myself in many of the videos from this show on youtube.
Cheers to Hans, Julie, Adam, Nancy, Steven, and Monique (Manchester was sold out) and
anyone else whose name I might have forgotten.
Rick/ Ho. J.
Setlist:
Nirvana
Spiritwalker
Electric Ocean
Lil' Devil
Horse Nation
Rain
In The Clouds
Gone
Rise
Savages
Peace Dog
The Witch
Dirty Little Rockstar
Wild Flower
She Sells Sanctuary
Encore:
83rd Dream
Dreamtime
The Phoenix
Love Removal Machine