Viper Room, Hollywood, California
The band is announced, and as the lights dim and curtains open the crowd is
greeted with the thunderous sounds of...jazz?
Much to my releif Ian has not follwed the trend of 90's acid jazz, though
his crew is dressed for the part. The jazzy intro was followed by what at
first sounded like a funky version of Wildflower, but turned out to be a
soulful if not slightly self-indulgent song called Blind which Ian said
was "about mastubation", of course he said that about the next song Dolly
Bird as well. Both were good songs as far as I could tell hearing them
for the first time live. He has a very proficient band who's guitarist actually
sounds a bit like Billy at least in tone if not in style. This helped in
their incredible live version of the Cult's The Witch, that really got the
place goin'. They played 6 or 7 new songs two of which really stood out.
Space Junkie I think was the first and he never said the name of the
second. I liked most of the new stuff a lot, it will be interesting to see
how it comes off on CD. They also did a rousing version of Wildflower
and an interpretation of Helter Skelter for an encore. It's hard to
say from this small live sampling, but I think he is moving in an interesting
direction and the concert, at any rate, was a blast. I think we will see a more
introspective and flower-power pushing Ian than ever before, but hey,
that's Ian. Ian was hanging out in the bar before their set and walking
nearly anonymously among the crowd until he got on stage.
It was
worth the 5 hours of driving for 60 min of music. (I must be mental!)
John Laudenslager - laudenslager@AXP1.SALK.EDU
Ian Astbury, formerly of the Cult, is on the road again with his new band the Holy
Barbarians. He informed us from the stage that the name came from some people he met
on Venice Beach here in Los Angeles.
Don't look for the Cult in the Holy Barbarians. The sound is not quite as heavy, and
it even has a countryish tinge thrown in. Ian's voice, however, is still just as
strong and identifiable as its always been. While the band did play one Cult cover,
Wild Flower, Ian was quick to point out after the song that we should not expect this
to be a Cult show - it's a new band with new songs. Good call, I believe as it was
much more refreshing to hear his new songs than what seemed like a cover version of
his old band.
Ian took this opportunity with a new band to experiment and have some fun up there.
"This is just an impromptu show here, so you just do whatever you like," he told
us. He switched between playing guitar, tambourine and the maracas. And catching us
all off guard, all of a sudden he was stage diving right into the crowd. Here's a
rock star who's truly in touch with his audience.
This was only his second show with the new band, and while things may have been a
little rough around the edges, there's no doubt that Ian Astbury is still a force.
A little warm up time was necessary: it took a few songs for them to get into the
groove, but with each song, the sound got better, and Ian got more passionate. By
the time they finished the set with a cover of the Beatles' Helter Skelter, they were
in full rockin' mode! Instead of just doing an encore, they should have come
back to do another full set. It seemed as if they were just getting started then
and Ian was now really getting into it - you could see it in his face, and you could
see it in his eyes. No doubt that after a few more shows together, they'll be
starting off with the energy they ended with for this show. And I'll be right in
front waiting to catch his stage dive!
Jonathan Troen
Setlist
Blind
Dolly Bird
Brother Fights
The Witch
Cream
You Are There
Wild Flower
Space Junkie
Bodisatva
Encore:
Helter Skelter