Why do hundreds of people wait for hours for the gates to open to Green Point Stadium on a public holiday?

Sharon Glen from Paarl is 18 and she knows exactly why. "I want to stand in the front row when Lenny Kravitz plays," she said.

Kravitz was the headline act at Tuesday night's Big Nite Out concert at the stadium. Until about 10 years ago it was used almost exclusively for local sports events, but it has been turned into an excellent concert venue, if the weather plays along.

Just to be there, however, was not good enough for Sharon Glen and her friends. They wanted front row standing room.

They were not alone. I estimated that about 800 people lined up outside the stadium from as early as lunchtime. The majority said they wanted to get a good vantage point for Kravitz's performance.

There were a few hardened fans of The Cult, an international support act, who said they have been waiting for years to get a glimpse of their idols.

Rick Stans, from the United Kingdom, said while he saw the band's seminal performances in London in the early '80s, he has not seen them "for years".

"Kind of ironical that I am going to see them in South Africa", he said in his Cockney accent.

Said Graham Rabe from Cape Town: "The Cult is my favourite band. They rule." What their kingdom consists of is uncertain, but lead singer Ian Astbury is very interested in ethnic spirituality, and he brings heaps of originality to his music.

It is, therefore, understandable that these fans decided to spend hours waiting in the unusually warm March sun to see their favourite acts.

Kravitz and the other international support act, the Goo Goo Dolls, provided superb entertainment for the 30 000-odd crowd.

Local bands the Springbok Nude Girls and Fetish kicked off proceedings and showed why they could play with the best.

The Cult played after Springbok Nude Girls and Fetish.

While the band's music met with strong approval from the crowd, front-man Ian Astbury tried a little too hard to excite concert-goers between songs.

He also showed off his new American accent.

Amazing - pity they played too early. Would have loved to see them as the main band instead Lenny Kravitz - who had real shitty performance.

Hi I just saw the Cult on the same bill as Lenny Kravitz and The Goo Goo Dolls, they were brilliant. South Africa is still getting used to seeing big names live in concerts having been in isolation for a long time. I come from Edinburgh but now live over here in Cape Town so I have seen my fare share of live acts. Ian took this crowd and forced them to go wild, it was brilliant. Awesome performance.

WHAT A CONCERT!!! Going to a concert that has 5 bands on the list is cool, but when Lenny Kravitz and The Cult are on the same stage on the same night you knew that something wild was going to happen. I must be honest and say that I didn't really know The Cult's music, however I did know that they would be loud. My friend and I bought golden circle tickets and stood in the sun from lunch time to get the best spot- and boy oh boy did we get the best spot. Fetish were shit, Springbok Nude Girls were good but I had no idea what would happen next..... The Cult boys came out with the cockyest attitude I'd ever seen, spitting water over the crowd and the best opening line ever, "Fetish...what a shit band, but the Springbok Nude Girls....now that's a fucking good band and will put South Africa music on the international charts!"

They opened with Lil' Devil then after that it gradually got harder and louder. Ian was getting the crowd going (South African crowds didn't know how to move to the music). What turned the golden circle into a mad house was when Ian said, "Now this is an old fucking punk song, so all you need to do is fucking jump up and down". After that we got into the swing of things. Lots of people had to leave because it was so hectic. By this stage I was in the front and had 5000 people pushing from behind. I was dripping with sweat, exhausted and still had 2 bands to come that night! Another quote I won't forget was just before he played She Sells Sanctuary. He said, "Now this is the best love song written by anyone, in the entire world....EVER". I found that quite amusing.

The highlight of my evening was when Ian deciding to stage dive right where I was standing. His cowboy boot landed on the top of my head!

Well needless to say I went and bought "Pure Cult" soon after the concert and it is now one of my favourite C.D's.

It was a night that I will never forget and I would pay lots to go and see them again.

I hope you will enjoy hearing about my experiance! Thanks for the great website.

Lil' Devil
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She Sells Sanctuary
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