It was my first time to see a show at the Newport in Columbus, OH and what band would be better to pop my cherry than The Cult. It is only one of 2 dates in Ohio for my favorite band, so I thought I should see one of them. The Newport sits cozily on High St. across from Ohio State University, one of the most populated colleges in the country. It boasts to be America’s longest running rock nightclub. It certainly had it’s surplus of bouncers greeting us outside the venue. You never realize how close Columbus is to the foothills of Appalachian country until you see a few of these specimen. Imagine Jabba the Hutt with a mullet. I bought a pre-show ticket for fear of week long showers coming down on my head waiting in line. I did not want to stand outside before the club opened. The ticket should have let me in at 6:30 but I got to stand outside anyway. Club management couldn’t tell time and no one got in till after 7 o’clock. At least I got a hot dog and soda for my ticket stub. The opening band was called Sinomatic. I just should have showed up at 9 o’clock. Their second song was good and that was it. The rest was just noise pollution. The singer and drummer look like rock stars, the rest of the band looks like part time help from Gadzooks. If they plan on firing any guitarists they should seriously consider E-mailing me. I know how to play all 3 chords from their repertoire. The Cult hit the stage after 9 o’clock. They opened with their new single Rise, a blistering song that is so Rock n Roll, it has no place in contemporary radio. It is sure to be a future show staple, but then again, that is what I thought about Be Free from the last album. Ian Astbury, dressed in a post modern nun costume, lead the group through the night with 12 more Cult hits and 3 more new songs. One distracting aspect of the show was Billy Duffy’s apparent disapproval with his set up. Constant grimaces shot off to the roadie at stage left lead me to believe there was something wrong with either the foot pedals or his guitar. I also noted that he has a fleet of clear faced Gibson Les Paul Customs. Here, I thought he was playing the same one for over 10 years. Simple me. In addition, the site of Matt Sorum’s kick drum design was worth the effort it took to get up front of the crowd. It was a solid show. The band played with total confidence. It was an excellent show for anyone who has never seen the Cult before. This leads me to my only complaint with the Cult. Who do they think is showing up to these club shows, a person who has never seen the Cult before? There were a few that may have been baptized last night, but the majority of people who show up to the clubs are the true fans. They have been their since their mothers were driving them to see The Cult and they will be there in the last days. And the true fans want to hear another setlist. The Cult is not putting on a complex show requiring props be coordinated with their songs, like rock groups Rush or Yes, which would prevent them from changing the setlist. Part of the reason for the popularity of live acts like The Cure and The (defunct) Grateful Dead is that they change their setlist EVERY NIGHT. The Fans want to hear songs like Full Tilt, Star, Hollow Man, or Zap City. If the Cult refuse to play over an hour and a half like they have accustomed themselves to, then give songs like Wild Flower or Rain a breather and replace them. I would buy tickets to other shows, but my days of seeing the Cult more than one show a tour are over until I see some improvement with the set list. That probably goes for a lot of other fans.
The Cult made a triumphant return to Columbus, Ohio last night. Ian was very energetic and passionate about this performance. The new material was excellent! The band was tight and the new bass player (Billy Morrison) fit right in with good chops. It is always great to see The Cult perform. Overall the entire band seemed into the crowd as Ian humbly thanked us for our loyal support. Set list was consistent with the other shows on the tour.
Michael Manes - amnight2@aol.com
As I watched in absolute amazement last night at the Newport in Columbus, while The Cult proceeded to shake the very foundation of the venue sending roughly 1,000 crazed fans into a rock n' roll "nirvana", it became very clear to me that I was witnessing one of (if not THE) best rock show(s) I have ever seen at age 32. VH-1 recently premired the Top 100 Hard Rock Bands of all-time and The Cult is listed respectfully on that list. Last night, I would put these guys up against ANY band on the planet. Last night's show was the epitome of what the rock n' roll experience is about - a tangible connection between the fans and their band, a sharing of rock spirit, energy, and emotion that elevates every spirit in the venue, a collaboration of mutual admiration, respect, soul, and earth-shattering rock, and (as was the case last night) an experience seemingly cultivated from the alignment of all things right in the universe, if not for only a moment, bringing every fan and band member together into an explossive, harmonious rock-orgy with one focus, and one mission - ROCK N' ROLL!!! If it sounds religious and somewhat sexual, it is.
Absolutely a GREAT preformance....The Cult sounds flawless...great performance....great sound...and the band sounded absolutely amazing...Ian sounds better than ever. The show was packed full of energy with a full crowd. Enthusiasm was high and there was a slight awe struck feeling of absolute perfection of the band. ******DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR******
I had a great time seeing the Cult at the Newport. They were more powerfull than I've ever heard them before. I do agree that there are a lot of Cult songs I would love to see them do live, but seeing Billy play Nirvana with the old white (gretch?) and Ian doing native american-type dances around the stage was good enough for my money. The new stuff was incredible live too. It was truly a magical show. After the show I went around back and watched the crew load cases all marked with the latest Cult font from Beyond Good And Evil (Matt's gong case still said "Guns N' Roses" on it too). Billy the bass player was there. He talked and signed autographs. He told me that he hails from London, that he and Billy Duffy have been friends for years and that he really likes being in a rythm section with Matt. Somebody beside me asked him why they didn't play anything off of "Ceremony" and he said he was trying to get them to play some stuff off of "Ceremony" and the last album (it might have been just a nice was to avoid a difficult question, i'm not sure). He is a really nice guy and I hope he stays with the band. After that I had the honour of meeting Mr. Astbury. He seemed a little dazed, probably because he put soooooooo much into the show. He stood out in the cold and rainy night to sign autographs and get photos taken. I gave him two plains tribe beadwork rosettes to which he seemed sincerely appreciative and I got his autograph there were too many people waiting to see him so I really didn't get to talk to him much, but it was perfect nonetheless. I can't stress enough for all the fans to go see the Cult this tour. They aren't going to play every song everyone wants to hear and the set will be too short for some, but what they played was phenomenal and it was an amazing experience all around. I'm so happy that I saw them again. If anyone has a bootleg of this show please, please, please share it with all these Cult fanatics, it was truly a magical show. Peace.
My first Cult show, simply incredible. I actually thought that the opening band, Sinomatic was pretty good, They played with a lot of intensity and really got off to their music. Unfortunately most of the crowd really didn't get into it, except for their one minor hit, Bloom.