WOW!!! This was my first time seeing The Cult even though I've been a fan since public school. The music was excellent and the new songs were fantastic. The only disappointment was the fact that a couple of the new songs had not been heard before so the crowd just sort of stood there with their mouths open. But nevertheless, the sold out crowd was swinging and jumping to all the classics. I loved the intro also. Rather than just come on stage and start playing, they had cool lights and a cool instrumental intro for the new single Rise. Then Matt came on and saluted the crowd, followed by the rest of the band. And Ian was wearing a really interesting hat. Anyone know where we can get one? And just in case anyone's wondering, Ian announced twice that they would be back in the Fall. I'll be looking forward to that!!! As for the setlist, it was pretty much the same as previous gigs on this tour, but I think they added a new one during the encore. Maybe someone else can confirm that for me since I'm not familiar with all the new songs yet. He did sing Rise, Breathe, War, and another one I can't remember the name of, but there was a fifth I believe at the end ? Oh well... despite my lack of memory for the new ones, I did enjoy all the oldies that make The Cult a legendary band!!! A must see.
What a day in Toronto! Me and my buddy went down to the radio station in the afternoon to check out the cult on Edge 102.1 fm. I did not know that we would be so close to the boys, it was great. The boys signed stuff and talked to us fans during commercial and music breaks and after the interview. I was able to get a picture taken with Ian, but stupid me did no bring anything significant for him to sign..Anyways to the concert...IT ROCKED, it was better than the 1999 show in Toronto! The place was packed and everyone was into it. My only complaint is about the around 20 young punks trying to start a mosh pit and crowd surfing, if they were real fans they would be watching and listening with great concentration. If the Cult become big I hope young punks like these don't show up at the shows and ruin it. Anyways, back to the show, right from the first song Rise, the crowd was into it. Ian of course was dressed interesting again! Billy was of course amazing, Matt was going nuts on the drums, and the new bass player is a good fit. Ian was all over the stage dancing and getting the crowd into it. The boys seemed relax, loose, laughing and having a good time. The songs they played were Rise, In The Clouds, Lil' Devil, Peace Dog, Rain, Edie (Ciao Baby), War, Breathe, The Saint, Sweet Soul Sister, Fire Woman, Wild Flower, and She Sells Sanctuary. For the Encore they played Take The Power, Nirvana, and of course Love Removal Machine. All the new songs rocked and fit in very well. Breathe is great! Ian said they will be coming back to Toronto in the fall as part of a tour...Good news. They played a great version of Sweet Soul Sister as Ian got the crowd into it by clapping, and also The Witch and Peace Dog were two of my personal highlights. Other than the hand-full of moshing crowd surfing little kids, it was the best Cult concert I have been too yet, so naturally that means the best concert I have ever been to in my life! It is a real shame that the whole world does not know about the Cult and get to experience what Rock n' Roll is all about!
It's too bad that The Cult cancelled their date later in the year for fellow Canadian fans in Vancouver. After the show last night in Toronto I can tell you that you will be missing a treat. The band sounded great. The material off the forthcoming collection was the highlight of the evening. Ian and Billy seemed to pleased that they were playing a great number of new songs to a positive vibe from the sellout crowd. They played songs spanning their career avoiding any material from Dreamtime or the 1994 "The Cult". The new songs sounded crisp and heavy. Ian was in fine form taking command of the stage with Billy providing a sonic assault to keep the night moving. I took a friend that has been a longtime casual fan and he said it was the best live show he has seen. He was especially impressed by Matt Sorum's percussion. Fans of Vancouver can take heart that Ian said they would be back in the fall. I would imagine they will headline in Canada after they finish up their summer committment with Monster Magnet. The show was a good length complimented by an encore that included a new track, Love Removal Machine and Nirvana. Ian was also duly humbled by the reception from the crowd thanking us constantly to the point that he seemed touched that the Toronto fans had always meant so much to the band. Ian asked how many people were there to see the band for the first time and a promising amount of hands went up. I haven't seen so much energy from the boys sine the Love tour. As Ian lamented throughout the show "the kids just want to rock". Indeed we do and thatnks to The Cult it looks like we will for a longtime to come.
Third time, third tour, 2nd time in this cavernous, kind of sound challenged environment but still not disappointed. It's almost 24 hours later my ears are still ringing and I don't care! I had the pleasure of standing by a couple of young ladies (around 20 or so) who were seeing The Cult for the first time and I assured them that they were in for a treat. Still a little disappointed in the fact that the setlist doesn't change but what can you do eh? Ian was on fire from the moment he set foot on the stage and commanded the crowd of about 2,000 people to yell, scream, jump or whatever throughout the show. With all due respect to Ian, Billy seemed to own the stage though. He strolled out with the black leather jacket, amber sunglasses and the Les Paul guitar and did it all. He was tight, determined and electric. He made sure and treated the crowd to a couple of his trademark (sorry Pete Townsend) windmill strums during She Sells Sanctuary and the crowd appreciated every second of it. Matt had his demonic grin while banging the skins and Billy Morrison (as Ian introduced him, the new Sid Vicious) fit like a glove. The crowd cheered politely for some of the new stuff like Breathe and The Saint but did really let it go at the first song of the encore Take The Power which really rocked. Ian left us hungry for more and promised after proclaiming his love for Toronto and its fans (we are the best I gotta admit!) that they'd be back in the fall. Apparantly the fall cross-Canada tour will be larger venues so if you missed it last night I don't know when you'll be able to catch them in a club again. Incredible night once again, thanks guys!
It has been 11 1/2 years since I last saw The Cult, which was the December 14th, 1989 concert at the Sudbury Arena but I have to say that last night was worth the wait! They opened with Rise and played about 90 minutes worth of the classics plus a couple of other new ones, one of which was War but the other I don't know the name of yet. I will on Tuesday when the new album is released here! I was lucky enough to see the band at the Edge 102 radio interview in the afternoon before the concert. It was a total fluke that I caught them there because I didn't even know that they were going to be there (I guess I should have checked this site first)! I wanted to pick up tickets to my next concert (Blue Rodeo in July) so I stopped in at the ticketmaster outlet north of the radio station. Unfortunately (actually, quite fortunately!) that outlet was closed but they told me about another just a block down Yonge St. I was on my way to it when I just happened to be walking by and saw the crowd at the Edge 102 office. So I stopped in. To what to my wonderous eyes should appear but my favourite band! I had to run into the mall next door and buy a disposable camera because I had left mine in the car! I got Ian and Billy to sign my Sonic Temple shirt that I was wearing and got my picture taken with each of them. The whole band was very polite and signed a lot of autographs. I saw one guy getting his guitar signed by Billy. I thought that was pretty cool, it made me wish I played! I felt a little foolish being so excited since I am pushing thirty, but that was probably the average age of the crowd both at the radio station and at the show. My only complaint is that I wanted to get a new souvenir T-shirt since mine is almost 12 years old (and my wife had been bugging me to get rid of it!). My friends and I showed up at the show about halfway through the opening act and the shirts were all gone! I found out later from one of the staff that there had only been 32 shirts to begin with! I thought that was rather ridiculous. No wonder they were sold out! It probably only took 10 minutes to sell them all! Oh well, I've still got my old shirt and now it is autographed! My awesome wife was even kind enough to hand wash it so that the autograph wouldn't come off. What a babe! Ian also said that they would be back in the fall, so I will get my shirt then! PS. Hello to "Sweet Soul Sister". I am the guy that was asking you about this site. I didn't realize that it was so popular. I have been coming here for a couple of years now. PSS. Hello also to the short blond guy who had the red bandana on his head and had just seen the band in Montreal. Thanks for taking my picture with the band, and your welcome for taking yours!
This was a very different show from the last time the Cult appeared at the Warehouse in support of the Cult Rising tour. As Ian Astbury duly noted between songs, the energy level was much greater. This was a raucous, energetic, grab 'em by the throat performance, with the band members being far more animated than recent gigs in Toronto. The new material was a great hit, and the band was deservedly pleased by their efforts. As Ian noted in response to some new material: "Wasn't that a fucking monstrous piece of music?!" This is a band that is reinvigorated - and it shows. Billy Duffy was a much greater presence in the show and his energy level grew in response to the crowd throughout the evening. The requisite tip of the cap to the old material was there, but the renditions were inspired. Overall, highlights of the evening included Rise, War, Nirvana, The Witch and a rousing Love Removal Machine to cap the encore. Brilliant. The new album is released tonight @ midnight in Toronto. I'll be in the lineup waiting.... The opening act, Lennon was a pleasant surprise. While the strong melodic sense of their music was present it often got drowned in a loud sea of rhythm guitar. I imagine this balance will evolve with time. Lennon’s voice was one of the most pleasant surprises from their set. Her voice was powerful, yet with a wide melodic range. Their debut CD (Sept 15th) should be an interesting listen.
Major kick-ass show!!!! Worth the trip to Toronto to check it out (Came from NYC). As good as the Roseland show last summer. Looking foward to seeing them again in July and at the Reading Festival in the UK!!!