Just back from shitty downtown Los Angeles where I saw The Cult tonight at the
Olympic Auditorium. The show didn't sell out despite the cheap $15.00 ticket
price and they actually put the stage in the center of the arena and curtained
it off so only half the arena was used. There was probably only 3,000 people
there and they filled about 80% of the available space. The only reason I knew
about the show was seeing the date on this website a week ago. I heard and read
ZERO advertising for the gig anywhere else.
Expecting traffic, I left real early and got there at about 6:30pm and managed
to get front and center on the railing in front of the stage. There was no warm
up band and The Cult didn't come on until 9:45 because they *really* searched
everyone thoroughly and it took a long time for people to get in. Security
wouldn't even let people bring in lighters or purses. I can see this being the
norm at most concerts now and it will really put a dent in bootlegging.
The Cult themselves played a typical show for the current tour. We got the best
tunes from the "Electric", "Love", "Sonic Temple" and the new album plus In
The Clouds and The Witch off the "Best Of" album(s). The only real
surprise was that they played True Believers off the newest album for the
1st time. I kept screaming for Zap City, Coming Down and Heart
Of Soul but no luck.
One thing that was kinda funny was that Ian and especially Billy were posing for
the cameras as if they were fucking fashion models. I've seen close to a dozen
Cult shows since '84 and know Billy likes to do the occasional "Guitar God" pose
but tonight Billy came off like the Ben Stiller/Zoolander character with the
over-the-top posing. Also, Ian is looking and acting more and more like Zack
whatsisface from Rage Against The Machine with the bandanna on his head and the
constant "fight the power, man" shit. It comes off *really* pretentious. On the
other hand, the band was very tight and Ian didn't indulge in any of his typical
hissy fits when the crowd wasn't as "up" as he might have liked at times. He
obviously was on his best behaviour for the cameras.
The crowd was into the show and there was about a dozen crowd surfers getting
pitched over the railing onto the concrete floor although only a couple people,
notably one guy during the second song made it onstage. All in all though, it
was a really solid show and more then makes up for the crappy time I had at
The Disneyland House of Blues when I tried to see them in August (see that
review).
It was mentioned just before the show that the concert will end up on PPV in
January with a dvd/video release in March of next year.
To all the Little Cult Darlings, I just got home from the show, ya know what can I say that I havn't seen on this site before ...... but if I've got to sit through that same fuckin' set again, I'll blow it!!! Don't get Me wrong, I fucking LOVE The Cult and I know that tonight, they were filming Their DVD, but shit after seeing the same set at The Whiskey, Santa Barbara, Universal Amplitheater ... and Tonight at The Olympic, I'm fuckin' burn't!!! The one brite spot for me was when they played True Believers.
I was pretty tired going to this show, but was excited to see them as well. I'd been lucky enough to see them in Seattle and LA in 1999, The Whiskey a Go Go on the night of the BGE release, At the Santa Barbara Bowl, at the Universal Amphitheater in LA, and finally at the Oct 4th filming of their DVD for release, they said, in January.
Los Angeles - Grand Olympic Auditorium - October 4th 2001
The next day, we manage a pretty good soundcheck, which is just as well, as a number
of problems come to light, which slowly get worked out, and as the line of people
starts to build up outside the venue, we finally finish checking and go and get
some food in the marquee-type tent that they've set up in the backstage parking lot
for the guests. There are cameras everywhere. Every time I walk out into the venue,
a camera appears from nowhere, to capture the preshow hair-do, the unsuspecting
nose-picking, the indelicate trip, every single thing that you wouldn't normally
want on video!!!
As the evening ticks by, we realise that the onstage time needs to be put back as
the line of people waiting to get in is still quite big, so we put it back to nine
thirty, to give them all a chance to get through the doors. Every time I light a
cigarette, a security guy pounces on me and tells me I can't smoke inside the
building, and makes me walk outside to smoke it. I just smile inside, and think
about how they are going to try and stop me smoking inside the building once I'm
onstage!! I find out later that the venue confiscated everyone's cigarettes as they
came into the building - just let 'em try and get mine……sandbags, barbed wire and
the national guard all enter my mind at this point!!
And finally the house lights go down, the intro tape rolls, and we walk on behind our Kabuki. The tape finishes, and we launch into Rise as the curtain falls and the venue looks good. The floor capacity is not what it should be because of the cameras, but both tiers of balconies look full and people are on their feet.
The first few songs feel laid back, but a little stiff as we try to blow the cobwebs out of our minds and out of our fingers, but things loosen up around Bridges Burn, and the first stagedivers and crowd surfers appear. I LOVE THAT - when I see crowd surfing, I know that you lot are having fun, and that gives me energy. Edie (Ciao Baby) and Sweet Soul Sister seem to groove well, and Wild Flower rocks. I try a different bass for She Sells Sanctuary and Nirvana, which doesn't seem to be even switched on!! But we do True Believers for the first time ever. I love the song and despite it being the first time, I think we play it well and Ian sings the song for New York, which is a very touching tribute.
The rest of the encore is as normal, with Love Removal Machine closing the show. It feels good to play good with the band again, and Matt & I groove well. Billy D wins the war with his new switching system and blasts the solo at the end. Mike is as cool as ever, and Ian is all over the stage, singing great. And then its over. We are done. The house lights go up and the audience start to leave.
Its funny how much of a rollercoaster these pressure gigs are - for two days previously, band and management alike are under intense pressure from all sides, and it feels very stressful……and then just like that, its all over, and people are packing up the gear, and loading trucks, and its all done. It can feel very weird.
Once we all get changed, we file over to the guest tent, one by one, to see everybody and hang out. One guy in a Cult tribute band shows me his tattoo, with all the Cult signatures TATTOOED on his arm!! He asks me to add my signature, but starts to look for a space where its not going to hurt!!! So we strike a deal. I believe that if you're gonna get tattooed, then get tattooed, so I sign the soft skin under his arm (you know, that painful bit near your armpit?!!) and he agrees to get it tattooed where I sign it!!! RESPECT to that man!!!! Next time I see him, he's going to prove he had it done. Wild, huh? And I get given a book, which is a very nice thought, and thank you very much. We all have a bunch of friends at the aftershow - Ian is around, and having fun with his mates, and Matt says hello to what seems like everyone in Hollywood!! That man knows everyone! There's a lot of familiar faces tonight, and I realise that The Cult has a very cool hardcore following, that travels thousands of miles to see the shows - very cool indeed. Thanks to everyone who braved 'da hood', to come and see us play. I eventually need sleep, and leave the Grand Olympic Auditorium, glad that the stress of the last couple of days is now over, and looking forward to a few months on the road with Aerosmith.
I truly wish you all well, and hope that everyone is safe after the tragedies that befell us all on Sept 11th. I would like, on behalf of The Cult, to send our thoughts and prayers to the people of New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
See you all soon and take care, people.
Peace