Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
Opening Act: Guns N' Roses
At the time I was a teen-ager and it was actually on of the first concerts
that I went to. At the time Guns N' Roses were just an unknown band. I
had never heard of them before I attended The Cult concert. Well, until this
day I can still remember what an unforgetable performance The Cult
performed. Since then I have been to many other concerts, but until this
day there has not been one that has made an impact on me the way The
Cult did. I only wish the younger generation would have been able to
experience what I did that night I went to see The Cult.
Sonia Ramirez - sramirez@cpeople.com
On Saturday, September 5, 1987 the Cult were headlining at Long Beach,
California. Electric had brought the Cult into the hard rock/metal fold
and I wasn't entirely sure if liked their conversion from the unique,
retro-hippie power-dance group they had been on Love...not that I had
anything against their becoming heavier, but I wasn't convinced of the
sincerity of the conversion. Astbury's lyrics on the Cult's first album
Dreamtime were powerful, and this power was expressed in a minimalist
fashion on Love, but they were still angry, visionary, and revealed an
underlying hope based in the spiritualism of the First Nations. On Electric
I hadn't quite figured out Astbury's lyrics, but I was afraid that all the
MEANING from the previous albums was gone. So, to figure out where Astbury
and the Cult stood, I went to the Long Beach arena on September 5, 1987. I
missed most of the opening act, and when Astbury took the stage after the
chaotic, spandex-clad band left, Astbury said: "Guns 'N Roses is the only
thing happening in American music today." And I thought: "What the funk are
you doing? You're Ian Astbury, you don't have to plug anybody else! You're
the fucking Cult!" At any rate, Astbury's remark seemed to explain why the
t-shirt vendors were selling as many t-shirts for the opening act as they
were. And so the Cult began to play.... Astbury seemed bored with most of
the show. talking his lyrics rather than singing them. At one point, between
songs, he said: ''Y'know, some of the bands just get up here and say 'Kick
ass!' and that's all they say and that's alright, but sometimes it's important
to say more than just 'Kick ass!' and really say something." He was obviously
less than satisfied with the Electric lyrics he was singing, and that made me
more worried than ever that this heavier direction might do in Ian Astbury
the socially and politically conscious lyricist. All night long Astbury had
to stare at a monstrous American flag that covered most of the wall opposite
the stage at the other end of the arena, and he finally seemed to lose
patience with it. He began to tell a fable about the native people of America,
pointing out in his story how the native people are still oppressed, abused,
and discriminated against today. Billy Duffy and the rest of the Cult were
getting a bit restless with Astbury's speech, and Duffy hit a few notes on
his guitar. Without taking his eyes off the audience, Astbury waved
dismissively at Duffy and said into the mike: "Not yet, not yet." Duffy
didn't obey, and played a bit more, Jamie Stewart adding a note or two on his
bass. Half-turning, Astbury screamed into the mike "SHUT UP!!!" And they did.
Duffy and Stewart stopped playing and sat down on the steps of the
multi-leveled set. Astbury continued with his political speech. "Do you know
what your government did? Do you know what your government did?!?" he
challenged the crowd, launching into the tale of the genocide perpetrated by
people believing in the flag he was staring at. He ranged through the history
of the white genocide against the First Nations of the Americas, focussing on
the recent murder of Anna Mae Aquash, a member of AIM (American Indian
Movement) and the Micmaq Nation, widely believed to be murdered by the FBI.
After this attempt to raise the consciousness of the crowd, Astbury actually
began to sing, delivering wicked renditions of Bone Bag, Horse
Nation (an adaptation of a song composed by Tatanka Yotanka - Sitting
Bull), Hendrix’s Purple Haze, and the Doors’ L.A. Woman. During
this Astbury was a dynamo, diving into the crowd (and not resurfacing for a
good while), throwing around drum kits, and taunting his band back for yet
another encore. This last display of his power in the band, coupled with the
earlier "Shut up!", made me wonder if I hadn't just witnessed the end of the
Cult, since it seemed obvious that tonight had been another battle in a war
between Duffy and Astbury that began somewhere between Dreamtime and
Electric: the issue being Duffy wanting to reduce the amount of lyrical
references to native people, politics and social issues, and Astbury wanting
the opposite. While the show on September 5, 1987 was not the Cult's last
show, news later surfaced that, at the end of the Electric tour in Vancouver,
Astbury and Duffy did go at it, and the Cult ceased to exist...for a short
while. At any rate, it was some show and, as we were leaving, I asked one of
my friends how Astbury's concern for native people had struck her...and she
said that it was just a gimmick, that the whole show was simply that, a show,
and that Astbury didn't believe anything he sang or said. I was floored. I
couldn't believe her cynicism...and as the years went by I realized that most
people, and even the fans, were cynical about rock'n'roll. Few people were
willing to admit that important issues, emotions, and spiritual yearnings
were the source and substance of rock...it was just "Kick Ass!" and a
money-making machine to them. But a few did think it was something more, that
it MEANT something.
Patrick R. Burger - patbur@johnabbott.qc.ca