Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Opening for: Metallica
This is a date that I never forget, and I share this story frequently. Back in the
summer of 1989, my friends and I got a rare thrill, a big concert coming to Roanoke,
VA. Trust me...that didn't happen often. Anyways, one afternoon a friend of mine came
in the house screaming about how the Cult was coming to town. All of my friends were
amazed, shocked, and generally out of our minds. Of course my friend happened to
mention that they were opening for Metallica. We were like...who? All we cared about
was that the Cult were coming to town. The night of the show comes, and we scoot down
to the Civic Center...we all wanted to be on the floor and get right up front! The
Cult come out on stage...and to our shock, Ian comes out in a Mexican Poncho looking
thing, fat, sweaty, and voice way off. To be nice...we were underwhelmed. After their
set was over, all of my friends looked at each other and said, "should we stay for
Metallica?" We did, and went up in the seats. I'm glad I did, because that was the
BEST show I ever saw. I turned into an instant Metallica fan and bought all of
their records (Obviously Napster was a few years off :-) But 10 years later, and still
a huge Cult fan, I got to see them at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA. What a difference
10 years makes. That year was a great concert year, but the Cult show definately stands
out! Can't wait to hear the new album in Fall 2000!
Jonathan Shapiro - shapiro333@aol.com